Invite your kids to make their own reusable DIY adventure maps and homemade treasure maps from scrap fabric – a classic art and play activity that encourages creative storytelling, spatial thinking, and visual literacy.
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July was always a month to look forward to when I was a kid because it was filled with travel, excitement, and exploration. The month would start with a trip to see my family in Cleveland, which usually meant at least two or three entire days of playtime with my cousins.
We’d run around the backyard, start water fights, and dance in the living room, but what I remember most were our “missions”.
“Team, we’ve got a TOP SECRET mission…!” my cousin would announce, and we’d drop to the floor and head for a quiet room where we could map out a strategy. We’d carefully draw out a plan on a very official paper and clipboard, roll up our map, then crab-crawl to our assigned positions around the house.
A week or two post-cousin-visiting, we’d pack up for the beach and head to Cape Hatteras, where a coast full of new imaginative adventures awaited us. I was captivated by the tales of lost treasure (could it be true??) and Blackbeard’s ghost – just like The Goonies or Indiana Jones come to life! Who needs the Bermuda Triangle when you’ve got “The Graveyard of the Atlantic” at your doorstep?
Influenced by classic treasure map illustrations and inspired by my own childhood Robinson Crusoe meets Peter Pan fantasies, handmade adventure maps, and DIY treasure maps are on the creative art-making menu this week.
The maps you see here are examples I made for demonstration purposes, but it’s a process your young adventurers can easily follow from start to finish – on their own or with a bit of help. And kid-made maps are always filled with SUCH character; they’ll be frameable keepsakes long after adventure play has ended.
As always, I’ve included a couple of variations on the map-making process so kids of any age can enjoy making their own fantasy maps or DIY treasure maps. Whether you’re creating them with your little ones, or making them yourself to gift for a young explorer, you’re guaranteed rip-roaring results.
From buried treasure on exotic islands, enchanted elven forest escapades, or tracking a Yeti through the Serengeti (anything is possible…!) – grab some fabrics, choose your own adventure, and we’re off!
For a paper variation on these maps, visit our memory maps project. Or add some fun adventure play props with a painted seashell necklace, air-dry clay DIY pirate treasure, or secret message cardboard sailboats.
To make your own scrap fabric DIY treasure map you’ll need:
Note: We prefer to shop locally or use what we have at home, but this list contains Woodpeckers Crafts, Etsy, Blick Art Materials, Bookshop.org and/or Amazon affiliate links for reference. As affiliates (and Amazon Associates), we make a small commission on qualifying purchases.*
BASIC SUPPLIES:
- Muslin, canvas, scrap fabric (I get remnants on Etsy), or felt in a variety of colors (this eco-friendly 40-color felt pack has the perfect variety)
- Scissors
- Acrylic or fabric paint and a foam brush
- Craft or fabric glue
OPTIONAL SUPPLIES:
- A leather cord, ribbon, or piece of twine
- Felt
- Velcro (I prefer this snag-free kind for long-term use)
- A small bag for storing play map pieces
- Paint pens
How to Make a Treasure Hunt Map – DIY Instructions
Want to teach yer little buccaneers the value of a good treasure hunt? Grab some scrap fabric and chart an artful course with our step-by-step DIY treasure map! With a bit of imagination and a few swatches of cloth, you can create a map that will have young adventurers searching high and low. Hoist the sails and set a course for fun!
Cut a basic map shape from heavy muslin, canvas, or fabric.
Cut a basic square or rectangle map shape out of thick fabric.
We traced a cookie sheet onto heavy muslin fabric and cut out the rectangle with scissors to get the size and shape we wanted for our maps.
Tip: Don’t have a large piece of scrap fabric? Use kraft paper or a brown paper grocery bag instead!
Cut small triangles from the border to create an aged look.
We made the edges of our muslin look like worn paper by randomly cutting small triangles out of our rectangle.
This is a detail that isn’t necessary but is really even simpler than it looks and instantly gives a map that fantasy-like feel.
Paint a simple background.
Use acrylic paint and a foam brush to paint a background color onto your adventure map. We used blue for our pirate treasure map, and green for our enchanted forest map, but keep in mind, these are pure fantasy, so you can use wild and imaginative colors or patterns!
Let dry thoroughly (which only took about 15 minutes with the muslin we used).
