Is it Collecting or Hoardering?

I started collecting vintage toys over ten years ago. My first real job was working at an antique mall where I was surrounded by collectables and vintage items daily. It's hard not to start collecting something when you work in an environment full of temptation. Items that may remind you of your childhood or items from a completely different era that simply just fascinate you. My collecting all started with one tiny Smurf figurine....


Smurfs were a huge part of my childhood. I remember playing with the cute little figurines and watching the cartoon daily. At the time when I started collecting it seemed really harmless. I bought a few figurines here and there. Soon though it turned into over 150! Then the mushrooms houses came, along with anything else that had a Smurf on it. I currently have four totes devoted to just Smurf items. Only for the first years of my collecting I had it all on display. Fast forward through time, I moved into my first house and got married. After that most of the toy collection ended up just stored in plastic totes stacked to the ceiling. You need a lot of room to display an entire collection.

The Mickey Mouse in the photo is actually from my childhood visit to Disney World.
That entire collection turned into also collecting CareBears, Rainbow Bright, Wuzzles, lunchboxes, books, many little figurines, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Little People, My Little Ponies, Trolls, Garfield, PowerPuff Girls and many more items. (I think you get the idea.) While working at the antique mall the business of reselling vintage items really sucked me in. I sold items in my own booth for awhile. It was really fun. That meant shopping for inventory on a weekly basis. While thrifting I would find vintage toys almost every time. Making my collection grow larger and LARGER!! When you find a cute stuffed animal for nine cents it's hard to pass up. Looking back now I wish I would of!


All the things that I am sharing photos of are things that are currently displayed in my office. They are the items that I seem to still be drawn to. When we moved across the country almost two years ago I realized how much stuff I really do have. Especially when it comes to my collection. Sadly I "thought" I had downsized before our big move but I will never forget the day when the semi-truck came to our tiny apartment with all my stuff. I counted thirty totes full of just my toy collection alone. Please know that as I'm typing this I'm busting out laughing at myself. Thirty totes? Really? I have never ever considered myself a hoarder. But that statement of thirty totes doesn't help my case.


However there is a light at the end of tunnel for me. I am finally sick of moving totes and more totes around the country back and forth. I'm not ready to get rid of everything yet, but I am planning to downsize the collection. Some of my collection is some of my original toys that were mine from my childhood. I still have my very first baby doll and some of the Barbies I played with. I am a very sentimental person. I get attached to items very easily because of a memory attached to that item. Even though I know that I won't lose my memories. Of course I find that's not entirely true because over time we do forget things and it takes something to "trigger" a memory to bring it back. This happens to me all the time.



Lately I have been spending a lot less time glued to my computer. It has been awesome! Giving me more time to do things like go through tons of totes and make tuff decisions on who goes and who gets to stay. It hasn't been as hard as I thought it would be just because I've changed so much. Items that I used to be very fond of mean nothing to me now. I am literally just storing it. Cody and I are always talking about our future. Where the next place will be that will live, etc.. I may not know what state or city I will end up in but I do know I will probably have a lot less space. I think that collecting is fun. I know why I have always done it and why others do it. The hunt becomes rather addicting and a hobby. It's been a long time since I've really bought a vintage toy because I know my collection is rather large.



So far I have three totes overflowing of vintage toys that I plan to sell or get rid of. I also have a huge box full of vintage stuffed animals. I am very confident that there will a lot more that I will be parting with. I figure I shouldn't keep holding on to items that I have no love for anymore. Especially when there is someone out there who would really enjoy having it.



I even have Harry Potter Valentines. I guess I could mail them to people next year??? (I'm kidding)
My newest collection is the Disney Vinylmations. Geez, was starting this probably a mistake!!!

We got sucked straight into these cute little guys. Trading the duplicates you get is addicting. Once you take a step back from it you realize all this. But sadly by then it's too late and you own two hundred of them. hahaha The way I look at collecting is it's great as long as you don't let it take over your entire house or life. Having things to decorate with is pretty cool and fun. For me the main problem is the amount of times I move. I just have to downsize my entire life sooner or later because I've realized I'm probably just going to keep moving. Having a huge collection of adorable things just isn't for my lifestyle anymore. I hope that this proves that I'm not a hoarder after all. :)

I hope you enjoyed this post. It was fun to share. I hoped you picked up on my humor. Yet I think that hoarding is a serious thing. I've watched the tv shows about hoarding and it breaks my heart every time.
Do you collect things?

