Souvenirs! What have you done with them?

I walked the Camino in 2013 and 2014 and picked up several souvenirs along the way. I mailed a few big items home so that I did not have to carry them, and I tried to keep the rest as small as possible. I have finally gotten around to doing something with the smaller items.

I found this shadow box at Hobby Lobby about a year ago. (Note- the glass front has been removed so that I can insert my items.) After gathering some of my favorite items, I arranged and re-arranged them several times until I came up with a grouping that I was satisfied with. I have now started gluing them in place.

Included are some figurines and a coin from Burgos (where I started my Camino), a couple of rocks I collected along the way, the shell from my backpack, some small wooden necklaces, a patch that we made and handed out to friends we met, some small tiles, shells and ocean water we collected in Muxia, a Lego "mini-me", a wine cork, Capirote figures, a rosary, and some small tin postcards. I also included the hiker medal that I bought (https://www.hikermedals.com/) for me and my friends as a Christmas gift.

I used small hooks to hang several items (Camino shell, necklaces, medal, tin shell, etc), and to give the shadow box a little bit of depth. Behind the Lego and Capirote figures is a sticker of the famous Camino graffiti. The tin postcards are also glued to the back of the box.

Overall layout (front glass has not been re-installed yet):


Pics of the 4 quarters of the box:


Water from the beach at Muxia. The vial has a shell from the beach glued to it, and I used a clear label that wouldn't cover the whole bottle:


Hooks used for hanging items in the shadow box:


I also considered using some of my favorite photos for background images, but I couldn't settle on just 5 that would fit the spaces available.

Oh! Naturally, I had my Compostela framed. I decided to have some fun with it- this started as a joke between me and my friends when we visited the Prado. We were being a bit too giggly for the stuffy crowd in the Prado, and at one point I asked my friends, "do you think these fancy frames are available at Hobby Lobby?" When I came home, I had my Compostela placed in a golden frame with a deep burgundy colored velvety matte:


I hope this will give some of you an idea of something that you can do with your souvenirs. Have you done something creative? How about showing off what you have done with yours?

Bala said:

Great display. And I love your Compostela frame!! Classy. I'm still collecting souvenirs, but I'll remember your ideas when the time comes.

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That Compostela frame needs a velvet rope in front of it, don't you think? LOL It doesn't match anything else that I own, and it sticks out like a sore thumb... which is why I like it. It's absurd. LOL

Terry Ruttger said:

I made an end table in my living room by using a birdbath with a glass table top.

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Oh, wow- that's a brilliant use of the bird bath! Great idea!!!

Yoyo said:

I especially like the little tiles.

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Those tiles were magnets that I found in Santiago. They are about 1.5" square.

It seems that Lego hikers are getting more popular! It's a little bit scary how much mine actually does resemble me.