Gifts for Guys: Framed Maps for Valentine’s Day (with mini-tutorial)

Need a quick idea for a gift this Valentine’s Day?  This one is sweet and romantic and quick to do–inexpensive supplies, images from the printer, and about 45 minutes of your time.  I think I spent less than $21 total for the whole thing.  Plus!  It’s a gift for him, but you’ll love hanging it in your house.  Score!

Now, this is obviously one of those ideas you find on Pinterest–I’m sure I’ve seen a dozen versions,  and have subconsciously channeled them into this project.  I worked out the details based on what I wanted the final version to look like, and what I thought my husband would tolerate–it’s one thing to make a cute project, it’s another to make something your husband will actually let you hang in the house.  I wanted this to be that, but it isn’t a complicated design by any means.  So I won’t break your eyeballs with a crazy, full-on tutorial or anything.  Let’s just do the highlights:

And there it is!  Our daughter wants me to hang up the Valentine quilt I had up last year, but since we found our foyer art in Mexico, there isn’t enough wall space for that.  I think I might be able to leave it hanging out here in the living room, where I’ll catch it as I pass through, or find a spot for it in the hallway, where we’ll see it and think about it as we go to and fro, living our lives.  The lives we share with one another.  Let’s hear it for love.