Pin Collecting

Pins are popular as collectibles. They also offer an additional advantage of not taking up much room. Pins come in many styles and themes. Some of the most collectible themes are Disney characters and sports teams. The first rule that should guide you when collecting pins is to specialize. If Mickey Mouse stirs you, start pin collecting with souvenir pins that celebrate him. Remember, just because a theme is popular doesn't mean you have to collect it. Be creative and collect what you enjoy. Pins can have a theme based on modern entertainments, but many pin collections are centered around election campaigns. Buttons are similar to pins and are collected by many of the same people. Advertising pins for businesses and services are also extremely collectible. You can display your collection in different ways. Pins can be shown off everyday in a personal way. When you wear a jacket with lapels, a hat or a vest, you can wear a few of your favorite pins. Show off your pins on tote bags, purses, and fanny packs. As your collection grows, you will find that you have too many to wear the entire collection. Another display idea is to cover a bulletin board with a plain piece of fabric, like dark blue velvet, to make a backdrop for a pin collection. The pins can either be pinned into the cork of the bulletin board or attached directly to the cloth. You can also display and store pins in a notebook. This method works well if you wish to take some of your pins to an event and do some trading with other collectors. Make the notebook with sheets of hard felt or craft foam. Either punch holes in the side so they fit into a binder or attach the pins to the pages then slip the pages into page protectors. Binders that zip closed are the best to use for pin collecting. Sometimes pins get scratched because they hit something. This is especially true if they are stored in a notebook arrangement where they hit each other. Scratches can be smoothed over with a tiny bit of liquid car wax. Future scratching can be avoided by using page protectors in notebook collections. Pin collecting is a very popular hobby. You can probably find a group of likeminded people easily. This makes pin collecting a hobby that is not only personal but helps people make friends.

Some Basic Terms And Process To Know When Beginning

Terms are important to communication. This is also true when bringing things together in a collection. Even though some terms apply specifically to making a scrapbook the concepts are universal. So the sale clerks will know what you are talking about, having at least an overview of a few terms helps when you go to craft stores to get supplies. Knowing some basic terms will also help you not feel so lost when the clerk starts speaking in what seems like a foreign dialect. Let’s start with acid. Because acid-free products are crucial to preserving your important pieces, it is important to ask for materials that do not have acid-based content. To be more specific, to produce a safe keep scrapbook the Ph level should be around seven or higher. Look for PVC-Free materials. The supplies should not have any polyvinyl chlorides. Instead polyester, polyethylene, or polypropylene is desired. Another important term to know is lignin. Lignin is acid based so look for lignin-free materials to prevent your newspapers, or clippings from yellowing. Speaking of acid you will also want to take steps to keep some everyday sources of acid out of your collection. It may seem trivial but everyone has acid on their hands so an action as simple as washing your hands before touching the scrapbook is of great benefit.Since many scrapbooks are made up to save memories for a long time, archival is a common term. Archival is the process of preserving your items. It protects your bits and pieces from fading, yellowing, or deteriorating. Also recommended for archiving is the use of buffer paper. Buffer paper will protect your papers and photos from the damage of acids defusing, and migrating. Look for buffer paper with the label “Photo Activity Test,” approved by the American National Standards Institute. Sometimes initials P.A.T. which is approved by ANSI are used to mean the same thing. Another set of initials to keep an eye out for is CK OK. Materials displaying the CK OK ‘Seal of Approval’ leads you to products produced to provide safe keep in scrap booking. Stay away from materials that do not have this seal. Scrapbooking in particular uses terms like cropping, workshop, page exchange, product swap, layout, mounting, double mount, heading, embellishment, title page, page, and preserving memorabilia. Even though they are used heavily in connection with scrapbook making, these ideas can be applied in various extents to any collecting.Cropping is the act of trimming photos to fit your book. This can be done simply with scissors or more elaborately with PhotoShop. More importantly cropping also includes gathering ideas, collecting items, and putting the parts in an order that tells a story. Affixing your photos on a single sheet of paper is the process of mounting. The process of sticking two pieces of paper together with photos on top of them is called double mounting.Collecting does not need to be a solo activity. One of the ways to socialize is workshop. Workshop is the process of working with other people to come up with ideas. Page exchanging, although similar to workshop, is more specific. You bring a page with you and work with others to share ideas and to craft that single page. Another aspect of workshops is product swapping. This is the process of swapping old materials, such as scissors, papers, etc, to get new materials. If a club does not exist for your particular form of collecting you can always start one to share ideas and materials.Organization is of the highest importance with any collecting. If you have not already, you will soon hear the term layout. The term is used to define collecting your pages and inserting them so they are arranged around a theme also know as page grouping. Choose any common theme or you can devise your own theme, such as “My Scrapbook of Memories.” A few final terms and ideas to keep in mind. Embellishment is the term used to define die-cuts, stickers, or anything else that make up a page. The title page or header is the start of your scrapbook often stating the theme that defines the overall ideas behind your scrapbook. Page is the process of creating the non-photographic materials, such as journal, embellishments, etc that go around your photos. Finally, memorabilia is adding souvenirs, official documents, artwork, or any other related documents to your scrapbook.

