Crazy for Collecting!

You know how almost everyone collects something? Well I do too. But, I collect something and then a few months to a year later I am "into" something else. First I collected tea pots. I had them all lined up on special shelves in the kitchen. I would buy any teapot I thought was pretty and keep adding to my collection. Most of these were picked up at garage sales and flea markets.

Then I was onto cherry accessories for the kitchen. I looked up all cherry items on eBay. They all seemed to have other watchers and were really expensive. I did finagle buying a vintage tablecloth with cherry branches on it, and a cherry wreath on eBay. I went to the craft store for cherry decals and cherry papers. I decorated my spice containers with these. I found a curtain with cherries embroidered on them and a bright red tea kettle.

I started with vintage salt and peppers but I reminded myself of a little old lady who had her entire wall covered with shelves of these. So I gave that one up pretty quickly and just kept a set of pink owls with big eyes and little kissing angels. I could just imagine the dusting that had to be done to keep a collection like that looking good!

Yet one more. A vintage pin cushion collection.

And another. A primitive Annie doll collection.

That brings me to my most recent collection of rabbits. This started at Christmastime when I saw a Fritz and Floyd rabbit cookie jar. She had a matching smaller rabbit also. I treated myself to a great Christmas present and spend $95 on those. That is the most expensive of all my collections so far. My love for rabbits is still with me and I have added more figurines. I like the realistic looking bunnies and mainly white or light brown. I have a stuffed bunny with big long ears and adorned with a pretty dress on my bed. How old am I you ask? Well, I don't want to say, but I am one who feels you're never too old to have stuffed animals. I refuse to grow up and not have these little creatures around my home. They remind me of how innocent life can be and how wonderful nature is.

I am learning that my collecting is a sign of looking for a friend. When I bought the Annie dolls, I wanted to find the one which was just perfect to me. She was like picking a best friend. The same with the rabbits. The tea pots and pin cushions must have been a sign of "wanting" something of my own. Because they served of no special purpose except to my eyes.

I really enjoy the thrill of the hunt also. I believe this is the greatest reason I go to flea markets, thrift stores and garage sales. It is so much fun to find something that regularly costs $25 and pick it up for $1.50! I start telling everyone about the best bargain I ever had. What a great day I had and go home and find that special spot to place it for viewing.

I believe when you collect something, you feel it in your heart. At the time you may be yearning for a friend, like I was. Or you simple adore what you see. This can last a lifetime or it can last a short time like a few of mine. I have felt like I was crazy at times for wanting these things so badly and then selling them off in a short time. I asked myself if I were nuts! I feel that it's a lot like a friendship. How they say that someone comes into your life for a reason, whether they stay in your life or not is up to God. Well there must be a reason you are attracted to what you are collecting at the time. As you grow or life changes, so will your collections. I swore I would never give up those tea pots. But they are gone with the wind.

Keep on collecting, keep on loving your "thang". Do not let husbands, friends or neighbors tell you that you are crazy changing all the time. You are not. You have a special spice of life that no one else feels. We collectors have to stick together on this, we keep the flea markets alive! Happy hunting!