As the Christmas decorations are packed back up in large plastic boxes for another eleven months and the tree lays curbside… I find myself looking around semi-cluttered home {I’m honestly not sure if we are hoarders or if we are just lazy} thinking it looks pretty drab now that the holiday festiveness is gone.

Additionally, as a professional planner, I have been finding myself organizing all sorts of calendars, weddings and appointments for 2015 - all while wondering what adventures and vacations the year will have in store for me.

Three years ago my husband made me an extremely heavy DIY map. You see, I had fallen in love with the idea of pinning. Both on pinterest and in real life. I had seen this idea hanging in one of my college roommate’s house. I casually mentioned the idea to my at-the-time boyfriend {aka my future hubs.} We found a map that we both liked, with the intent of one day making a decorative DIY map. Years went by and this project was pushed aside. Then out of the blue, when I was expecting an engagement ring for Christmas, he gave me this giant world map. {The ring showed up a month later.}

Unfortunately due to moving and the actual size of the ginormous map - we didn’t hang it until this past year. While I wasn’t really too keen on having it in our living room, we really didn’t have a wall big enough to fit it anywhere else. Turns out, I love it exactly where it is!

This DIY world map decoration is such a fun way to document and record the many places we have been. My pins are obviously pink. His pins are blue. And the yellow pins are for places we have both visited.

It took some debating when it came to the “rules” behind the pins. Like, if we have both been to a city/country but maybe not together, is it yellow or do we need a separate color? And when it comes time for kids, do we pick a new color for family travel? Does a layover count? Is there a minimum amount of time you have to be in a country to receive a pin? Or what about country verse state vacations? That last one was kind of a free for all because most of the places we have been to are cities/states and on a map this size, it’s just way too hard to decipher the exact pin location.

Want to make a map like this for yourself? Here is what you will need:

• A map. We went with a classic look like this.
• Pins. I wanted all white. And the longer the pin the better.
• Washi tape for the flags. I went with a narrower tape.
• Cork for behind the map.
• A frame (or you could make one yourself like my husband did!)
• Glue. The type you use depends on if your map is laminated or not. My map isn’t laminated - but I almost think it would’ve been better if it had been. You can see some bubbles in mine where the glue dried funny.
• Note: You could also make this on a smaller scale… maybe you aren’t a world traveler, so consider one from your own country. And while ours is awesome, and visible from Mars, you do not necessarily have to do one this big!

I love sitting on my couch and glancing up at this awesome map. The colors are perfect and the memories are outstanding. Now I just need to work on getting a few more pins in some of the “empty” spaces. Bring it on 2015… bring it on.

Don’t forget, it’s time for the Celebrate Southern Linkup! Grab a post, any post, and join the fun. We would like to see your southern inspired home decor, crafts, food, vacations, fashion or even pets!

Keep in mind too: The Celebrate Southern Girls now have a podcast! You can listen to our first episode on the right hand side of my blog! Episode One is about blogging goals! I excited because I have heard great reviews from folks who have been listening! Next week we will be sharing Episode Two: How to Make Bloglife Easier.

Have you ever decorated with a map? If you could put a “pin” {i.e. vacation spot} on my map - what would you recommend and why?

Today I’m linking up here.