You can view photos of all my toy collection on Flickr HERE.
All my blog posts featuring Vinylmations HERE.

STAGING A BOOKCASE IN MY LIVING ROOM

When it comes to decorating, one of my favorite things to do is stage bookcases. I love setting up displays and arranging items. I thought it would be fun to show you how I came up with my newest display in our living room. Some people don't feel like they are good at it so I thought sharing my process with you may be helpful. If not, you can just enjoy my pictures hopefully. I started out with boxes up items! Everything from picture frames, vases, collectibles and sentimental things.


I started with unpacking items to get a feel of everything I had. It really helps when you can see it all together. Since my bookcase is white, I wanted to make sure I had pops of colors in my display so that things would stand out better. Since I decided to display my Vinylmations in BILLY bookcases on either side of my large bookcase, I wanted to make sure my display was somewhat simple. The Vinylmations are very colorful.


For this bookcase display I decided to do a layout that I felt was "mirrored". I don't think designers use this term for arranging items, but I just did. (Maybe I should trademark it. HA!) I like to keep things pleasing to the eye and balanced. That's basically what I mean by mirrored. I tend to always decorate using symmetry. Here is an example...

I numbered each shelf of the bookcase. Number 2 and Number 3 are "mirrored" to look alike.
Number 1 and Number 4 are alike.

In the first example you can see that I used books to give the items some height in the bookcase.
I used similar hot pink frames and sat a Precious Moment figurine next to it.
It helps to make both displays match each other.


You can see how I did it above with the white vases and the silver picture frames as well.
I like that the displays are similar but not exactly the same.
I think it's very pleasing to the eye. Below is a sample of how Shelf 1 and 4 match...



I realize it may be harder for other people to have such a matchy look because they don't have as much stuff as I do.
(I swear I am not a hoarder.)
I am hoping this is helpful and inspiring.
My bookcase has a total of 8 shelves. Here is what my finally display looks like...



I am very happy with how my display turned out. It makes me happy! :)
Here are some more pictures, because I love pictures...

The California crate was left behind by the previous home owner! YAY!


The Precious Moment figurine above belonged to my aunt who passed away earlier this year.
She had a huge collection of them and I always remember as a child that the "one in the bathtub" was my favorite.
It makes me smile every time I see it.

I like to collect buttons and pins...


One of my favorite photos of my friends and I from over 10 years ago!
(Geez, I'm old!)
You can also see the photo on the right of my dad and I when I was around 4 years old!


So what do you think?
Doing displays are so fun to me. Putting things together and layering them.
My best advise would be to just try different things. It took me hours to get this display to look a way that I loved.
Use books, frames, art, collectables and vases.
Mix it up and have FUN!

Next step for my living room is painting some artwork!
You can see other bookcase displays I have done in the past by clicking HERE.
Tour my home HERE.

Collecting Disney Vinylmations

I wanted to devote an entire blog post to collecting Vinylmations. I have used information from Wikipedia to first explain what Vinylmations are and other basic information about collecting them. I tried to type it out myself, but I was rambling way too much. I figured it was best to use their information for this post. So lets start with the basic facts first.


Vinylmation is a brand of 1.5", 3", and 9" vinyl collectibles sold at Disney theme parks, select Disney Stores, and the online Disney Store. The name Vinylmation is a combination of the word Animation and Vinyl. The figures are all shaped like Mickey Mouse but have different themed markings, colors and patterns. Vinylmation was first introduced in July 2008, and the first figures were introduced in November 2008.



Trading of figures is officially encouraged and practiced at Disney locations in a fashion similar to Disney pin trading. There are designated places where guests may trade figures with cast members. Trading now takes place at select Disney Stores as well. Disney Parks allow people to trade in their Vinylmations for either one out of a mystery box numbered one through 24, or for one in a small clear case. If you do not like the Vinylmation from the mystery box then you may trade with one of three in a clear case that you can see which ones there are. You can trade them in at most stores throughout Walt Disney World, the Disneyland Resort, and in several Disney stores.



