I am a collector (Sherry)

Colander wind Chime

I am a collector, have seen since my 4-H days.  I am not a hoarder!  I have been accused of being a hoarder, but I am not, I am a collector.  It started with spoons. I would buy one when I traveled on 4-H trips to Louisville, KY, Washington, D.C., Kansas City, etc.  When my mom and dad traveled to conferences they would bring me a spoon from that city. Soon other people began bringing me spoons too.   I still collect spoons, I have several spoon racks full of spoons. And one fork.  My nieces thought it was funny that I collect spoons, so being onery, they brought me a fork from a restaurant in Texas.  It has a place of honor on a rack with the spoons.  Then my collecting grew to  stamps, depression glass, antiques of any kind, buttons, favric, quilts, postcards, old books, etc. Well as the years have gone by, my collections have expanded and grown.  Now i end up collecting things that i didn't even mean too.  If there is ever a shortage of bias tape, buttons, or metal colanders, I'm good. (Once my youngest son made a wind chime from an old metal colander with old silverware, beads, and keys in 4-H. So I started picking up  colanders at auctions, garage sales, etc, and soon i ended up with a collection of them.  Never have made another wind chime, but some day i will)   I like to collect things that i can reuse.  I was a recycler before it was "in".  I have always made crafts out of cast off things, its a challenge to me to reuse something in another way.  But my friends and family don't understand me.  They think I have a problem. I don't, I'm just misunderstood.   Part of the problem is my line of work.  In preschool, we make things, lots of things, out of things that other people would throw away.  I keep them and get my friends to save them for me  too.  This week we are making binoculars out of empty toilet paper rolls.  And yes, i had 42 toilet paper rolls in my "stash" so each child could make a set of binoculars.  I use all the things i collect, eventually.( or at least I plan on it) In February, during our health unit, we make tissue box faces, reinforcing the need to cover your sneeze, for our bulletin board. Yes, that is 24 tissue boxes on there. Last winter, we went through a lot of tissues in preschool.  

Tissue box faces

Come thanksgiving, we will be making Native American drums out of empty formula cans, oatmeal boxes and snack cans.  And yes, i have over 24 saved up so all the children can make one.  I have lots of things in my attic ready for a craft project of some kind.  My children are terrified that i won't live long enough to get them all made because none of them want to inherit my treasures. Ungrateful children, I have worked so hard to amass such a collection of craft materials.  I'll just have to find someone that will appreciate it.  So if you ever need an empty toilet paper roll, formula can, thread spool, pine cone, bias tape, old zipper, or metal colander, let me know. I can fix you up.