Learning how to make a memento kit is a quick and simple process. It can be as simple as grabbing mementos around your home for a quick memory dump or a memory box can be a simple art project. There are a couple of reasons I really enjoyed making a mini memento kit. I first came across the idea on Pinterest. It reminded me of how my grandparents would collect small objects such as a marble, an interesting coin, jewelry charms, etc, and put them in several keepsake boxes around their home. My mom, sisters, and I would visit them once a week to dust and clean for them. We loved dusting what we called the treasures boxes because they would let us explore the wondrous contents contained within. As I got older I enjoyed collecting memories in the form of a photo journal aka scrapbooking. A memento kit is the best of both worlds (keepsake box & photo journal).
In this post, I’m going to show you how to make a memory box out of an Altoids tin. If you are wondering what you would do with a memento kit I’ve got a few ideas for you.
- Fire Bag or Fire Safe – My sister had her house burned down many years ago. None of their important documents, photos, or valuables were protected. She has since then replaced many things that were lost but there are photos and keepsakes she misses very much. A memory tin could easily fit in a fire safe to be safeguarded against flooding and fire.
- Bug Out Bag – Natural disasters can hit so unexpectedly, destroying everything in their path and leaving people with nothing but what they are carrying. Pack a bag with a few essentials items and a memento kit. Having a bug-out bag is recommended by government agencies so you can evacuate from a bad situation at a moment’s notice.
- Give As A Gift – A memento kit is a great gift idea for a birthday, anniversary, or holiday. A trip down memory lane is one of the most precious gifts you can give a loved one.
How to Make a Memento Kit
Items Needed:
1. Tin – clean an empty Altoids tin or pick up a rectangular hinged tin from a craft store. I used a craft tin that measured 3.75 by 2.45 by 0.8.
2. Card Stock Scrapbook Paper – This is to line the top & bottom of the tin and make an accordion photo insert.
3. Scrapbook Adhesive Tape – This tape is pretty forgivable. It makes it easy to move a taped item if you don’t like its placement.
4. Stickers & ribbon – these are not necessary but it can add some fun to this art project. The ribbon is helpful to bind the accordion photo insert so it lays flat. I used a fancy paper clip instead of a ribbon.
5. 
Click on the image below to get a FREE Memory Tin Template
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My friend had her house burn down about five years ago. She had moved across the states, so she not only lost mementos from her current social group, but she lost all photos and trinkets from her old friends she wasn’t able to see, and she said those were the worst. Photos might not have been *as* bad, since everyone nowadays had a few digital copies of those lying around, but she lost jewelry, graduation cap tassels, yearbooks and scrapbooks, letters from her extended family, and (obviously) more.
What I’m getting at is, I wish she had been given a nice firesafe as a gift at some point, to at least give her memories a chance. even a couple items would have made the world to someone who lost everything else.
I feel like too many people in the prepper community focus on survival and basic comfort, and less on what makes a home a home. Especially when so many got into prepping because of their families.