Thursday, September 6, 2012

.diy: the map love frame.

About a month ago I finally finished a personal diy project that I've been working on for some time now. It was actually a gift for some very wonderful friends of ours and I'm so pleased with how it turned out.

Since we travelled to see them get married in England [yes, mr. james + mrs. fiona] , we struggled with the whole 'gift' option. The good ol' question, 'What do you get them?'
You can't pack up a giant present abroad, and we knew right off the bat that giving money wasn't an option [too impersonal for how close we are with this couple]. We also knew that we wanted it to be something thoughtful and hopefully very meaningful to them. Something, so that every time they look at it, they are reminded of their special day.
So after throwing around a couple ideas, we decided to run with an adaptation from this original idea.  What do you think?
While, we spent the extra $ to get a custom frame and mat made for this gift, you can certainly diy this yourself [for cheap!] with these simple steps:
one] Just grab an old frame lying around.
two] Measure 3 holes and cut out the background mat from thick card-stock of your choice [you could really have some fun with matting options here!]. I went with squares, but you could do ovals, hearts, or even just use a pre-cut mat that comes with the frame. Easy! 
three] Print off some favorite map pictures or just tear from a atlas. Position your printed or cutout map picture over where you want it to show (for example the town or city) using your background matting cutout as a template. I choose to show the entire country [Australia + England + Canada] but you could also just show the town/city with a close up of roads or streets.
four] Grab some colored embroidery thread and a big needle and poke holes in a heart shape over the town that you met, married, and live on your printed map pictures. Then thread your heart, being careful not to pull to hard which might tear the paper. Tape down the ends of the thread on the backside of the map picture once you are finished.
five] Now position your finished embroidered map picture into the matting and tape down the picture onto the back. I choose to go with we met in the first square, then we married in the middle square, and finished with we live.
six] Choose a stamp color and small alphabet stamps in the font of your choice. Measure a straight line with a pencil [go light so its easy to erase and doesn't leave a mark] as a guide to stamp down your wording. Again I went with 'we met', 'we married', and 'we live' but you could choose whatever you'd like.
*Another idea would be to add the couples name or last name to the top of the map too.
seven] Put the finished picture and mat into the frame, seal it all up and viola! Cute and memorable picture for your home. 
And I am happy to say that it is now in their possession and I think that they really liked it.
xo

15 comments:

  1. awesome job erinn -- totally the perfect gift!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Andrea.

      Working on my crafternoon invite ;)

      xoe

      Delete
  2. Super cute. I've seen a few variations but I love the details on the maps on this one.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I really tried to make it unique after pinterest is filled with variations of them. Never-the-less I liked how it turned out :)
      xoe

      Delete
  3. WOW, I'd love to get this as a gift. Lucky people! I hope the appreciated the thought you put into it.

    -Jackie

    ReplyDelete
  4. Gorgeous Erinn :)

    I love the unique twist you put on this. Way better than the original in my opinion.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Fran. I tried to put my own twist on it and think it turned out kinda cool looking. I think they liked it too.
      xoe

      Delete
  5. Dianne (Queen)September 09, 2012

    This is a unique idea!! Coming from the "Queen of Crafts" that is a compliment!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am honored! The crafting queen likes it! This is certainly a huge compliment!!!
      xoe

      Delete
  6. Thanks for linking back! Yours turned out great!
    minimoz

    ReplyDelete
  7. A debt of gratitude is in order for sharing the post.. folks are universes best individual in every existences of individual..they need or must succeed to manage needs of the crew. read more

    ReplyDelete
  8. The symbol that you play as has a pickaxe, which permits him to annihilate these squares, just as lay new ones. There are no limitations on where your symbol can move around in the Minecraft world, yet, squares, things and items are just permitted to be set at their overall spots on the game lattice.Minecraft Servers

    ReplyDelete
  9. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Any individual who has framed a house knows what I'm talking about.
    https://www.eaglenola.com/framing-service-faq

    ReplyDelete

i think comments are pretty awesome!