bookmarks group1There are quite a few things I look to buy when traveling, but an item that I often recommend to anyone looking to start a souvenir collection is the bookmark. I have over 80 bookmarks I’ve collected in my travels, and I hope to add more with future trips. So what makes the bookmark the perfect souvenir?

Portability

Bookmarks are small and nearly weightless. You don’t have to worry about how you’ll get them home, if they will break, or if you have room in your suitcase. Even if you’re traveling with carry on luggage you can bring them home. You don’t even have to really pack them, just stick them in an outside pocket or inside a book.

 

Cost

Bookmarks are cheap! It is only in rare instances that I have spent more than $5 for a bookmark, even the artisan-made unique bookmarks I search out. You can easily bring home a souvenir from everywhere you go without making a dent in your budget, yet they make a big impact (more about this later). This is also a great benefit because you can simply buy them as you see them – no deciding if you might find a better one later in the trip. Buy all the ones you see and then decide when you get home which ones belong in your collection.

 

Availability

While bookmarks aren’t in every cheap souvenir store the way shot glasses, thimbles, and t-shirts are, they are still relatively easy to find. They’re often positioned near the register in shops. Shops at museums and historical sites frequently carry bookmarks. Stores carrying artisan crafts often sell them. You can also find them at galleries and craft co-ops where there are sometimes bookmarks that are mini prints of the art carried in the store.

 

Servicability

Unlike a lot of souvenirs, you can actually use bookmarks in your daily life. They are great for marking your page in the novel you’re reading, but they can also be stuck in your cookbooks to mark your favorite recipes or in your Bible or book of poetry to hold a favorite section. It’s a lovely surprise to open a book and be reminded of a place you visited.

 

Uniqueness

I’ve never met anyone else who collects bookmarks as a souvenir, so you will be part of a small class.  Your bookmark collection will be eye-catching and surprise people who see it.

 

Artistic Quality

Although bookmarks are definitely made to be used, they also are easy to display. I create groupings of bookmarks in large frames and hang them on the walls of my office. Many of them are really small works of art. I have bookmarks that are quilted, pressed flowers, metal, gemstones, carved wood, leatherworked, lace, graphic prints, photographs, woven fabric, and even glass. Because they are so tiny, you can display many in a small space.

Start by picking up a couple of bookmarks on your next trip. Stick them into books or wait until you have about 10 to frame them. They make the perfect souvenir.

There are quite a few things I look to buy when traveling, but an item that I often recommend to anyone looking to start a souvenir collection is the bookmark. I have over 80 bookmarks I’ve collected in my travels, and I hope to add more with future trips. So what makes the bookmark the … Read more

map napkinsI’m guilty of having several collections and I just decided to start a new one (shhh – don’t tell my husband!). If you’re a collector, you probably have some interesting stories about how your collections started.

Some collections are inherited. That’s how I became interested in Depression glass. My grandmother collected it and I inherited a lot of it from her. I add a few pieces now and then.

Some collections are gifts. My grandmother started buying me bone china teacups when I was just a child. I’ve honed that collection to be teacups that represent holidays or seasons.

Some collections just start themselves. You realize you have several items that go together. Display them together and they become a collection. This is how we began buying paintings on our trips. Over the years I had purchased a couple just because I liked them. I realized they were a very nice thing to have and a lovely way to remember the trips. Now we try to buy one special painting that depicts the landscape on each trip we take (although we are about to run out of wall space, so I’m not sure if this collection will hit a dead end soon!).  Something similar happened with my sheep collection. I have one sheep I bought as a child in Maine. I stumbled on one in Montreal years ago that I loved and realized if I dug out the original Maine sheep, it was the start of a collection.

