World Map Mothers Day Present

So for Mothers Day I decided I wanted to make my mom a world map that she can put on her wall. She loves maps and globes and traveling. Wanderlust; it runs in the family.

So I decided her map has to have the following:

• The entire world. All seven continents, four oceans (although recent studies claim five, I will stick to four.) and everything in-between. 
• An inspirational quote or two (She's a sucker for that kind of thing. Sorry mom.)
• Pins to mark both the places she has been and the places she wishes to go. (Well, that is what I wanted to do but didn't add that part.)
• And lastly, something to write where she has been and where she would like to visit. 

So first off I needed a map. I wanted to print it off so I can work with it the way I want. Plus, if I mess up or change my mind how I want to do this I don't waste any money buying a map. So I searched and searched the internet (mostly Pinterest, since it's my go to for everything). This is the most accurate to what I've envisioned. BONUS - It has the templates ready for download. 

Now of course I will be doing mine differently. Using PicMonkey photo editor, I made an "inspirational traveling quotes" picture along with a "Where I'm going" and "Where I've been"

Next I printed the pages and arranged them how I would be putting them together. 

Then I taped the back of the pieces together so it wouldn't show in the front.

I know the quality of pictures is mediocre but my camera is dead and my phone is all I have charged (for once!).

After this I put in a white frame and began to outline and color every. single. country. Well, most of them. Some were too small.

*FuN fAcT* There are 196 countries. Although the US doesn't consider Taiwan a country, it is run as it's own independent country.

I was never able to get a picture of it finished. My camera AND phone was dead. Go figure. It did turn out pretty cool, though. There were a few little mistakes, but I thought it gave it character and showed just how much effort I put into this. I outlined, colored and labeled just about every country in this world. It was time consuming for sure but well worth it. Next I will be making one for me.

This would be a great project for many ages. Not only does it make a colorful map, drawing it out makes it a little easier to remember where different countries are located. There were places I never knew existed or thought was located somewhere else. It was a really fun experience to figure out where everything was. Then again, I love maps, traveling, the world... See? Runs in the family.