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You are here: Home / Maps / How To Make Repurposed Map Decorations

How To Make Repurposed Map Decorations

6th December 2017 by Claire Armstrong 53 Comments

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DIY Christmas Map Decorations with Ornaments and Garlands

I don’t know what it is about old maps but I just love their lovely muted colours and the slightly yellow thick paper they are printed on. This year I decided to add to my Christmas ornaments with some gorgeous repurposed map decorations.

Maps add interest to Christmas decorations. They can be personalised if you use maps of places that are special to you, such as your hometown or favourite holiday destinations.

I’m a bit of a hoarder when it comes to old maps. They are really easy to find in your local charity (thrift stores). Some of the older roadmaps are often printed on a woven paper.

If you are looking for a more Christmassy feel for your decorations try to find old maps that have a lot of red and green on them. On most maps, the roads are marked with red ink and the open spaces with green ink.

These gorgeous map decorations are really easy and fun to make. You can string them up in a lovely garland or hang them individually as ornaments.

Upcycle and repurpose old road maps to make unique map decorations.  Make a Christmas ornament or a gorgeous garland to decorate your home. #mapdecoarations #mapcrafts #christmascrafts #christmasdecoration #mapchristmas

This post contains Amazon affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to see my disclosure policy.

What You Need To Make Map Decortaions

    • Old road/street maps – You can pick these up at your local charity/thrift stores or on eBay. For this craft, it doesn’t matter if the maps are printed on one side only.
    • Fiskars XLarge circle punch – This makes the craft very quick and easy.
    • Glue stick
    • Bakers twine

What you need to make gorgeous map decorations

For the ornaments

  • Embroidery floss skeins – I used red and gold.
  • Embroidery Needles
  • Small (5-6mm) coloured wooden beads.

How to Make Map Decorations

    1. First using the xlarge squeeze punch, punch out lots of circles from the roadmap. You will need six circles for every map ornament.

    1. Next, fold each circle in half making a semi circle (6 for each ornament). If your maps are only printed on oneside make sure the printed map on the inside of your semi circle, as this is the bit of the map that will be visable.

      Folded map circles for decorations

    1. Using the Pritt (glue) stick, apply glue to the outside of one map semicircle and stick it to the outside of another. Carry on doing this until you have a stack or six semi-circles.

      Glued map semi circles.

    1. Open out your paper ornament, you should have a ball like shape. Before glueing the 2 ends together to complete the circle, decide whether you are going to hang them as ornaments or in a garland.

      Paper Map Christmas Ornaments

Making map garlands..

    1. To make map decorations garlands. Place bakers twine in the map ornament before glueing the ends together. Then repeat this at regular intervals along the twine, until you have a long enough garland.


Upcycle old road maps to make a gorgeous DIY map decorations in the form of a garland.

Upcycle old road maps to make a gorgeous DIY map decorations in the form of a garland.

Making map ornaments..

  1. To turn the paper map balls into a hanging ornament, simply make a tassel out of the embroidery thread add some decorative beads and a hanging loop before gluing the paper ball shut.

Repurpose old road maps to make a gorgeous map Christmas ornament complete with tassel.

Not sure how to make a tassel here’s a simple graphic showing how.

Upcycle and repurpose old road maps to make unique map decorations.   #mapdecoarations #mapcrafts #christmascrafts #christmasdecoration #mapchristmas

As I’m such a huge fan of map decorations, I made both map garlands and ornaments to add to my Christmas decorations this year. The ornaments would also make lovely gift toppers especially if you used maps that had some personal significance.

Repurpose old road maps into unique personailised Christmas ornaments with tassels.  #christmasdecorations #christmascrafts #christmasornaments #mapcrafts #mapcraft #mapornaments
Repurpose and upcycled road maps and atlas's into a gorgeous festive garland.  #christmasgarland #garland #mapcrafts #papercrafts #papergarland #christmascrafts

Check out my other map Christmas decorations.

Maps are a fun way to personalize and add interest to decorations. Here's a free printable and tutorial to make a fantastic 3D Map star Christmas decoration

Make a personalised Christmas decoration for your tree with these DIY heart map ornaments. They also make a lovely gift.

