10 Creative Ways To Arrange And Display An Old Matchbook Collection Around The House

Travel souvenirs are a great way to reflect on your journeys and all of the associated sights you enjoyed. Some people may enjoy collecting snow globes for their souvenirs, while others prefer mugs, pins or magnets. One possible good souvenir to collect from your travels is a matchbook. Often featuring the name and location of the matchbox creator, these small but memorable trinkets are perfect for anyone who wants a diverse collection or lacks space. They're often a free souvenir, don't take up much space in your suitcase or bag when traveling home, and can feature all kinds of art, from the minimal graphics to elaborate full-color designs. If you have an array of matchbooks, how do they display them so they aren't just all stuffed into a drawer? You can make them into a magnet, frame them as art, or exhibit them in other creative methods.

Matchbooks originated in the 1800s as a handy way to start a fire when needed for cigars or cigarettes, but weren't the advertising vehicle they are today. Then, in 1895, the Mendelson Opera Company used 100 blank matchbooks to advertise an upcoming operatic performance. After this ingenious advertising move, matchbooks quickly became the new "billboard," an easy, affordable way to promote. That tradition is still strong today. Even though the methods and venues for advertising evolved over the years, matchbooks are still a small, portable way to reflect a business or service. If you're an avid collector of matchbooks, here are creative ways to arrange and display the matchbooks throughout your home that are guaranteed to "strike" up a conversation with your guests!

One of the most classic ways to display a matchbook collection is to use a bowl or fishbowl, that you then set on a shelf or table. This method of display makes the matchbooks into art because of the various designs that they often feature. Seeing all of them together at once highlights the diversity of the medium, plus gives you little peeks at the origins of some of the matches. You could buy a bowl online, but using a thrifted piece of glassware can give it that extra touch. 

A cool and easy way to incorporate resin art in your home is by making coasters. You can see your matchbooks every day and make them functional by turning them into beautiful coasters for your table. Cover the matchbooks with resin in a mold like the RESINWORLD 6-Cavity Deep Round Coaster Molds set on Amazon. The resin will dry and encase the matchbook to form a durable coaster you can use again and again. Consider adding glitter or dried flowers, or just let the matchbooks be the star of the show.

You can't go wrong with another classic: the shadow box. Displaying matchbooks like this lets you see all of them at once, compared to other storage methods like a bowl. You might find one you like online like the TJ.MOREE Small Shadow Box Frame. However, you can also quickly learn how to create a shadow box for treasured keepsakes with common materials if you're skilled with woodworking. As you glue your matchbooks on a mat, consider arranging them with an old map or adding other ephemera, such as paper menus.

Why not turn the matchbooks into a bright and bold piece of art by gluing them onto an art canvas? If you aren't sure how big of a canvas, you need for your collection, try picking up a multi-pack. We like the Esrich 3 Pack Canvases for Painting with Multi Pack, which offers 11x14, 5x7, and 8x10 sizes. Mix in images of you or friends with the locales they advertise too, if you like. Before gluing to your canvas, lay them out to see what arrangement looks best. 

Printer's trays or letterpress trays, vintage wooden trays once for letterpress letters for printing, are a statement piece and display case in one package. Arrange your matchbooks into each compartment for an attractive wall display. The vintage ones can often be sourced at antique shops and shows, but you could also buy a modern one like the Long Tao Wooden Storage Divider Box Showcase Display Box for the same effect. Just make sure your matches can fit the compartments, scatter them throughout the tray as you like, then hang.

Another way you can use your collection of matchbooks every day is by making them into refrigerator magnets. You can remove the matches, then take the remaining art and attach it to magnetic sheets. Be careful and move slowly if you're working with vintage artwork, however. The sheets' adhesive makes it easy to turn matchbooks into individual magnets, then you can use them to put up your favorite snapshots or to-do notes. Your guests will likely enjoy seeing this creative use, and you can evoke memories each time you open the fridge.

An clear box, whether it's one you grab from the Dollar Tree or an elevated, decorated one from the antique store, can add an elegance to your matchbook collection. Like when you display matches in the fish bowl, the box lets you have a view of the various matchbooks contained within. You can arrange it on your coffee table with some books or on a bookcase and you have a stylish yet functional accent for your home. It's a cool piece of decor even if you don't intend to use the matches.

Fire up your creative instincts with a playful way to display your matchbooks. It's not just pictures that can be framed, your matchbooks can also be arranged in a colorful collage then added into a picture frame. An ornate frame with embellished designs will add a vintage motif to your collection, but it will likely look just as chic with a more modern frame, too. You can mount them on a piece of poster board cut to size, then make sure that every square inch of the board is covered before you replace the glass. 

If you only have a few matchbooks to display, such as a handful of vintage ones, a mini easel is a great choice. Try a set of KaKapops Mini Easels to prop up each matchbook for display. Using miniature easels turns these collectibles into small, unique pieces of art. They can also be a way to tie in to the theming of the area you display them within, such as restaurant matchbooks perched on a kitchen shelf or ones from a nightclub accessorizing a bar table or nook.

Do you have an unused ashtray laying around the house? Perhaps you picked up a cool one from a vintage shop, or maybe one from grandma's house because it reminded you of her. Or your mom gave you the grey, lumpy one you made her in school, a somewhat questionable relic from your childhood. Use matchbooks to repurpose unused ashtrays around your home. Just display the ashtray then fill with a few matchbooks. If you want to use the matchbooks, make sure to display your decoration near your candles or incense.