To get maps to "line up" that way, you need to be using the same projection for all of them, and pretty much the only projection that looks any good "zoomed in" that way is Normal Mercator, which is still far from perfect. That's why real maps are done in projections appropriate to their extent and purpose.

You might want to look into vector graphics, and vector GIS tools if you want to be able to reproject data and then symbolize it. Inkscape is a good vector graphics editor, and for a GIS you might try QuantumGIS, uDig, or OpenJUMP.