.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