Many of my collections begin when I find something I really like. I always ask “What am I going to do with this?” when deciding whether to buy something. I had a moment like this recently when we spent a long weekend in the Adirondacks. In a tiny shop in Keene Valley, I found a vintage-style tea towel with an illustrated map of the Adirondacks. I’ve been hooked on the vintage style map ever since seeing a set of drinking glasses with a vintage map of Yellowstone that I didn’t buy this past summer. I saw this tea towel and fell in love with it, but I asked myself “What am I going to do with this?” I hit on the idea of building a collection of these and using them as quirky dinner napkins. I bought the towel and am now on the hunt for others from other locations we have visited. And thus a collection is born.

Sometimes you start a collection and it peters out. I’ve had a couple of failed collections. I had a few pieces of artisan made glass fruit. I realized after a while that I didn’t really like it. The same thing happened with fortune cookies. I started a collection of some metal ones. They were hard to find and they are all pretty similar, so that collection went to the back of the closet, at least for now. I inherited teaspoons that my grandmother collected on her travels. I’m just not a fan of those, so my mom took them.

How did your collections start?

I’m guilty of having several collections and I just decided to start a new one (shhh – don’t tell my husband!). If you’re a collector, you probably have some interesting stories about how your collections started. Some collections are inherited. That’s how I became interested in Depression glass. My grandmother collected it and I inherited … Read more

PolarBearDisplay2My daughter and I have started the tradition of taking one of those holiday tours of homes each year. Last year I came home with many decorating ideas and I waited a whole year to implement them! One thing I saw in several homes were themed collections on shelves in kitchens, made into little vignettes. I always tend to lean towards decorations that emphasize whatever aspect of nature is connected to the holiday (Easter: eggs, St. Patrick’s Day: shamrocks, Thanksgiving: turkeys, Halloween: pumpkins). It was time to expand my Christmas decorations. I hit on polar bears and became obsessed. So far, I’ve only bought two, but am hoping Santa might add to my collection. I love the ones that are mostly faceless – I’ve never been a fan of anthropomorphic faces on animals. These polar bears found their way into my cart at TJ Maxx and HomeGoods for under $10 each. I put them on the shelf above the window over the sink, added some silvery and ivory beaded garland, some cheap plastic stars from Walmart, and some berries from Michael’s to match my kitchen blue theme.  I’m happy to have the polar bears keeping me company in the kitchen. What Christmas collections do you have?

My daughter and I have started the tradition of taking one of those holiday tours of homes each year. Last year I came home with many decorating ideas and I waited a whole year to implement them! One thing I saw in several homes were themed collections on shelves in kitchens, made into little vignettes. … Read more

Bookmark_RopeToday’s bookmark is from Maine. You’ve probably seen bracelets made with this sailor’s knot technique (I had one as a child). This bookmark is special to me because it reminds me of Captain Bob Smith. For most of my childhood, my family rented a cottage on Smith Cove (near Blue Hill), Maine for two weeks each summer. Bob and his wife Wilma owned Gull’s Way Cottages, a group of three cottages. The one we stayed in was built of logs and must have been built in the early 1900s. It was a summer home for a wealthy family, complete with a tiny maid’s cottage on the grounds. It was a magical place. The screened in porch sat above the shore and there was a decrepid upholstered porch swing I spent my days on, reading. In front of it was a cobbler’s bench that served as a coffee table. A card table was set up on the porch with a jigsaw puzzle. A creek trickled through the property to a small waterfall on the shore. A stone patio with a fireplace was built into the hill and stone steps went down to the rocky beach where there were mussels and shells. A wooden pier led to a floating dock where a rowboat we used was tied. I would swim in the frigid water and explore on the shore that smelled of salt, mud, clams and seaweed.

Captain Bob had been a sea captain and so were both of his sons. When we arrived each year, we sat in his living room with his mementos and looked out a big picture window on the cove. He would stop by our cabin every few days to check on us and tell stories of his life. He took us out on his Boston whaler and let me steer.  He learned to make sailor’s knots during his time at sea. It helped pass the time. He wouldn’t eat lobster (scavengers he called them and insisted no real Mainer would eat them) and told me Coke was poison (he may have been right about that).