Gather scrap fabric for your map elements.
Gather a colorful assortment of scrap fabrics to create the pieces of your map – anything you have will work!
Cut out shapes and begin building your basic fantasy or treasure map.
For this step, take a look at some actual maps for reference. What kinds of land formations or locations are you trying to recreate? How do real map-makers illustrate specific elements or places?
Begin cutting out your fabric shapes and arranging them on your map to create your adventure locales (and very artfully cool compositions!).
Add fantasy map details.
Part of the fun in this map-making process is the invitation to let little minis run absolutely wild. Add a pirate’s cove, hidden rock caves, great volcanos, a surprise rainforest, and fairy streams…let the fantasy dictate the direction!
Note: As a more uncomplicated open-ended play activity, you can skip the next gluing step and let your kiddo enjoy the map-making process and moving shapes around!
Glue down all of your map shapes.
You can use any type of craft glue you have for this, but I used fabric glue for longevity. I like to pour a few tablespoons of fabric glue on a plastic lid, dilute it a bit with a few drops of water, mix it together, then use a foam brush to brush the backs with the fabric glue. For kids, this typically makes the thick glue easier to work with.
Rather than trying to cut small details out of fabric, some kids may prefer to use paint pens to add the details. Draw onto fabric pieces then cut out, or paint right on the map!
Add a set of felt moveable map pieces (optional).
I added a set of very basic cutout felt dashes and an “X” to our map to use as moveable, rearrangeable play pieces. Need your pieces to stay put? Add velcro to special spots on your map and the backs of your moveable pieces.
Although you can cut your moveable map pieces out of the same fabrics you used on the map, felt is nice because it can be moved around and repeatedly used without fraying. It also has a nice thickness, which helps to make the all-important “scout route” and “X” that marks the spot jump right off the map! As all adventurers know, a clearly planned path is a true necessity.
I have a small muslin bag to put the map pieces in, so when adventure time has ended for the day, all the pieces can be put in the bag, the map rolled up, and everything tied together with a bit of leather cording.
Elements You Can Add to Your Fantasy or Treasure Maps:
Take some time to discuss the topographical elements and wayfinding symbols that could go on your kids’ maps – here are a few ideas to get you started…
- Islands
- Mountains
- Lakes
- Trees
- Streams
- A campfire
- Rocks
- Flags
- A house or castle
- A lighthouse
- Ships
- A compass rose
- A legend
- Booby traps
- A volcano
- Mud or tar pits
- A waterfall
- Beaches
- Caves
- Forests
- Bridges
Six Ways to Use Your DIY Treasure Maps and Homemade Fantasy Maps for Learning and Play
These reusable, kid-made play maps have so much fun play potential – here are just a handful of ideas to help you and your kids put your maps to creative use…
1. Use your fantasy maps for storytelling.
Using these adventure maps with play props or story stones for imaginative story-telling and world-building is one of my very favorite ideas for use.
2. Name and describe your treasure map locations.
In addition to being a fun exercise in imagination, this is wonderful linguistics practice and an opportunity to work on some fabulous adjectives. “What words would you use to describe this island? What is it named and why? What is the scenery on this island like? Does anyone (or anything) live here? What can you find on this island? What secrets is it hiding?”
3. Bring your treasure maps to life.
If step one is map-making, and step two is storytelling, then step three is using your maps for some exciting dramatic play! Bring your map to life by designating real-life backyard or neighborhood locations that correspond to features on your map. Build a life-sized cardboard box pirate lair, recreate the elements of a mermaid lagoon, or turn your backyard landscape into an enchanted forest.
4. Use your fantasy maps to explore map-reading skills.
Using your fabric treasure map for some real-life play? You can practice spatial thinking, reasoning, and navigation skills while you play! Grab a compass (there are actually phone apps for this too) and use cardinal directional cues (North, South, East, and West) to map a route around the yard (“take ten steps North, then turn to the West…”).
For bonus points, use the black felt dashes to roughly recreate the directions in 2-D on your adventure map. You can also practice identifying the symbols on a map or reading a legend.
5. Use your DIY treasure maps as backdrops for small-world play.
Switch up the play function by grabbing a set of peg dolls, lego people, play dinosaurs, or your kids’ favorite toys and using your maps as 2-D small worlds.
