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What do you collect?

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Date: 1/2/2006 10:44:50 AM
Author: fire&ice

What don''t I collect. I collect therefore I am - is my motto.
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LOL! I think I will adopt this! Both my parents were history teachers and collectors, and I definitely inherited it. I remember being about 7 and walking around an antique store with my dad, hands clutched together tightly in front of me so I wouldn''t touch/break anything. When he was alive, antiquing was "bonding" for Dad and me. He always got me pieces for my collections or books about them for major gift occasions.

Currently:
Antique Clothing Buttons (mostly carved mother-of-pearl and pressed horn)
Vintage sewing patterns from the 20s and 30s, as well as pattern catalogues from those eras
Vintage fabric from the 20s-50s (mostly rayons)
Antique picture frames
Schofield "Baltimore Rose" pattern flatware and holloware
Vintage Postcards (mostly Belmar, NJ)
Hand-blown art glass Christmas tree ornaments (also bird ornaments)
Antique furniture (currently a pretty eclectic mix!)
Books (but I really can''t actually afford to become a true bibliophile...yet)
Persian rugs (only two so far)

I will also be inheriting parts of my father''s salt-glazed stoneware and political button collections, but I need to learn more about both subjects before attempting to add to them...I wish I had paid more attention when he was alive.
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Hmmm, I think if I collected less, I would have a lot more money for diamonds! Of course, if I could afford it, there are a lot of other things I would collect, including antique jewelry!
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Here are a few of my favorite buttons:

Pierced and carved mother-of-pearl/shell

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Those are really pretty Fatafelice!!!
 
Here are some darker (abalone) carved shell buttons:

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Thanks, Kaleigh!

The great thing about buttons is that most are not very expensive. The problem comes when you buy a LOT of them!
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I''m loving reading about and seeing others'' collections.

I''ve been trying to think of what I collect, and everything I think of was stuff I used to collect as a kid- I used to love My Little Ponies (I have about 15 of them still, at my parents) and Sylvanian families... stamps, Disney ceramic figurines... but I don''t really collect any of those anymore!

I suppose I have random stuff here and there -

I like anything monkey or panda. I was born the year of the monkey, and cute ones (non- stuffed animal) are hard to find.

I pick up the occassional Hard Rock Cafe pin when I''m out of town somewhere, I like finding the ones that are city specific. I like pins because they''re small.
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I have the Mc Donalds kids menu collection of FInding Nemo characters somewhere in my closet...

I also like books. I have a lot of Calvin and Hobbes, and hardcover editions of my favorites novels - none that are valuable, but they are old friends.
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Date: 1/2/2006 4:43:32 PM
Author: fatafelice
Here are a few of my favorite buttons:

Pierced and carved mother-of-pearl/shell
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Wow, I just had a major memory flashback. I asked my Mom about it and she said I was too young to possibly remember it but when I was 2 my grandmother gave me a jar of old buttons and according to my Mom I carried them everywhere and played with them all the time!! Seeing these old buttons triggered this memory!! I use to carry these things around everywhere I went. I even had a pink mother of pearl button they put on a piece of thread and made me a necklace out of. I wonder what ever happened to my buttons?
 
Date: 1/2/2006 5:49:33 PM
Author: DiamondPrincess
Wow, I just had a major memory flashback. I asked my Mom about it and she said I was too young to possibly remember it but when I was 2 my grandmother gave me a jar of old buttons and according to my Mom I carried them everywhere and played with them all the time!! Seeing these old buttons triggered this memory!! I use to carry these things around everywhere I went. I even had a pink mother of pearl button they put on a piece of thread and made me a necklace out of. I wonder what ever happened to my buttons?
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Diamond Princess: That is really neat! There is just something about old buttons that seems special.

If you can find your old buttons and still want to wear them, there is at least one company I know of that makes jewelry out of them. As a collector, I''m not sure I approve
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, but some of the pieces are beautiful and at least then they get used and seen! PM me if you are interested and I''ll try to find the info on the company.
 
I don''t have any collections that I''m really committed to.. but I do have a very large collection of Cabbage Patch Kids! My parents got me my first CPK when I was 4 or 5 and it was always my favorite baby doll. I had a huge baby doll collection as a child, but I think the CPKs are the only one''s I still have(no. thats not true.. I have them all
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).. I probably had almost 10 CPK from when I was little.. But then when CPK came back a few years ago, Toys R Us was making them exclusively, and they were BEAUTIFUL. They didn''t come in boxes.. and they all had real "cornsilk" hair... I bought four of those, even though they were $40 a pop! I have one "kid" girl, two "baby" girls and one "baby" boy. I didn''t get a chance to buy a "kid" boy... although I''d want one if I could find them again, but they are hard to come by those ones and I dont'' like the new ones they have now that come in the boxes..
 
