A Walk in the Countryside: Framing a Map

A favorite past time of mine is researching genealogy. My husband’s ancestors were some of the first settlers to the New Orleans area. When I first saw this map years ago, I was so excited to be able to place some of the plantations owned by his ancestors. This past March, while attending the Audubon Pilgrimage, I found a copy at the Historical Society in West Feliciana Parish. Since that time, it has been patiently waiting for me to frame it.

I started by trying to age it but that didn’t really work out due to some type of coating on the paper. After using tea and coffee, the only thing that did work was rubbing it with a little stain. This helped to tone down the brightness a little.

Using a piece of 1/4 plywood, Hunter cut it to fit leaving a 2 inch space on the outer edges for the frame.

I used a yardstick to draw straight lines to make sure I had it center and used spray adhesive to secure it to the board.

Instead of choosing a fancy piece for molding for the frame, I went with a plain 1X2 pine. I was just going to square it off since I didn’t trust myself to cut the angles right but my husband come walking though and told me, “You can’t do that!" So he took it and cut it for me! I have to admit sometimes I act a little lost on purpose because I know he’ll grab it up and do it for me!

I stained it and was going to liquid nail it into place but once again my husband came though the kitchen and got the brad nailer and fixed it for me!