Our family has a bucket list goal to explore all 50 states before the kids reach high school. We came up with this idea in 2012 and were looking for a way to document this idea for some time. Then, we found an easy online template on how to create your own personalized travel map from Thunderbunny Labs. Essentially it becomes a travel photo map where you can customize your picture into the shape of the state you visited. It has been a fantastic keepsake of our travels and has helped us document our adventures. Our USA photo map has become one of our favorite travel souvenirs and one of our favorite things to do with travel photos. As of August 2021, we have completed 50/50 states!
How You Can Create a Personalized Travel Map
Thunder Bunny Labs has created a simple online template where you can upload your own pictures to see how they fit within each state or location to create your USA photo map. There are various travel map options to choose from, but since our family has visited so many states, we chose the blank version of the United States. We now have a personalized travel map in our living room that we love to look at and reminisce about.
Once our USA photo map arrived, we couldn’t wait to start adding pictures to see what our family travel map would look like. I will be honest, it is a little time-consuming to create, but so much fun. Once the pictures are printed, cut it out, but be sure to leave some white space around the edges of the picture. Don’t cut right on the line – if you do it leaves a little space when you place it on the map. We learned the hard way and our Oregon looks weird.
Make sure you find a large flat area (a table) and then turn your map around and start placing the states into the map. Be sure to have scotch tape handy to stick the state to another state or the edge. It can be tricky and states can overlap, so before you are done, turn it around and check before you close up the frame.
Check out how you can create a personalized photo map by clicking the picture below.
Some states are very easy to find pictures that fit your entire family, while others can be a bit tricky due to their odd shapes. Regardless, it is a fun project to be able to create our own USA travel map and find pictures of the states we have visited. Now that we have this though, we plan on keeping the shape of the state in mind when we are taking our pictures on vacation!
For those of you that have other travel goals or just want to document where you have been, there are other options besides creating a USA photo map. Thunder B
There are also blank maps of Canada, the Caribbean islands, the Mexican states, Australia, and Europe. These are great ideas if you have traveled around a particular continent and would love a travel photo memory to display your vacation. Click on the pictures below to create your own personalized travel map.
Personalized Travel Maps: Other Travel Photo Map Options
There are so many personalized travel maps to create besides using countries or states. For sports lovers, there are even ways to create a travel photo map of the baseball parks, basketball areas, hockey arenas, and football stadiums you have visited.
There are even options for those who love visiting the national parks. This personalized travel map allows you to add a picture to each national park you have visited. Our family recently used the 4th grade national park pass and visited 12 national parks in one year! Check it out by clicking on the picture below.
Another great option for creating a travel photo map is to purchase solo blank templates of all 50 states. An idea as to how this could be used in your house is to buy your home state and add a picture of your family. If you have lived in another state, you could display both to show the past and present. There are so many ways to create your personalized travel map. Since we moved states, we ended up buying a Florida and Connecticut solo frame to create personalized wall decor. Check out some examples below.
If you are thinking of showcasing your travel around the USA, this personalized travel map is a great way to do it. Below is a social media post about our plans to visit our remaining states and how we planned to document our family bucket list of visiting all 50 states. I highly recommend displaying your travel photos. It is such a nice way to keep your vacation memories alive once you are back.
Thunderbunny Labs also takes custom country orders. This can be particularly useful if you have just visited a country and would like a framed travel photo map of that location. There are many listed on the website, but if you don’t see the specific country you are looking for, send them a message and they will add it.
For other ideas on how to display your travels, check out this post – Best Ways to Document your Travels. For other ways to decorate your home with memories from your travels, check out this page that has 70+ world travel themed home decor ideas or my post on other personalized wall decor items to make your house a home.
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I love this and am always looking for more ways to show our travels in our home. This is perfect!! We are moving soon and would love to create this for our new home =)
This is such an imaginative way to show off your holiday snaps! I love it!
What a fun way to remember all your travels, I’d love to have something like this to display
This is such a cool idea! It would be so hard for me to pick the perfect photo!
This is a really cool idea!
Love this! I DIYed a cork map awhile back, and we loved it! We have been looking for a new way to document our baby’s travels now, and this looks perfect!
What a great idea! I’m going to do this with a Canadian map!
This is such a great idea! I have the scratch world map but I don’t get to show any pictures from our travels
What a cool idea! This would make a really unique gift, thank you for sharing!
What a fun idea! Keeping this in mind for the next gift I need 🙂
I’ve never seen this before! It’s such a great idea. I’m bookmarking your page for the next time I need a gift.
Oh I want to do this – I love all kinds of maps and map decor, and this is so cool!
This is such a fun and unique idea! I would love to do one of Europe.
This is awesome! I am in the process of creating a travel themed guest room and this map would be perfect. I would need Canada though. Thank you for this!
This is so cute! It’s also a great motivation for travelling. I can imagine myself purchasing the European one and planning our next 10 vacations in different European countries! 🙂
I like the idea of creating a whole wall of the individual frames in with the shape of the individual states, that way you can reorganize them to keep your wall looking different and interesting. Or even just buying a load of ones for the same state. I’ve spent a lot of time in California, and it’d be cool to have a whole wall of those.
Love it! I have seen many scratch-off maps and magnetic ones, but this is such a neat and personalized idea!
This is just the coolest thing ever! I am absolutely in love with this idea! I’ve seen other similar maps, but this one is truly unique and inspiring. I can imagine it is a true conversation piece in your home! How close are you now to reaching your 50-state goal?
We are at 45/50
This is so cool! Great gift idea too! Thanks for sharing
What an amazing bucket list goal. This is definitely how to create treasured memories as a family. I love it!
This is a great idea for sharing and displaying your travels.
This is so cool! I have seen these before and have been wanting to get one. My goal is to visit as 50 states as well and I would love to have something like this hanging in my living room. And its awesome that they have so many custom themes
What a lovely idea! Great way to capture travel memories..
What a beautiful memento and a lovely way to document your travels! I don’t live in the US so it might take me a little while to get around all of the states! But I think those solo frames are stunning and a perfect way to capture our US trips. Thanks for the inspiration!
These travel maps are so special and unique because they are personalized! I really need to start one with my family asap!
I’ve been thinking about a Thunderbunny for so long! I get ads for it like everyday:) They’re so cool!
This is such a fantastic idea! I would love to try to make one of Europe.
I have this map! And this is a great reminder to get on it and fill in more of our state spaces. 🙂 Such a fun way to document your travels!
This is so cute!
This is such a beautiful way to display your travel pictures. I love how unique it is. I’d love the world map one. And great tips about cutting out the pictures, I always wondered how that was done
This is a fabulous idea. I like that there are ones to Canada and baseball stadiums which I love. I’m going to check these out. I’ve visited all 50 states but don’t have photos for all as some were many years ago and drive-throughs. I hope you get to Hawaii–it’s worth it!
This is such an awesome idea!!
I’ve been wanting to make a collage like this for a while now, but it never got finished quite the way I liked. I made one online with the PhotoMAP Creator at usatrippin.com and I really like how it turned out. It doesn’t have the same 3D matting as the cutout version, but I was able to drop in my own specific background in Photoshop. I had a copy printed to hang up for home, but I also use it as the desktop background on my PC.