'Special place in my heart' Art - Anniversary gift

My amazing husband and I celebrated our anniversary recently and although we are not usually ones who shower each other with gifts (we are practical and tend to buy something we need), I decided this year I would make him something special.

I decided a while ago to create collage wall of photos and other things that are special to us in our master bedroom. So I knew since we were the only ones who were going to see it, I was going to make something symbolic for only us and I wouldn't have to explain what it meant.

I have been addicted to Pinterest for a while now and I pinned the hand made map art. For those of you who are on Pinterest, you have seen it and for those of you who are not on Pinterest...try it out! Well, this piece of art is sold online for 250 pounds without a frame. Seriously!?! I knew I could easily make if for $20.

Here is what I initially created...a frame with 9 special places in our hearts:
I purchased the frame at Ikea for $19 and a road atlas of the US, Canada and Mexico for $1 at our local thrift shop. I had another map in my car that we have not used since the invention of a GPS :) So I had plenty of maps to choose from.

I cut out a heart template (3inches wide by 2.5 inches high) with my Cricut and Sure Cuts Alot. I then used this template to determine how to position the map on the Cricut mat to cut the heart exactly where I wanted. For those of you who do not have a cutter (like me until recently), you can draw a basic heart and trace it so all the hearts are the same size.
I cut 9 different locations that were special to my husband and I (i.e. where we met, got married, had each of our kids, vacations, our homes etc.)
 After these were cut, I quickly ironed the hearts to make them lay perfectly flat.
I was going to attach the maps to a white background but I really liked how they looked on the blue scrapbook paper.
I secured the 9 evenly spaced map hearts with double sided tape onto the scrap book paper. I framed the piece and stood back. I loved it but knew something was not right. I realized that since we had kids there were so many more places that we have special memories of. So I started to add more hearts that apply to us as a family.  I decided I will add a new heart for ever vacation we take over the next years.

Our hearts grow with amazing memories for every vacation and so will our 'special place in my heart' art.

I will continue to add hearts around the mat like this:
 
My husband loved it and immediately knew what it meant when he saw the names on the maps. We had an amazing night talking about all of these places and had a great time explaining to the kids why each place is special to us.

I think this would make a great wedding, anniversary, or valentines day gift for anyone special in your life.

I hope you like it as much as we do.

Linking to some great parties including: Story of A2Z

Comments

  1. LOVE this idea!!! So cute and beautiful at the same time!

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  2. That really is a neat idea! I may have to pin it on pinterest! Lol

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  3. This is a beautiful idea. Thanks for sharing.
    Anne xx

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  4. This is great! I would love to make this for my guy; thanks for sharing. And, we have the same little statue (mommy, daddy, baby). So cute.

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  5. That is beautiful! So romantic and slightly practical too :) A pity we've only lived in two places but hey, I could add "favourite holiday destinations" right?

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  6. This is so beautiful. I may have to incorporate this.

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  7. now this is a GREAT idea and i already have the "heart" theme on the go in my home! i've officially stolen this idea...

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  8. That is so sweet and special! What a great idea.
    Great job!

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  9. This is absolutely fantastic! I am definitely going to have to make one of these. Just love it!

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  10. This is such a great idea, I might have to attempt to make something similar!

    I also recently posted for our anniversary, check out my post and link up:
    Wedding Link Up

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  11. You've been awarded...http://blog.bitsofeverything.com/2011/06/blog-award.html

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  12. That is the best anniversary gift I have seen to date!! Thank you so much for sharing!!! My hubby & I are about to have our 10 yr anniversary and I am going to have to keep this in mind.

    Also, thanks for linking up to Strictly Homemade Tuesday!!! Come on back next week!!

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  13. Love this! What a great gift. Thanks so much for linking up :)

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  14. Just wanted you to know I featured this over at Strictly Homeamde Tuesday. Love this idea!!

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  15. OOHHH I love this. The hearts for the art. I wanna make this for my hubby 15th anniversary. Thanks!!

    Would love if you would link up with us at Creative Creation Tuesday. We would love others to see your project too. Can be found here at Nothing But Country.

    Happy Creating! Thanks for sharing your great project.

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  16. Saw your project on the Thrifty Decor Chick linkup party. I've been admiring those map hearts on Pinterest as well and even included them in a post I did today about covering a tray with a map. You did a great job on your project!

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  17. what a wonderful idea! Our first anniversary is coming up in a month and this would be a great gift!

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  18. I've seen your inspiration on pinterest...great job! This one is definitely on my to-do list...

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  19. Hi, friend! I'm admiring all your creativity here. Can you please share them with us at the Creative Bloggers' Party & Hop. Hope to see you there at the party :)

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  20. Beautiful ideas! Thanks for sharing. You got a lovely space here...hope to see you on my blog:)

    ~Sanghamitra.

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  21. I love the specimen art projects, but this one adds a very personal touch. What a great idea!

    Cheers,
    Tracy Screaming Sardine

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  22. This is a great idea for an anniversary project! I also did a map themed project for my Pinterst challenge and made a map photo frame. Maps are so great for decorating!

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  23. Such a beautiful idea!! Thanks for sharing!

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  24. I love this idea! I made the original Pinterest one for my in-laws, parents and sister/brother in laws for Christmas. I think I will do this one for my husband for Valentine's day, even though we are like you, in that we don't usually do gifts for that day. :)

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  26. I love this idea and tried to copy it but it looked awful : ( In the end I cheated and bought one from Etsy... It's really lovely! So for all of those who are terrible at DIY check out this link :
    http://www.etsy.com/listing/119862275/custom-made-heart-artwork-framed?ref=shop_home_active

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  27. I made this as an anniversary present! It's such a great idea.

    http://craftingwithcourt.blogspot.com/

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  28. This is one of the sweetest gift I ever seen. Very great idea specially for those couples who travel a lot. That would be the reminder of a happy memories.

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  29. So I knew since we were the only ones who were going to see it, I was going to make something symbolic for only us and I wouldn't have to explain what it meant.
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  32. nice ideas and i like it
    Thanx for sharing

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  33. great ideal, i have made a custom bobbleheads for wife, she is very happy

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