Hmmmm... I collect sooooooo much! Besides bears (inside and out!!!), I collect walking sticks and canes, green Fire King mugs and dishes, enamelware, spoons (I started this collection when I was a kid, and we were in Canada and I really didn't want anything so Mom bought me a collector's spoon!), handmade pottery, wood duck decoys, birdhouses for inside the house, old class student photos, old old books (I have one that is a Bible from Norway that belonged to my great grandparents.), wooden music boxes, wooden boxes (I have A LOT because I love putting things in them...like the Littlest Angel did!), old records (I have a record player to play them on!), and rustic, wood items! WOW! Seeing this list makes me think that I'm obsessed with collecting! LOL! BUT IT'S FUN! Bear Hugs! Kirk

Oh, Carol just reminded me that I collect neckties and tie tacks and tie pins as well. I have over 100 ties... many are seasonal, cartoons, etc. They're fun to wear as an elementary school teacher! (I have some coooool bear ties!) Bear Hugs! Kirk

WOW Karen and Kirk,

You both have some great collections...would love to see pics...I tend to collect music boxes and musical snowglobes. I also collect cool bottles (these are taking over my studio again). I also save all of my old calendars and the books I read and enjoy. I think my biggest collection is magazines. I have all of the gardening magazines, Country Living magazines, and other cottage and country decorating magazines that I have bought over the past few years. (I had thrown them all out when I moved the last time and missed them so much that I can't toss them again now. At the time that I threw them all away, I had 20 years worth.)

Micki,
If you want more Country Home and Country Living mags, I have a bunch of old ones! Some are REALLY old!! I just can't keep everything anymore!!

My collections consist of railroad lanterns, oil lamps, cobalt blue glass, wooden shorebirds, roosters, and recipes. And my grandkid collection is up to 11 and a third!

To see all the stuff I have, you'd think there were more collections in there! LOL

~Sandy~

hi all
i collect unicorns lost count had
to buy another curio for them
tea cups and saucers and bird houses
just with those i can't count
but i love them all
debby

I have keepsakes from nature that I would never part with . ( Many of these things were sent to me by internet friends ,too ! ) For instance ...sea shells - hand collected by someone from an island they were vacationing at ... freshly sheared sheep wool ... shorn & washed by someone I met online . Deer antlers --- rare pine cones from an area on the east coast from a lady whose DH is a game warden ... emu eggs ... bird's nests , peacock feathers ( and other birds ) ---- everything that mom nature makes is precious to me. I know there's so much more out there that I haven't come across . This will be a left long mission of love for me.

What a fun post, Karen. Everyone has such varied collections. Debby, I'd love to see your tea cups and saucers. I collected a dozen of them and made myself stop since I don't have allot of room to display them. I also have been collecting plates with pretty roses on them, and have been gifted some really nice ones by a good friend. I've displayed most of them on my walls, and can just sit and look at them for hours. ;o) I also have a pretty good collection of bunnies, all shapes and sizes, I just love them. Smickerdoodle, I hear you about the magazines. I save allot of mine too and like you, I got rid of a bunch when we moved and then missed them so much. During the winter months, I love to grab a stack of them and sit and go back through them again! Might be this senior thing, but sometimes I see things I don't even remember seeing before! LOL

Luvs

I don't have a huge collection of one thing just little collections of a lot of things. Let's see there are Breyer (have over 3 dozen of them from the 1960s & 70s) and other types of horse statues (most I have had since I was a kid), elephants, cats, birdhouses, Avon bottles (have more than a dozen), birdhouses, birds (mainly wooden ones), miniature chairs, and now I am collecting neat wooden picture frames. I could be accused of collecting magazines but I have trained myself to tear out articles/pictures that I really like. I would collect more things if I had the space!