How about beanie babies. For the kids and I it was all about "The hunt " for the hard to find ones. Now we have loads of them. Hubby laughed as I said years ago, these will be valuable one day. He had the last laugh on that one!!!
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FI says I look like a mental patient in this picture.. but I''ll share with you all anyway! This is just my four "new" ones.

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I also have a Bra collection. All Victorias Secret, of course. I''d say I have at least 50 bras.
 
Well this is a fun thread! I, like some have mentioned previously, have numerous "collections," most of which my mother started for me that will never be complete, because after a couple of years on one thing, she forgets and goes onto something else she thinks I need to collect. When I was little it was dolls, the ones you can''t play with, that are now sitting in boxes somewhere in my parents'' house. Then it was North American Bears (remember on the t.v. show "Full House," one of the girls had Mr. Bear? He was actually Humphrey Beargart, or a bear that looked like Humphrey Bogart.) I have him, Scarlett O''Beara, Albeart Einstein, and Lauren Bearcall. Ok, so someday I can give them to my kids, so I guess that wasn''t too terrible a thing to collect. Just wish I had more than 4 of them!

The main things I collect that people have actually helped me keep up are Christopher Radko "tropical" themed ornaments and garlands--I have a pretty extensive collection, enough to do a small tree, but they are hard to find. Most of the pieces have been obtained by my parents on their vacations to Florida over the years. DH and my favorite movie is Wizard of Oz, so we both have lots of unusual things with that theme. My SIL gives me a Cow Parade figurine depicting a character from the movie every Christmas...I have 4 of those now. Finally, I have received lots of unusual handbags which I love from my mother and MIL in recent years. The most recent was from this Christmas. My MIL gave me a really cool bag covered entirely in pieces of seashells, even the handle is three strands of small shell beads. I have a couple of those cigar box purses, one that is made from an old vinyl Jimmy Buffett album (the front is the album cover, and the back is the actual record itself, cool!), and several other unusual shapes/sizes/fabrics. Maybe someday I''ll be famous and they''ll end up at the Smithsonian. Sure....
 
Just popped in to say that I LOVE THIS THREAD!! Everyone has such neat collections!

Keep ''em coming!!!!
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Besides fabulous jewelry, what do you collect widget??
 
Author: kaleigh
Besides fabulous jewelry, what do you collect widget??
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Don''t you think that''s enough??
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Actually, when I was way younger I never collected anything, and I always envied those that did...great fun I thought, to have something to ''look for'' when traveling, flea-marketing, etc...

I do love my jewelry collection, and seem to ''need'' to add to it, but I do carry a bit of guilt with it... not too good for my kids'' inheritances!
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You have an awesome collection of wonderful pieces widget, some of the nicest I''ve seen. Nothing wrong with that. My other grandmother collected Owls of all things. Had a ton of them. I don''t know how it started, but once people associated her with owls, that''s all she got for gifts. Got kinda crazy!!!
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This thread is so fun to read. I would have to stay away from some of your house since I am extremely terrified of frogs. Actually my sisters and I went to a creek and caught tadpoles when we were little, and we kept them in a jar. I watched them transforming into frogs and they totally freaked me out. Now I can''t even look at anything that looks like frogs. Even right now as I am typing, I am getting goose bumps.

I collect shot glasses from different places, schools, etc. I got a few as gifts even though I didn''t tell people that I collected them. I always collect Hello Kitty plush dolls; I have over 30 of them. I also have a couple Hello Kitty bags and watches, but don''t really consider them a collection since I wear them. I also like purses and shoes, but I don''t consider them a collection either for the same reasons. I wouldn''t mind if I have more those.
 
I collect old book volumes and try to stick to first editions. I don’t have many, but my favorite is a first edition of Dorothy Parker’s.
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There is just something about the feel of old heavy paper, and the scent that those books have.
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When I was a kid, I collected spoons, disney figurines, crystal figurines, decorative plates and stuffed animals.

The spoons were/are my favorite. My dad used to travel a lot for work, so he would always bring me a spoon back from where ever he went. I wish I still collected those; it would have been fun to keep up with all of the places I went to as a teenager/adult.

I got over the Disney figurines really fast & when I moved recently, I handed them down to my cousins who are 7 & 4.

I still have the crystal figurines, but they are packed away in a box, with no hopes of exiting any time soon.

