I get A LOT of questions on how I make maps and what info is needed. So, here's what I need from you to make it happen (and I'll show what it looks like when I'm done too!):
Step 1: Go to www.maps.google.com.
Step 2: Click on the "CREATE NEW MAP" button. You have to have a google account to save your places. This is easy, it won't create another account you have to keep track of, you just link it to your current email address.
Step 3: On the next screen you can give your map a title, description and set it as public or private.
Step 4: Enter your first address at the top of the screen and press the blue button to the right. The map will immediately update to the address you've entered.
Step 5: Right click, and select add a Placemark. Label the location and select OK. Now you will see your first location in entered in your map on the left hand side of the screen.
Step 6: Repeat until you have entered all of you desired locations. Check out how all the locations are now saved on the left of the screen and I've zoomed out to frame all the locations.
Step 7:
Now here's where you need to make a decision. Center and zoom your map to where the N, S, E & W borders of the map include all the land marks you'd like. If you've done this and you're not seeing enough details in a certain area, then I would recommend a detailed inset. Which is what we're going to do here for the location on the far right. It's in a downtown area that has lots of streets and might be easily missed. Here's what the inset is going to look like:
I'll include this major street in yellow on the large map and the inset for reference. The inset will be placed in a region of the map where there isn't a lot of detail.
Step 8: You save these images as jpegs. On a PC: just press the print screen key (it's on the upper right hand side of the keyboard). On a MAC: press command + shift + 3. the image will automatically save to your desktop as a jpeg.
Step 9: Send me the images and addresses via convo on etsy :) Also, don't forget to send me size information, colors and fonts!
Step 10: I draw your map! I'll post the map tomorrow morning :)
