Gifting a Collection

A few years back my family started a new Holiday tradition. We all seemed to be lacking in funds for gifts. The three of us decided, my mom dad and I, to give each other gifts that we'd either found, or already had. It made for quite the interesting Christmas. I think I received the best gifts ever that year. Now we try to continue to bring an element of up-cycling to every Christmas. 

Some of the strange, heartfelt and special gifts I received on that fateful holiday included letters written by my grandfather to my grandmother while he was in the war, my great grandmother's lamps (which had flanked my parents bed for two decades) and a tiny vinyl box-pictured above. 

I was used to my parents sending me odd things in the mail. Ever since I had moved to California, every few months a package would arrive and surprise me. My roommates and I would gather around and see what treasures were hiding. Once there was an old barbie phone that really rang. One time there was a shrink wrapped cookie-just one-because my mom wanted to show me that she'd just purchased a shrink wrapper. One year my dad sent me a box of 17 knives, 3 rolls of duct tape and a bottle of carpet cleaner. I asked him what he thought it was that I did in my spare time. 

The vinyl box was amazing. Not only did it have that sweet gold design on the front, but it folded out on all four sides. I opened it slowly. I was totally amazed. Inside of this fantastic wrapping was three little sea horse skeletons. 

These were not just any old sea horse skeletons. They had been my dad's pets. When I was a little girl my dad used to breed fish. Our entire basement was fish tanks-floor to ceiling. I used to go down there with my boom box and dance in front of the tanks, illuminated by the wavy light. I'd pretend I was in an MTV music video, dancing to Stevie Nick's milky voice singing on my moms Fleetwood Mac tape. And it all came back to me. 

It was a beautiful thing, this gift from my dad. Not only did it bring back happy memories from my childhood, but I now have my very own sea horse skeleton collection. 

Give the Gift of Collecting!

Collecting: Wooden Toys

I love toys. I (of course) loved them as a child. I love them as an adult. And as a collector, I adore them. The world of collecting toys is quite vast. There are dollhouse miniatures, Barbies, View masters, paper dolls, comic books, Fisher Price, wind-up toys, music boxes, mechanical banks and Tonka Trucks to name a few. I'm sure I will end up talking about toys many more times, but I thought I'd start with a personal favorite,  wooden toys. 

Building Blocks $50.00

I'm sure it's safe to say that wood was one of the first materials used in crafting toys. A hundred some years ago, hand carved, one of a kind toys were it..The first wooden toys sold in the United States were largely from Germany. They were made with water powered drills; water wheels moved by flowing rivers sent power to the drills. Each toy was slightly different than the next, not like today's assembly line toys.

Tug Boat (Sold)

During the 19th century wooden toys were the standard. Children were playing with wooden trains and tracks, toys soldiers, tea sets, wooden food, alphabet blocks, pull-behinds, dolls, and jigsaw puzzles. Many children were only allowed to play with toys on Sundays, making many wooden toys available, of a biblical nature e.g. Noah's Arc.

Alphabet Blocks $32.00

After World War II the manufacturing of wooden toys declined. The plastic business was booming. Though you could still find wooden toys or hybrid wooden/plastic toys. Wooden toys had fallen out of fashion. They seem to be making a comeback these days, with spiking interest in Waldorf education and a desire to return to simpler times. 

Gymnist Hand Puppett $23.00

There are a few good manufactures making quality wooden toys these days. Melissa & Doug are quite popular and can be found a number of places. I really love the German company Haba and have invested in some great Haba toys for my daughter. The site Mookla offers the largest selection of modern wooden toys I've ever seen. But I prefer antique and vintage wooden toys. My daughter loves the springy tail with the wooden tip on her Lil Snoopy Dog pull-behind (the same Lil Snoopy Dog I drooled all over.) Wooden toys last much longer than plastic and can be heirlooms, shared between generations. 

Tiny Teddy Pull $18.00

If you are interested in learning more about collecting wooden toys there are many books available on toy collecting, which you may have to scan through to find wooden specialties. It is always helpful to ask your friendly librarian. The Wonder Of American Toys 1920-1950 is available for only $13.95 on amazon.com. Old Wood Toys.Com  is a very helpful website, full of links and answers to questions. And Wooden Toy Museum has a good list of links available too.

Remeber to care for and clean your wooden toys to insure their lifespan. Fauxgrain.com gives us this helpful adivce: 

NEVER SOAK A WOODEN TOY.

*Direct sun can also damage a toy over time, particularly those that are unfinished or oil preserved.

*Wood that is overly dry is prone to cracking and splitting.

*Rough or splintered edges should be smoothed with fine sandpaper.

*The character of your wood can change with humidity, therefore it is essential that you routinely inspect the toy for parts that may have loosened.

*DO NOT use furniture polish on wooden toys...it is toxic to children. It is helpful to know what type of finish is used on your toy; this will determine the maintenance required. 

If you follow the link you will also find information regarding stains, finishes, glues and assembly.  

Bill Ding Clown Blocks and Bowling Pins $15.00

Reminder: Not all wooden toys are safe for children, especially vintage wooden toys with their lead based paints and their small parts. Always use caution and supervision where necessary.

All of the wooden toys you see here are available for purchase on Etsy. Thank you Etsy sellers for the use of your spectacular photographs!

"1000 Ideas For Creative Reuse"

In my family, Tuesdays are library days. With lots of room, thanks to the stroller up-grade, I can now check out books for myself, along with the board books and Charlie & Lola dvds. This last Tuesday I selected a book called "1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse" by Garth Johnson. 

 What a wonderful discovery from the library. This thing is packed with page after page of inspiration. So many artists and craftsmen are featured. And the entire things is broken down into organized sections. Did I mention how lovely the photography is too? 

I'm always on the look out for new ideas of things to collect, or ideas for my existing collections. "1000 Ideas For Creative Reuse" sparked the collector in me, introduced me to some artists I hadn't yet heard of and brought a big smile to my face. I'd like to share.

Elizabeth Morisette: 
Elizabeth Morisette created a series of vessels using unusual objects. I love the zippers seen here. As a sculptor Morisette is challenging our idea of traditional sculptural materials and continues to make pieces with everyday items. She has a blog where she updates and informs about her upcoming shows. 

Margaux Lange:
Margaux Lang is making one of a kind jewelery pieces using Barbie parts. I've seen her work before on the Etsy open page. It was great to see her again in "1000 Ideas For Creative Reuse." Her pieces are so well done. I love the humor/tongue-in-cheek aspect. Lange has a beautiful Website with many, many pieces available. Midge's Mind is her adorable blog. If you are interested in any of her pieces you can find them on her Etsy page.

Jarod Charzewski:
Jarod Charzewski's exhibition "Scarp" at the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art in South Carolina speaks mountains of our consumer based culture, our desire to acquire, and how these themes affect our global landscape. I find all of that fascinating, but what really drew me to this piece was the colors. And Charzewiski's ability to collect a vast amount of the same thing, in this case clothing, to re-arrange it into something different and beautiful. I can only imagine what went into gathering 5000 pieces of clothing, transporting, storing and setting up. I bet Scarp is amazing in person! On Charewski's website you can see what he has been up to lately.

....Kinda makes you want to do something with those collections, huh?