"Home Is Where The Heart Is" Map Frame

***This is an exact repost from 11/27/11.  For some reason my "I *Heart* Maps" post was getting tons of spam comments.  I got tired of getting them, so I have deleted that post and reposted it here today.***

I noticed recently that I have pinned a lot of cool stuff to do with maps.  I knew I liked maps, but sheesh.  :)

Anyhoo, I have a friend who just went into escrow on a house.  It will be the very first home for her & her husband (and their cute little girl) and I had the perfect idea for a housewarming gift for them!  I had found this picture on Pinterest.

maryruffle.tumblr.com

I was going to include the original post it came from, unfortunately when I clicked on the link to that site, it says "not found".  So, here is my quick tutorial on how I did this cute project.

Supplies Needed:

*Map of the city/place of your choice

*Sewing needle

*Red embroidery thread (or color of your choice)

*Scissors/paper trimmer

*Piece of scrap paper (to make the heart template)

1)  I Googled a map of the city and saved it as a .jpg file.  

2)  Using my editing software, I typed the words "Home is where the...    ...is." directly on the map and considering the space where the heart would go.  (I decided to type the phrase on the map after I already did the project, so some these pictures don't show the phrase on it.)  

3)  Then, I printed it out on card stock (I used card stock since it's thick - this makes it easier to do the stitches).   

4)  I took a piece of felt (but a piece of scrap paper would work also) and cut out a heart in the size I wanted.  

5)  I used this as a template for stitching the heart around the city name.  I just held it in place and poked holes all the way around it (it didn't matter if the holes were not evenly spaced - I just eyeballed it).

6)  Using the red embroidery thread and a needle, I just back-stitched all the way around the heart.

7)  After I was done with the stitching, I trimmed the paper to the appropriate size and framed it.

I had debated on putting their family name on the matte, but decided against it.  I also thought about adding a few hooks to the bottom of the frame so they could use it as a keyholder as well, but the frame I picked wouldn't accommodate for that.  However, these are always options that you can do to it - it's a pretty versatile little project.  I hope they like it!

And linked up to Tater Tots & Jello Favorite Projects of 2011 link party.