How To Make A Cool Map Rock Keychain

Printing Maps Onto Rocks To Make A Unique Keychain

I finally decided to tackle that kitchen drawer. You know the one that you stuff full of things you don’t know where else to put but you think will be useful.
 
The one you can hardly shut as it’s full to the brim of loose batteries, old keys, plugs, elastic bands etc…
 
One of the many odd things I did come across in the drawer was a set of tablecloth weights. They had never been used and were still in the original packaging.
 
Why I had them I don’t know as I never use a tablecloth. The weights did look kind of cool as they were simply smooth flat pebbles with a clip, that’s probably why I bought them in the first place.
 
I decided to keep them but not as tablecloth weights but to revamp them into a unique map rock keychain. They look even cooler now as I printed maps onto them.
 
A map rock keychain would make a lovely gift especially as you can print any kind of map you want on them. You can use a street map of where you live or a map of your favourite holiday destination. They are so simple and easy to make.
 

 
 
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What you need to make a map rock key chain

• Flat pebble tablecloth weights – The ones I used were from Tiger stores but you should be able to find them in your local discount store or even on Amazon.
   
  You can of course just find some flat pebbles at the beach or river and use a Dremel with a diamond tipped drill bit to drill a hole them for a keyring.

 

 

• Montana Gold Universal Primer
• Matte Mod Podge
• Sponge and water
• Acrylic Spray Varnish
• Keychain rings
• Maps – Mirror printed with a laser printer.

How to Make a Map Rock Keychain

1. The first time I tried to print a map onto the pebbles it wasn’t very successful the map came off easily. The second time I used a primer first and the map stayed on. Therefore what you need to do first is to spray the rocks/pebbles with a universal primer.
    
   

 
 

2. The maps that are to be printed onto the rocks need to be a mirror image and printed onto normal copy paper with laser ink. You can simply scan in any map you want to use or print one from the internet. I don’t have a laser printer, I simply got my local copy shop to print my maps for me on to a sheet of A4 paper for a very small cost.

 

 
 

3. Cut out 2 pieces of map one for each side of the stone. If using table weights remove the metal clip from the pebble and then cover liberally with Mod Podge and stick the maps to it.
    
   

 
 

4. Leave to dry. Once dry wet the pebble either under a running tap or in a tub of water and rub away the white paper. As you rub away the paper you will see that the map has printed onto the stone. Carry on rubbing until all the paper residue has been removed.
    
   

 
 

5. Finally to finish off the map rock keychain, spray with a protective varnish and then add a metal keyring.

 

 
 
I just love anything with a map on it so I made a few of these keychains. One with a road map of Bedford where I currently live and one with a map of Cardiff for my son who is currently studying there.
 

 
 
You can even make a cute personalised wall key holder of your street for your map rock keychains like the one below.
 

 
 

 
 

Printing with maps

I have some free printable maps on the blog you can download.
 

 
 
This is not the first time I’ve printed maps onto stuff.
Printed Map Picture Frame
Mapbox Ikea Kids Table Hack