Ten on Tuesday | Collections.

...this week, Carole's asked us to share about our collections. I don't think of myself as a Collector, but I didn't have any trouble coming up with a list of ten!

1. Birds. Mostly carved wooden pieces, but I also have one ceramic (an eagle my brother gave me years ago) and one glass (from Marc). A few of the pieces were from my grandparents. They loved the ones carved from a single piece of trunk so it looks like the bird is perched on a stump; the front left and far back right ones are from them. This collection sits on the chest behind my desk. I've got to curate it carefully now because there's really not much more room!

2. Bird ornaments. This is a collection I'm still adding to. I think it was three Christmases ago when I realized I had enough ornaments to fill a tree. The Bird Tree is one of my favorite holiday pieces. I'll be sure to share more about that next month!

3. Fashion prints. This collection started with these six prints from my mom. They're from Godey's fashion magazines from the 1860's and 70's. Over the years, I've added a few more pieces.

This piece is a special favorite; it's also the oldest (1847!)

4. Tea cups. I started collecting them as souvenirs when I was a teenager. One of the first pieces is from Butchart Gardens in Victoria, British Columbia. I haven't added to this collection in years, only because the cupboard is full.

5. Blue and white. This is one of my newer collections, inspired when we updated our kitchen and dining room back in the early 2000's. I had a few family pieces and decided to add (a lot) more. It was a lot of fun to comb antique markets with my folks. Most of what I have is hanging here and on another smaller wall in the dining room. When we moved to this house, picking just the right red for the walls was a big deal. I think I did (finally) get it right!

6. Stangl pottery. I think my mom acquired her first pieces when we lived in New Jersey in the late 70's. I didn't realize until just now that the factory closed in November, 1978. Perfect timing! She gave me this piece in the 1980's but it wasn't until the 2000's that I got serious about it. I now have small bowls, several plates, a serving bowl, creamer and sugar, luncheon plates and a gravy boat. Most of the pieces have the same fruit design, but not all. The luncheon plates have dogwood blooms around the edges, perfect for entertaining here in Georgia!

7. Depression glass plates. I'm pretty sure I was inspired by Martha Stewart here; she got me crazy into this in the early 2000's (I still am...just not quite so much!) I love using the dessert/salad plates when I entertain. I pick them up in sets of four and varying colors. I have a lot of amber, some clear and four each of green and amethyst. Sadly, I had a shelf mishap this summer and lost a few of my favorites...I'm hoping my mom and dad feel up to an antiquing trip when they're here for Thanksgiving so I can "replace" them.

8. Georgia Tech. This is as much Marc's collection as mine. It lives in the basement along with his "golf" collection.

9. Fans. My grandmother gave me her collection; I added to it a bit in my teen years, but haven't done anything with it since then. They're pretty to look at - and the history is fascinating...but they're hard to display (and no one uses them anymore). All of my "active" collections are on view and/or used on a regular basis.

10. Spoons. My mom had a huge collection (as did her mother) and multiple racks to display them. She actively added to it when I was growing up; it was her souvenir of choice when we traveled and we gifted her a few, too. She shared the collection with me, my brother and my sister and I think each of us has added a vew pieces over the years. I had a few racks and displayed mine...but then I got tired of always having to polish them and in one kitchen re-do, took down the racks, and never put them up again. Now the spoons live happily tarnish free in a bag in a drawer. A hidden collection.

So that's it - a list of ten and I'm done! I've loved sharing all this - and realizing (yet again!) how wonderful it is to inherit both a love of collecting (and a few of those collections themselves)!

This was a fun share; look forward to seeing what interesting and pretty things y'all collect!