What do you collect?

I remember a time in my life when I had no collections of anything. And now, I'm about to turn 50 and I look around my house and GOOD GRIEF. I have so many collections going on, it's getting a bit crazy. But, I don't wanna stop!!

Yesterday, I got my 10th piece of belleek that I bought on ebay. I started collecting belleek after my mother gave me a belleek vase one year for a gift. I have all my pieces except for one displayed on top of my piano on top of a beautiful lace runner. The other piece is a lamp that is in my bedroom.

I also collect Edgecomb pottery. I started collecting that about 20 years ago after purchasing a piece on my trip to Maine. I just fell in love with it.

I also have a large collection of salt and pepper shakers that my grandmother and my cousin both left me after they died.

And then last, but not least, I have a collection of Boyd's Bears. I haven't added to the collection for about 4 years now, but I love all of them and couldn't bear to part with them.

All these things I own are such a part of me now. They represent things that I like and are interesting to me.

What do you all collect?

Seems like for a while there I was collecting a little of everything lol :rolleyes:
Now days it is mostly little lamps....art noveau or deco mostly.
And, of course, I've got quite the collection of elephants!
Oh and books....hard for me to part with my books :yes:

Shot glasses. I have a lot lost count. Every time I go somewhere I get a shot glass and all my friends know this so they ALWAYS get me shot glasses and send them to me or give them to me when they see them.

I have shot glasses from all over the world and YES I do use them! LOL

More or less, military patches and digital photos and images of military jets I like.

At least it's a large collection in a small area. My patches are on various military clothing and the digital images are naturally on my computer.

I get comments all the time on my flight jacket.

books. oy vey.

Elephants ... carved wood, picture frames, candles ... gosh, I just have a ton of beautiful elephants everywhere in my home.

And small wooden boxes ... first two were from Thailand and I just kept going.

I collect French Limoges boxes. I have over 300 hundred of them. I love miniatures......

Nothing, really.

I tend to buy a new shot glass when I travel, but I often forget. :rolleyes:

I have a small collection of little fancy boxes. I used to collect them but that dropped off, too.

I guess I'm not really a knick-knack person. I hate housework = I hate dusting and knick-knacks = dusting and housework. :tongue2:

The only things I collect are refrigerator magnets from everywhere I go - the goofier the better. They're cheap, don't take up any space, and remind me of places I've been. I have quite a few coffee mugs from different places, mostly zoos and aquariums, but I don't have room for any more so it's not really a collection. I've got a lot of books as well, but I wouldn't consider it a collection since I don't really go after rare or antique books, or any particular author. I've got a decent start on a biology/ecology reference library, though.

I don't collect, but I inherited my mother's wonderful collection of antique copper and pewter cookware. One entire wall of my kitchen is covered with all of it. I guess that makes me the curator of this little museum.

When I first inherited my mother's things, I joined an antiques society to learn more. That's when I discovered what really makes serious collectors tick - SCARY!! Those people are totally obsessed!!! I'm so glad I don't have that disease. :eek:

Books - sixteen shelves and counting at this point...

AND...strawberries. My entire kitchen is done in strawberries.

crystals, mineral specimens....

animals.... :o :p

You all have some cool collections!

Pink, my mom also collects magnets from various places she has visited. It's nice to be able to look at them and remember the fun times when travelling.

I forgot about another collection. :D

Since 1982, I have collected a dated Christmas ornament each year. I usually buy one that represents something that happened that year, or that we did, or a place where we travelled, etc. So, my tree is chock full of memories. My favorites ones are ornaments from each of my 2 children's first Christmases. They are almost 10 years apart, but each is the same type of ornament from Hallmark, although slightly different. They are picture frame ornaments and each have their picture of what they looked like on their first Christmas.

When my granddaughter was born, we carried on the tradition with her and got her a similar ornament. And I plan to do so with any future grandchildren that I'll have as well. And now that my son has his own family, he is carrying on the tradition and plans to buy a special new ornament each year as well, but his twist on the idea is to buy a picture frame ornament each year and put the photos of his family in them each year so they can see year by year how they have changed.

I have another ornament that was the last gift that my brother, David, gave me before he died. We had gone to an art fair together about 6 months before he found out he had cancer, and he had bought me a tiny little ornament that is so fragile it has broken several times. But, I just keep gluing it back together. It sits at the top of my tree near the star and beside a gold glittered pine cone I took from the parking lot of the nursing home where he died.

My tree fell over a few years ago and broke 3-4 of them and I've replaced all the broken ones except for 1991 and I'm on the lookout for one that I like.

I have to say, after thinking about all the things I collect, I really think that my favorite collection is my ornament collection.

When I first inherited my mother's things, I joined an antiques society to learn more. That's when I discovered what really makes serious collectors tick - SCARY!! Those people are totally obsessed!!! I'm so glad I don't have that disease. :eek:

Well hey, as far as obsessions go, this is pretty mild.

I collect old and rare books, and have done so for 25 years. I consider book collecting to be not a hobby, but a "magnificent obsession." But I'm still plenty into more ordinary activities like working and dating and posting on Net forums. :)

I receive these as gifts for my birthday, father's day & christmas

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h51/gp_fillmore/supermancase.jpg

Thats cool.

