Today I did my changeover from St. Patrick’s Day decorations to Easter and decided it was time to move some other things around. Although I have a collection of antique blue glass that was my grandmother’s, it is the absolute wrong color on this runner, so instead, I went shopping in my house (which is always fun – trying to see the things you own in a new way) and pulled together different blue pieces for this display. The little blue pieces in the front sides are called Caprice glass: this is my new obsession. I love the color and the swirls in the pattern. The blue cake plate on the left was a gift from my daughter a few years ago. She found it at an antique shop. I just bought the stacked blue cake plates at TJ Maxx for a song. The vase with the squares is from Murano, Italy. The hydrangea plate is from Capri, Italy. The turquoise vase is from Bath, England. The runner is from Sorrento, Italy. I’m not sure where the blue round vase in the front came from – that was a gift.

I’m still looking for a paint color to replace the pink in this room. I hate it. But I can’t find anything that’s right.

Today I did my changeover from St. Patrick’s Day decorations to Easter and decided it was time to move some other things around. Although I have a collection of antique blue glass that was my grandmother’s, it is the absolute wrong color on this runner, so instead, I went shopping in my house (which is … Read more →

Having a collection is not just about finding, buying, or creating stuff (the thrill of the hunt). It’s also about arranging, protecting, and thoughtfully caring for the collection. If something is important enough to spend your time seeking out and buying, then you have to be prepared to devote some time to caring for it and keeping it in good condition.

Labeling

This is one job I have been trying to be better at. When my world traveler grandmother passed away at age 99, her home contained many fascinating treasures, but unfortunately we didn’t know where many of them actually came from. While I appreciate inheriting the collection of dolls she bought on her travels, I just wish I knew for certain where she bought each one. I’ve begun trying to label my own treasures, or to take photos and label those, so that there is some chance that they will be identifiable in the future. I wish I had done this when I started my bookmark collection. I have over 60 at this point on display in my office and while I can identify where most are from, there are some that I’m a bit hazy on at this point! I have the same problem with the sheep in my collection. Over the years, I’ve forgotten where some came from.

If you label your treasured items, include details such as when and where you bought them,

as well as any special information (such as “bought on our honeymoon” or information about special materials or craftmanship).

I got a P-Touch machine as a gift recently and will be using that to do some labeling.

Protecting

I am embarrassed to admit that the doll collection sits in a cardboard box in a closet at our house. Someday I will buy a case and stands, after I have someone repair the costumes that are falling apart.

Having a collection is about preserving it and honestly, that can be awfully expensive. I have

antique glass that was my grandmother’s on shelves in our living room, but they get so dusty and I am afraid of breaking them. I would love to have glass shelves with glass doors and lighting to keep these in.

Protecting and displaying your collection doesn’t always have to be an expensive proposition however. Lucite boxes are inexpensive and can be bought at craft shops. Think creatively about how you could show off your collection. An inexpensive shelf or bookcase can be a designated area. A dab of museum gel will keep things in place on the shelf. A kitchen cupboard with the door removed provides a special niche for a display. You could designate a side table in a corner as a display area. Some collections work nicely gathered on the floor in front of a fireplace or in a corner. Others can be hung on a wall, or placed on each step of a staircase. I display my bookmarks on colored paper inside inexpensive frames with the glass removed.

Cleaning

Keeping your collection looking good means taking the time to keep it clean. This can be a challenge since it can mean a lot of dusting! Keeping your collection behind glass doors or in display cases can really cut down on cleaning time.

It’s also important to know how to properly care for your items. I have a sweet grass basket that was handmade in the Low Country of South Carolina. Every year, I soak it in water then let it dry in the sun, as I was directed by the shop owner.  Find out the proper way to care for your collection.

When you are cleaning breakables, I find that it is often easier to take them all off the shelf or out of the case and put them on a table and then clean them one by one. It seems that when you are reaching in past other items that you are most likely to knock something over or break it.

Organizing

I am spatially challenged, so I have a hard time organizing things so that they look right.

Fortunately, my husband makes up for my deficits and between us we’re able to sort things out. It really makes a big difference how you arrange a grouping of items. One way and it just looks like a bunch of stuff. Another way and suddenly it looks like an interesting collection. These are some things to keep in mind:

• What’s behind it. The background color of the wall, shelf, or case greatly impacts how your collection stands out. Aim for a contrast: light-colored items against a darker background or vice versa. I painted the inside of my living room shelves different colors to better show off my glass.
• What’s under it. A table runner, artfully arranged piece of fabric, or metallic paper underneath it can all help to focus the eye on the collection as a group, and also to help it stand out. Stands, holders and other items that allow your collection to stand upright will make it more visible and visually pleasing.
• Lighting. Almost everything looks better when lit. Cabinets with lights built in them are ideal. If not, try a stick-up battery-powered light for some quick illumination.
• Keep it clean. Dusty collections look bedraggled. Keep it dusted and polished as much as possible.
• Group like items together. Sometimes it’s best to organize your collection into types and display similar pieces together (for example, a group of round baskets put together within your larger basket collection makes for even more cohesiveness).
• Organize by color. You may wish to group things by color for a high impact visual statement.
• Pay attention to height. Taller items in the back, shorter in the front allow for maximum visibility.

Moving Collections

Sometimes you get tired of a collection, which can be hard to admit if you’ve spent years creating it. I have moments when I am ready to pack my teacups away and do something else with that wall in my dining room. I did decide to be done with glass fruit years ago, and although I have inherited a collection lace doilies those are packed away. If it no longer makes you happy, why are you looking at it?