Christmases were inconsistant when I was growing up. My grand rebellion became to create Christmases that were over the top for my family. I went for years creating only Christmas crafts. Every room of our home had a tree with it's own theme to match the decor and personality of that room. Every door had a floral shop quality wreath that held a different collection. I even made plaster Belsnickles out of an old chocolate mould. I sold some on ebay and could get as much at $60. each. So I have a collection of those. I will show you pictures of everything if we decorate this Christmas. I was truly the Christmas Lady of our area. I no longer collect Yule tide accessories because my "Christmas Over Compensation Issues" are healed. LOL P.S. My Daughter and Son could care less about Christmas decorating!!!!! I ruined it for them. LOL

My husband had a full china hutch of chrystal when he was a bachelor. So we both had this obsession and have loved drinking glassware over the years. I like the appropriate glass for each beverage. (I have to wash dishes all of the time because of it.)

Our minor collections because of minimum space are:
Junk piled high in the garage.(wagged home from the curb)
Imperfect family and cast-off antique furniture
Fox Hunt Items (anything traditional Brit)
Sewing Material, antique patterns, buttons ect.
Home,garden,landscaping,craft- magazines and books. I also cant seem to part with a good quality magazine. (M.E. Home Companion, M.S. Living, This Old House, Handy Man ect.
Garden/exterior porch Decor.
Tea pots

I collect hat pins from all over the country.I stick them all on a straw hat.When my friends come home from vacation
I get a new one.and they don't take up alot of space.It all started with nascar pins.But my biggest collection is my Santas.I use to collect owls.
And sea shells...... Joan

Raggedy Anne and Andies!!!!I have hundreds of them.
And lambs,those felt pixie/elves with a plastic face and bended knees, gnomes, cute faced antique ware(eggcups, teacups,etc)birdhouses,bluebottles, conchs, starfish, stones,geodes, cool wood,old windows,garden books/mags,painted furniture, baskets, cement urns and cherubs,old pottery and other old well loved stuff
Florida Highwaymen paintings,Blue & white plates etc,
art books,butterflies,plants and trees and of course GRANDKIDS!!!!!!

Wow, this turned into a great thread I think. I sure loved finding out that so many of you are "collectors", and what things you love besides GJ.
Plus I don't feel quite as obsessed, LOL. A few of you are right there too.

{{gwi:77274}}

Nature things such as: seashells, rocks, wood, moss, cork, cane, driftwood, natural - useful - beautiful things found outdoors.

Man made things such as: Jadeite, Watt Ware, Homer Laughlin Jubilee China, old silver flatware, old glassware & vases.

Big Little comic books from the 1930's, I have several that were my Dad's.

And I just have a weakness for almost anything made during 1920 to 1970. Especially Jadeite .... did I mention Jadeite? LOL ~tenderlee

And DH complains about ME!!! I have to show him this thread.

I have lots of baskets. Not 100's, but too many for this tiny house. I keep thinking I'll fill them with flowers but then I don't want them to go to pieces. I know, I can line them, but I never do. I just look at them and that makes me happy!

And I love to collect the solid, cement gnomes. They are getting very scarce around here as I haven't found any new ones in quite awhile.

I've also started collecting wood animals. I think a few of them came over from Bali. But my FAVORITE wooden 'animal' is TRYGG!!!!!

I also have a thing for chickens. Have a couple of beautiful solid cement chickens in the garden.

And I keep collecting glass though I haven't made any new totems. My bad.

And power tools. Gosh, I love power tools. The scariest one is the recipricating saw. I can barely pick it up!! But I love it anyway.

I don't have any really big collections but I do have a thing for elephants and snowglobes. I love to find snowglobes for different holidays and any kind of unique snowglobe is a must have. I got one for a dollar that sets on my dresser. It is a cheap one but has beautiful beads that swim around inside and I have always loved it. I have elephants everywhere. I have a beat up elephant that I made into a table for the porch, I have elephant statues, a child's elephant pocketbook, an elephant light up yard thing that we hung on the porch (I should take a pic of it sometime) etc.
I agree that this is a fun question to ask and read the answers to so I am glad you thought of it!