One year he gave me a sailor’s knot light pull he had made for me. For years, it hung from the overhead light in my bedroom, then on my closet light until I got married. It traveled with me and eventually got left behind on the pull of a closet light at a rental house. Moving out with a two-month baby, I simply forgot about it. It makes me sad to have left that behind. So this bookmark that I bought on one of our trips to Maine makes me remember Captain Bob and the cottage on the cove that I loved so much.

Today’s bookmark is from Maine. You’ve probably seen bracelets made with this sailor’s knot technique (I had one as a child). This bookmark is special to me because it reminds me of Captain Bob Smith. For most of my childhood, my family rented a cottage on Smith Cove (near Blue Hill), Maine for two weeks … Read more

The beginning of my bookmark collection

The beginning of my bookmark collection

One of my travel collections is bookmarks. They are wonderful to collect because bookmarks are sold in almost any destination and they are small, light, and inexpensive, making them easy to transport home and easy on the wallet. Bookmarks have been around as long as there have been books. Medieval book readers used them and it’s likely even papyrus scrolls were marked with bookmarks. (Read a brief history of bookmarks here.)

My bookmark collection started with a little bookmark I was given when our local library moved to its new home, about 13 years ago. We went to the grand opening and the first visitors were given bookmarks. I really liked it and I realized that bookmarks represented so much about me – not only am I someone who writes book, but I am an avid reader of books. I also love locally made hand crafts and there are many artisans who create bookmarks. My collection was born.

My bookmarks are displayed in groups in large frames in my office. Some are behind glass. Others are simply attached to a backing and put in a frame (if they are too thick for glass to fit over them). My husband has become very adept at attaching bookmarks with invisible fishing line with a little stitch to hold them in place. When I bring my bookmarks home, they live on a shelf next to my desk until there are enough to fill a new frame. I’m always so excited when I have enough to create a new display!

I have bought bookmarks from so many places over the years. When I first started  I bought a few at local bookstores, but my collection has evolved to where I now only buy them while traveling. As always, it’s not only about the end purchase, but the thrill of the hunt. This gives me a reason to go in stores and tromp around places I might not feel compelled to go. And each bookmark carries some special travel memory for me now.

This wooden bookmark was bought in Alaska. I love the bear. While we did not see a polar bear on

Alaska bookmark

Alaska bookmark

our trip, we did see a black bear. Our cruise ship actually turned around in the middle of dinner one night to circle past a bear and her cub who were on the shore eating a whale carcass. That’s the reason I bought the bookmark. It reminds me of that evening and the beauty of the Alaska scenery (so wild yet so beautiful).

You might wonder, do I actually use these bookmarks? I don’t and have to admit I often find myself grabbing a post-it note or scrap of paper to mark my place, even though I have a few bookmarks that are not display items. I’m always misplacing them!

One of my travel collections is bookmarks. They are wonderful to collect because bookmarks are sold in almost any destination and they are small, light, and inexpensive, making them easy to transport home and easy on the wallet. Bookmarks have been around as long as there have been books. Medieval book readers used them and … Read more

Basket_Swoosh3So many of you liked my post about my lightship baskets that I thought I would share another basket in my collection. This is called a sweetgrass basket and it is from South Carolina. Charleston is considered the home for this particular type of craft. Sweetgrass baskets were a skill brought to this country by slaves from West Africa. It’s one of the oldest African art forms still created in the U.S.  Baskets were made on plantations for agricultural use by male slaves. One of the most common types of baskets was a rice winnowing basket, for separating out the rice. Baskets were also made for home use by women slaves who used sweetgrass for its pleasant smell.

Sweetgrass baskets are a specialized artform. It can take months to make just one basket. Sweetgrass itself is becoming scarce, making the materials expensive and harder to find. Antique sweetgrass baskets sell for hundreds of dollars. The skill is one that is passed down from generation to generation within a family.

If you visit Charleston, you’ll see stands selling these baskets on Highway 17. I bought mine in this area. The gentleman who sold me the basket explained that his wife makes them and it was a craft that was passed down in her family. He told me that once a year I should soak my basket in water then let it dry in the sun (I confess I have not done this – I’m afraid of ruining it, but it really isn’t dirty at this point).

