Vacation souvenirs can become part of the home if displayed creatively

Instead of letting your summer vacation memories fade with your souvenirs into the back of a closet, make your travel mementos a part of your home decor. Here are some do-it-yourself ideas for giving your travel tokens a permanent place in your home.

TRAVEL GALLERY WALL

Display art, photos or postcards from your vacation destinations in mismatched frames to create a gallery wall that not only looks chic but reminds you of your travels, like this one from the blog Postcards from Rachel at http://tinyurl.com/lt4lwhe.

HOMEMADE JEWELRY

Bring home a small seashell with a hole in it, paint it gold and string it on a chain for a homemade necklace that will bring back vacation memories. More details are on the blog Madigan Made at http://tinyurl.com/or4szgl.

MEMORY JARS

Save used glass jars and fill them with photos, trinkets, currency, sand — whatever you bring back from your trip. Display the memory jars throughout your home or together on a shelf.

PHOTO LETTERS SHADOWBOX

Use a photo-editing program to print vacation photos in the shape of letters spelling your destination (see Photoshop alphabet frames from designaglowshop.com) and frame it in a shadowbox along with a display of souvenirs. Here’s how one came together: http://tinyurl.com/n8dggq4.

CHRISTMAS ORNAMENT

Fill clear glass ornaments with souvenirs from your vacations to turn your Christmas tree into a travel scrapbook.

VACATION BOX

Paint a wooden box, decoupage a map onto the top of the lid and fill it with vacation mementos. See the tutorial from Wayfair Ideas &Advice at http://tinyurl.com/ndr3gg8. After each trip, add a box to the stack.

PRESSED PENNIES MAP

If you collect pressed pennies from tourist destinations, chances are they’re stashed in various drawers and boxes around your house. Bring them together and display them on a framed map to document the places you’ve been.

DIRT COLLECTION

Collect soil samples from the places you visit and display them in small glass vials, like this display from the blog Wit &Whistle at witandwhistle.com/2010/03/18/cheap-as-dirt. Who knew dirt could look so clean?

DISH TOWEL

Create a souvenir dish towel using a menu from a favorite restaurant you visited on vacation. See the tutorial from Women’s Day magazine at www.womansday.com/in-this-issue/souvenir-ideas.