Hello everyone and happy Sunday!

Today I am here with a fun and simple craft I made yesterday. I subscribe to a YouTube Channel called The Sorry Girls and in a recent video, one of the women on the channel made a very cool wall tapestry featuring a map of the United States and Canada. Here is a link to the video so that you can see her project:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=omZdgDXREKA

The map template that she used was a simplified map of the 2 countries that focused on the different bioregions as opposed to being divided by states or provinces. As I mentioned, the map is very simplified so it does not include Hawaii or the many islands of Canada. I think those would have just been too small and intricate to include in the pattern! The pattern used by the channel is available for purchase and download on their blog for only one dollar so I purchased it and decided to try my own take. If you're interested in the template yourself, you should be able to find it via the YouTube video link I shared above.

I decided that I wanted to make my version out of paper rather than fabric and wanted it to fit inside a 12 by 12 frame. I originally printed out the template on a normal sheet of printer paper but felt it was too small so then printed it out across 2 pieces of paper which worked out much better.

I then cut out all of the different sections of the template. The ones you see that are marked as 1 and 2 were just a reminder to myself that although these pieces did not connect, they would need to be the same color.

I then pulled out my colored cardstock and started deciding what color I wanted all the pieces to be. I went for a sandy tan color as the background and initially thought I would use just blues and greens for the different sections of the map, but pivoted and added some brighter colors in as well. I started out by just trying to hold the white paper template pieces against the cardstock as I cut around them but that was way more complicated than it needed to be. I realized about halfway through that it made much more sense to tape the white piece to the cardstock so it was firmly in place, cut it out and then gently remove the tape. 

Once I got all the pieces cut out it was time to glue them down to the tan base. I used a liquid glue that is nice and strong but allowed me a few seconds of wiggle room if I needed to reposition anything. I did fairly well lining everything up until the last piece which ended up having a sizable gap that should not have been there. I started by just coloring in the gap with a matching marker color but the difference in texture and sheen was really bothering me.

I finally decided it would just be better to cut out a tiny sliver of the appropriate paper color and glue it down into the gap. It's not perfect, but I do think it ended up looking better than the marker did!

I also tried my best to line everything up so the map would be centered on the tan paper, but once that first piece is stuck down there's really no going back. The finished piece was not as centered as I would have liked so I actually ended up cutting down the sides of the tan paper. I cut varying lengths off of each side to get the map more centered but made sure that the amount I cut off the top and bottom combined and the two sides combined both equaled 1.5 inches so there would be a nice border all the way around. The backing board of the frame was black, so this actually worked out well to look like a picture mat.

I then felt like it needed some additional detail. The original craft done by The Sorry Girls was a sewn tapestry as I mentioned so I thought it would add some interest to draw on some stitch lines on each piece of the map. I used black on all of the lighter colored pieces and a white gel pen on the black and navy-blue pieces.

I then popped the piece into a frame and it was good to go! It now lives as part of a gallery wall I have behind me when I'm sitting at my work desk. 

I was feeling like doing something crafty but also low stakes and this was a great way to spend an evening! I got everything done in a few hours and felt like it satiated my desire to make something. Let me know what you all think in the comments below!

 - Rebecca 

P.S. Today's photo on the homepage is from Pexels user Andrew Neel:
www.pexels.com/photo/assorted-map-pieces-2859169/

Hello everyone and happy Sunday!

Today I wanted to take some time and shout out some small businesses/Etsy shops I have purchased things from recently. We live in a world where its virtually impossible to buy "small" for every purchase we make, but I love to try to when I can. Be sure to give some of these artists a look if you are interested!

First off I wanted to shout out somebody who I have shouted out before, September Sun Studio. Cara is a lovely artist and created my paintbrush logo that you see on the blog homepage and my socials. I have bought stickers and pet portraits from her and they never disappoint! She also donates some proceeds from her sales to various causes that are meaningful to her.

You can find her Etsy shop here:
www.etsy.com/shop/SeptemberSunStudio

Next I wanted to shout out an Etsy shop I recently bought something from, JandT3DCreations. This one was a little out of left field for me and not a shop I might normally go searching for as they do a variety of 3D printed things. However, I recently was looking for something kind of niche, a small plastic trashcan or dumpster. My husband uses contacts and I wanted a silly little thing that could sit on his bedside table for him to dispose of his contacts in and stumbled upon this shop. I ended up purchasing a little green dumpster and its adorable!

Here is their link:
www.etsy.com/shop/JandT3DCreations

As you all know, I have been really into crocheting lately and have purchased crochet patterns from many shops. Here are some links to shops whose patterns I have purchased:
www.etsy.com/shop/SmallBeanCraftStudio
www.etsy.com/shop/KristinaaCreates
www.etsy.com/shop/StitchenGiggles
www.etsy.com/shop/WildSunflowerCreate

As I have talked about on the blog before, I go through phases with my nails. Sometimes I want to paint them myself, sometimes I want to make my own press on nails and sometimes I just want to buy press on nails created by someone else. Here is the shop I frequent most often when I'm looking to purchase handmade press on nails. I have found their nails to be high quality, but also not as expensive as others I've seen on Etsy.
www.etsy.com/shop/2SisterNails

I also wanted to share a few people who were not on Etsy and I actually found on Instagram. I always like finding fun art prints for my office/craftroom gallery wall and have purchased art from both of these artists.

One goes by @evergreenqveen on Instagram and the 3 prints I bought from them were about Animal Crossing, Stardew Valley and then just a cute little witchy kitchen scene. Here is their link to buy art prints:
www.inprnt.com/gallery/evergreenqveen/

I also just bought some prints from @amina.illustration on Instagram. I bought 2 of their overgrown planty art pieces and I really love them. Here is the link to their shop:
aminaillustration.com/shop

That is not an extensive list of people I have purchased from recently, but they are some of my favorites for sure. If you are looking for something unique for yourself or someone else, don't forget to try checking out a small business. I know it's not always as accessible or affordable as buying something from a department store or large retailer and often people will try to make others feel bad if they are unable to support a smaller business. I don't want to make anyone feel that way! I just thought this would be a fun reminder and shout-out to some cool creators that I have seen recently who I think are worth a look. 

Have a great weekend everyone, talk to you all soon!

 - Rebecca 

P.S. Today's photo on the homepage is from Pexels user Eva Bronzini:
www.pexels.com/photo/support-small-business-text-on-a-white-surface-7661138/​