I made this for my SIL for Christmas. She lived in Sierra Leone (where the heart is) for a year and worked in an…

I hate to say it, but that's the reality for many Children in the usa too.

Hopefully the ebola bug runs its course soon and they can adopt easily!

That's beautiful I want one

@cbw - they want to adopt from Africa for a couple of different reasons. Her heart and soul are there. There are so many orphans over there and while I completely understand we have tons too, the conditions are far worse. Even the kids lucky enough to get into an orphanage only end up eating maybe once per day. The orphanages have dirt floors. Once girls turn 12, they lose their place and are forced to live on the streets, which is why many of them turn to brothels. They think it's better to have a roof over their heads, even if it means being raped by men 3-5 times their age.

Also, they are in line for twins because the people in the villages believe that one twin is the spawn of the devil so, often times, they murder one or both of the babies after birth.

@abashford, yes - just wood, nails and string! :-)

Why don't they adopt an American. Some kids in poor inner city foster homes have it tougher than those in Sierra Leone.

That aside this is gorgeous!!!!

So beautiful

Is that made of wood, nails and yarn? I used to do this when I was young and I always thought it s beautiful.

Yours has a great meaning, she's going to love it!!! :-)

So thoughtful of u..its beautiful

Amazing

Thank you, ladies!

Looks awesome! Fantastic job!

This is beautiful I love it

Omg you should sell these on etsy!!!

I made one that was my son's name I love this diy.

This is beautiful op and wow your sil brother sound incredible :)

@babi - I explained a few comments up. Let me know if you have have by questions.

Thanks! Now I can't wait to give it to her! ☺️

This is very nice and thoughtful.

It's beautiful! I want one, lol

How did you make it?

Gorgeous!! Very talented... and patient.

I love it! You did an amazing job!!

Looks great!

It's 20"x20"

I always wanted to make one of these! It turned out so well. How big is it?

I'm sure there is but I didn't use one. It was pretty easy at first. I stained the wood and then my husband printed the map of Africa on his bigger printer at work. I cut it out with an Xacto knife and then taped it to the board. Then we nailed around the outline of Africa. We used a pencil to space out the nails.

The string was most difficult when we got to the heart. It took a couple of tries to get it to look right because we had to go around the heart nails multiple times. The nails and string took about an hour to do. The staining took about 15 minutes and then I let it dry overnight.

This is awesome! Great job!

Thanks ladies! I hopes she likes it!!

@cerac - yes, you can hang it on the wall. It's actually pretty big. The wood is 20"x20".

Awesome!! What a great gift!!

That is beautiful and so thoughtful! Great job!

I've always wanted to attempt string art.

Very cool

That's very pretty and creative.

Looks awesome

Very cool. Its something you hang on the wall? Right? I really like it tho.

I think it is beautiful!

And so thoughtful and creative, I wouldn't even know where to start!

I think it turned out absolutely amazing!!

Especially the heart detail for Sierra Leone.

Your SIL will love the thought and work that went into their gift I'm sure.

What a thoughtful gift! She's going to love it.

It's beautiful :)

It looks great! Good job!

It's lovely!