Oh my god, a “new home map frame.”  Did I use enough words in that description?  Sorry, I didn’t know what else to call it!  My cousin recently bought her first house and seeing as I invited myself to stay there during my mini New Orleans vacation, I figured I owed her a cute housewarming gift.  Joey found this on Pinterest (that’s right ladies, my husband is fluent in Pinterest thanks to me) and I was instantly in love!

Don’t mind the blur, I just figured Emily probably didn’t want me to broadcast her address to the public 🙂

And I also figured I could just bypass Etsy and do it myself.  Don’t worry, this is not about to turn into a “craft blog.”  I am so not crafty.  Hannah is crafty.  She can “throw together” cute wreaths and repurpose bridal shower flowers to make some perfect centerpiece and I am like “What!  How!” But I figured if even I can pull off this craft, then I might as well share because that means anyone can do it.

What You’ll Need:

• a sturdy piece of colored paper (or 5 pieces because you’re scared you’re gonna mess up 4 times)
• a heart shaped stencil or traceable item (I bought a heart-shaped piece of wood at Michael’s for 99 cents)
• an x-acto knife (also purchased at Michael’s)
• some kind of frame (as long as it’s proportional to your paper & map, you can really choose any size)
• Optional: mat board (to make it even fancier)

How To Actually Make The Dang Thing:

1. Head to Google Maps, plug in the address of the new home, use the print preview to find a map view you’re happy with, then print.  Make sure any points of interest you want to include will fit within your stencil.
2. Print 5 more copies of the map because you’re still scared you’re gonna mess up 4 times.
3. Open up a Word document and type “Something About Being a Homeowner.”  Okay, don’t put that but put something like “Home is Where the Heart is” or “My First Home” or any old thing you’d like in the bottom half of the page.  Print on your colored paper.
4. Trace your stencil on the top half of the page then use your nifty cutting tool to cut it out.
5. Position your map behind the colored paper.
6. Frame it all up and ta-da!

Cute as a button.