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CabinCreek-Kentucky
True Blue Farmgirl
8529 Posts
Frannie
Green County
Kentucky
USA
8529 Posts |
 Posted - Nov 11 2005 : 8:53:37 PM
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STAIR-STEPPED BOOK SHELVING.
Whether your collection of books is made up of a wonderful variety of vintage and antique books or new books that you must have handy at all times, your stairs maybe the perfect place to display them. You can also use old ladders with a board set between the steps for an instant and very moveable bookcase.
BUTTONS
There are many types of buttons and ways to categorize them .. by color, composition, shape, pattern, or subject matter. Whichever type you choose, these tiny treasures will prove to be a forever fascination. Fill a pretty jar or mason canning jar with buttons .. all dark, all light, or a mixture of both. Choose special buttons to sew to old fabric and sew brass circles along the top edge for hanging. Print off wonderful photos on your copier onto card stock and sew a few buttons, appropriately placed.
JEWELS
Let your jewelry box gems be the inspiration for a one-of-a-kind lamp. Pearl necklaces and bracelets drape elegantly over the shade and base of some lamps.
Display a few favorite pairs of old clip on earrings in a small brass or silver heart-shaped jewelry box.
Pin broaches to a beautiful wide velvet ribbon with a bow at the top and hang it on the door of an old wardrobe or cabinet.
COLLECT BY COLOR.
Group items in the same color family and show them off on coordinating shelving. The overall look is united, yet the collection sparkles with diversity.
POST CARDS
For decades, postcards have traveled around the globe delivering personal greetings. Today they are sought for their beautiful design.
Color copy old postcards and glue them to a vintage suitcase. The first U.S. picture postcard drawn by an artist was mailed in the late 1800s. Then embossed designs, such as flowers, became popular, as did black and white or sepia-tone photos in the early 1900s.
It’s fairly easy to date postcards. Oftentimes the card is postmarked. Or consult a postal rate table to see when the costs increased, and you can date paper greetings by their stamps.
HANDKERCHIEFS
In days gone by, a proper lady never went out without a lovely handkerchief tucked into her purse. Today, vintage handkerchiefs are highly prized by collectors for their delicate patterns and as a reminder of the simple elegance of the past.
Curtain valance .. simply drape handkerchiefs on the diagonal along a bar at the top of your window. They also make charming ‘shelf edgers by doing the same overlapped-diagonal hang.
Pristine, white hankies make beautiful ‘napkins’ at an elegant tea party. Display especially pretty ones simply tucked in cut-glass vases. Use colorful, floral ones and they become a ‘linen bouquet’.
Other ways to display Handkerchiefs:
Roll and place in small baskets … Hand-stitch to the top of pre-made pillows. Sew together quilt-style for a tablecloth .. Use as a bread cloth … Place on table and dresser tops as doilies. Hand-tack to a lacy shower curtain .. Frame shadow-box style.
WATERING CANS
Used for work or play, watering cans are collectibles that add whimsy and charm to any home (or antiques booth!). Old and new watering cans blur the boundaries between indoors and outdoors. Watering cans are tireless in the garden .. inside, they become works of art. Children’s watering cans often have delightful images or colorful decals. Use those with interesting spouts or handles as pieces of folk art sculpture on a sunporch. Developed in Europe in the late 18th century, watering cans have been fashioned of iron, brass, copper, and aluminum, although galvanized steel designs are most common. To display them … gather them in an old box filled with excelsior or straw. Add a few seed packets and perhaps a rusty garden tool! Hang them from a coat or hat rack. Use them as a vase for dried florals such as cattails and wheat during this autumn season.
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COLLECTIONS and ways to display them
