I spent this past weekend adding three unique pieces to my glass collection. These pieces are seen below. In total, I paid five dollars for these three pieces, quite a deal I would say, since the purple one is Italian blown glass.
Glass is something that I have always adored. My house is filled with it ~ from huge pieces of furniture and mirrors, to collectible antiques. This was not an easy challenge with two kids, one huge dog and a overly frisky feline. For years, I had to keep my collectibles hidden in boxes so that they would not get broken. Now that the children have grown, I have started to place my collectibles back on shelves where they belong and I have begun to slowly add more pieces to them.
Collecting these and other similar pieces over the years has had a surprising benefit that I was not expecting ~ many of these pieces are now considered valuable. While I did not start collecting to make money and I do not really care about value, I now try to put a bit more effort into what I purchase because I have come to realize the importance of the value of my collectibles for future generations. We do not know how important and valuable what we leave behind may become. When I first started, I was looking for pieces that I thought were nice, I now look for both beautiful and valuable items to add to my collections.
Tip: always buy silver and gold whenever it is available, even if its junk pieces, at the very least, you can sell it to a gold or silver dealer when you have enough of it to melt.
Do not be mistaken, antiques are not what I buy, I buy things that I want to add to my collections and hope that I find more valuable pieces. If your going to purchase antiques, you will have to spend hours doing research to make sure the piece is authentic.
Collections do not always have to be authentic as they turn somewhat valuable on their own, due to the fact that you have a variety of pieces.
I have many different collections, but the largest of those are glass and candles. Candles are hard to maintain value because once you light them, they are no longer useful. Nothing looks nicer than a candle lit room. It is always a hard decision whether to use them or not. Personally, I always light them because the container is what adds most of the value to it. I also have many smaller collections including; elephants, ceramics, fairies, famous quotes and salt and pepper shakers. The salt and pepper shakers and elephants were actually my mother-in-laws collection and when she died, it was passed down to me, but in her memory I like to add to them once in awhile.
Do it yourself crafts, printable design photo albums and scrap booking are also very valuable collections. Did you know that one of the most valuable priceless pieces in history was a Navaho quilt blanket? Can imagine walking into get your craft appraised only to find out it is a priceless artifact that should be preserved in a museum. It can and it does happen.
Part of being a crafty person and enjoying do it yourself projects is because I see the world from a different perspective. With each piece I hold someone else’s story in my hand and that inspires me. Never stop creating wondering things and collecting things that mean something to you, you never know if one day they will mean the world to someone else. I hope that I have inspired you to think beyond your craft and see the value in what you do.
Blown Glass Circa 1960



































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