State of the Heart

Ok, so that blog post title is so punny it almost makes me want to vom, but because it's clever, I'm not.  I'm all... well, I'm kinda like this clip from Jurassic Park 1 at 0:52 seconds:



But besides that gratutious JP1 clip, there is an actual point to this post.  A little while ago, I happened to come across Atlases of the United States in the dollar spot at Target, not gonna lie, I bought like 4 of them-- totally to Jim's dismay.

After collecting lots of dust in the office, I decided that it was now or never to get my craft on with these things.  So I started simple.  I have seen this done many different ways, but here's the inspiration.  Of course I don't have access to such sophisticated editing software and printing equipment, so I busted out those atlas maps and here's what I managed to come up with:

What you'll need:
1. A map- I have an antique map waiting to be used for the perfect project, I'm not sure if this is it, but the nicer the map, obviously the nicer the project will turn out.
2. Needle and thread and a pencil.
3. A frame.

Here's how to do it:

First, take your pencil and draw a heart on the opposite side of the paper on where you want the heart to appear, I didn't do it this way the first time and you can still see the pencil guidelines.  Then start sewing away, using your guidelines on the back.  Please keep in mind that paper is incredibly unforgiving and cheap paper even more so.  Therefore, use your guideline meticulously or you'll end up ripping the paper and the project will be a bust.

After you've got the first few stitches in, you're pretty much home free.  Once you've got your heart complete, then you can secure it in the back, I did this by threading my string through the knot at the end of the thread.  Next, you should frame it and then either display on a table, or hang.

Wha-lah, here's my handmade heart map- please note that I don't live in Washington, nor have I ever been, I chose a random state and a random city.  So, if your're from Clarkston, Washington and would like a heart-map of your city, let me know; I'll mail it to you.

Also, and I think I've said this before, but I'm always so torn as to whether or not I actually want "home-made" projects to look that way or not.  In this case I actually think it adds to the character- like I said that quality of the map leaves a little to be desired, but that can be remedied pretty easily.

I hope you make a hear-map of your own and that your friends and family enjoy seeing your handiwork.