Designing Keepsakes

We started the year off by finding new homes for our unwanted or rarely used hobby collection. Now that you've found a place to send your castoffs, let's talk about some ways to show off your keepers.

It's important to treasure your collections, but that's no reason to hide them from the world or leave them jumbled in a cabinet. Your favorite things should surround you, giving you comfort and sharing your passion with the folks around you.

Today I'm going to look at ways to preserve and display small collections. Tune in next month to catch some tips on collecting large items.

The frame up

Like all good pack ratters you probably have movie tickets, pamphlets and various "important" scraps of paper filling drawers and covering tables all over your house. If you can't part with them, don't let them become clutter.

Pick up some small clip frames (I got mine on sale for a dollar a piece) and start layering on your memories. Go with a theme: sports tickets from 2006-2007, the worst movies I've ever paid money to see, or, perhaps, favorite notes from grandma.

Once you've arranged your pieces in a manor that suits you, glue them to the paper provided with the frame (that cheesy shot of the guy pushing the girl in the swing) and slip them in. Less than 10 minutes after you gather everything in one place you can have easy artwork that shows off important times in your life.

The pin jar

Moving on to things with a little more depth -- physically, not necessarily emotionally -- I'm also a collector when I travel. At each stop on my journeys I pick up two things: a pin (for the consumer in me) and a rock or shell (for my earthy side.)

Over the years these collections have become diverse and heavy, respectively. And every time I come home with a piece to add to one or both collections, I realize how inadequately I have them displayed.

So, back to the recycle bucket I've gone, finding some interesting jars in which to store my wares. In my case I've clustered my favorite rocks and shells from each trip together and piled all the pins into one small jar. Then I've clustered the containers on one of my bookcases.

It's always a great conversation starter when someone can walk into your house and ask, "Why do you have a jar full of rocks on your table?"

Wall art

My pin collection has also grown to the point where a jar and table won't suffice. So now I've moved on to the walls. For my pins from the states I've put up a map in my workroom and stuck a decorative pin in each city I've visited.

For my two other (smaller) collections -- buttons and international coinage -- I've gone to gluing them to magnets and sticking them up on my refrigerator. The best way to display your favorite memories is to post them up with another memory trigger.

Now that my assorted collections have gone on display there's always a conversation to be had about the places I love and the people I've met along the way. It's amazing what can grow out of a few rocks, some buttons and old football tickets.

Vanessa Cook is a former copy editor for the Southeast Missourian who dabbles in decorating.