6. Turn your map into an interactive reading challenge.
Cover a bulletin board or large piece of cardboard with a map of imagined islands depicting different genres of literature. Invite kids to make their own small paper boat, and then map their reading route with yarn throughout the week/month/year as they venture from island to island, working their way through the reading challenge.
Fantasy Map-Making Inspiration for Kids
- Find fun fantasy map illustrations.
- Artists and designers like Arlin Ortiz (Any Which Way series) or the imaginative maps of Studio MUTI are two of my favorite contemporary fantasy map cartographers.
- As a bit of an adventure map aficionado myself, I’ve adored pouring over the details of books like Archipelago: An Atlas of Imagined Islands by Huw Lewis-Jones and Maps of the Disney Parks by Kevin Neary, Sunan Neary, and Vanessa Hunt. Both feature incredible fantasy maps and showcase the unique styles that artists and illustrators bring to their maps.
- Artist Pauline Baynes illustrated the imagined maps for C.S. Lewis’ Narnia and was famously the only artist approved by J.R.R. Tolkien to illustrate his books.
- Make a map of your favorite movie location. Not sure where to start? Draw inspiration from your fave flick! Artist Andrew DeGraff created a series of maps inspired by his favorite movies – check out his incredible plottings of Jurassic Park, Star Wars, The Princess Bride, and more. Or be inspired by the role map-making played in Production Designer Hannah Beachler’s awe-inspiring conception of Wakanda.
- Use games to inspire fantasy map drawings. Games like Fortnite, Minecraft, and Animal Crossing encourage excellent fantasy world-building. And board games like Catan and Karuba or classics like Monopoly, Life, and Candyland help us navigate fantasy worlds. Grab a game and observe the details that help you navigate or encourage you to explore further.
- Grab an atlas for adventure map design reference. Actual printed maps are one of my favorite design resources! The icons and symbols, the way that distances are represented, the use of different zones, etc. provide so many ideas that can be applied to kids’ own maps (even imaginary ones!).
- Play with a fantasy map maker. Try building a fantasyland with a few clicks for a different kind of map-making. There are quite a few free fantasy map generator collections with options for endless online map-making fun.
- Celebrate the sounds of adventure! When other sources of inspiration aren’t doing it for me, I can typically find the creative answer I’m looking for in music. Wild tales are brought to life through an exciting score, memories can be triggered by an enchanting melody, and ideas put into motion as an instrumental theme crescendos. Our b&b goes on adventure Spotify playlist was carefully curated to stoke the adventurous imaginations of your little ones (and with lots of my OWN favorites, it will take you back to adventures of your own childhood too…!). Play it while you make your own DIY treasure maps for the ultimate fantasy crafting soundtrack.
- Find maps in picture books. When I was young, I could spend hours looking at the map of The Hundred Acre Wood or The Lands Beyond from The Phantom Tollbooth. Picture books and YA favorites are great places to find a fantasy map drawing. The Brooklyn Public Library has created a delightful list of kids’ books that include illustrated maps, and here are a few recent map-focused picture book favorites of my own…
- The Once Upon a Time Map Book by B.G. Hennessy
- Everything and Everywhere by Marc Martin
- My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett
- My Map Book by Sara Fanelli
For more adventurous fantasy play, from the tabletop to the backyard, visit the tutorials of our recycled cardboard castle building blocks, DIY gnome homes, and woodland peg doll fairies. Or take off on an adventure with our DIY backyard safari and outdoor explorer’s nature kit from a shoebox.
*A note about affiliate links: We strive to use simple, earth-friendly supplies that can be purchased locally whenever we can, but sometimes we find the best universally available options, a rare eco-friendly find, or a niche product only available on Blick Art Materials, Amazon, Etsy, or Woodpeckers Crafts. When included in our supply list, these products are affiliate links, and if you click through to make a purchase we receive a small commission that helps us re-order these supplies!
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I love seeing all the ways people make these ideas their own! If you're sharing the results of one of our projects, mention or tag me with @barleyandbirch, or share it in the comments of one of our Pinterest project pins.
This is such a creative and unique idea! I love the use of fabric to create an adventure map, it’s both visually appealing and interactive for children. It would make a great addition to any playroom or classroom.