Now that Greta’s room is painted, we’re diving right in to decorating it. A globe was definitely on our must-have list for Greta’s room. She loves pointing out where we live and we like to show her where her friends, cousins, and relatives live all over the world, too. I fell for this globe when I was putting together my ideabook for Houzz last month, and thought I think I can make something similar. While the original is far superior in many ways, I pulled off my own DIY version that turned out pretty cute, too. My mom has been a teacher for 30+ years and has a collection of globes in her classroom. A lot of them are outdated (the one I chose still has the Soviet Union on it) so she said I could pick one!
Keeping an eye on my inspiration, I lettered the words “adventure awaits” with one of Crayola’s ultra-clean washable markers. They wipe off so easily (a must around here!) so I knew I wasn’t doing any damage.
Once I had the placement of my letters right, I cracked open a can of paint. I decided to use a dark ivory (similar to the color of the globe) for my first coat so I could get the shape of the letters right. And if I made a mistake and needed to wipe it off quickly, any lingering bits of paint would blend in.
I wiped off one letter in the marker with a damp paper towel and followed it by painting the letter. One by one so I could keep the format on track.
After my first coat was done and I was happy with both the placement and shape of the letters, I went back over everything with a bright white. I used latex house paint for this project because it comes as a paint and primer in one and is a lot more washable than something like craft paint.
The whole project took me 30 minutes and was really fun for me to do. If you don’t feel comfortable using a paint brush (I used a small detail brush), I bet something like a sharpie paint pen would work, too! Or if you have a cool Cricut or Silhouette…well, color me jealous.
I love this tutorial! I’ve featured it over on the FaveCraftsBlog! :)
http://www.favecrafts.com/blog/fc/diy-globe/
An option is to design the wording on the computer. then use graphite transfer paper to trace the lettering onto the globe. Great if you’re not super confident on free handing the letters.
Good tip!
This looks great! I tried this once with a globe and it turned out awful because I have sucky handwriting.
That made me legit crack up!
Fantastic idea. It makes me wish I had an old globe tucked away somewhere.
oooooh. *stares at the pretty*
I, also, have a globe with the soviet union on it. It’s actually got a light inside, total 60s kitsch, and it’s been sitting in a closet for years. This would be a great way to repurpose it. YAY!