Friday, January 4, 2013

Map, map, map!

Happy New Year, Folks!
I'll save the "new year, new me" post for another time ;)

For Christmas this year I had to get creative. Essentially working full time and being a full time grad student does not leave a lot of extra room for earning or having cash. So I handmade some gifts.

My dad likes maps. I think one of his goals is for his children to enjoy maps as much as he does.
So anyway, I saw this on Pinterest...
For a low, low price of $498 (plus $25 for shipping), it could be mine. Yeah right.
I also saw a woman who made one like it herself. I figured if she can do it, I can too. Well let me tell ya, this was an event. I think the correct phrase is "biting off more than you can chew."

I got a piece of wood I found under my parents' porch. With the help of my dad (sneaky, sneaky- he helped make his own present!), I cut it down to size. (I'm 23 years old and am still not allowed to use power tools, but I have no idea why. Surely it couldn't be the clumsiness and carelessness that seem to be traits I will never outgrow...) Then I painted it. I liked the distressed look so I only did one coat. After that I printed off a world map 9 separate pages to cover the board. Then came the loooooong process of tracing. Here's what it looked like...

 Let the tracing begin.
 So many tiny nooks and crannies. Goodness gracious.
 And this is the finished product traced.
 This girl helped paint some. Definitely appreciated the help!

 AND TA-DA!! THE FINISHED PRODUCT!!!
Look at that smile. Totally worth it :)
I now know why the original had the pricey number on it. Sheesh. But overall, I'm pleased with how it turned out. Lots of hard work. I think I actually like it better though. It is by no means perfect, but it's the thought that counts right? :) This was definitely not a quick process, but the next time I have hours and hours to spare, I would love to make another one!
 Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

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