I sold my decorative plates at a garage sale for 50 cents a piece
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My poor stuffed animals are in plastic bins in the closet now. My fiance will not let them come out of the bins & we are still discussing where my 5 foot teddy bear is going in our new house (currently still with the parents!)
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My grandma tried to get me to start collecting Effenbee dolls when I was younger. I have about 12 of them & I was never allowed to play with them b/c "they might be worth money someday". They are currently selling on e-bay less than what she originally paid for them in 1985 (they still have the price tags on them!)

I don''t collect anything now, but maybe I''ll go back to my spoons
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Fun thread!
 
I LOVE trees!!!! I also love photography. I got a digital camera for 2 Christmas''s ago and have been taking pictures of trees and nature. My fiance got me a beautiful print of a photo of trees which will start my collection which will include many of my pictures.

He also told me that once we are married and settled, I can take a photography class so I can really start enjoying my hobby.
 
Date: 1/2/2006 6:42:43 PM
Author: kaleigh
How about beanie babies. For the kids and I it was all about ''The hunt '' for the hard to find ones. Now we have loads of them. Hubby laughed as I said years ago, these will be valuable one day. He had the last laugh on that one!!!
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I don''t collect anything, but I used to tag along on the beanie baby craze. I''d buy them at the store for $7-10 and sell them on ebay for $60-100. At first my husband was ticked at me, but then thought I was a genius and now he always wants me to find the next "thing" and jump on it. For me, it was a chance to just finance my collection . . .

FOUNTAIN PENS. My best pen was an old Waterman pen from the 1920s with beautiful sterling silver overlay. It was a vicious fight at an auction to get it, but I won, restored it, and it had a lovely rare nib. Unfortunately, we ran into money trouble at one point and I had to sell my best and most beautiful pen . . . my husband LOST my second best pen, a beautiful Aurora. I had to sell of some others too, and now my collection is somewhat depleted, but I hope to get it going again one day.
 
When I was a kid I had a stamp collection and a coin collection, although I wasn't really committed to either... I found them both a few years ago so every now and then, when I travel, I put some coins/notes from different places aside in a box... but haven't actually put them into my old coin collection book yet....

I don't feel like I collect anything now, I guess... maybe books? But it's not a focussed activity - just that I always see SO MANY books I want to read, and I can't help but buy them! Plus, I can NEVER throw a book away!! One day, I dream of having a proper "library" room in my house - complete with wall-to-wall bookshelves, overstuffed chairs and a huge wooden desk. 99% of my books are non-fiction so I would love to have them all properly classified and catalogued, too!!
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I keep starting a bonsai collection, and that is one of my long-term dreams (along with the library - a large bonsai garden/ collection!!) but because I have moved every few years, I keep having to give them away/sell them.... which is heartbreaking
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... so I am trying hard not to invest too much into that hobby anymore, unfortunately...

I guess I sort of "collect" the photography magazine '(Not Only) Black + White' - I have every one published since issue 00, which came out in the mid-1990s, and they are currently up to issue 80-something.

I have always loved and admired photography and have recently decided to take it up myself more seriously.... so in the past few months I have spent quite a bit on getting a proper kit together.... perhaps collecting lenses will become my next hobby, to replace the (more perishable) bonsai??
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Cheers
 
I LOVE stars!
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I have them everywhere DH will let me and even use them on here when i can! Necklaces, earrings, plates, garden decorations, Gund teddy bears in star suits, socks, underwear, coffee mugs, on our christmas tree, stained glass ones hanging in our kitchen, blankets, towels, etc, etc, etc. My favorites by far are from my MIL... a couple years ago she got me two of the really big, old, rusty ones that you see on the side of buildings and what not. LOVE THEM!!! I would say 85% of my collection have been gifts. And i promise i didnt plan it, but my last two jobs have had stars either in their company name or part of their logo!

I also have a healthy collection of dolls from around the world that my aunt started for me when i was little. She did a lot of traveling (worked for an airline), so everywhere she went, she would bring me back a doll. My favorite is a "dancing" girl from India... her head, upper body and lower body are seperate so when you touch her, she dances. My mother is ready to move the collection to my house and DH says no way!

ETA:
Mata - I totally know what you mean by the smell of old books, i love that smell too!

I also have a collection of Madame Alexander dolls, still in the original boxes that my mom collected for me when i was a baby. Again something DH isnt interested in and in all honesty, I dont know where we would put them! I guess i need to start selling all this on Ebay or something.
 
I''m with WTNLVR- I love the pewter figures, I have 43 pieces, but haven''t bought any the last couple of years since the store where I used to buy them closed. Are yours the Tudor Mint Myth & Magic Collection too?

I also love medieval swords and daggers- presently 12 swords and 18 daggers. My bedroom scares people.
 
Oh, can''t forget... Hello Kitty
 
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