I love this basket because the pattern is beautiful, but also because it has the very unique untied ends decorating it. It has a very solid and substantial feel to it even though it is incredibly lightweight.

Before we went to South Carolina, I researched the local handcrafts and knew I wanted to buy a sweetgrass basket as a special trip souvenir. Fortunately, we were on a road trip and could just put this in the car. It would have been hard to fit this into a suitcase without damaging the fragile ends.

 

So many of you liked my post about my lightship baskets that I thought I would share another basket in my collection. This is called a sweetgrass basket and it is from South Carolina. Charleston is considered the home for this particular type of craft. Sweetgrass baskets were a skill brought to this country by … Read more

Charms_FramedWhen I was a child, I had a charm bracelet. It was so fun to add charms to the bracelet. My parents gave me charms for special occasions or as gifts. I loved it. It hibernated in the bottom of my jewelry case when I got older. When I had a daughter, I contemplated giving it to her, but the charms would have no meaning for her. She ended up with her own bracelet and her own charms. I still loved mine, although it’s not something I would wear as an adult. I still thought it was pretty. I decided to display the charms inside a frame. I removed the glass and used fishing line to sew them onto the backing. The frame is in a curio cabinet in my bedroom.

The top center is a lobster we bought in Maine. Next to it is my initial. The dog is a golden retriever, which is the breed we’ve always had. The one in the center is my birthstone. The Christmas tree was a Christmas gift. The horseshoe and shamrock were for luck. The bottom right is a pelican we bought in Florida. Its mouth opens and there is a fish inside.

Do you have any great ideas for re-using a collection that has outlived its original purpose?

When I was a child, I had a charm bracelet. It was so fun to add charms to the bracelet. My parents gave me charms for special occasions or as gifts. I loved it. It hibernated in the bottom of my jewelry case when I got older. When I had a daughter, I contemplated giving … Read more

Sheep_WoodFace2I’m starting a new feature here at Putting It All on the Table. Occasionally I will feature an item I have collected and share something about it.  In a way, collections are like memories made 3D for me. I have so many stories and memories with everything I’ve collected. It’s time to start sharing them.

For my first item, I want to share the item that started one of my favorite collections. I have a flock of sheep. I like to buy sheep when we travel and I love to find them in different colors, materials, and poses. One thing I don’t much care for when it comes to sheep is faces. I’m generally not a lover of sheep with big googly eyes or human expressions.

My first sheep came from Maine – Boothbay Harbor, to be exact. My family vacationed on the Penobscot Bay every summer when I was kid. We always stopped at Boothbay Harbor for a day to shop. This little sheep is from one of the shops we visited. I must have been about 6 years old when we bought it. It sat on my bookcase all the years I lived at home with my parents. When I got married, it moved with the bookcase. When we had our first child, it stayed on the bookcase which ended up in her bedroom. That sheep has always reminded me of the shallow, still harbor at Boothbay, with the long pedestrian bridge that crosses it. The summer of 1976, the bicentennial, we spent the night in Boothbay in a waterfront motel and saw the fireworks over the harbor on that memorable 4th of July.

My husband and I went back to Maine for our honeymoon and stayed in a little cottage at a B&B there for a few nights. We loved the quiet little cottage, even if there were ants in the bathroom and grapefruit every morning for breakfast (a person can only eat so much grapefruit). One of the best meals I’ve ever had was lobster in the rough, at the edge of a dock, served with an ear of corn that was boiled in the lobster water, and a bag of potato chips.

Years later, we were visiting Montreal with our kids and I saw this ceramic sheep (which I always think of asSheep_Noodles2 the spaghetti sheep) in a shop in Vieux Montreal. Suddenly, I knew that I needed to have a sheep collection. I actually didn’t buy the spaghetti sheep the day we saw it. I thought about it for a few days and as we were leaving the city, my husband detoured and followed along behind me in the minivan with the kids, as I tried to retrace our steps and find the shop with the sheep. I did find it and brought it home and I also took back the original sheep from my daughter’s room (she was not attached to it) and my sheep collection was born.

