DIY: How to Create a Unique Water Display That Showcases Your Travels

water display case, waters of the world, souvenir cabinet, diy project, diy crafts, diy, diy gift, diy decor, diy design, diy projects, interior design, recycled materials

It was while strolling along the shoreline of Sorrento on the southern coast of Italy that the idea came to me. The moment was so blissful that I wondered how I could capture a snapshot of it in my mind forever — but instead of my camera, I reached for a small bottle of hotel lotion I’d been carrying around in my bag. After quickly rubbing the remainder of the moisturizer on my legs, I lowered the plastic vessel to the waves as they lapped the shore and then happily capped my newly acquired treasure.

I still have that bottle of Sorrentine saltwater today, and I’ve collected a water specimen from nearly every country I’ve visited since then. Much more special than shotglasses or snowglobes (and much more aesthetically pleasing, in my opinion), these liquid memories look even more impactful as a collection displayed in your home. Read on to see how to make your own international water display following our DIY tutorial.

DIY Water Display Supplies and Steps

Here’s what you’ll need to get started…

– display case (There are many inexpensive and/or secondhand options to be found on sites like eBay, or you could even reuse a fancy tin cookie or chocolate box if it’s large enough)
– small bottles (I recommend using bottles from your hotel once you’ve used up the contents because then you don’t even need to label them)
– hand-written or machine-printed labels
– other travel mementos such as foreign currency, ticket stubs, matchboxes
– nails or hooks to hang your water display

Step 1:

Begin collecting bottles of water for your display case. This part admittedly takes a while, but you really just need one bottle to start your collection. You could also create empty labeled bottles in advance for places you plan on traveling to in the future and display those. Seeing them will encourage you to get moving on your travel plans. Just don’t forget to bring your bottles when you leave for your trip!

Step 2:

Label each water bottle with the city it was collected from using a label maker or by hand. You can also include the date. If you choose to use bottles from your hotels, you may be able to skip this step since many hotel toiletries are already marked with the hotel name and location.

Step 3:

Find an ideal spot in your home for your display case and hang it or lean it against a wall.

Step 4:

Begin populating your display case with your water bottles and other mementos. You may want to group certain bottles together by country or continent. And remember to leave plenty of empty spots for future travels!