Travel souvenirs come in all shapes and sizes. They might be paper ephemera like postcards, brochures and maps. They might be artwork. They might be kitschy little figurines or t-shirts or hats or anything in between. We buy them to capture a place and a moment. We keep them because we have the room and they spark nice memories when we catch a glimpse of them. But when the time comes to sort and simplify, intellectually you know they haven’t earned a place in your life as you move forward, but emotionally, oh my but you love that map from the inn that has directions to your favorite restaurant in Key West.

One of our recent move clients received a gift from an artistic family member that we loved as a creative way to remember the places you’ve been: a painting that listed the names of all the places they’d lived and visited. Not only is it pretty as art, it’s smile-inducing as a reminder of their adventures.

If you don’t have the confidence in your artistic skills  yourself, there are artists out there who accept custom typographical artwork commissions, like the one below by Picture Perfect by Jody on Etsy that arrives as a digital download.

Or this clever world travel sign post that can also be customized from Everlong Print Company, also on Etsy.

This is the kind of project you can DIY if you have a computer and a printer or are moderately handy scissors, glue or a paintbrush.

Here are two simple DIY variations from livingwellspendingless.com (top) and mabeyshemadeit.com (bottom) using old maps and a store-bought frame. (You could use some of those old brochures before you recycle them.)