I collect too many THINGS*blush* old toys, I especially like wooden painted ones..I have some old German toys I played with as a child such as a wooden toaster that used to have 3 slices of toast but only has 1 left;I love blocks,marbles, I keep digging up marbles around this old homestead that were my brother's, and he's 60 years old now;the tiny little hand cranked Singer sewing machine I used to actually make doll clothes on when I was about 4 years old( I graduated to my Granny's treadle after that)the letter"H";seashells and beach related stuff; signed and numbered prints and figurines;childrens tea sets;sewing things especially buttons which I use!;crocheted doilies and trims;embroidered dresser scarves,etc;i stopped buying picture frames and put them to use;jewelry;cast iron;insulators;repro vintage tins;animals from Noah's Ark toys;a collection of my sons Hot Wheel and other brand of cars I put in a large canning jar;tarot cards;quilts;children's cowboy stuff like cap pistols, coonskin caps,and blue spatter ware for camping;........*sigh*.....wow! because there's so much more!
can you imagine if we all decided to get together and have a yard sale??? first we'd all have to force ourselves to even get rid of something, then we'd all just swap stuff!

Oh my... I collect too much too! Seems we all have this in common. :) Avon Cape Code glassware, rabbits (have more than a dozen in the garden so far, metal, stone, terracotta), foxes, Melmac (especially Aqua) Hello Kitty, Transformers... and newly Dachshund stuff because we have a Dachshund/Jack Russel mix! It never ends! :)

Amy

My weakness is DISHES!!! Oh, when I am TS'ing I have the hardest time NOT bringing home "more" dishes! (that includes pottery...my favorite!)

Heisey Lariat pattern classified as "elegant glassware" produced from 1946 - 56 ... when I was born, a grandmother I never knew until almost adulthood, bought a few pieces which my mother put away for me until I grew up. Lariat glassware was produced to compete with "candlewick" which you see tons of...and is very beautiful also. I've tried to add a piece each yr. after kids grown...pricey!

Other collection is Autumn Leaf created by Hall China exclusively for the Jewel Tea Co....they were premiums for housewives...1933 until 1976 & discontinued altho' new pieces added each yr for collector clubs (I don't have many of those)...I remember as a kid eating off some of these dishes.

I just LOVE pottery...vases, pitchers, bowls, crocks...could go crazy if I had a BIG house!

Native Am. art ... I love R.C. Gorman's work who primarily draws women... I love the ceramic tiles!

Love to buy prints...nature related.. "The Reapers" is one of my favs I have here in computer room.

BOOKS!!! Love books ... have to force myself to "weed" my collection here at home every once in awhile.

OLD PICS & NEW PICS ... Love displaying family pics & old pics...breaks my heart when I see such beautiful children prints & wedding prints in antique stores or TS's.

WHOA!!! I better quit...I love too much...as many of you others have written..."antique furniture"...plants & flowers, and now GJ!

This has been fun sharing! Jeanne S.

I collect lots of things--LOL
Coke, Pepsi, some Star Wars, lots of collectible glasses,
from various venders. Candle holders (wood, metal and single glass ones). Amethyst glass. I probably have at least a half dozen old metal gas cans of various sizes. At least 16 kettles on shelves in the garden. Lots and Lots of all kinds of "JUNQUE",and craft supplies. Craft Magazines from as far back as the 50's, Plant ones from the 70's. All the clothes patterns I used as a teen and since (and some of the large pattern books). When I die my daughter can retire and sell things on e-bay!

And last but not least--Elephants--I stopped counting when I reached a thousand about 15 years ago. People keep buying them for me.

That's why I can say a lot of the time when something is mentioned
"I have one of those".
Just think how much I could have collected if Bill had not spent 28 years in the Navy (because I had to watch what I bought those years-moving you know!). A large portion of this was collected after he retired in 1982.

Oh my...Collectors Unanimous! LOL.

