DIY Love Story Map - It's Simply Lindsay

08/31/15

One of my best friends just got engaged, so I was on the hunt for the perfect engagement present. Thinking back to my engagement party, I remember receiving really generous gifts – gift cards that allowed us to choose our items; Waterford crystal; champagne, wine, and beer glasses – so I figured my friend would be receiving many of these items anyway.

When I give gifts, I have to LOVE the items. Honestly, I rather give a gift at a later time than give a gift I’m not in love with. I checked out her Pinterest boards to see if there were any ideas on there and hit the jackpot! She had a tri-photo frame “Love Story Map” pinned from an Etsy shop that showcased three maps, each one with a heart around a location – one for the place the couple met, got engaged, and were married.

This seemed like an easy (somewhat) DIY project for me that would hopefully be a special present for my friend. I’m happy with how this DIY Love Story Map came out, and not that I don’t want to support lovely Etsy shop owners, but I was happy to have taken control of this simple endeavor myself.

DIY Love Story Map

You can create this Love Story Map for a variety of purposes – show your own love story to add a special touch to your home; as a present for a newly engaged or married friend; as a housewarming gift; or as an anniversary gift. All you need to know is the address of the locations you want to add to your love story map!

Supplies

Internet

Tri-photo frame

Photo printer (I use Walgreens.com)

Directions

Input the first address into Google maps. Zoom in the desired amount until the map looks how you’d like.

Take a print screen on your computer, open Paint, and press paste

Crop your image, copy, and paste into a new Paint document

Open Canva. Choose “use custom dimension” and type in the size of your photo (based on what picture frame you chose). I chose 5X7 from this frame.

Upload your photos to Canva. Drag and drop your photo into the blank template.

Now you can play around with filters, zooming, etc.

Then click “search” on the bar on the left, shapes, and search for heart (or whatever shape you want on your map)

Drag and drop the shape on your map image over the exact location.

Once you are happy with this, continue with the other images.

Click “download” on the top bar

Upload images to your preferred photo shop or print your own images.

Put in your frame and admire your work!

The love story map on Pinterest was $99 – I was really happy with how this project turned out; I saved money and it couldn’t have been simpler.

What do you think about this DIY Love Story Map? Would you make one for your home or for a present? What other special engagement or house warming presents do you have for me?

Hi, I'm Lindsay!

Writer. Mom. Wife. Teacher. I'm passionate about family, manners, and learning and fervently stand up for (and write about) what I believe in. I strive to make myself and the world around me better through blogging. Don't forget to never say no to tea, cookie dough, peonies, or kindness.