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When I’m not travelling, one of the things that keeps me sane is surrounding myself with travel inspiration in all forms, whether it’s obsessively reading blogs or adding worldly touches to my home decor (like this stupidly adorable savings bank shaped like a suitcase).
And so, in the spirit of treating roamsickness with more travel dreams (probably a terrible idea but idk I’m not a doctor), here’s a roundup of some of the most beautiful and wickedly awesome travel-related DIY projects that I could scour on the interwebs.
Pin these ideas for later:
1. Dazzling light-up world map
Through an absolutely genius use of Christmas lights, this beautiful map by Hazel and Ruby showcases where you’ve been in the world and is brilliantly customizable and simple to create. Bonus points for their lovely travel-themed display, and sweet globe collection.
[pin]https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/367958232030782233[/pin]
2. DIY Vintage Pushpin Map
This simple and tasteful way to showcase your wanderlust is absolutely perfect. I am in love with DIY Vintage Pushpin Map from Mountain Modern Life because it’s minimalist enough to avoid tackiness, while still showing off your love of travel and all the places you’ve been. I can’t wait to put one of these up on my wall!
[pin]https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/676454806509937500/[/pin]
3. Personalized photo map
This adorable photo map from Adventurista AZ is so cute, it almost makes me want to vomit! Seriously, can you handle the nauseating sweetness? Admittedly, this is a genius idea that I wish I had come up with first, but this one’s no doubt going on my (ahem *secret*) travel-themed wedding Pinterest board
[pin]https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/223983781455969170/[/pin]
4. Miniature map magnets
These mini map magnets from Surviving a Teacher’s Salary are not just adorable, but also rather classy (like a posh chihuahua having high tea). They can be made in just a few minutes, so they’re ideal for a quick and easy gift for that travel lover in your life.
[pin]https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/751678994045869073/[/pin]
5. … and more map magnets
For a simple and clean alternative, these other glass map magnets from The Happy Housie are a brilliant way to subtly incorporate your wanderlust all around the house.
[pin]https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/267119821636926223/[/pin]
5. Travel Keepsake Boxes
Minimalist and simple, these keepsake boxes from Martha Stewart are a smart way to keep all those random knick knacks and ticket stubs organized from each trip! Plus they look absolutely smashing on a shelf.
[pin]https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/155866837091346391/[/pin]
6. Map keychain
A cute everyday reminder of a place you love! An easy tutorial can be found here on Sustain My Craft Habit.
[pin]https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/515873332317037559/[/pin]
7. Pocket travel journal
This crafty DIY travel journal from Simple as That is the perfect way to keep track of travel memories on the go. Plus you can easily make it your own through different photos, paper patterns and fonts. Need some inspiration? I’m obsessed with this beautiful travel-themed scrapbook paper from K&Company. Imagine all these prints in a journal! *swoon*
[pin]https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/287386019955091488/[/pin]
8. Travel-themed gallery wall
Surround yourself with precious travel memories by turning them into clean and gorgeous wall art. I love this example and tutorial from Live Laugh Rowe.
If you want an instantly fancy look without all the work, this gold foil Wanderlust print is to die for… and it even comes in silver.
[pin]https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/78320481009306053/[/pin]
9. Travel shadow boxes
An arsty way to put your best photos, memories, stubs and more on display! This tutorial from Kelly Purkey shows you how to do it. Although I think the 20 euros in the corner here would be better spent on waffles.
PRO TIP: I’ve found that shadow boxes are always pricier at craft stores than online. Amazon has loads of affordable options. Click here to check them out!
[pin]https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/80361174576241225/[/pin]
10. Upcycled hand-painted globe
Such a great way to breathe new life into an outdated globe! Click here to see a tutorial from Houseologie on how it’s done. BTW if you’re like “but I don’t have a globe”, let me shun your excuses with this wide selection of globes for under $20 on Amazon. You’re welcome.
[pin]https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/519813981975508903/[/pin]
11. Map and travel shelf
A great way to jazz up any shelf, especially one that’s holding travel souvenirs. Here’s an easy how-to from Home Road.
[pin]https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/335940453455740232/[/pin]
12. Souvenir showcase jars
I love this creative method of putting photos and souvenirs on display, especially for beach vacations. Here’s how you make them.
The snazzy sealable mason jars are easy to find too! You can easily get them in any size on Amazon. Click here to see the options.