For other map crafts check out favecrafts.com


Filed Under: christmas, Crafts, Maps Tagged With: atlas, Christmas crafts., Christmas decorations, christmas ornament, garland, map, map decorations, map garland, map ornament, maps, repurposed, upcycled

Previous Post: « Easy To Make Super Cute Christmas Cloche
Next Post: How To Make A Christmas Pudding Wood Slice Ornament »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Teresa

    18th December 2017 at 1:25 pm

    I love these cute as can be ornaments! What a good idea to use old maps this way! Thanks so much for sharing with us at Party in Your PJs.

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      18th December 2017 at 10:36 pm

      Thank you, Teresa. I just love crafting with old maps.

      Reply
  2. Julie

    16th December 2017 at 1:36 am

    These are great Claire, I have a couple of circle punches (from a birthday or Christmas when I was very specific about what I would like) that would be perfect for this. Pinning 🙂

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      16th December 2017 at 7:46 am

      Thank you, Julie. The Circe punches make it a very quick and easy craft that can be done whilst catching up on Netflix.

      Reply
      • Julie

        17th December 2017 at 5:29 pm

        I have the whole of series 2 of Stranger Things to catch up with so this could be perfect! I just stopped by to let you know your lovely decorations are one of the features over at Handmade Monday this week 🙂

        Reply
        • Claire Armstrong

          17th December 2017 at 6:09 pm

          Thanks Julie. I’ve finished stranger things and I’m looking forward to getting stuck into the second series of The Crown.

          Reply
  3. Jelica

    14th December 2017 at 12:36 am

    Okay, so this is the cutest, quirkiest holiday decor idea! I love the unusual quality of it and, yet, I can’t put my finger on why I love it, but I really, really, do! Thanks for the inspiration 🙂

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      14th December 2017 at 7:04 am

      Thank you, I think it’s the old maps that just look good and give it a vintage feel.

      Reply
  4. Michelle

    13th December 2017 at 2:27 pm

    Such a cool idea Claire and I’m in awe of how lovely it looks as a garland. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever met someone who is as creative as you when it comes to maps or denim

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      13th December 2017 at 7:39 pm

      Thank you, Michelle. They are just one of my favourite materials to work with. I think I love maps so much as I have traveled a lot, I was born and brought up in Hong Kong, my parents now live in Portugal, I’m married to a Norwegian and I currently live in the UK.

      Reply
  5. Carrie

    13th December 2017 at 4:24 am

    These are wonderful! Thank you for sharing on the Whisk It Wednesday link party at Carrie’s Home Cooking. I hope to see you there again this week! Carrie @ Carrie’s Home Cooking

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      13th December 2017 at 6:48 am

      Thank you and I’ll be there.

      Reply
  6. stephanie

    12th December 2017 at 8:38 pm

    Love the garlands, and those stars…. I’m a fan of maps -now need to find the time to do these!! #homeetc

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      13th December 2017 at 6:48 am

      Thank you, Stephanie. As it’s quite a simple craft they are fun to do in an evening whilst watching telly.

      Reply
  7. Laura

    12th December 2017 at 5:01 pm

    These are really great and you’ve made it so informative/easy to follow. Also, I’ve never seen anything like that extra large hole puncher, how amazing!

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      13th December 2017 at 11:25 am

      Thank you, the hole puncher makes it a speedy craft.

      Reply
  8. Cecilia

    11th December 2017 at 10:11 pm

    So creative! Thanks for sharing @ Vintage Charm!

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      11th December 2017 at 11:16 pm

      Thanks for hosting!

      Reply
  9. Bethany

    11th December 2017 at 8:50 pm

    That circle cutter is amazing! I need one in my life. Love the decorations, reckon it could be a fun one to do with the kiddies!

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      11th December 2017 at 11:14 pm

      The circle cutter certainly makes it easier. Thank you.

      Reply
  10. Becky at PinksCharming

    11th December 2017 at 7:40 pm

    What a lovely and unusual idea! Beautiful x

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      11th December 2017 at 11:10 pm

      Thank you, Becky.

      Reply
  11. Donna Ford

    11th December 2017 at 2:01 pm

    I love your ideas! So cool and achievable. I have loads of old maps that I use for card making that I could use for this. Thanks!

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      11th December 2017 at 6:47 pm

      Thank you, old maps are great fun to craft with.

      Reply
  12. Fiona

    11th December 2017 at 1:58 pm

    These are so creative. It’s always nice to have some home-made decorations as you can create a really unique setting with these.

