Some of the things I collect are.....

[Josie Rosy Posy]

Josie, we have almost the full set of the Family Creative Workshop books!  We are only missing #1 and #19.  We found almost the whole set at one Goodwill in West Palm Beach when we were down there for my great uncle's wedding.  I have a piece of paper in my wallet reminding me which ones we're missing for future thrifting expeditions.  I love, love, love those books!  Keep looking, I'm sure you'll find them.  I've seen a lot of stray volumes when I've been thrifting.  It comes with an index volume, too.

Wow! It's been a while since I checked out this forum, but now I'm glad I did! That's great, Good Buddy! Now I will keep my eye out and I will let you know if I can help you out in completing your collection. How many are there?

[Landlady]

Cookie and I collect about the same things, and probably hit the same thrifts, as we live only a few miles apart! I NEVER find any belly dance records though. I look for shiny garments that can be incorporated into belly dance costumes, this is where I am the crow attracted to anything shiny. Then I look for housewares, my core cookware is Revere Wear and French White Corning Ware, but I like aluminum rather than steel for bakeware as it doesn't rust. I collect  cookbooks, old patterns, light fiction, good biographies, movies I've missed on video, some fabric, everyday clothes, and so on. When I get my finds home,  all the textiles get washed; if they survive I try them on. Anything that will go in the dishwasher goes through a cycle. The patterns go to Office Depot and are photocopied front and back on one page so they can be cataloged.  

Josie, I had a collection of Family Creative complete except for Volume 5, then I found it at a yard sale. There are 23 volumes plus the index, making a total of 24.  If you are only missing a volume or two, they are mostly 75 cents each, listed separately, on half.com under Family Creative Workshop. However with postage, getting the whole collection would be prohibitive. Keep looking!

[Rainbow]

One of our bathrooms is decorated in a sea motif. I collected shells until I got enough pretty ones to set on a little wicker 3 shelf open cabinet. At a garage sales I found a lighthouse light , a three foot wood seahorse, some stuffed toy fish, a fish dish, such like that. I hung some seascape paintings I did myself.

[Cassandra]

I collect accessories-jewelry, purses, and just recently scarves and ties.  My first love is purses and I have over 90 of them by now.  I don''t know what I''m going to do when I run out of closet room for them-I can''t bare to part with any of them!

I also collect books and faberge eggs.  I love the faberge eggs that have a religious scene.  One of my favorites is an ostrich egg that opens to show Joseph, Mary, and baby Jesus.  My favorite type of fiction is mystery and anything to do with crime, criminology, etc.  I hope find the earlier editions of Agatha Christie''s books.

Cassandra

[Mattie]

I collect a lot of weird stuff.  Most of these things are easier to find at antique stores and flea markets than at thrifts, but sometimes I get lucky.

Dog license tags, rabies tags and nametags
Old dog-care booklets
View-Master viewers and reels
Stereoscopes and stereocards
Postcards
Antique photos and photo albums
Old packages, especially small boxes and tins that are easy to display
Cemetery ephemera
Interesting old bottles

For a while I was buying every interesting old suitcase I could find but I have about fifteen now and I don''t think I need any more.  I also buy advertising giveaways if they''re especially interesting.  For example, I have two small tape measures from motorcycle accessory manufacturers, a letter opener from a Soviet shipping company, several yardsticks from long-gone hardware stores, and a paperweight from a mining company.

[Thrift Shop Romantic]

Mattie-
With regard to your postcard collection, do you have a particular area/type you''re into collecting?

I''ve gotten totally enraptured lately with greeting card and special occasion postcards from about 1900-1920.

And as a collection, postcards are great because not only are they history, but they don''t take up much room!

[Mattie]

I like linens (1930s-1950s) of city scenes and buildings, also 1950s-''60s postcards of cheesy motels and restaurants, and early 20th century real-photo cards (especially if there''s a dog in the photo!).

[Thrift Shop Romantic]

I''ll have to see if I can find the link for you to James Lileks'' online postcard stuff-- he''s posted a lot of kitcshy motel cards from the time you mentioned and it''s pretty entertaining.

[Mattie]

I''m a big fan of Lileks.com.  I think I may even have a few of the cards he''s posted!

[kitkat]

 I WISH my collections had direction.  I have a little of this and a little of that.  I do have an extenstive record collection and three stereos (none of which work for some reason).  Instead of fifties kitchen I have the advertising kitchen.  Old boxes, crates, advertising signs, watering cans, --what my parents would have called the junk from their basement.  The walls are done in barn wood so it does look good.  I just have alot of everything--if it is cheap and old, I will probably buy it.  I collect lithographs, oils and very old etchings but they are getting harder to come by for a small price.  I am really trying hard to organize myself, weeding out projects I will never get done in lei of finding myself in this mess.  I would be a great candidate for one of those mission organization people but I would be horrified that they would ask me to say good bye to one of my collections or uptween projects.

[Thrift Shop Romantic]

Mattie- Excellent on Lileks. (His Interior Desecrators section is one of my favorite humor pages on the web-- It''s like a car wreck-- so awful you just can''t look away.)

KitKat- I understand about the having stuff and thinking you need to weed it out. But I can offer you some hope-- you may very well reach a point where you can see in your own collections things that you like less than other examples in the collection. And you can sort of downgrade them. I''m finally starting to do that with some of my vintage china, and the idea of parting has become less sorrowful.

If you get a chance to take pics of your "advertising kitchen" it''d be great to see. It sounds like a lot of fun.

[eddieb]

Josie, we have almost the full set of the Family Creative Workshop books!  We are only missing #1 and #19.  We found almost the whole set at one Goodwill in West Palm Beach when we were down there for my great uncle's wedding.  I have a piece of paper in my wallet reminding me which ones we're missing for future thrifting expeditions.  I love, love, love those books!  Keep looking, I'm sure you'll find them.  I've seen a lot of stray volumes when I've been thrifting.  It comes with an index volume, too.

i actually started collecting those Time Life educational books with titles like "The Planets", "The Scientists", "Reptiles", and they even had one called "Drugs" <--- that one had the best pictures and illustrations....

i'm still collecting those actually...

[MrsGoodwill]

I''m a big fan of Lileks.com.  I think I may even have a few of the cards he''s posted!

How bad am I? I actully like some of those interiors he features in Interior Desecrators!

[Josie Rosy Posy]

Josie, we have almost the full set of the Family Creative Workshop books!  We are only missing #1 and #19. 

Cookie, are you still missing #1? Since this post, I have found a few more including two copies of book #1! I will send one to you if you like.

[Cookie]

Josie, yes, I am still missing #1.  I would love to have it if it doesn't cost too much to send. Here is our P.O. box if you are so inclined. 
TheThriftShopper.Com
P.O. Box 547756
Orlando, FL 32854-7756