[pin]https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/314970567693876414/[/pin]
13. Wooden travel map
Another great way to keep track of your travels. I love the cozy, wooden look and the hand-painted lettering. Here’s how you can make your own.
[pin]https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/255579347582861131/[/pin]
14. Mason Jar Map Ornament
This gorgeous Christmas ornament idea is the perfect way to upcycle some maps and mason jars! Check out this easy to follow tutorial via Happy Mothering for a step by step on how to make them:
[pin]https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/12173861479584616/[/pin]
15. Easy DIY Passport Holder
Looking to make your own passport holder to keep your most beloved possession nice and safe? It’s actually not that complicated. This tutorial comes with a free sewing pattern that you can easily customize to suit your needs!
[pin]https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/206813807874893666/[/pin]
16. Suitcase table
To be honest, if I had this adorable coffee table in my house I would probably never leave. Here’s how you make your own.
[pin]https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/142918988154383089/[/pin]
17. Postcard Recipe Box Dividers
A wonderful way to make use of the postcards you collect! These beautiful postcard recipe box dividers are seriously adorable, and a perfect way to preserve your best travel memories.
[pin]https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/231583605822616465/[/pin]
18. Map heart art
Simple yet so cute. Would be a cool idea to showcase your favourite parts of the world. Here’s House of Mahalo’s tutorial showing how you can have your own in a few minutes.
All you need is a map, some glue, and a cheap white frame (here’s a nice one off of Amazon).
[pin]https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/671880838148333573/[/pin]
19. Travel cord organizer
As someone who has spent probably hours over her lifetime untangling cords, this brilliant DIY is a must for those constantly on the go. Here’s a tutorial on how to make one of these organizers for yourself, courtesy of Create and Craft.
[pin]https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/216032113361961175/[/pin]
If you’re still with me (and not already reaching for that Mod Podge and glue gun), thanks for reading!
Let me know in the comments if I’ve missed any of your awesome DIY travel-related projects. I’m always on the hunt for more to add on my list!
Fishing for more travel decor inspiration?
Click here for 16 ridiculously beautiful travel prints from Etsy.
Ahhh I loved this post! These are such great ideas! My favourites are the personalised photo map and the travel keepsake boxes… How cute! Amazing ways to keep our travel memories alive 🙂 x
Flora
This is absolutely amazing ! I loved the one where you attach photos to the countries that you visited! I will definitely try it out!
Claudia
Great stuff! My daughter’s party theme this year is travel (she’s 4 and has been traveling all over the world!), and I might use some of these ideas. Thanks for sharing!
What an awesome theme for a birthday party!! I hope you take plenty of photos and blog about it 🙂 Can’t wait to see how it all turns out.
This is awesome! I love the photo wall, I’ve been collecting postcards as o go so that when I finally settle for more than 6 months I can do that! Great post 🙂
Thanks, Lauren! Yes isn’t the photo wall gorgeous? I used to collect postcards too but these days I prefer to just take photos of my own that I really love. My plan is to one day print my favourites out, frame them and make a massive gallery wall. So many ideas!! 🙂
Omg stop as soon as I have a home again after this trip I’m doing ALL OF THESE. I’m so stoked! Loved this post!!
What a great post! These are some great craft ideas… Totally pinning for later 😉 Thank you!
I love the travel jars – I actually started doing something very similar myself but with smaller craft jars. When I was about to leave the UAE where I had been living and working for eight months, I took some of the sand from our beach and our volleyball pitch and kept a few teeny tiny shells. I also looked after our fish tanks and had a pet hermit crab: when he met his final end, I kept his claw (possibly slightly weird?!) and the operculum from one of our snails that the before mentioned hermit crab ate, and stuck them all in the jar. I also had some absolutely tiny glass bottles for using in jewellery craft, and I put sand and two miniscule shells in them, and gifted them to my team before I left 🙂
Wow what a thoughtful and beautiful goodbye gift!! Those sound really beautiful, and such a good way to make use of souvenirs that would otherwise sit and collect dust. I’m guilty of hoarding random bits wherever I go, so to make them into something decorative would at least make my hoarding habit productive haha.
oh wow! love these ideas:)
Happy to hear that, Tanja!! Hope you get to try a few out.
