Call back the search parties! I’m here! Tentatively dipping my toes back into the big Blogging world, I’m bringing you a little felt version of the world…
You may remember my post from a while back on our wedding anniversary scrap book, Tree and I had decided not to buy each other gifts to celebrate our anniversary. We wanted to keep anniversaries simple and celebrate it’s meaning rather than pimp it up with shiny new things (thats what birthdays are for!). So we’ve stuck to the scrap book formula…until last year where I kind of cheated… I’m sure home made gifts don’t count, right? In fairness, what started out as a solo present idea ended up becoming a group project with us both adding something to the final product. It took so long to get the final bits done (*cough*Tree’s contribution*cough*) that the date of our anniversary came and went before it was complete. Once it was finished, we had no where to put it up so it ended up balancing on the floor looking forlorn. Thankfully it’s now found a place as part of our picture wall. 
We decided to create a map of our journeys together around the world. Only places we’ve visited together get pinned on the map. Initially we bought a poster off the internet to stick onto a cork noticeboard to poke pins into. Once we got it I decided it was pretty ugly and gave myself the jolly good idea of buying some felt and sewing my own version of a world map.
Sounded like a great idea, but have you ever tried to cut out a world map from felt?? All those nooks and crannies! All those islands! The world, it turns out, is a big place. As you can see, a few(!) islands didn’t make the cut (apologies if your country got left out…). After cutting the world out I took it to the trusty sewing machine and did a simple running stitch to attach it the backing fabric. This was then stapled around the noticeboard, like stretching canvas around a frame. Tree then cut some simple skirting bought from the local DIY shop to the size of the noticeboard and painted it green before PVA gluing the frame in place. 
I won’t lie, this was more fiddly than I expected- but even then, the actual cutting and sewing didn’t take that long. For a simple no-sew version, Paperchase are selling beautiful world maps in their paper section (I’ve only been able to find them instore). Try framing one of those (without the glass/plastic) with a sheet of cork underneath to make your own travel map. It’s a nice way to document your travels and also expand your geography knowledge (mine is shockingly poor). As you can see, we still have some time zones to visit so if you have any recommendations, do share!
love
little pomegranate