Keepsake Travel Boxes

I’ve had some plain wooden boxes sitting around Jasper’s room and have been anxious to get some paint on them. I mean, I should be fine with something plain, for once, but they were begging for color and a purpose. I finally figured out what to do with them–keepsake travel boxes! After each trip, I would fill a box with all the souvenirs, mementos, and photos that I collected. It serves as a physical reminder of all the fun and keeps me from misplacing all the special items gathered from the trip (unfortunately, a common problem in my life). Each wooden box is painted in a pattern and color scheme inspired by the destination. For example, the Mexico box is painted with a bright color block pattern. Then I can place all of my trinkets inside: polaroids, plane tickets, brochures, flight wings, coins, books, etc.

The Lars team has been able to go on a handful of wonderful trips in the past year and traveling has been a breeze thanks to Alaska Airlines and their global partners. The latest Lars escapade was to Orlando, where Mary and her sister Emily visited Harry Potter World. Alaska Airlines is our go-to for any West Coast flights, but they are also a great airlines for cross-continental trips as well. Mary and Emily had a ball on their vacation and these Keepsake Travel Boxes are the perfect way to remember every detail!

These would also make wonderful gifts for friends or family, especially when paired with some Alaska Airlines tickets! I personally can’t think of a better gift for the holidays than airplane tickets for a getaway. Gift the tickets inside the customized box and tell the recipient to fill the box with all their travel treasures. They’ll be thanking you for years to come!

Keepsake travel boxes

We painted three boxes to start with:

1) My France trip, represented by the classic and elegant blue, red, and cream tumbling block pattern that I saw in an old boulangerie. It confirms my obsession with the pattern lately (as evidenced by our office. Remember this?)

2) My most recent trip to Mexico City which inspired a color-block paint job a la the work of Luis Barragan

3) Mary’s trip to Harry Potter World in Orlando, which we chose to paint a gold and cream checkerboard as an homage to Gryffindor.

Keepsake Travel Boxes

Materials:

• Wood box (here are some similar ones) 
• Acrylic or house Paint
• Paintbrushes
• Ruler
• Painters tape
• Pencil

Instructions:

1. Identify which pattern you’d like to paint onto your box. We recommend choosing something inspired by your destination!
2. If necessary sketch out your pattern onto your box with a pencil beforehand.
3. *For the checkerboard and tumbling block, we used a ruler to draw on even and straight lines. We drew the tumbling block pattern onto a piece of paper with a charcoal pencil which we then transferred onto the wood box by rubbing firmly in place and matching up the pattern lines.
4. Use painters tape to help achieve straight lines on your box.
5. Paint your pattern onto your box. You may need a few coats depending on the color of your paint.
6. Remove tape and let dry.

Fill our Keepsake Travel Box with all souvenirs and display on your bookshelf for others to admire!

This post was sponsored by Alaska Airlines, but we are clearly huge fans! All opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the companies that keep Lars thriving!

Photography by Jane Merritt