My kids are getting more into geography and are interested to see where our family has traveled on a map. I love the big wall maps I see on Pinterest, but I don’t have an empty wall to devote to that. Instead, I came up with a smaller DIY US travel map that only cost $17 to put together! Read on to see how to make your own DIY US travel map on a budget.

DIY US Travel Map – Supplies

Here are the supplies I used to create my DIY US travel map:

• 9 x 9 shadow box – I bought this when it was 70% off for $6.90. Another great option is this 8 x 8 shadow box on Amazon.
• Petite pearlized pins – I didn’t want full-size pins that wouldn’t fit behind the glass, so I specifically looked for shorter pins. Purchased with a 50% off coupon for $1.49.
• Additional color pins – Because I also wanted to represent the states my husband and I visited before children, I bought a few extra pin colors on Etsy. The price has gone up since I bought these for $2.50 each with free shipping ($7.50 total), so another option is this Etsy multipack with free shipping or this Amazon multipack. Just search for “map pins” or “map tacks.”

And here’s a closer view of the pins I purchased.

For the US map, I downloaded and printed a free printable at 65% size
(it’s an option in the print dialog) from MrPrintables.com. It’s the perfect size to fit in the 9 x 9 frame, and I love the fun colors and modern text.
Print on Cardstock to the paper won’t curl up over time.

DIY US Travel Map – Putting It Together

How cute is this?! I made a “legend” for the pin colors at the bottom. I created it in Google Slides using the Amatic SC font. It has the same all caps and handwritten feel as the map.

This will be the perfect addition to the built-in shelves in our gameroom. We have several family road trips under our belt, and I’m excited to add more pins to the map in the coming years!

How do you track your travels or your family’s travels? Perhaps you even have a world map?

P.S. Check out how I decluttered and decorated my gameroom built in shelves here! And if you’ll be taking a roadtrip with kids anytime soon, get inspired for car activities here and here.