News of the Day

When I was a school kid, they made us draw maps.

Do they still do that?

We drew, freehand, the outlines of our island, our province, the country, the continent, the world. As our knowledge of geography expanded, we added in national borders, capitals, mountain ranges, lakes, and rivers. 

I loved to draw so I looked forward to geography lessons with some enthusiasm.  And because I drew those maps, I carry an ingrained understanding of my geographical place within the greater whole.  It was only as an adult that I came to understand how valuable that knowledge really is.

I still love maps and globes, both for the knowledge they impart and for their beauty.

Greece map 1869 from shop.uncovet.com

A few days ago, Rebecca from Chow and Chatter shared a link to 40 different creative world maps from Hongkiat.com on her Facebook page.  Some were quite beautiful, others thought provoking.  I enjoyed them all.

I buy old National Geographic magazines whenever I find them in thrift stores, just for the maps, and I pick up old globes too.  It's fun to make things out of them,

like these pendant lights I found at Inspired Whims,

or this gift wrap by Creative Homemaking with Constanca Cabral,

or these map coasters by Casa Sugar.

I'm fascinated by these white city map quilts by Haptic Labs.  

The one shown in the picture is a map of London.

They also make coloured baby quilts, including this one with a map of Chicago.

I'm also intrigued by the altered globes offered on the Imagine Nations website.  

I think I need to give this idea a try myself!

There's a whole world of inspiration out there!

Do you craft with maps or globes?

I'd love to hear about or see your projects.