Showing Off Your Collection Instead Of Packing It Away


Organization is one of my anxiety-busters. The clutter around me turns into clutter in my mind, which makes me anxious and overwhelmed. So a few weeks ago when we talked about downsizing collections, I started looking at some fun ways to organize, store, and display the things I chose to keep. If you did the same downsizing, try some of these ideas for what to do with them.


Cabinets: For kitchen collections like baking pans or cookbooks, anything you don't need on the counter every day, look for cabinet space. I adore the pullout drawers in my kitchen because they make reaching everything quick and easy. If you don't have cabinet drawers, arrange pieces in two rows, keeping the things you use or show off more often in the front.

Glass display cases: For anything intricate, breakable, or precious, consider displaying them in glass. Then they'll be protected, kept clean, and can still be seen.

Shadow boxes: Shallow boxes with small shelves are a vintage way of keeping collections of tiny things in one place. Having grown up with several of these in our home, it was fun to hang them on the wall and group our favorite things like ceramics, figurines, spoons, and dolls where they could be seen and enjoyed.


Rotating displays: Still feel like you have too much of a good thing? You don't have to put them out all at once. A few pieces on a shelf or in a display box at a time will feel more manageable, and you can rotate them throughout the year so you can see all of them.

Repurposing: I still have the mountain of sticker books I started as a child, and they make me incredibly happy. For my big-girl sticker collection, which I'm still adding to regularly, I used baseball card pages to keep them in order and arranged. This is so much easier than finding or making a book, and the clear pocket pages allow me to pull them out if I decide I want to use them somewhere.

Go vertical with a gallery wall: If you've run out of flat surfaces, take advantage of your walls. Start by laying out your design with paper and masking tape, then hang things in a creative pattern. This works especially well for art, plates, clocks, cutting boards, and even vintage tools.

So have fun, get creative, and make your favorite collections the showpiece of your home.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Recovering An Old Card Table And Making It Usable Again

Image
This card table recover project has been on my to-do list for months. I've been using it as my workspace in the craft room for quite some time, and it sees a lot of abuse. Here it is now, with a neutral cover on it so I can take better pictures for my tutorials. There were dents and dings in the old blue covering from metal tools. And yes, I've used my embossing heat tool on it several times, leaving pretty good scars. The padding underneath the blue cover also made it difficult to keep paper crafts flat when adhering them together, so it was time for something new. That's where a simple vinyl tablecloth comes in handy. The process to recover the table is pretty simple, but I learned a couple of lessons the hard way. I share them with you now. First, don't do this on any surface but a carpet. I tried it on the deck int he sunshine to get better pictures, but all it did was tear up the cover. Second, get a second pair of hands to help you kee
Read more

Holland Creme - That Amazing White Stuff In Donuts

Image
I remember going to the grocery store every Saturday morning when I was growing up, and my favorite place in the entire store was the donut case. All the glazed, powdered and filled baked goods drew me like a magnet. My favorites, far and away, were the ones filled with that beautiful white, fluffy creme. At the time I didn't know it was called Holland Creme - I just knew it was the most amazing concoction ever. Ever. Here is my version of this sweet treat. You can make your own fried donuts and fill them, or like I did here, you can cut a crevice into store-bought donuts with a knife and fill them with creme in a piping bag. Either way, you're going to love it. Ingredients: 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup water 1 cup vegetable oil 1 cup shortening 1 cup butter 1 Tbsp vanilla 7 cups powdered sugar 1. Make a simple syrup by combining sugar and water in a sauce pan over medium heat until boiling, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to cool complet
Read more

Simple DIY Beaded Keychains

Image
We're having so much fun putting together goodie bags and door prizes for our upcoming ladies retreat at the church. So many of our ladies have donated craft supplies, decorations, time and energy to treat our visitors to an amazing time. These keychains are just one of the gifts some of the attendees will find in their bags. All you need to make them are a variety of beads, some fairly thin yet sturdy cord and a jump ring. Cut a length of cord, fold it in half and string it through the jump ring. String matching beads on both sides. And tie it off with a double knot. So simple, yet so pretty. Here's another variation: Cut a length of cord, fold it in half and thread it through a jump ring. Tie one or two beads on one side and tie it off with a knot. Make the other side longer with additional letters and beads before tying it off. Make a variety of lengths, colors, patterns and phrases so no two are alike.
Read more