I have a Marvel Comics Iron Man Wallpaper on my desktop myself.

I can't wait for the new Iron Man movie to come out :)

Butterflies in various styles, such as..my daughter gave me a silver salt and pepper that creates a butterfly when together

mini-teasets

rocks

I pretty much stopped collecting beanies.....ran out of room on my dresser


magnets and keychains from our travels


cookbooks


and pretty much EVERY room in the house has books.....(one wall in the garage is "insulated" with paperbacks :p)

http://www.sfgate.com/blogs/images/sfgate/culture/2005/11/30/pom2350x336.jpg

Pomegranates !!! mostly in ceramic, but also real ones that I dry, some that can be worn as a necklace, ear rings, etc... etc... (notice my avatar) :)

also rocks, stones and cristals and a large collection of dried leafs.
I actually go leaf hunting in autumn, the colours are fantastic !


I see lots of people collect books. I only keep illustrated and reference books and give the rest away. I also borrow from friends and the library alot. Books eat up too much space, so I really try to limit the number that I keep.

Oh boy where do I start?? I am a total pack rat and collect/have collected so many things. So my collections consist of :.....

Books, so many books, the scary thing is that they are all ones I have read and do reread. Beleive it or not if I do give a lot of books to charity because they are not something I would ever want to reread.

Candle holders, a lot of quirky ones.

Wooden boxes, I have some beautiful ornate boxes, the latest addition to my collection is a box shaped like an old fashioned carpet bag complete with fancy brass catch.

Covered cheese dishes

Wooden puzzles

Glass, don't collect it anymore because I ran out of space to display it safely. My prize peice is a Harrods bottle made of the finest glass with a set of scales inside, it is so fragile and so beautiful.

Fountian pens I love writing with ink, also have several different colours of ink, purple and aquamarine being my favorites to write with. Also have a set of chineses writing brushes with ink stick etc.

Old fashioned kitchen and craft equiptment.......... Lastest additions to this has been two Edwardian knitting needle cases and two circular knitting needles from the 1920s I actually use all these, much to the amusement of my son's partner.

Heart shaped boxes, infact that has become a collection of heart shaped objects as I have a red heart shaped lamp in the lounge.

I think that just about covers the main things I collect........... I am repeatedly told my home resembles a 'Curiosity shop' full of strange, quirky and beautiful objects.

I collect records. There's bands that I like that have really cool record covers, and cd's don't do them justice. I have a fair few of a couple of bands, and also a few more that I just really like. We have 4 in frames above the TV.

I also collect tickets from gigs that I've been to, and football matches too.

Until Lady mentioned beanies, I forgot about them (although I don't know how) - back when the beanie babies were all the craze, well I was right there being crazy buying so many. I currently have so many beanie babies that they fill an entire large TV box. Ugh, I'm trying to sell them.

I also collect, Waterford, mostly picture frames of every size. I do have a few other pieces, a vase, paperweight, bride and groom (for our wedding-sat on the altar) and a few other misc pieces.

I consider book collecting to be not a hobby, but a "magnificent obsession."

~grin~ I prefer to think of it as a "way of life." but yes. "magnificent obsession" works, too :bgrin2:

Books - sixteen shelves and counting at this point...

AND...strawberries. My entire kitchen is done in strawberries.

You cant collect me Molly but you can admire me from AFAR...:tongue2::p


I collect Wonder Woman memorabilia, I just buy what I like.

Thats cool.

I have a Marvel Comics Iron Man Wallpaper on my desktop myself.

I can't wait for the new Iron Man movie to come out :)

Who's playing Tony?

You cant collect me Molly but you can admire me from AFAR...:tongue2::p


I collect Wonder Woman memorabilia, I just buy what I like.


Fine, fine, ya wouldn't fit on the shelves anyway, yer too tall!!! :tongue2: But yer welcome to come over for dinner if you're ever in the neighborhood! :cool:

I collect Disney stuff. Mostly stuff from the opening of Walt Disney World back in 1971 but I have a little bit of everything.

My favorite thing to collect is Disney books. I have tons of them ...on almost any subject about Disney...but my favorites are the ones that aren't Disney propaganda. Especially if they're a little negative. :D I just bought a 70's edition of Playboy because it had an 11-page expose on the opening of Disney World. :D

I also collect postcards from places I go. They brighten up my cubicle.

Plus I do the ornament thing too! :D

Nadine.

Who's playing Tony?

Anthony "Tony" Stark is going to be played by Robert Downey Jr.

I hope they put in Stark Tower just as it was in Marvel Comics Ultimate Alliance on PS2 or I'm gonna beat them down for it. :P :)

Books, pewter, art from different places, copper from the Middle east, and I have three breath-taking silk rugs.

I also have a large collection of cook-books and the old blue mason jars.

My home is "green "so I collect antiques to furnish it. I love to antique shop!

.....friends.......
For so many years I had so few friends.....

So now, I make as many new friends as possible....

I collect anything that is heart shaped :D

nothing!
as i usually tire of it...

I couldn't think of anything. I just don't have the room, but I do save stubs from concert tickets & movies. Plus I do love teddies! (the bear, NOT the underwear:tongue2:)

And I do have a couple autographs, but not anything extravagant.

I collect miniature tea sets.... :)