Map Coasters

I have previously written about my love of maps and how Kyle and I plan on having maps in various forms about our house. Months ago I made this map of love (still trying to find the perfect place for in the new house), and I shared some other map ideas for the home. So I was pretty excited when I got these awesome North America map coasters for Christmas from my brother-in-law. They are from Jonathon Wayne Design, and they are very cool (and functional!).

From the desk of Mrs. M

DIY: Map of Love

Corny title, I know, but that's what I made this afternoon, finally, look! 

I got the idea from a Pinterest find, which took me to this website, lolly jane boutique. This is what they made:

Of course I had to put my own spin on it. Here's how I made mine:

1. I am a huge fan of using paint samples for just about anything. They are great because they are free, the perfect size for bookmarks that you can scribble notes on, and come in so many fun colors. I've made a couple projects with paint samples before (a mother's day gift many years ago, and a heart I have on my bookshelf), so it seemed to make sense to use them to form the background for this project as well! 

2. I started by cutting up the individual tiles of whatever samples I had left in my drawer. You could always use specific colors and shades if you wanted it to match with the rest of your decor or something. 

3. I then arranged and taped them on 5x7 pieces of paper (the frames I had were 5x7). Cut around the edges, repeat, and I had my two backgrounds. (I had this nice two-picture curved frame lying around with no pictures, so that inspired the project, really.)

4. I found outlines of Texas and PA online, resized a bit to fit, and printed them out. I also have a big stack of origami paper, excellent for projects as it has all colors and patterns, so I used that to cut out red hearts (I didn't have any red paint samples due to said earlier heart project). 

5. Cut out the states. This was probably the most challenging part because of all the little ins and outs, but it was pretty successful. 

6. I taped the hearts down at their respective locations. State College- where we met, Pittsburgh- where we fell in love (I guess?), Killeen- where we got married. I decided to do it a bit differently from the original project, because I liked the idea of marking special places for us rather than the places we were born (though I will probably do a project with that sometime too). 

 7. Place each on a background...

8. Glue

9. I don't know about you, but I always sign and date things I make or write. 

 10. And voila! The finished project. I quite love it. :D

- From the desk of Mrs. M

More Fun with Maps

Kyle and I decided a while ago that we want to have maps in our house, and not just in the drawer. They are pretty and can take on dual roles of being practical and artistic. I think they're fun to look at and really draw the attention. There are a lot of DIY projects you can make involving maps, from detailed accurate maps of specific cities to simple outlines of states and countries. It can be as simple as putting a map in a frame on the wall or taking some time to find ways to personalize it. They can hold a lot of meaning, reminding you of trips you've been on, trips you're planning, where you're from, where you met, where you got married, and so on. As you may recall I have this huge tapestry up on my wall. I got it from Urban Outfitters about a year ago, with plans of sticking in pins with labels of places we've been and want to go. I started to do so, but often times with things like this I like to save to do with Kyle. I think we will have a lot of ideas for projects to work on when he gets back! 

We plan on having lots of adventures. 

- From the desk of Mrs. Sarah McPherson