Comments on: Friday Fun Thread: They’re Collectables!

By: veganmarcy

veganmarcy — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 01:16:15 +0000

I collect things that invariably become cat toys and get destroyed. Such is my lot in life. But they’re too lovey and funny for me to stay mad. So basically I collect bills.

By: Joanne

Joanne — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 01:51:32 +0000

Masks from places we have been to if there is a local tradition of masks or totemic figures… we counted Greek dramatic masks too, and a carnival masque from Venice, so obviously we have used the definition loosely in places. We are scaring our enemies and driving away evil in our family room, that’s for sure.

My partner is strongly anti-clutter, from watching his parents I suspect, and it helps me. I have a lot of books, but other objects I can keep under control. Oh, except notebooks… if it’s under $10, and it’s been “a while”, it’s an allowable impulse buy for me.

By: Marie Anelle

Marie Anelle — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 23:19:59 +0000

Eyeshadow and lipgloss/lipstick. I have never done the same look twice.

By: foureleven

foureleven — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 23:14:37 +0000

@Plum-Pie – I love your collection too!

Mr. FourEleven collects miniature figures, but we’re stumped on the best way to display them. Also, they draw a lot of criticism and contempt from others who believe that men “shouldn’t collect toys,” but we’ve ignored that since we’re in the mindset of “This is our house; we can do what we want.”

I’ve been using this house tour from Apartment Therapy as inspiration: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/chicago/house-tours/sara-jasons-terrific-toytastic-house-house-tour-144580

By: JetGirl

JetGirl — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 18:59:59 +0000

I don’t collect anymore, but when my parents moved to another country this year, I took back my childhood eraser collection. And my monchchis. And my Smurfs. And Holly Hobbie. And Strawberry Shortcake dolls. The ’80s are alive and well at my house now!

By: Sara

Sara — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 17:19:31 +0000

As a child, I collected the plastic lids from gallons of milk. I was fascinated (for some reason) by the fact that different brands and different types of milk (skim, whole, etc.) had different colors, and that these colors changed over time. My interest has died, but my box of milk lids still lives at my parents’ house.

Now, I guess I collect a variety of things – the most interesting to me is the free bibles I get from those annoying-but-also-amusing street preachers. I always take one or two when they offer them because I have a weird sense of humor.

By: Ms. M

Ms. M — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 16:01:06 +0000

Plum-Pie: love your blog! I love the captions on the finished products, lol

I have some cookbooks from the 50′s, nothing ridiculous, but the Betty Crocker, and a series of pamphlet books called “365 ways to cook…” one for potatoes, chicken beef, some other stuff. I find them quite useful when I want something my grandmother used to cook, and none of the modern recipes seem right.

My grandmother had so many church assembled cookbooks, it wasn’t funny. @Becky, yes, the names of the recipes are hilarious in those types of cookbooks.

By: BeckySharper

BeckySharper — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 15:50:26 +0000

@Plum-Pie: I love that website! The cookbooks are so much fun. The next time I’m in London, we should have a dinner party! Does your collection include any of the many self-published Junior League or church cookbooks from the American South? I absolutely love reading through those. They’re full of recipes like “Mrs. James Dudley Randolph’s Fancy Chicken Casserole with Noodles.”

By: Plum-Pie

Plum-Pie — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 15:44:58 +0000

Rodriguez – thank you!

Mischief Manager – No, I haven’t. I certainly will now though.

By: mischiefmanager

mischiefmanager — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 15:40:57 +0000

@Plum-Pie: Have you read Allegra Goodman’s “The Cookbook Collector”? I liked it and it might resonate with you.

@Es: If you want religious kitsch, just drop by your local women’s clinic one Saturday. If there are anti-choice protesters, they’ll have the full range of Chinese-made plastic rosaries, plastic fetus dolls, tasteless t-shirts, statues of saints, and even large crosses to be carried around on the sidewalk. It’s quite a sight.

I have about a dozen kaleidoscopes. Mr MM likes to buy them for me. I don’t often add to the collection because they tend to be pricey and once you cover the basic designs, it’s hard to find something unusual.

Mr MM never throws anything out. It drives me nuts. He’s a software guy, and we have hardware from when he was in grad school in the ’80′s and punch cards from his undergraduate classes and 30 year old tech journals that were outdated the day they were published. We visited the Computer History Museum in Mountain View recently, and it felt very much like our attic, except less dusty and with better lighting.