We’ve all been there before. You are going on an amazing trip or getting close to returning home from a trip when you start thinking about souvenirs. No you don’t want to get the dreaded T-shirt that you’ll never wear again! Not to mention that your refrigerator is already covered in magnets. Post cards get thrown away and cheaply made trinkets loose their value when they have to compete for space on your coffee table and dresser. How can you keep lasting memories that you can share easily with out pulling out your phone to scroll through pictures or worse, your photo albums?!? My solution for this problem came in the form of a shadow box (50% of with a coupon at a craft store) and interesting things that I collected through out my trip. This method of commemorating my trip to London was not only cheaper than anything I mentioned above but but is also beautiful to display in your home.

Start by getting a shadow box in the size you want. This will help you to plan which items to collect. Now is also a time to decide if this will be for one trip or multiple trips. (Plan on adding items from multiple trips if you are lacking wall space) While you are on your trip collect things like cool coasters from restaurants , maps, brousures, newspaper clippings, currency, luggage tags, airplane ticket stubs, and anything else that will make your display pop. First layout the items to get an idea of how it will look. Use a hot glue gun to layer and secure the pieces to the backing of the shadow box. Now secure the backing to the front portion of the box. Finally, you have a keepsake that is easy on the eyes and you can add to it as you travel to new places. It’s sure to be a conversation piece when you have company over. Enjoy!