How I made my Google map for art sold

Ever since I started making little paintings for Artomat, I've kept a Google map with pins on each location where my little paintings have sold.

I have had requests at least a couple times to share how I made this map, so here's a really simple guide that I found on a travel blog called Kevin & Amanda.  

I created my map below with the old-school version of Google maps, and I keep it simple with basic blue pins.  You will notice in Kevin & Amanda's directions that they use fancy pins and color coding.  You can do as much or as little you want to do.  If you find this to be too much information, then use this more basic guide from Google support.



Here is what my map looks like right now.  I added the arrow and the message about the Honolulu Museum.  This arrow and text appears as a saved image (a jpeg file).  I did not overwrite this in Google maps. I'll explain how to make this little arrow appear in an image file below.

Remember that you need a Google account in the first place to get started with Google maps.  Once you create the map, you can share it easily to Google+ or you can share the link to email or other social media sites (Facebook, Twitter).  You can also embed the code into your blog if you have one.

To create an edited image to post in my blog (with text comment and arrow):

  1. I take a screenshot (Print Screen function on your keyboard) then save the image as a jpeg (Control + C, Control + V in a basic Paint program, save as a jpg file).  
  2. I open the jpeg in Pixlr (upload from my C drive).  In the Web based app of Pixlr, I added the arrow and the text to the image.  
  3. I saved this image (jpg file) to my C drive and inserted the image into my blog.  You can also upload the image on social media sites.

Pixlr is a lot of fun as a phone app or on your desktop via the web app.  You can doodle and add text and effects to any image.  It's also free.  

Update:  September 2016 -- Google now has an app called Drawings that you can download from the Chrome Web Store.  Friends who already use Google Docs have found this to be a helpful app.



I hope you enjoy making your own Google map to chart your own adventures!



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