Fun Ways to Display Souvenirs from Your Holidays

Summer is still a few months away. Why not showcase your time in the sun and reminisce about the holidays you enjoyed with loved ones and friends? There are a lot of ways to showcase your vacation souvenirs – in style. You can creatively use picture frames, customized display cases and other tools.

• Framed postcards. Do you have a collection of postcards that you bought during your travels? Postcards make for great displays since these usually feature excellent photographs, done by professionals. Take some frames and put these postcards up on your wall for a fabulous-looking wall display. Use a combination of antique picture frames, contemporary frames and simple black frames. This postcard gallery display tells of the story of your and your loved ones’ travel adventures. When selecting your frames, though, be sure that these have a common element that can tie the frame for a unified and put-together look.
• Memory jars. Using large and empty mason jars, relive your vacation with a mini-display, with each jar featuring one particular destination or holiday. For instance, if you want to highlight your vacation at Portland Head, Maine (where you can find one of the oldest lighthouses in the country), fill a jar with some sand, shells and a replica of the lighthouse. Of course, you can also add some photos you printed out in small pieces of photo paper. You can also set up displays featuring souvenirs you picked up, as well as the currency of that destination (if you traveled abroad). One option is to use glass domes, which are one of the types of display cases we have in the Victorian Frame Company.
• Sand collection. Beach enthusiasts can take home a small amount of sand and display it using small bottles with corks. Another option is to carefully layer the sand in a mason jar and label each layer based on where you took the sand.
• Map display. You have a number of options when it comes to displaying your holiday memories using maps. One, you can get maps that feature your holiday destinations and cut these out into specific shapes such as hearts or circles. Then, you can arrange and paste each cut out on a mounting board and display it using a vintage picture frame. If you have been traveling across the country, you can also place a map of the United States in an oversized picture frame and place marks on the places you have been. You can also mark these destinations using souvenir coins.
• Keychain collection. Key chains are easy-to-get and very affordable souvenirs. Even as you buy some to give away, keep one for your collection. Then, if you have enough in your collection, you can use tiny hooks or invisible thread to keep the key chains in place onto the mounting board. Use a silver picture frame to complement the metallic parts of the key chains.
• Shadowbox display. A shadowbox is an excellent way to show off your holiday mementos because it provides the depth that a picture frame does not have. You can take digital copies of your vacation photos and then use a photo-editing application or program to form large-sized letters that spell out the featured destination. Then you can add related souvenirs in your display.
• Framed watercolor. Do you have a favorite photo of your vacation? With the use of a photo-editing app, you can convert this photo into a watercolor. Frame this artistic take on your photo so that you can hang this on your wall. It’s art – and it’s personalized, too!
• Collage of your travels. Turn commonplace travel items such as boarding passes, postcards and ticket stubs into a modern, Warhol-like artwork. You can use a photo-editing app for this purpose.