I rotate some collections to keep things interesting. My grouping of pink glass comes out for Valentine’s Day. Blue pottery emerges for the summer.  And of course, holiday collections come and go with the calendar as well. If you look at something too long, it becomes stale. Moving things around keeps it fun and interesting.

Having a collection is not just about finding, buying, or creating stuff (the thrill of the hunt). It’s also about arranging, protecting, and thoughtfully caring for the collection. If something is important enough to spend your time seeking out and buying, then you have to be prepared to devote some time to caring for it … Read more →

We take tons and tons of photos on vacation. In the past five or six years, I have concentrated on trying to get a really good photo of the four us in whatever fantastic location we are at. We have photos of us eating shave ice in Hawaii, at the rim of the Grand Canyon, in front of a castle in England, in the Colosseum, in front of a glacier in Alaska and lots more. I pick a really good photo from each trip and frame it. However, my shelves and tabletops quickly became cluttered.

For a long time I’ve wanted to do a staircase display of photos and finally I realized that if I gathered all of these photos together from around the house, they made a rather grand collection. Fortunately, the frames they were in worked together. We had an empty wall along part of our staircase, so we got to work.

First we photocopied the photos in the frames and cut them to size. We were then able to tape these up on the wall and move them around to find the perfect arrangement. Then we had to do the hard part – remove the stands from the backs of the photos, so they would lie flat on the wall. That was a commitment because now they can only be displayed on a wall.

Next, we decided to make our lives easy and we used the new 3M removable velcro attachments for wall hangings. One piece goes on the frame and one goes on the wall and they velcro together. The sticky stuff comes off if you pull on a tab, without damaging the wall at all. Miraculous. It also allows for those “oops” moments when you need to correct a mistake.

I am hoping to be able to add to this collection of photos, so being able to remove them and rearrange if I add new photos really helps.

We take tons and tons of photos on vacation. In the past five or six years, I have concentrated on trying to get a really good photo of the four us in whatever fantastic location we are at. We have photos of us eating shave ice in Hawaii, at the rim of the Grand Canyon, … Read more →

I bought these polka dot mugs in Italy and they make my mornings so happy! I have a thing for polka dots; I have a whole board on Pinterest with polka dot items.  Polka dots make me so happy. They are round and bubbly and cheerful. I once had a white t-shirt that had tiny little polka dots around the bottom hem. I slaved over that t-shirt, to keep it clean and white looking so I could wear it over and over again!

I usually like to buy things while traveling that are unique to that region or that depict or bring to mind the area. This time though, I bought these mugs just because I HAD to have them. I passed them in a shop window near our hotel every day in Sorrento. On our last day, I decided I needed them. The shop was closed! I almost cried. Fortunately it was just closed for the afternoon and was open again that evening when we walked by.

I bought these polka dot mugs in Italy and they make my mornings so happy! I have a thing for polka dots; I have a whole board on Pinterest with polka dot items.  Polka dots make me so happy. They are round and bubbly and cheerful. I once had a white t-shirt that had tiny … Read more →

I’ve got a guest post up on Donna Hull’s amazing travel site, My Itchy Travel Feet with advice and tips about how to find unique souvenirs on your travels that will make excellent mementos. I hope you will check it out!

I’ve got a guest post up on Donna Hull’s amazing travel site, My Itchy Travel Feet with advice and tips about how to find unique souvenirs on your travels that will make excellent mementos. I hope you will check it out!

Over the years, I’ve managed to accumulate pottery from our trips. It had been sort of scattered around the house, with some of it stuck in drawers or on various shelves. When I put away the Easter decorations, I usually get the pottery out to stand on a chest in the dining room. This year the collection had grown a lot, so I thought I would share it. As you can see, I like blue!

The plate with the turtle is from Hawaii (Big Island) as is the blue and green plate in the front left, which has dolphins on it. The bowl at the front right is something my mom brought back from Turkey for me. The interesting shaped vase at the back right is the Navajo wedding vase I bought last year in Taos. The little bowl to the front and left of that, as well as the big blue bowl in the center are from Maine. In the back left, the bowl that is pink inside is from Santa Fe. The little piece to the front and right of that is a small plate or coaster that has sea glass set in the center of it. I bought that somewhere in the SW last summer (after I bought it, I saw them in almost every store, so I am unclear where I got it). The tall blue vase is a mystery! We looked at something similar in Colorado last summer but did not buy it. I have bought this since then, but have totally blanked on where, possibly Amelia Island, Florida.

When I asked my daughter if she could remember where I bought that vase she told me I have to put stickers on the bottoms of these items, and other things in the house so that I can remember so that she will eventually know where it all came from when she inherits it, which is a good point. I have a lot of beautiful things my grandmother bought on her travels and I am just clueless about where some of it came from. So, today I stopped and bought a package of stickers. Let the labeling begin!

This pottery collection has sort of organically happened over the years. I never set out to collect pottery, and Mr. MarthaAndMe will tell  you I have PLENTY  of collections (sheep, bookmarks, baskets, ornaments, teacups, eggs, antique glass, cranberry glass). I just keep bringing it home so I apparently I collect it! Do you have any collections that have snuck up on you?

Over the years, I’ve managed to accumulate pottery from our trips. It had been sort of scattered around the house, with some of it stuck in drawers or on various shelves. When I put away the Easter decorations, I usually get the pottery out to stand on a chest in the dining room. This year … Read more →