Map of Middle-Earth

[GreyDrakkon]

So I had nabbed a map of Middle-Earth at a convention I went to. It had been varnished and artificially aged and I thought it would be a neat project to play around with. I lofted the map on one layer of mat board since it has uneven edges and looks better not pressed agaInst the background mat. To help pin the corners down (and just look neat) I made some knots in leather cord, punched holes in the mat board and crimped the cord into place using brass wire that I had bent into shape. I decorated the airspacers, which honestly can barely be seen but it's nice for up-close examination.

I'd say it was a massive hit since people were stopping to take pictures of it while it was displayed in the shop window, and a friend of mine ended up buying it the day after I finished it.

 

[nikodeumus]

This is AWSOME! I'm a huge Tolkien fan.
Your attention to the decorative details is fantastic.
I have a nice LOTR poster I want to do something special with.
I may borrow your celtic knot idea.

 

[GreyDrakkon]

Thanks! It's called a Josephine knot, here's a handy photo tutorial: https://makeandfable.com/2013/01/josephineprosperity-knot-tutoria/ I debated on making it out of brass wire, but I happened to have the aged looking leather cord and thought it looked good so I went with that.

I had the companion poster to the one you have, but with giant eagles on it. Alas, one too many moves got it exposed to water and I had to toss it.

 

[nikodeumus]

Thanks! It's called a Josephine knot, here's a handy photo tutorial: https://makeandfable.com/2013/01/josephineprosperity-knot-tutoria/ I debated on making it out of brass wire, but I happened to have the aged looking leather cord and thought it looked good so I went with that.

I had the companion poster to the one you have, but with giant eagles on it. Alas, one too many moves got it exposed to water and I had to toss it.

Thanks for the link, I'll give it a try. Yeah, brass would look cool. Or silver wire could look like mithril thread.
I didn't know there was a companion poster to mine! I'll have to search for it.

 

[GreyDrakkon]

Thanks for the link, I'll give it a try. Yeah, brass would look cool. Or silver wire could look like mithril thread.
I didn't know there was a companion poster to mine! I'll have to search for it.

Keep in mind silver will tarnish, so you'd want silver colored metal instead of the real deal. I've also done "snake braid" with multiple strands of colored wire and that ends up looking really neat.

 

[prospero]

I did a Tolkien-art print quite recently. It was called "Bard's Last Shot".

I made a superb hand-finished frame for it. It looked fantastic. 🤩

Unfortunately, I omitted to take a photo so you'll just have to take my word. 🙂

 

[GreyDrakkon]

I did a Tolkien-art print quite recently. It was called "Bard's Last Shot".

I made a superb hand-finished frame for it. It looked fantastic. 🤩

Unfortunately, I omitted to take a photo so you'll just have to take my word. 🙂

A likely story. >;D I know the scene though, it must have been the arrow being shot that brought Smaug down.