Who and Why Collect Autographs?

Autograph collecting, a pastime enjoyed by all generations, nationalities, races, ages, and socioeconomic groups, can provide an important link between the past and the present. Collecting takes many forms depending on the focus of the collector. People tend to want to have concrete evidence of having known a celebrity, even if it is in a small way. It provides a fascination that will not go away after you have succeeded getting your first hard to get autograph.

Autograph collecting is one of the many avenues you can use to feel a part of some special event or person. Autograph collecting can be a great way to record some of the history of a certain time. Collectors usually have special interests. These interests may be based on the environment, experience, education, travel, and so on.
Collecting an autograph is like collecting a moment in time. It is a delight to own a small something of a person you look up to.
Autograph collecting is used by some to document a person’s life. Others may use autograph collecting to illuminate a certain field of endeavor, such as the painting.

Autograph collecting sometimes starts with only one interest and then mushrooms into a potpourri of other autographs not going in any special direction but directed by emotion. Since people collect for different reasons, the autograph collecting does not have to be that of a famous person. Some people collect for sentimental reasons, some for historical reason. To some it is a hobby and there are even those who make a living by autograph collecting. For instance, if you would like to become a curator of history, autograph collecting will lead you in the right direction.

Autographs are becoming rarer for collecting. In the early days everything was done by hand but not today. Because of the growth of technology a hand-written letter has the most value. Communications are sent via fax and e-mail causing letters to become extinct. Nevertheless autograph collecting is likely to be around for a long time because a collector finds so much joy and fun in autograph collecting. The challenge to get another autograph can be so strong some people attend events just to be in a position to get a certain autograph.

There are almost as many reasons for collecting as there are collectors.
Autograph collecting is a hobby that can be enjoyed by all. For many years, this hobby has been enjoyed by Kings, Queens, Presidents, Heads of State, movie stars, sports people, and everyday citizens. It is an activity that highlights interests in other people and what they do. Autograph collecting is also an expression of your interest and your personality in general. In our culture autograph collecting is valued because many of us want to actually own a piece of history or a special occasion. The autograph can be on a program, piece of paper, paper bag or napkin just be sure to get it in pen.

Starting A Collection

I would like to start with a personal note that may not be too exciting for you but thrills me. This is my first post on this blog but enough non-relevant stuff.
I would like to explore the realm of collecting. I am more interested in things that have more relation to each other than just happening to get put in the same shoe box to look at later.

We collect all kinds of things but above everything else we are collecting memories. This is true no matter what the thing happens to be. Coins are good example. I collect them not only for the reason I tell everybody ‘they are a good investment’ although that does not hurt. I also collect for all the not so concrete motivations. Coins cause me to remember my dad helping me get started collecting as a boy scout. They prompt me to remember where I got certain coins as change or who I was with when I got a different currency. Collecting could be a bit more lucrative if I would be more selective and less sentimental but it would loss much of it’s appeal.

If you can hold it in your hand you can collect it. Just a few things that come to mind are coins, autographs, photos, a child’s first (fill in the blank). In posts to come I look forward to exploring these and more. I may get wrapped up in the physical aspects of collecting but please do not allow yourself to loss sight of the fact that these ‘things’ are not only related to each other but also a certain person or time that for some reason is special to you.