Grandparents' Day 2012

Don't worry Grandparents' Day is not until September 9th, but I thought I would post this now to give you lots of time to get your ideas together. I decided that I might as well tackle this gift as I was working on Mother's Day & Father's Day gifts for my parents & then send them all out in one big box. One big box filled with lots of pictures of Granddaughter #1 will hopefully help me gloss over the fact that it will probably be September before I get to the Post Office to mail out the box.

Large frame from Ikea...I picked a cheap generic frame as my Mom is mid decision on paint colors for her house &  I wanted to wait to buy a nicer frame until the painting is done.

ALWAYS a sentimental "cheesy" caption from me!

This project isn't anything too difficult, but I do have a few tips & suggestions when it comes to the map.
There are loads of places to print maps from home, but I wanted mine printed on glossy cardstock, so I headed to Staples. I borrowed an Atlas they had for sale & went to work making it just right. Once I found the right cross section of the U.S. map (it certainly helps that the route we normally take is nearly a straight line compared to the other routes) I enlarged it to legal size (8.5" x 14"). I also played with the functions that adjust the color & cooled down the browns, yellows & greens to a nice cool "beachy" pallet. After I enlarged it I cut it down to just the cross section I needed & then copied it to the glossy cardstock (if the place you go doesn't carry glossy cardstock in legal size, they should carry it in ledger size (11" x 17"), so make sure to ask.
As for the stitching I took a needle just larger than the red cord I used and punched each hole along the route. Where the road is straighter the holes are farther apart, but the holes need to be much closer together to follow the curvier spots. A back stitch is perfect for this project! Sublime Stitching has a great series on basic stitches and here is the link to their How-To on back stitching. Rather than have a knot on the back I just taped the end of the cord down to the back of the map.

I hope you loved this idea and I would love to see what my idea inspires you to create!