I mentioned in my life update post that I have been doing more travelling since I met my wife. I am actually headed out of town tomorrow which prompted this post. As a kid I didn’t really go for souvenirs. I would’ve rather put that money towards new sneakers, but as an adult I am all in. I started picking up patches on our trips with the goal of creating a souvenir something (jacket or bag) in the future. Well the future is here and so is my cool souvenir bag.
At first I wasn’t sure if I was going to make a souvenir styled jacket or a bag. I went with a bag because I thought that I would get more use out of it. I actually picked up this L.L.Bean Boat and Tote at the L.L.Bean Flagship store in Maine while visiting my sister. So it’s kind of a double souvenir bag.
If you are interested in creating something like this I do have a few tips. The first is that if you don’t see a patch you like or any patches at all don’t worry. The internet is your friend. I picked up quite a few of my patches on Ebay and Etsy either while still travelling or after I got back. I typically buy a patch for each state (or country) and then one that’s more specific to what we did there. For example, I have both a Utah patch and a Zion National Park patch.
The second tip is about placement. Before you start ironing or sewing them on do a dry run. By that I mean arrange them a few different ways. I took pictures of several different layouts before selecting what I thought looked the best. I then provided the pictures to my mom (S/O to my mom!) who did a bang up job executing.
I love my souvenir bag. I look at the patches and start thinking about all the good adventures that we have had like my first visit to a rain forest in Puerto Rico, Climbing Mt. Lafayette, or cycling through the country side in Costa Rica. It also gets me excited for all of our future adventures. I’ve included pics of all my patches below. See you all in 2 weeks!