I just finished a long awaited, highly anticipated project! Surprisingly, it didn’t take as long as I anticipated, about 6 hours total. I saw a project like this a long time ago and have wanted to create my own version and add flare to the basic idea ever since. It’s not like I have much more room in my house for artwork, but I’ll find something or someone to give it to.

What you’ll need: A cutout of a state of your choice, a board or wood the size that will frame the map cutout, power tools if you need to cut wood, nails, a hammer, string, painters tape (blue tape), music, and maybe a beer.

Onto the process… 1. Gather a board or wood of any kind. I used plywood which I painted, sanded, distressed, painted and sanded some more. 2. Cut out the map and figure out where you want it placed on your board. When you have found the most perfect spot, blue tape the back and stick on the map! 3. Hammer Time! Get your nails, and start hammering them around the entire edge of the map. (I aged my nails (made them rust), as I didn’t like the galvanized, shiny, silver look). They turned out so perfect. All you need to do to make a metal look worn and old is soak it in white vinegar for a day or two. I had mine in there for about three days, just to ensure a lot of rust would accrue. 4. After the edge is completely nailed, pull up the map from the wood. Admire your job so far, but only briefly as there’s more to do! Now, nail a heart in the middle any size or place you want. You can use a cutout of a heart and nail it around that instead of what I did and eyeball it…it would have been a lot easier with a cutout! 5. Finally, take your string and tie a knot off at the end of one of the nails. Starting looping the string from the outside nails to the inside heart. Now, have fun looping around each and every nail! I’ll leave you for about an hour or so… 6. When you’ve finished your very last nail (hooray!!) tie off the end, cut off the extra string et voila! You have finished; you deserve a high-five and that beer I discussed earlier. Congrats!

Happy Friday! Have a lovely weekend!

Cheers! -L