The “Hot” New CollectiblesWritten by Laura Thykeson - Owner of "Ice Originals II - Vintage Collectibles, Music and Jewelry"
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Of course, Haskell jewelry is and always will be a hot collectible in jewelry market, but consider this. The majority of people collect her items because of artistic appeal, unique designs and quality of piece. Shouldn’t we judge all items we consider purchasing by those same rules, no matter who made them? I think so. I also feel that in long run, as time goes by, those purchases made with heart and eyes will be ones that we grow to love most. Sure, Haskell jewelry is a great collectible, sure to increase in value as time goes by. But who is to say that that little pottery vase made with great form and design by a student in an art pottery studio or class will not someday be worth a small fortune? Plus, as it increases in value, if it does, you will have not paid a small fortune for it, you have admired and loved it since you bought it, and your family may now already arguing over who gets it one of these days when you go to that great auction in sky, regardless of market value! Items we acquire through life, if well loved and worn or displayed with pride and love, develop a value all their own. How do you think collectibles market began? For instance, we have in our family, a beautiful and very large ewer. For years and years, it has been passed down from my grandmother, to my mother, and now my sister and I are determined that this ewer will never leave our family, if we can help it. Turns out that this ewer is a Rookwood or Roseville, and most likely worth a small fortune! Do you think that my Grandmother purchased it because of name? No, she bought it because it was pretty and she loved way it looked. Names meant nothing to her, she just loved look and feel of pottery, and it has been on constant display in our family, in one home or other, because of where it came from, not who made it! To us it is priceless, no amount of money could ever get it away from us. To collector, it has a set price, although it may be a large price, but that is no matter to us. We will never sell it because of memories it holds. I always get a little giggle (not to offend anyone, it’s just my strange sense of humor...) when a dealer lists something as “An important piece of “such and such””. Aren’t they all important in one way or another? They were important to person that made them, or designed them, or cast them, or threw clay, I don’t care if it was a 10 year old child in pottery class, or a ewer like one in our family. I guess what I am trying to say is that all items have value, from one viewpoint or other, and we shouldn’t be so caught up in “name game”. Broaden your horizons on your next browsing trip and always remember that “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure”!
Laura owns several online websites, along with her largest site, "Ice Originals II" where she sells a wide variety of vintage and collectible items. She is also a published poet, freelance writer and an artist. She invites you to visit her shop at http://www.tias.com/stores/iceorig/, as well as her new website highlighting special collectibles and jewelry pieces at http://www.iceoriginals.com/!
| | Scrapbooking the Dizzying Movies of ToddlersWritten by Fion Lim
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E) "Special and Unique Me" Toddlers are shaped by their environments in addition to their heredity character traits. By noting down your kid's preferences and reactions to people, things and events, you'll get hints of his or her uniqueness. Scrapbooking these evolving personality traits would document rapid development of your child as a unique individual. Photos showing your child caught in various expressions or unguarded moments will reveal different sides of your kid. A child's personality is like a canvas, painted in many different colors and shades. F) "Play is Serious Business" With bountiful supply of pure energy, your toddler probably reminds you of an object in constant motion. Capture a series of such motions in a single play day, or gather a series of photos of your toddler playing different games and activities. The work of a child is not to earn, but to play. Playing with others at playground, figuring out how to work computer, stacking up building blocks, creating first piece of artwork, play is serious business to toddlers. These scrapbook pages will reveal creative workings of your child's mind. G) "There's Family and Friends Too" Family and friends are influential presences in a toddler's life. Documenting special relationships or moments your toddler has with others, will remind him or her of how much he or she is loved by others. As grandma's little kitchen helper in baking cookies, as an earnest student of grandpa's on star constellations, a loving big brother hugging baby sister, all these speaks of love in abundance. Even innocent hand-holding and sweet hugs exchanged between inseparable friends are touching moments for pages. H) "Wild Wild World Out There" Funny how toddlers will make us voluntarily go places that we haven't been to in ages. It's like reliving our own childhood, through eyes of our toddlers. Playing sand at beach, memorable trip to zoo, magical moments at theme park, amazement at circus stunts, and even travels to other states. A toddler would love to know where in world had they been when they're grown up. So add these to your scrapbook pages as well. As always, there's heaps of toddler's "movies" you can scrapbook about. Potty training, bathing time, zonking out moments, make-up session and pretend-playing, all these are themes you can gleefully dig into. Time to get imaginative! Happy scrapping about toddler's movies!
Fion Lim is the creator of Everything-About-Scrapbooking.com - Here's your how-to-guide to learning about scrapbooking. Find free online scrapbooking ideas, tips, inspirations, articles and resources to quotes, poems and fonts right here. http://www.everything-about-scrapbooking.com
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