12 Creative Ways to Turn Travel Souvenirs into Art

Scrapbooks are a wonderful way to keep travel memories, but they are also a lot of work and sometimes get forgotten in the bookshelves. If you’re looking for some creative ways to show off your travels that are a little more obvious and maybe even useful, check out these 12 DIY projects. They’re quick and easy and give you the perfect opportunity to constantly bring up your trips in conversation. From a Polaroid coasters to a wall of postcards, these DIYs will remind you of your favorite summer trips all year long.

Travel Boxes

Show off every city or country you’ve been to while adding some fun bits of color to your elegantly styled bookcase. Once you’ve painted the box and stenciled the place, all you have to do is dump all those travel bits and pieces into the box — no time-consuming scrapbooking here. Everyone will have a good time sifting through the box and recalling favorite memories. (via Martha Stewart)

Polaroid Coasters

Add a bit more meaning to your collection of coffee table coasters by printing out your favorite Instagram memories and glueing them onto coasters from the dollar store. Cover everything with Mod Podge to keep them from getting damaged and get ready to reminisce every time a you sip on a cocktail. (via Darkroom and Dearly)

Word Garland

Banners are such a fun way to add artwork to the room without actually hanging any art. With a letter garland like this, you can make any word you want, whether it’s a favorite place you traveled or that song you got stuck in your head during that epic road trip. (via How Did You Make This)

Embroidery Map

Anyone going on a road trip this summer? Instead of just scribbling out your route with pens and stickers, make the trip truly artsy by embroidering the route. It’s a little time consuming, but it’s the perfect project to work on while catching up on some Netflix. (via Sadie Seasongoods)

Mug Display

If you collect something awesome like mugs or keychains on every trip you take, make a special wall of hooks to show them all off. Is it just us, or does everything displayed on a pegboard instantly become a quirky, eclectic art display? If you didn’t collect mugs already, this DIY might inspire you to start on your next trip. (via Her Campus)

Shadow Box Drawer

A shadow box drawer is much more versatile than an ordinary shadow box since it can be customized to fit your decor and can be as big as you need it to be to show off your travels. A cork-lined drawer with a map makes it easy to mark where you’ve been, and there’s plenty of room to display your collection of treasures. (via Everyday Dishes)

Travel Binder

Part scrapbook and part journal, this travel binder is layered with everything from drink coasters to plane tickets. You can add in little bits of journaling and notes by writing on washi tape and putting the notes directly onto the photos. (via Kelly Purkey)