A map of the USA where every state is a picture frame
- What
- A wall map for travel photos, one wooden frame per state
- Status
- On the wall
Our family loves to travel, and we wanted a way to document the places we go. I came up with this map, in which every state is its own picture frame, as a way to see our trips in one place and share them with visitors.
The process started with a drawing: I created my own outline map of the United States, with the dimensions for each state’s frame. Each frame is then cut from a sheet of basswood on a Cricut Maker 3, a craft cutter with a knife blade that can cut through wood, and stained. When we visit a state, its frame gets a photo.
Some states are too small to have a frame cut out of them. Those will instead have round frames nearby, each connected to its state with a wire.
How it works
- Scaled to TexasThe largest of the lower 48 had to fit the cutter, so Texas set the scale for every other state.
- Held by magnetsSmall magnets glued to the back of each frame hold it to the backing, and hold the photo in place behind it.
- A steel backingSheet metal that I cut to the outline of the country and painted black, so states without photos still look finished.
- One drawing for everythingThe same outline file that cut each frame is the template for its photo, so every picture fills its state and nothing important is hidden.
