I have to put a few coats of clear over the glitter so it won't get stuck in little fingers. And little fingers likes bright colors...as does dull old men!

This map I used a #3 Flying Dutchman saw blade for I wanted less gaps between the pieces.... and so I am afraid there ain't enough gap left for small girls and boys as they attempt to put the pieces in to the puzzle...

 The next puzzle will be cut with a #5 blade. If the map was to be put together one time then hung on the wall for looks the #3 is the one to use.

  I made the two additions down at the bottom

a little different for I cut out the states, stained and sprayed them then slid them out a hair then glued the pieces up so they will stay in that position.

  I am adding the names of the states and their capitals on the back sides of each state and with the real small states that will be a problem!

  Another first, before I started making these maps I never knew Michigan was two different bodies...I always thought upper Michigan was a swamp or something and no one wanted to claim it???

 This map is about 30" wide so I had to be a little careful as to how I sawed it out...…...as I only have a 20" Dewalt.

I used 1/4" Baltic birch for both pieces of plywood...

Looking good here. I think they call that part the UP. Like the white on that northwest state, looks like mountains. Guess you will be doing topographical next.

Yep Gerald. White to warn people if they might be thinking of moving up there to ruff it...and the mountains of snow...I'm always bitching when it gets down to 50.

 To save labor, a person can make two maps at the same time if they use 1/4" BB. And when I just cut one 1/4" board it wants to start cutting before I am ready.

My eldest daughter lives in the UP of MI.  Locals are known as "Yoopers" (UPers) and refer to downstaters as "Trolls" because they live below the (Mackinac) bridge.    UP covers 1/3 of the land area of the state an has 3% of the population.  So lots lots of trees and not much else except shoreline.   They got a city record of 338 inches of snow this year.  For reference, that would be about the height of a three-story building.

 

On the positive side, where they live is surrounded on basically 4 sides by Lake Superior that moderates temperatures.   It does not get quite as cold as it does 4 hours south in Green Bay near where we lived.   But the lake never freezes over completely, so it's always picking up humidity.    We visited the week before Memorial Day a few years ago and there were floes on the bay the size of shipping containers (and that was the 10% above the surface that you could see.)   At the end of May!

I keep thinking that when my grandkids grow up and (probably) move away, they'll be saying all winter (in a Crocodile Dundee voice), "Snow?   You call that snow?"

Cool! I like the mountains in Alaska!

Lew the mountains are from a tube of acrylic paint like I used on the red bird carving picture I did here while back… I guess I should have put the mountains where they actually are but that would have been more work...besides I ran out before I got them very tall.

Ensure the mountains are high enough so that Russia can't see into your bathroom window.  

Funny about the Russians for I just read where some of their security cameras can see you if you are within 28 miles of the camera...

The glitter is a cool twist, looks like lights! The glitter and colors, nice work Jess, and Alaska has some wonderful snowy mountains, pretty neat touch.

Very nice Jess.  How old are the young one's that will be getting first crack at it (other than you of course)?

14 hours ago, Smallpatch said:

Funny about the Russians for I just read where some of their security cameras can see you if you are within 28 miles of the camera...

Yet, on the news you see security camera photos of wanted criminals caught in the act and I'm like, "I think that might be a man, with a hat, maybe a beard-maybe a shadow, somewhere between 18 and 60 years old, and a black t-shirt.   That's about all I can make out.

22 hours ago, Smallpatch said:

and so I am afraid there ain't enough gap left for small girls and boys as they attempt to put the pieces in to the puzzle...

That's a beautiful map/puzzle.  Keep in mind that if you wanted to loosen the fit a little bit, sanding on the straight sides of some the shapes would allow cumulative spacing for all the pieces across the map.  Even WVa!

1 hour ago, kmealy said:

Yet, on the news you see security camera photos of wanted criminals caught in the act and I'm like, "I think that might be a man, with a hat, maybe a beard-maybe a shadow, somewhere between 18 and 60 years old, and a black t-shirt.   That's about all I can make out.

Yeah, that could be my BIL...or his aunt. 

Cal the young gun next door is 4.  Then I have some great grand kids about the same ages or older and maybe they will find these puzzles interesting enough to want to learn before they start to school.

 

Keith there are better security cameras out there but seems like in the past businesses thought their areas not having much crime spending that much on the cameras were a waste of money...then there are people who yell those cameras are invading my privacy. Well duh,,,,, if you are not doing anything illegal don't give them a thought...…. except to smile at them and think they are there to keep you safer......  

PeteM that sounds like a common sense thought but thanks I already did just that and now they fall out easily.. I can see lots of broken pieces if things won't come apart without fighting it.

The finished map looks swell, Jesse. 

A beautiful job and for a beautiful cause. Thanks for letting us see this,

On 5/15/2019 at 5:45 PM, Smallpatch said:

Funny about the Russians for I just read where some of their security cameras can see you if you are within 28 miles of the camera...

Watch the movie Patriot Games. In it they showed some hitech satellite spy stuff that was not sci fi at the time of the movie. I think I have heard that we can see the sunglasses on the beach in California from the satellites and that is 22 miles.

21 hours ago, Smallpatch said:

 now they fall out easily.. I can see lots of broken pieces if things won't come apart without fighting it.

In my experience (g-kid #4 is on the way), Youth uses such puzzles in two ways:  the younger ones take the assembled puzzle and dump it on the living room floor, the object being to spread the pieces far and wide.  Then, game over; mom cleans up.  Older, they're too sophisticated to bother with such things, and it sits on a shelf under piles of other discarded toys.  There is a brief in-between age transition, maybe a month, where they actually put it together.

     

However, despair not.  They remember the effort you made and you get full credit for it.  A little smile comes to their face when they dump it in the Goodwill bin.  And the tree was happy.

Jess,

I always enjoy seeing your creativity.   Keep Sharing.  Danl