Monday 19 November 2012

Map Quest

We have a bit of a map theme in our living room so of course I found loads of things that I wanted on Pintrest.


Source: etsy.com via Tanya on Pinterest
Source: designsponge.com via Tanya on Pinterest
 

As with any theme I try not to go over the top. I also like to keep my investment fairly low as I can be a little fickle and decide to change everything if  left alone too long on a Sunday afternoon (and because I can be a little cheap).

So I thought I would try this as a DIY project. And it was actually easier than I expected. The quality may not be the best, but from a distance it actually looks quite good.

If you want to give this a try this is what you need to do:

1. Find a  map of the area you want (I used google maps)
2. Create a digital copy of the image of the map (Ctrl + Print Screen for an online maps)
3. Paste the image in an editing program (I actually found Microsoft Word worked well)
4. Optional: adjust the image setting to enhance the lines for the roads
5. Flip the image so it is a reverse image.
6. Adjust the size and crop to the select the area you want.
7. Print the file on heavy weight paper (I used cardstock).
8. Using an x-acto knife, cut away all areas that are not roads.

9. Flip it over and frame.



It probably took me about 2 hours in total (truthfully more like 3 since I made a mistake and cut a few roads out on the first try). So it was fairly quick and easy to do. Though for more detailed cut-outs or more complicated areas the purchase price of inspiration maps seems quite good. And the quality is much better. However, for a quick weekend project I would suggesting giving this a try.

img.noborder { border: 0px;-moz-box-shadow: 0px 0px 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, .0); -webkit-box-shadow: 0px 0px 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, .0);box-shadow: 0px 0px 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, .0); border-radius: 0px 0px 0px 0px; background: none; }