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      11th December 2017 at 6:44 pm

      Thank you, Fiona. Homemade decorations are my favourite as often there is a story behind them.

      Reply
  13. Pia

    10th December 2017 at 11:10 pm

    These are adorable! Seriously stylish and I love that they are upcycled! X

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      11th December 2017 at 10:47 am

      Thank you so much.

      Reply
  14. Ginny

    10th December 2017 at 10:59 pm

    So clever. I love them.

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      11th December 2017 at 10:46 am

      Thank you, Ginny.

      Reply
  15. Jenny Kakoudakis

    10th December 2017 at 3:29 pm

    I think this is such a great idea, I always like to add something on the presents I wrap, and personalising with a specific location map ornament would be so special! And if maps are rare to find, I guess you can do something similar with coloured paper to keep little kids busy (assuming they want to diy their garlands with you hehe).

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      10th December 2017 at 4:41 pm

      Thank you, Jenny. Maps are pretty easy to find as road maps were a common thing so there are loads around that are no longer used. Charity shops normally have a stack of them or eBay.

      Reply
  16. Fawn Interiors Studio

    10th December 2017 at 12:41 pm

    These are all so cute. Love the idea of using the smaller ones as personalised gift-toppers!

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      10th December 2017 at 4:40 pm

      Thank you, they can be personalised too by using maps of special places.

      Reply
  17. Leanna

    10th December 2017 at 8:02 am

    I am seeing tassles everywhere lately and love them. Your ornaments look great.

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      10th December 2017 at 10:50 am

      Thank you, tassels seem to be the new pom-poms

      Reply
  18. amanda

    7th December 2017 at 11:38 pm

    These are adorable! So creative!

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      8th December 2017 at 7:33 am

      Thank you, Amanda.

      Reply
  19. Toni | Small Home Soul

    7th December 2017 at 9:43 pm

    I love these little ornaments! using maps is a great idea for the garland and they look so cute with the tassels too.

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      7th December 2017 at 10:13 pm

      Thank you, Tony. The vintage maps were the perfect colour.

      Reply
  20. Creative Khadija

    7th December 2017 at 8:19 pm

    This is so cute. Love this idea 🙂 Thanks for sharing with us.

    Have a great day.
    Khadija
    https://creativekhadija.com/

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      8th December 2017 at 7:35 am

      Thank you ?

      Reply
  21. Sarah

    7th December 2017 at 2:52 pm

    I love all the creative ideas you have for upcycling maps. These ornaments are so cute.

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      7th December 2017 at 6:02 pm

      Thank you, Sarah. I just love map decorations.

      Reply
  22. Sam - Raggedy Bits

    7th December 2017 at 12:04 pm

    Another fabulous map project Claire! You are the map repurpose queen!! Love it!!

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      7th December 2017 at 6:01 pm

      Thank you, Sam. I don’t think I’ll ever tire of using maps. I don’t know if it’s because I have travelled a lot and lived on different continents.

      Reply
  23. Caro | The Twinkle Diaries

    7th December 2017 at 10:06 am

    I think this is my favourite of your tutorials Claire — I absolutely adore the map garlands!! You’d pay a fortune for these in a store wouldn’t you? They’re fantastic. Thanks so much for sharing on #HomeEtc — Caro xx

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      7th December 2017 at 10:19 am

      Thank you, they are so easy to make. It’s worth checking with elderly relatives they often have a stash of old road maps that they don’t need anymore.

      Reply
  24. Janine

    7th December 2017 at 6:35 am

    Love this project since I LOVE everything paper! The vintage maps are the best, I’ll have to keep an eye open for some when I shop at antique stores!

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      7th December 2017 at 7:08 am

      Thank you, eBay is also a good source of vintage maps plus elderly relatives normally have a stash somewhere.

      Reply
  25. DIY Home Sweet Home

    6th December 2017 at 5:30 pm

    These are so cool. Love the tassels you added.

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      7th December 2017 at 7:05 am

      Thank you, tassels seem to be all the rage at the moment.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. How to Make a Vintage Map Heart Garland - Pillar Box Blue says:
    7th February 2018 at 12:33 pm

    […] vintage map heart garland is basically an update of the repurposed map decorations I made for my home over Christmas.   I can’t get enough of decorating my home with […]

    Reply

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