Nona, where do you put a thousand elephants? Or maybe it is where DON'T you put them. And I found it interesting that several of you are into elephants. Neat.

Jeanne, you need to be hanging out on the Holidays Forum with Kay Luvs, Bright, and some of us. When nothing is going on to decorate for any holidays, those gals are total DISH-NUTS. They love playing with dishes, buying dishes, doing tablesettings just to take photos to share. Hiding dishes from their DHs (fondly referred to as the Dish Police). Its great.
I don't like a thing about cooking, I have a kitchen cause it came with the house, but they now have ME interested in dishes. LOL.
You can check out my Photobucket for Holidays Inspiration to see plenty of dishes! I even did an album of tablescapes for the gals. Our own Luvs has become quite talented at creating some lovely ones.

hugs, Karen

Here is a link that might be useful: tablescapes

Wow! The table scapes are so elegant. They re a kind of icing on the cake craft. I'm still making the cake! (or trying to find it under all the stuff, lol)
Kathy

OMgosh, purplemoon! Those tablescapes are just beautiful! You need to guide "susieroses" to this site! (ya' hear that, susie?) This is pure "elegance" ... and I luv ... luvs tea settings!!! Your holiday albums are awesome, purplemoon! Thank you for sharing! I will pop into this site!

LOL about my DH & I ... we are "recliner" diners! Or patio table lunchers! I am in awe of those who create such elegant tablescapes!

Here's a few pics of pottery/dishes:
Easter Bunny on the buffet:
{{gwi:78545}}

Stained Glass Sunrise (I bought this some yrs ago from a couple that made these on terra cotta pot bottoms (16 or 18" dia)...it sits in an easel on top of my fridge:
{{gwi:78546}}

Blue Pottery (changes to Pfaltzgraf Winter Frost dishes & Pottery snowmen in winter...I just put those away! Ugh!)
{{gwi:78547}}

Autumn Leaf Hall China (from Jewel Tea era)
{{gwi:78548}}

I'll make an album sometime...thanks again for sharing your pics! Anyone else have pics to share! Love seeing them! Jeanne S.

I keep meaning to come back to this thread and add my list to everyone's, but I have kept forgetting. But, finally I remembered. I'm happy to know that so many of you collect as much "stuff" as I do! Other than garden junk, I collect angels, pottery vases, dishes...mostly floral patterns (must be the florist in me!), kitchen type stuff for the shelves around my kitchen ceiling, beach themes things for our camper and my husband collects old tools and planes. I've often thought that if we had to move, it would take an army to pack of this stuff. Since we've been in the same place for over 25 years, we have WAY too much stuff...but I wouldn't give it up! LOVE to add to my collections...even if I have to "rotate" my stock!

Boxes ! Started when my dad sent me a hand carved box for Christmas from Tiland (Spelling!)when I was in the 8th grade during the Viatnam war. Wooden, soapstone,ceramic.. if it had a lid or.. ohhh a secret compartment...or is just funky and unusual it has to come home with me.And baskets ... all shapes & sizes .. I'm a basket nut ..BF grabs my arm and trys to rush me past any he spots first when we're jocky lotting ...Old silver & crome coctail shakers and last but certainly not least... SANTAS ...all year, every year, if I see one little or big I don't have, it has to be mine. My main tree at Christmas is mainly all Santa ornaments....,some I make.. okra,sea shell, lightbulb,.. some I buy, find or are given to me german blown glass, ceramic, glass... Santas on my greenery...every where. I'd keep them up all year if I lived alone!!! My family tried to find a Santa Anonomous support group, gave up & gave in and I get Santas Christmas, birthdays..... did I mention i love Santa.. LOL

