As a child, I had a lot of collections. As an adult…I still have a bunch of them. Most of them have been sitting in boxes since we got to Texas three years ago. They bring me absolutely no enjoyment that way, but that doesn’t mean I’m ready to part with them!
I was recently inspired by a friend’s home to pull some of those treasures back into the light of day and keep them there. Read on to see how you can pass off your childhood collections as decor!
I started with my rock and mineral collection:
Also needed: an apothecary jar (I got mine from Michael’s, but these are so popular right now that you should be able to find them at any large craft store) and tongs. I thought I would need the styrofoam, but I didn’t. You might. It depends on how big of a nerd you are.
Start filling! My strategy was to fill by color. I had an enormous chunk of pyrite, so I used the tongs to carefully place that in the middle of the very bottom and put smaller pieces of pyrite, hematite and anything sparkly around it. I also placed the larger, less-interesting stones (pumice, unpolished marble) into the middle of the column as I went, which prevented me from needing to cut a piece of the styrofoam as filler. If you do need it, you might want to spray it first with that craft paint that looks like stone finish.
When you’re done, you’ll have something like this:
Follow the jump to see the second project!
Does everybody have an outsized collection of seashells, or is that just my family? In any case, that’s what the next jar is for! Start with a box of shells and a larger apothecary jar (this one is also from Michael’s):
Now put your shells in it! Upon unwrapping mine, I discovered that I have several really large shells and not so many small ones. This was tricky — you know the old saying about how too many conchs spoil the blog — but I got around it by turning one on its end and wedging it between two others. This worked well since the jar has quite a bit of overhead space in the lid. There is still ample empty space above, as you can see:
I also hid a little surprise in there for anyone who gets close enough:
Ideally I would like both jars to be at eye level, but for now they are occupying part of the display space at the top of our bookshelves. I think it’s a big improvement over everything being packed away in tissue paper and boxes!
Now don’t I look smart for keeping everything? Smart-ish? Whatever, I’m totally high-fiving my childhood self. :)
(I have one more similar project to share — come back Sunday to see it!)
