Garage Sale Find: An Old Globe

I have a bit of an obsession with globes and maps. I love anything related to travel and I love learning about geography.  When I found this old globe at a garage sale for $1, I knew I had to figure out something cool to do with it.  I had recently noticed lots of chalkboard globes online and while I liked the idea, I didn't like covering up all the lines of the continents. The solution? Make a chalkboard globe while keeping the continent lines intact. Once I had the idea it was time to gather my supplies. 

You will need: 

A globe

Chalkboard paint 

Painter's tape (I used the super thin kind)

Once you have all your supplies ready it's time to begin your project!

First you need to pop your globe out of the base. It's fairly easy, but still be careful so you don't hurt yourself or damage the globe.  After I popped it out, I wiped down the globe to make sure it was clean and dust-free.  Now you're ready to tape!  I chose to tape off inside the lines of the continents as I wanted to see all the colours and not just the blue of the ocean after I finished. All in all, it took me 2 hours to tape off all the continents and tiny, little islands.

Once I had everything taped off, it was time to start painting.  I made sure I put down some old wood underneath to keep my grass clean. I sprayed the globe a total of two times on the top half and two times on the bottom half (four times in total).  I waited about 20 minutes between each spray.

This step is completely optional, but I found that my new chalkboard globe didn't look that great next to the bronze/gold colour of the original globe base.  I thought a nice coat of white spray paint would make it look really fresh and clean looking so that's what I did. You can paint it any colour or leave it as is, of course.  I wiped down the base and lightly sanded it, then wiped it down one more time. I didn't have any primer on hand but if I did I would probably use it to be safe.  It ended up turning out alright without it, though.

While your white paint is drying you can begin peeling off the painter's tape.  Try not to use your fingernail and instead, gently roll your finger over the tape if any pieces have difficulty coming off.  This way you won't chip the paint or peel off some of the globe.  Once your base is dry and all the tape is peeled off, you can pop your globe back in and check out your new chalkboard globe!

You can leave your globe blank, write a travel related quote, write one word, write the continents, anything you can think of!  I chose to write a travel related quote by J.R.R. Tolkien, "Not all who wander are lost".

This project took 6 hours of my time and cost me a total of $3.57 to make.  I already had the chalkboard paint and white spray paint on hand. The globe cost $1 and the painter's tape cost $2.57. Not bad for a budget globe revamp!  Thanks for checking out my blog and have a great day! :)