Travel Crafts

We can't all spend all of our time traveling. There are other things...like work, bills, and well, those are the only two reasons for me. And a general lack of funds. But when I'm home, between trips, I like to keep my mind in travel with some DIY projects.

The project I most often find myself working on would be scrap-booking. I take a lot of photos when I travel, and for me if I'm going to print them and stick them in an album then I might as well not print them at all. But if I can print them and work on a scrap-book then I have something fun to fill my time, and something cool to show for it. Scrap-books are much more fun to share with family and friends than plain albums.
Tips: Hobby Lobby, AC Moore, and Michael's seem to be the best places to buy supplies. But only Hobby Lobby and AC Moore offer coupons online. On any given day you can print (or pull up on a smart phone) at least a 40% off coupon. Scrap-books also make a handy place to store brochures, tickets, and other little things you picked up on vacation.

I'd say I need to travel the West coast more

My second favorite project to date is my wall map. I got a large map of the united states, attached it to cork board, and framed the entire thing. I have push pins in all of the cities that I've visited. I also have smaller maps of the other countries I've visited with pins.
Tips: I got my map for free at the Cracker Barrel. The cork board works much better if it is first affixed to a board of the same size. My frame is made of ceiling molding. And I had my Daddy's help.

These are pretty much water proof as well

Just the other day I made myself a set of map coasters. These were extremely easy and only took about fifteen minutes. I already had coasters (which were actually coaster-sized tiles). I cut pieces of a map to fit the top of the coaster then coated the coaster top with mod podge and stuck the map piece to it. Then I covered the whole thing with another layer of mod podge.
Tip: I got old maps from a local upcycle store for a quarter each. I like to keep my own maps of places I've visited so I didn't want to use those. You could probably do the same project with a variety of other pieces - vacation photos, brochures, event tickets, etc. Also, I do realize my coasters are a bit bumpy and that's in part to the folds in the map, so maybe use a section that hasn't been folded.

Now I just have to figure out what to do with the buttons

I made buttons for the first time the other day too. Buttons that go on clothing, or a bag. But you could also make pins. I used a map to cover the buttons as well.
Tip: You can buy button or pin making kits at craft stores. They were very easy to make with the kit.

While I was on a roll with my maps, I made a map box to hold my maps. And I covered the box using...yes, maps! An old map and mod podge.
Tips: I don't really have any. It's so simple. Get creative with other things you can use to cover the box.

Another ongoing craft I have constantly going (well, at least after every trip) is my travel journal. Now for me this isn't a diary of how my vacation went, but a journal to keep my notes from my vacation planning. I take extensive notes when I'm about to travel somewhere, and I decided to keep them in a fun little book. The notes are actually kind of funny to look over a couple years after the vacation.
Tips: Get a composition notebook for less than a dollar and then cover it with fabric, wrapping paper, scrap-book paper....or a map!