My parents were addicted to road trips when I was a child. At the drop of a hat, they would decide that a road trip was in order! We would pack up the car with the essential road trip supplies like snacks, games, and of course my mom’s atlas (it was before smartphones) then head off on a new adventure. Most of our trips were destinations in my home state of Texas and my mom’s favorite drive was to Galveston Island. I can’t tell you how many times my sister and I did our school work on the beaches of Galveston (the benefits of being homeschooled!). As much as I love my Texas, I think my favorite childhood trip was when we drove all the way to California. I loved seeing the terrain change every time we would enter a different state and California’s shoreline is absolutely gorgeous!
All the travel my family did when I was a kid made me love seeing and experiencing new places. So, early on in my life I made the decision that I wanted to visit every great state of the United States of America! When I started my adventure in traveling the United States, I printed out a coloring sheet and every time I visited a new state I colored it in with colored pencils!
Recently, my sister and I drove to Utah from Texas (quite a drive!). During the trip I started thinking maybe it was time to find something more adult to track my progress across the United States. So, I did some research online and found an amazing stencil of the United States on Amazon! Once I had the stencil in hand, I started the search for the media I would put it on! I found the cutest board at Hobby Lobby that already had a white wash on it so I didn’t have to paint the board (total score).
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What You Need!
- USA Map Stencil (Mine is 18 x 12)
- Acrylic Paint (I used FolkArt metallic paint in Gunmetal Gray)
- Board To Stencil
- Stencil Brushes
- Small Map Pins
- Painter’s Tape
What To Do!
To begin your own stenciled USA travel map you need to decide what type of media you will stencil. I found the below board at Hobby Lobby on sale for half price!
Then once you have chosen what you will stencil tape the stencil to it! This was seriously the step that took me the longest because I was totally OCD about getting it centered!
So, this is what it looked like after I applied two coats of paint!
For this project I found the smallest map pins on Amazon. I was worried when I bought them they would be too long but they ended up being perfect! Originally, I had my mind made up I wanted to have heart pins but it turns out they don’t come that small (sad sigh).
Then for the last step! Push or gently hammer the pins into the states that you have visited. You may wonder why I put the pin in the center of every state I have visited except Texas. Well, that’s because that pin is where I live deep in the heart of Texas!
Here is the finished USA travel map! This project turned out amazing, which really tickled me!
Every time I travel there is a feeling of complete freedom that I absolutely love! As I worked on this project, I kept thinking of what J. R. R. Tolkien wrote in The Lord of The Rings that “Not all those who wander are lost”. I think that the best traveling is when you just wander and find new destinations and adventures! So, here is me wishing you happy wandering!
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