collections | Bead Happily Ever After

Must Be Cracking Up

Posted on April 30, 2012 by crystal

Crystal likes to use magnets on the refrigerator. They hold her shopping list, stray coupons, family photos, business cards, recipes, etc.

Several of the magnets are not holding anything, however. She uses those in a random rotation to signal that the dishes in the dishwasher are clean. Really! 😉

When she turns on the dishwasher – she sticks a magnet on the closed door. After she puts away the clean dishes – she removes the magnet and places it back on the refrigerator. This is not a foolproof system. Sometimes she forgets to put one on… or even worse – take one off. Then, it’s anybody’s guess if the dishes are clean or dirty.

Two years ago, she found this cute little fella on display at a kitchen store.
“How kitchen-y and cute!” she thought. She had to have him.

Mr. Egg has had a home on her fridge ever since. He’s often chosen as the “dishwasher-on” sentry.

Now, seriously, wouldn’t you think that in two years of using him that she would have noticed he’s not just a magnet?

One day, as she was returning him to the fridge, she saw something on the bottom. “Huh? What’s this?” she wondered.

Well, it turned out to be . . . A tape measure!

And how does the tape measure rewind? You push his nose.

The absent-minded professor has nothing on Crystal.
Poor girl! Sometimes it seems as if she’s one sandwich short of a picnic. 😉

Hugs,

Sweet Treats

Posted on November 18, 2010 by crystal

I have a thing for porcelain, crystal, and art glass. If they are vintage, I like them even better!

Through the years, I’ve had so much fun searching for and collecting an assortment of pretty items.

The Czech Republic, formerly Czechoslovakia (and before that, Bohemia) has been making exceptional glass treasures for generations.

When our younger daughter was in college, she spent a semester in the Czech Republic, and Sir Beads and I went to visit her. What an incredible experience it was! We were especially enchanted with the array of gorgeous crystal in the shops.

I couldn’t resist these little pieces of glass candy we found in Prague.

Since then, it has crossed my mind that visitors to our home might not appreciate “pretend” candy . . .

So for that reason, I’ve been known to make sure that the real thing is in a dish nearby! 😉

Have a very sweet day!

All That Glitters

Posted on June 15, 2010 by crystal

Hi Kids!

I’m enjoying the chance to read about your collections and your thoughts on collecting, in general.

If you’ve been visiting here for a while, I’ll bet you can guess the category of things that I collect. 😉

My love for beads and jewelry-making began years ago, at a neighborhood yard sale, with the purchase of a vintage pin!

I was immediately impressed with the artistry, not to mention the sparkle, of the little treasure that I bought that day – for just a few dollars.

At the time, collecting vintage jewelry was a fairly new hobby, so it was easy to gather some lovely pieces for very affordable prices!

Here’s part of my collection. Click on the photo once, and then again, for the best view.

These pins are all “costume jewelry” and most carry the name of the company or country where they were made. I keep them in a glass covered shadow box so that they can easily be seen. In the past, I displayed them on an old velvet dress form, which seemed like a good idea because they looked very beautiful on it. However, I quickly discovered that I’d have to spend an awfully big chunk of time dusting them – so I had to abandon that idea. 😉

It would be fun to see a photo of your collection – whatever it is! I’d love to share your pictures here on the blog! 😀

Hugs,

A License to Borrow

Posted on March 24, 2009 by crystal

Do you remember getting your first library card?

It’s such a milestone in a kid’s life.

When I was in the third grade, my mother gave me permission to hop on the bus (all by myself! 😉 ) and go to our local library. You can see the building on this old post card.

It was here that I applied for my first library card. I remember standing wide-eyed at the librarian’s desk while she filled out all the forms in an elegant flowing script. When she was finished and finally handed that little card to me, I felt so grown up!

Recently, I was reminded of all of this, when I read a delightful article about a boy named Cory, who has been collecting library cards ever since he was 6 years old. He’s 15 now, and has accumulated over 3000 library cards from all 50 states and 74 countries!

On his website, you’ll find his story and pictures of his collection. It’s still a work in progress, as scanning the cards is time consuming, but there’s lots to see!

The cards are listed by state and they’re just amazing! I couldn’t believe the variety within each state. Some are plain; some are fancy. Others are high tech, and still others are old-fashioned. This collection is a wonderful slice of Americana.

You can visit Cory’s website by clicking here. When you get there, click on the “Table of Contents” to view cards from Northern California, Southern California and the Western United States!

I think youll be charmed!