Love this post! Definitely pinning it on my board “After Travel”. 🙂 How cute is the map and travel shelf?! Will be doing that myself! Once. If I have time. Love the wooden travel map as well, and the gallery wall of course! So many great ideas, so little time. Thanks for this awesome collection of great travel related DIY ideas!
An ‘After Travel’ board is such a good idea!! I find that surrounding myself with travel memories/travel-inspired decor helps a lot with post-holiday blues… that and obsessive Pinteresting of course haha.
oh my god!!! those are so amazing! love all of them so much! now i’ll need a bigger home to fit all of them into my place 😀 I actually do have a travel diy project as well where i live. it is a string art map pinned on my wall!
Oooh I’ve seen some of those online. They’re cool as well!! My friend has a corkboard map with custom location pins. It’s really neat.
I love these! 4 5 and 6 are my favourites! #6 is such a great way to store all though travel bits and bobs! ❤
So hard to pick favourites! But yes those ones are great… and honestly so simple and genius. I have tons of random things I’ve collected over my travels so it’s always good to find ideas on how to put them to use (rather than have them collect dust).
I love the ideas and I’m gonna save some of those for our future apartment decoration! I wish we had tons of old suitcases so I could make a coffee table for every single room!
Hahah that was my thought too… “Dang where do I buy vintage suitcases in bulk?” Happy crafting!! 🙂
Nice and inspiring post! I really love the globe :-).
Thanks Kimberley! Happy you liked it 🙂
Loving the ideas! I started doing a travel scrapbook about all my past travels 🙂
Ahh I used to love scrapbooking! I have a massive collection of papers and stickers but haven’t really sat down to make anything in the past few years. I should definitely get back into it.
So I’ve read this just as I’m settling in for a full day of work… Now all I can think about is travel and how much I want all of these things in my life… I applaud you for your distraction worth and wanderlust inducing post! Now, which should I make first? ;-P
Choosing is too tough so I would go with… all of them 😉
I love all of these ideas!
Thanks for reading, Rachel! 🙂
Whoa!!! I can’t wait to have a home base so I can do some of these wonderful maps haha
Haha cool map decor is one of the very few things that makes a travel blogger actually want a home base 😛
You made such an awesome list! I am definitely going to try atleast some of these out. You actually gave me a healthy amount of ideas for home- decor!
So many great ideas. Need to do that suitcase table
Wow some fantastic ideas here. Thanks. I already put pins in my map of the world but I love the idea of the luggage labels with the photos. I was wondering how to attach photos to the places in a nice way. I have now found my way.
Another which jumped out at me is the suitcase table. So beautiful.
Thanks you so much for sharing these wonderful ideas.
Some fantastic ideas here Christina! I love the idea of the keepsake boxes. They would be wonderful to look through years later.
These ideas are all so perfect I just want to do them all! I think I’ll start with the Postcard Travel Journal 🙂
I only need to decide now what project to start first! Love your collection of ideas and have shared on my fb page for my travel loving readers also 🙂 Annette
Thanks for sharing, Annette! 🙂
So many great ideas! Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome! Thanks for reading 🙂
These are so cute!! I have a map and postcard obsession.
Haha same here! hope you got a few good ideas for future projects 🙂
This blog is really cool. I have bookmarked it. Do you allow guest post on your site ?
I can provide high quality posts for you. Let me know.
Just found you through Meg Cale who mentioned you on Facebook!
Love this post and all about reading your Start Here and other posts!
Love these ideas!!
I love these ideas! My husband has been collecting globes for decades (think about that – he’s pretty old) and I am going to use these ideas to give his office some pizzazz.
Here’s my question: Where do you even get maps these days? Everything is on the internet, even though I love maps. If you have suggestions, I would love to know. Thanks.
Jean Ann
Hey Jean, that is awesome! He must have such a huge collection by now. RE: The maps – depending on what kind of maps you’re looking for, you can easily buy them online. Amazon would be a good bet I think!
Hey Christina your blogs are awesome! I can see you have 74k shares of this post on pinterest!
Congrats!!
Can you guide me on how you do such amazing work on pinterest?
Hey Sankalp, I actually run a social media blog with another amazing blogger (who is a Pinterest specialist). Check it out for loads of tips: https://slayingsocial.com/
Wow, these DIY projects are really beautiful. DIY projects are attracting me. So, I’m waiting for your upcoming DIY posts.
Thank you for sharing this post.