Display Photos On Your Scratch Map – Pins and String
Add another layer of personalization to your Scratch Map.
In this project, I’m going to show you how to add photos to the frame of a how-to project that you can see here.
This map has been done with city skylines, any theme that is close to your heart will work.
Picture Theme Suggestions
- Selfies
- Landmarks
- Skylines
- Food or Culture
- Street Signs
- Airports
The best camera is the one you have on you.
For the shutterbug traveler, displaying photos along with a Scratch Map makes perfect sense.
Sometimes you have seen the most moving things when you travel. Larger than life landscapes, local animals or moments that catch the culture it’s the truest form. The display technique that we are using in this project can host a lot of pictures, so keep snapping those shots.
Of course, we take the pictures for ourselves but it is so enjoyable to share with others what you have seen when you were traveling. Whether you are a good photographer or a modest one, the pictures are yours and tell your story.
I’m going to use the wood frame of the picture as a pinboard. If this is not possible for you, you could pin directly into the wall or use a corkboard.
A picture is worth a thousand words and nothing can explain a moment in time better than a picture.
Print off pictures from the places you have traveled. You can place these visual memories around the frame and physically attach them to the place on the map where it was taken using a string.
Suggested Materials
- Decorative Pushpins
- Nylon String
Step-by-step:
1. Burn one end of the string to keep it from fraying. Use a nylon base string, this will melt at a low heat and when it cools, the end of the string is perfect for our use.
Tip: Buy nylon string, it needs very little heat to melt.
Tip: The heat will fuse the string so the pin will not pull through. This is a much clearer look than tying a knot.
Tip: Fire is dangerous, use caution when using an open flame. Burning the string over a kitchen sink will provide you with a safe place to put the string down if it catches on fire.
2. Use this end and pin your picture onto the frame. Place your second pin into the map at the corresponding location.
With one end of the string pined into the frame hold the other end to the pin in the map and cut the property length off with a pair of scissors.
Now burn this end of the string. Take the pin out of the map and push it through the string returning it back to the map.
Tip: On my map, I was not considered about being super accurate with the location of the pin. I chose not to hide the names and landmark pictures as a priority.
3. It’s not necessary to have the string too tight. It seems to work best if the string is not stretched.
I also let some string hang slack. This was to avoid other pins on the map.
