I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I married a Leprechaun. I'm talkin' does a jig around the house when the mood strikes him, randomly impersonates a thick Irish accent when telling a joke, and, truth be told, is a tad on the short side. Ahem. I mean he's the same height as me, so not short at all. That's usually his argument. ;)
From the time I first met my hubby's family 5 years ago, they made it abundantly clear just how proud of their Irish heritage they are. And I gotta say, I love it! In everything that's Irish, God and family come first, and every day can be made better with a bit of Irish spirit. It's more than ancestral roots; it's a state of mind.
So even though we are proud to be American, bringing in a bit of Irish heritage to our home was a lot of fun. And creating an oversized map of old Ireland seemed like the perfect way to personalize our living room.
Hold onto your hat and run for the hills because it required a few computer tricks. (Eek!) But even if you're like me and haven't sprung for Photoshop software and are a bit technologically challenged, I have no doubt that you can do this one.
Here's what you'll need:
- 1 piece of plywood (later cut to the approximate size of your map)
- Wood stain (I used Rustoleum Weathered Gray)
- Brown paint (optional)
- Several sheets of parchment paper
- A computer and laser printer
- Mod Podge
- Sponge brush and/or small paint brush
- Scissors
- A pen or pencil
Here's what you do:
1. Save snapshot pieces of a zoomable map.
Whatever sort of map you decide to use, there are tons of resources online where you can find zoomable maps. The Library of Congress and Map History are great places to start. Just be careful not to use one that is copyright restricted.
Once you find the perfect map, zoom in (because zoomable will work best) and capture a snapshot of a portion of the map image. (PC users, you can do this using the Snipping Tool under your Start Menu.)
Continue capturing snapshots and saving each image as pieces of your map. The snapshots should be as close in size with each other as possible.
2. Piece together snapshots in Picmonkey like a puzzle.
Once you have saved all of the snapshots you need of your map, go to Picmonkey.com, hover over the tab that says Design, and click the size of the canvas you need. I chose 8x10.
Once you've opened a blank canvas in Picmonkey, click the Overlays tab on the far left toolbar (the one shaped like a butterfly).
In the Overlays toolbar, click Your Own at the top to open the folder where you saved your map snapshots.
Okay, I know. You're probaby wondering why on earth would I tell you to take snapshot pieces of a map, just to piece them back together again. By taking snapshot pieces and putting them back together in Picmonkey, you are creating a higher resolution file. If you had simply saved the original map image as a whole, you would end up with a very grainy, pixelated map.
Taking apart the map and putting it back together creates a sharp, crisp image that can be blown up to large sizes. Technology is super annoying but amazing at the same time, isn't it?
On your canvas, place and resize one snapshot at a time and piece them together like a puzzle as you continue to use the Overlay uploading tool. I pieced together one side and the top of the map to make sure my length and width were the right size for the 8x10 canvas.
After you've adjusted for the length and width, you can click the Combine All Image Elements icon at the top of the page to prevent any pieces from moving around as you place more pieces.
Once your map is all pieced together, save in as large of a format as possible. Picmonkey calls it "Sean", which is the highest resolution file option.
If the file is larger than 1 MB, resize it to be just under that size. My file ended up being 995 KB.
3. Upload into Block Posters and print.
I had a hard time figuring out this part without having the capability of Photoshop, but this website was a lifesaver. BlockPosters.com allows you to upload an image and print a poster by dissecting the image into equal parts and creating a PDF. It might sound complicated, but just hang with me for a sec.
On the home screen of the Block Posters website, upload the finished map you saved from Picmonkey. If the image is larger than 1 MB, you'll need to resize it to just under that size.
Here's where you need to adjust the poster size of your image and determine what paper size you're using in your printer. I needed my map to be about 24" wide and 36" tall, so I chose portrait orientation at 3 letter sized pages wide.
Once your poster size is configured, download the image and print.
4. Cut, place, and glue your printed map.
When the map finished printing, I double checked the size by laying out the pages and measuring.
Super sweet hubby, Robert, cut a piece of plywood to slightly bigger than the map size.
I stained the plywood piece using Rustoleum Weathered Gray. An hour later, I dry-brushed the edges using a bit of leftover dark brown craft paint.
Then, I tested out the placement of my map so I could determine how much plywood I should leave showing as the frame. (That below shot there helped me see that I needed to pull the map pieces down about an inch.)
From there, I cut any margins on the pages that would overlap.
Concentrating on one page at a time, I marked each page's placement.
I brushed on a layer of Mod Podge where I had marked the page and used the placement marking to position and smooth the page onto the plywood. I used an old credit card as sort of a squeegee to smooth out any bubbles as I went.
Then, I repeated the same position, mark, paste, place method on the rest of the map pages.
And voila! Up close, I can see a few lines but they're hardly noticeable. And it sure beats the pants off of the Restoration Hardware oversized maps that cost about $1,000. Plus, RH doesn't have an Irish map as an option.
My in-laws visited Ireland recently, and brought back this Gaelic plate. It translates to "A Thousand Welcomes". Robert got the idea to screw it into the top of the map, and it's perfect!
So now the lower wall of our stairway isn't looking so naked anymore.
And you know what Robert did when I showed the map to him after it was finished? A good ol' Irish jig. I have to admit, I danced along too. :)
I'll have to figure out a way to weave in some of my Swedish heritage in our home next.
So even though it seems weird that I'm saying this the week of Halloween: Peace, love, and shamrocks, friends!
And lots of Irish blessings,
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