The spaghetti sheep reminds me of the old streets of Montreal, the fireworks we saw at night, and the 4 person bicycle we, not very successfully, pedaled around the waterfront.  It also reminds me of my husband’s patient and giving nature. He encouraged me to buy this at a time when we had very little money because he could tell it was something that meant a lot to me. He drove back into the city and up and down the old streets, helping me find the one shop out of so many where we had seen it.

These two sheep were the beginnings of my flock.

I’m starting a new feature here at Putting It All on the Table. Occasionally I will feature an item I have collected and share something about it.  In a way, collections are like memories made 3D for me. I have so many stories and memories with everything I’ve collected. It’s time to start sharing them. … Read more

PaleGreenPlate2Every summer my mom and I visit a shop called Crossroads Country Antiques, in Lima, New York, at the western edge of the Finger Lakes. It’s an old church that’s being used as a shop. It’s divided up into little cubbies or sections for different sellers. The place is filled with just about everything you can imagine – dishes, clothes, hats, photos, jewelry, linens, utensils, furniture, baskets, toys, purses, holiday decorations, collectibles –  things you would find at an estate sale or garage sale and more. In theory, everything is an “antique” but in practice, most of it is just vintage (meaning old, but not old enough to be an antique) and NapkinRingssome of it is just stuff that’s sort of recent but you couldn’t find it in a store today. The biggest kick I get out of this place is running across things my mom had when I was a kid and seeing what they’re worth (I’m always asking her “Do you still have this? Well it’s worth $12!”). My mom loves it because not only are the prices pretty decent, but the vendors seem to have rotating sales, where everything in one cubby is 25% and another one might be 30% off, so it’s even cheaper than you think.

Every time we go, the merchandise is different and you never know what you will stumble upon. It’s like a treasure hunt. My mom is always looking for vases and containers to put plants in. I’m usually keeping an eye out for antique glass, but have brought home vases, napkins, tablecloths (the one in these pictures is actually from there), an area rug, and more. My college age daughter has bought some really cute old purses (one decorated with ostrich feathers) and vintage costume jewelry and can’t stop herself from trying on every single hat in the store.

At this visit, I came home with a set of 8 celadon Dish_Glassdessert plates (more than I normally pay for stuff here at $22 but I just loved them), a set of 5 blue and white napkin rings for $3 (I figure I will mix and match if I have more than 5 people at the table), a teal glass serving bowl for $5, and a set of 8 blue and green water goblets for $18.

It’s all about the thrill of the hunt for me and the joy of discovering something beautiful hidden among the junk. Do you like to go to junk shops like this?BlueGreenGlass

Every summer my mom and I visit a shop called Crossroads Country Antiques, in Lima, New York, at the western edge of the Finger Lakes. It’s an old church that’s being used as a shop. It’s divided up into little cubbies or sections for different sellers. The place is filled with just about everything you … Read more

WhiteCollection1When I put away the Easter decorations, it was time to do some rearranging. I get tired of always having things in the same place and in the same arrangement. When I’m bored, I go shopping around my house to see what kind of collection I can put together. This time I decided to pull together everything I had that’s white. I was surprised at how many pieces I found. The pitcher was my grandmother’s and I love to put flowers in it in the summer. The vase at the back right was bought at an art show in Naples, FL – it’s a special sculpted piece I love. The big platter was a wedding gift from my aunt. It’s Lenox. The two little vases in the center were bought at an antique barn and so were the salt and pepper shakers.  The two plates in the front on either side came from TJ Maxx!

When I put away the Easter decorations, it was time to do some rearranging. I get tired of always having things in the same place and in the same arrangement. When I’m bored, I go shopping around my house to see what kind of collection I can put together. This time I decided to pull … Read more

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