Jeannespines, I love your pottery with the blue designs on them. Please do come post pics of your dishes on the Holiday forum. We all love seeing everyone's pretties. I'm not nearly as good at the tablescapes as several of ladies, but they are all so nice and let me play too. ;o) I used to just go to the TS for totem items, but soon added dishes to the list! Karen has been wonderful about making the albums for all of us so we have inspiration all in one convenient place. She does some wonderful decorating too. ;o) I come here for outside "creations" and over there for the "inside" stuff. Happy collecting. Luvs

Did I read pottery and baskets? lol! I have a penchant for those too. Every time I go to a thrift store and see a cool pottery vase, I have to buy it. I am trying to look past every basket I see but it sure is hard. And jitterbug, you aren't the only one who likes boxes! Everytime I see one, I buy it thinking I can use that! Carved wooden ones, stone, inlaid mother of pearl ... the list goes on. lol! I could stack them up and create a pillar with them. I also love rocks and seashells too.

Karen, Lots of room (giggle)!!!!!
I have a very wide hallway, and there are 6-inch shelves on both sides. We have not used the end door in YEARS. It is roughly 13 feet from the bedroom doors to the end door. There are 9 shelves on one side and 8 shelves on the other side, with almost 3 feet for the walkway between them. Some of the elephants are tiny-LOL
I do have some resin and concrete ones in the garden.
Oh, yes--There is lots of dust there too-ROTFL
Got to have room for that!

OK I have to confess something I thought I was not a collector as a matter of fact I would get upset with my DH because he does not throw anything away, you should see his collection of pvc pipe fittings, LOL. We have two tool sheds just for his tools, when he can't find one he goes to Home Depot and gets another but now I am going thru his stuff to see what I could find!?

BUT then I saw this thread and started looking around the house this is what I found: Roosters, Birds, LLadro just three pieces, perfume bottles, blown glass, rose plates, fireman dalmation dog plates, Hallmark Santa Clauses for my Christmas tree, pink rocking horse tree decorations, and this is just in the house I know that in the garage are other packed collections,
AND NOW Garden Junk I am definitely not complaining I am having way too much fun and at the same time doing my bit for environment AND
MOST OF ALL have made some wonderful loving friends!

Sylvia

If I had all the room in the world, all the money in the world, LOL!, I'd buy all the Japan Moss Rose dishes in the world. But, I don't, so, I buy a little here & a little there. I can't pass up a Japan Moss Rose tea cup & saucer, no matter how poor I am.
Vickie

I just love this thread!! Jeanne you must come to the holiday forum. It's been a little slow lately but Spring and Easter tables will be wonderful!!

I do not have as many inside collections as I used too but have some new things I'm looking for. Number one collection CHRISTMAS decorations. It's the first thing that brought me to the Holiday forum. I love vintage decorations. Shiney bright orniments, nativities and angels. And thanks to the folks over there have started a snow village... small scale because of space.

Number two love is depression glass. I do not have alot.. Started collecting sugar and creamers too many years ago!! Havn't bought many lately. I will have to wash them all and take a picture.

Number three is charm braclets... I have been looking on ebay and antique shops for vintage ones....and buttons. I need to learn more about vintage buttons. There are several projects I want to do as well as make a bracelet from buttons.

And of course anything JUNK!!! Lots of pretty colored glass and things to break... and rusty too!!

My * F A V O R I T E * THINGS:

God ~ Family ~ AMERICA & * Y A 'LL ! ! ! ! !

and every other picture that Ya'll have posted here!

I have Never met a piece of Garden Junk...
that I didn't *LOVE* ! ! !

the older ~ the Rustier the BETTER !!!!

The Newer ~ the Shinnier the B E T T E R !!!!

Re-cycled YES ! ! !
Re-Painted YES ! ! !
Hand Made ..... yah ye bet cha ! ! !

I * L O V E * IT *ALL* ! ! !

& I ~ LOVE ~ YA'LL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

God Bless !
SusieSunshine

*** Pictures will follow in the future...
when I can get more help posting...
But
Just Know I see your pics & ADORE Seeing them!!!
How BLESSED
I am to B a part of GJ !!!!