DIY Sandpaper Globe

I have seen several tutorials that suggest gluing sand onto the land parts of a globe. These tutorials say that you will need multiple layers of sand. Now, for me, this is acceptable for use with island chains, but for continents, this can be quite messy. For my sandpaper globe, I will use Emery Cloth.


So for this, I need blue craft paint, tracing paper, pencil, emery cloths, scissors, wood glue, regular glue, and a some sand.

To start, I will use the tracing paper to trace the continents. After cutting each continent out, I will refit them on the globe, snipping areas that buckle. The next step is to paste this pattern to the back of the emery cloth and to cut the Emory cloth to the pattern. Once the continent is cut from the Emory paper, it needs to be fitted properly to the globe. Once it is fitted properly, it can be glued down.

Once the continents are glued down, use wood glue to put sand in for the islands. Paint the wood glue over the islands and sprinkle on sand. Allow the sand and wood glue to dry.

Next, use the blue craft glue to paint the water. Let the paint dry.

Once the water is painted, add a second layer of sand, touching up any areas that you may have painted blue. You can also add sand to the continents to make the texture more consistent over the parts.

Repeat the last three steps as necessary.

Optional: Use some tan or green craft paint to paint the landforms.