Quite awhile ago, I pinned this Tacoma pendant on Pinterest. The link went to the artist's Etsy shop and unfortunately, it was already sold. Of course I loved it and wanted to do one for myself.
I'm not sure how I arrived at a tutorial, but I found one on the Happy Hour Projects site. She was kind enough to include the link to the 25mm bezel set, which can be found on Amazon.com HERE, and which comes in 2 parts and looks like this:
The pendants are shipped from China, so they take a little longer than most Amazon packages to arrive. I only ordered two of them and I wish I got a few more as they are pretty inexpensive (about $3.60).
All I had left to do was find a suitable map to use, so I grabbed my old 2003 road atlas and went right to Washington State. Unfortunately, all the town names were really large. So I flipped over to British Columbia, but Vancouver Island/Victoria was also too big. Then I found the map I needed which fit perfectly! It has all my fave places: Mt. Rainier (a little cut off at the bottom), Tacoma, Seattle, Olympia, the Olympic Peninsula, Victoria and Vancouver.
I assembled mine a little differently than in the tutorial. I mod podged the map to the brass part then put the glass dome on top. The key is not to use a ton of glue or else it will show through the paper as a very dark splotch.
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Next, I turned to the map of Massachusetts and hoped that the next one I made could emcompass Buzzards Bay, Bourne and Sandwich, but the distance on the map was way too far, so I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet with the second bezel set. The possibilities are endless!
Wow! It came out fantastic, JoJo. I love that you can look at something and think, "I want to do that. I CAN do that!" So awesome. I just got flowers I ordered on Amazon from China two days ago. It had been so long, I had forgotten I ordered them back in March. haha
ReplyDeleteThank you! Hey I'm still waiting for my Nessie-shaped ladle that I ordered in January and which shipped two weeks ago. lol Someday!
DeleteThis is a pretty cool idea that could have applications beyond pendants that would use larger map fragments. I have such a great affinity for maps having done so much travel in my life. I wouldn't mind having full maps on my walls, but I'd have to get rid of some of the other stuff that is currently there.
ReplyDeleteThe pendants are very cool though. Great conversation starters.
Arlee Bird
A to Z Challenge Co-host
Wrote By Rote
Thank you! I love maps too....I always kept my road atlases on the table in the kitchen so that I could look at it while I ate breakfast.
DeleteThere's a whole world of possibilities. I like yours better than the one on Pinterest, JoJo.
ReplyDeleteFeel good.
Thanks Robyn! I'm going to get more of those bezels when I get a chance. Pretty papers would look nice too.
DeleteOH!! I need to make one of these. Yep. You are an inspiration for sure. Me too on liking yours better than the Pinterest one.
ReplyDeleteThanks Teresa! I hope you post a pic of the one you make as I'd love to see it!
DeleteOf course I love the map with Victoria and Vancouver and my part of the continent. Well done, JoJo. I also love maps of all kinds. When packing up recently we found a hand drawn map of the DEW line and it was fantastic. Hub's dad worked on it in the fifties. It was prepared for all those working on the project. (the Dew line was the early warning radar set up during the early part of the Cold War to protect Canada and the USA mostly).
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! I do want to do one of Cape Cod though...my hubby gets a little annoyed with my constant PNW chatter and art projects. He doesn't understand why I'm not quite embracing Cape Cod the way I should. I do like living here, but the PNW will always be home, even though I'm from here originally. That map you found is a real treasure. Did you have it framed? I bet a collector would love to see it.
DeleteI've come to the conclusion EVERYTHING these days is 'made in China' - with the noble exception of things made by 'Jojo Inc' ;0)
ReplyDeleteThank you...Made by Me with components made in China. :/ Unfortunately. lol I wish there was more made in the USA stuff but alas....
DeleteI love your blog, and I am in Onalaska, WA, relatively close to the Mt. Rainier/Olympia area. I love those pendants and have made a few with designer papers from Graphics 45 (wish I'd thought of maps!). If you'd like, check out this supplier: sun and moon craft kits dot com. That is where I buy mine, and you can get them in lots of finishes, shapes and sizes. I posted a picture of some that I made on my blog, but I'm not sure where at the moment! I do love the PNW, but I admit that I hate the rain. I tell my out-of-state friends that people that live out here do not tan - they rust!
ReplyDeleteHi there! Thank you so much for visiting my blog! SO COOL you are in Onalaska! I lived in Bonney Lake (Pierce County) for 12 years. I sure miss it up there, and I was one of those people that just thrived and danced in the rain. The more it rained, the happier I was. Moved up there for the weather as I was sick of heat and sun in California. I will definitely check out that website, I love the name. Thank you for the tip. Gonna check out your blog now too!
DeleteFascinating project and your first one turned out really well.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jo!
DeleteGrowing up in the PNW you need to embrace the rain. I know people where I live now (and when I lived in CA) where they wait for the rain to let up. You'd never make it out side if you waited in the PNW! ha!
ReplyDeleteI love this piece, and the idea of 'mapping' my favorite places. Mt. Rainier is a favorite and familiar place. I grew up about an hour away.I love the look of it's broad 'snow collar' .... one of the many mountains I love in the area. I often tell people that my first job (true story) was picking strawberries in the foothills of Mt St. Helens... the berries grow well in the ash. I was 13 years old when I went out in the fields to pick.
Now if I could get my children to make their beds. sigh
Thank you! And how lucky you got to grow up there. I love it. Before we moved up there, I remember people in CA telling me, 'you can't stay inside when it rains, you have to live your life and just deal with it or else you'll never leave your house'. I loved the rain but I did have a habit in CA of staying in on a rainy day and not wanting to do errands. Once I was in WA I never even bothered with an umbrella. I still scoff at people who ask me 'aren't you going to use an umbrella?' here on Cape Cod. Um no, they are for the weak. lol
DeleteHey JoJo,
ReplyDeleteWow, that's really neat, JoJo. It would be one hell of a large pendant if it was a world map. Hey, I recognise a bunch of those places. Although, I don't see Hairy Hills, Alberta!. Nice one, my talented friend.
Gary :)
Thanks Gary! I might have to delve into my Reader's Digest Road Atlas of Canada to find Hairy Hills! lol
DeleteI liked yours BETTER than the one that inspired you :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks Liz! It was quite a coup to find that map bit that fit perfectly with all my fave places on it. Cause I was going to do one of Tacoma and the other one of Victoria. Thank you Rand McNally Road Atlas 2003!
Delete