DIY [state love]

I love where I'm from (Massachusetts). 
D loves where he's from (New York). 
We needed some state pride art STAT.

It also happens to be quite en vogue- I just searched Etsy, and found the following in .2 seconds.

All images from etsy

So I made my own!

First step is the background, which I wanted to look like the ocean. I bought a beautiful 20" by 27" piece of paper from Paper Source- it was $8, which is kinda steep for paper, but it was enough to make 3 pieces of art so far, and I still have some left. This marble print is gorgeous, the paper is soft and thick, and every piece is unique.

I made one for D and I, of course, then realized that my brother and his fiance represent the great MA + NY combination themselves, so I made them one too as an apartment-warming gift.

To make the art:
I googled each state, found a good image with a clear outline, and re-sized it to fit the frame
I printed this out on regular old computer paper, and cut it out
I traced this cut-out onto thick white card stock, then cut it out again (tedious)
I tried to place the hearts in the general area where we're all from (those are cut from gold paper)
I used double-sided scrapbooking tape to attach my cut-outs to the marble paper
That's it amigos!

It's an affordable project- I usually buy frames at Ikea or a discount store, like Homegoods, TJ Maxx, Target, etc.

The quality of my picture is sub-par, but I also made one for R and her Irish man friend, D. I guess that's country art, not state art, but you get the idea:

!

So, do you have any DIY's planned for the weekend? I need ideas! One of my best friends J just closed on a gorgeous condo (I know, when did I become old enough to have friends with property??), so I'm trying to hoard some good projects to suggest. Have a great weekend!