Whenever my family returns from vacation, I like to surround us with memories we’ve made on our trip. Souvenirs are great, but I’m not going to put salt and pepper shakers of the Eiffel Tower on my kitchen table. So instead of displaying your “My mom went to Italy and all I got was this lousy t-shirt” souvenir, take a look at these creative ways to display memories from your travels.
My family has a tradition of adding an ornament to our Christmas tree from a special place we traveled to that year. My Frugal Adventures has created an easy way to make your own beach ornament using supplies from your trip. Finally, something to do with all those small shells we spend so much time collecting!
There’s nothing I like better than a good print I can hang on my wall. However, when traveling, prints can get expensive so I sometimes hold off on getting them. This House Might be Bigger Than the Three of Us shares an app she uses to turn her personal photographs into watercolor works of art. Yep…this has just opened the door for many future gifts. I’m hooked!
When I am traveling, I always hold on to ticket stubs, museum passes, and tickets to attractions. I wasn’t sure what started this obsession until I read that Candice, from She’s Crafty, blames it on collecting stickers when she was a kid. I think she’s on to something! She’s come up with a nifty way of storing all these little paper treasures in a vacation jar to create a visual piece of art that contains so many memories of travel.
Love, love, love this idea and I’ve already bought the material to make a box for my Portugal and Greece trips. These vacation memory boxes from Debra, of Eclectic Housewife, are functional as well as beautiful. They are a great place to store pictures, ticket stubs, and small trinkets from your trip. Why should you store everything away when you can display it out in the open? P.S: My daughters said it feels like you’re opening a treasure box.
Martha…oh Martha…you queen of crafts! This map memory board, from Martha Stewart, is great for travelers that are only “crafty-ish.” Not too much effort goes into this craft, and you can use a map from a single country or the entire world. It is a fun place to keep track of all the places you’ve been while daydreaming of all the places you want to go.
I’ve always kept a travel journal but it is absolutely boring compared to this amazing piece of art that Gina, from Gina Alyse, made. This is what I wish my journals looked like. I love that you can use these as coffee table books or for your own personal memories. My girls were in awe of them and they’ve been wanting to start keeping a travel journal. I can’t wait to see what they come up with.
If you’re a traveler, you know how special the stamps in your passport are. They are like badges you collect as a Girl Scout. However, who actually gets to see them besides you? Brooklyn Limestone has developed a brilliant way to turn your stamps into a work of art. I love how subtle these are and they would make a great conversation piece. Grab those passports!
I love postcards and I always buy some from places we visit. I usually use them as bookmarks and then they disappear to the land of lost things. I love this idea from Sarah Sandifer that creates a travel journal using postcards from your trips. You can write your favorite memories on the back of the cards and it suddenly becomes a travel journal that you can add to after each new trip.
I am definitely making these for Christmas presents so I apologize in advance for spoiling the surprise for some people. Angie, from The Country Chic Cottage, has simple directions for creating these rustic map coasters. It is a fun way to display travel memories in a functional way. I finally have something to do with all those maps I have been hoarding.
Another goodie from Martha Stewart is this neat way to display maps in your home. The map serves as a background and you use thread to chart your route. This would be a fun way to remember road trips you have taken. Leave it to Martha!
