Tuesday, September 3, 2013

My Home's in Alabama

We recently had to buy a jigsaw for another project that we are working on (post to come).  This jigsaw has opened up so many possibilities for me - things that I have been wanting to make, but haven't had a chance.

Well, our sweet friends Matt and Kimberlee are moving to Canada next week.  I wanted to make them something for their new Canadian house that would remind them of home.  So this is what I made for them:


I used this website to print out the shape of the state.  The site lets you choose how big you want to print the state (it also has countries and world maps and stuff too - it is a great resource). http://www.yourchildlearns.com/megamaps.htm

I traced the shape of Alabama onto a thin piece of plywood from Home Depot, and then Jeff (and Taylor too, I think) cut out the state with the jigsaw.  I sanded the wood lightly, just to get a smooth finish.  I painted the whole thing white.  Then, I created a chevron stencil from some cardstock, by first measuring out some squares, and then drawing diagonal lines to make the zig-zag.  I then taped the chevron stripes that I wanted to remain white and painted over the whole thing with a "crimson" color that I attempted to mix.  To give it a little bit of a more rustic and muted look, I used a dry brush with just a tiny bit of white paint to make the subtle white brushstrokes.  I bought the heart shape from Hobby Lobby, painted it grey, and hot glued it to where Tuscaloosa is on the map.

Kimberlee says that she will hot glue some ribbon to the back and make a cute bow so that she can hang it on the wall.  She will be way better at making the bow/hanger than me anyway.  (You can check out her blog, awesome sewing skills, and Canadian adventures here: http://tobefranklin.blogspot.com/)

Have fun in Canada, Franklin's!  We will miss you!

If anyone is interested in purchasing a state door hanger, a country door hanger (perfect for international adoptions, missions, etc.), Christmas door hanger, or any other holidays - email me or let me know!  I will be glad to make one for you or for you to give as gifts!

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