Vinylmation figures are sold in sealed packaging. The purchaser does not know which figure they are buying until they have opened it. Each figure belongs to a series and all of the figures in a series are printed on the packaging for that series and the series comes in a large box. Each series has one unknown figure, termed the chaser. Some come with cards, stickers or another figure to make a set. In addition to being a mystery figure the chaser is also the rarest figure in each series. Limited edition nine-inch figures are also sold and these are visible without opening the packaging. 3" figures can be purchased by the case. Each case comes with 24 vinyls: 2 of each known design, and 1 mystery chaser. To accommodate the chaser, one of the 11 known designs appears 3 times in each case.


Above you can see Cody standing in the store called D-Street located at Downtown Disney. This is the best store to go to for purchasing Vinylmations. They have the largest selection. The store is basically all Vinylmations and is known for good trading. We went to D-Street many times in hope of finding some good Vinyl trades! D-Street also has a great selection of urban art and collectables...


As you can see above, there is also a great selection of open box Vinylmations to collect. Not all of them are mystery boxes. This is great for those who don't want to end up with a bunch of duplicates. We went on our Disney vacation we had 27 trades (duplicates). It was so exciting trading our entire vacation. Our duplicates were all paid for already so we ended up trading them all to get "new" ones to add to our collection! I actually ended up completing a series/set also! I was super excited about that! One of the best things about going to D-Street is all the Vinylmation eyecandy...


They have an entire table and display of Vinylmations. If you are really into collecting it almost is torture because all the "harder" to get Vinyl's are in that table behind a thin piece of glass. You honestly just want to take a hammer to it and grab them! HA! You see many Vinylmations behind that glass that are worth 1000's of dollars! Yes, I know, CRAZY!


So what Vinyl's did we end up with while trading on our vacation?
Here is Cody with our very first trade!

We were very excited to end up with this lime green guy. He is an older Vinylmation that retailed at $15 originally and is a few years old. I always wanted him! It was a good way to kick off our trading. We also traded for him at our Disney resort. That's another perk of trading. All the resorts have Vinyl trading. It makes it easy to trade every morning before heading to the parks! Now I am going to flood you with more photos! Below is everything we came home with. (Some were purchased)


Aren't the above guys awesome? They are 9" Vinyl's that were purchased at the Orlando Disney Outlet store. They all retailed at $45 each originally and we paid less then $15 each for them. We don't have many of the 9" Vinyl's because they are so expensive. Some are even priced at $74! I think that's insane, so we only purchase sale ones.

Now for all the little guys...
Cody added a few more Star Wars figurines to his collection...
I purchased the entire set below for $20 at the outlet.
They are all so fun to look at. I really look forward to displaying them in our new house. A great way to learn more about Vinylmations is by visiting the Disney Vinlymation blog HERE. It keeps you updated on new Vinyl's that are coming out. The Disney online store runs some good sales occasionally on Vinylmations. You can also view the Vinylmation vault HERE to see all the series! Collecting Vinylmations becomes addicting. My collecting has slowed down because I feel like I have a lot. I don't even know how many I have, but I will tally them all up once I start decorating with them. :)

If you want to view all my posts about Vinylmations click HERE.
To view all my posts from my Disney Vacation click HERE.

My Jewelry // Thrifted Shelves

I wanted to share some photos of my very small yet cute jewelry display in my bedroom. I have two shelves that I had purchased on two different thrifting trips. I had just grabbed them in hope of being able to use them in the future. One day the light bulb went off over my head and I knew what I wanted to do with them! Here's a look....


The shelves also ended up being the perfect place for my "nerd" Vinylmations!
I spray painted both of them with Rust-Oleum Paint: Real Orange & Berry Pink
My tiny jewelry box & glass ring holder

Sadly I do not have a lot of jewelry or accessories. This is something I am trying to work on. I would like to make some jewelry this winter and find some more fun things to wear. I love big rings, especially owls. I can totally see myself ending up with a collection of owl jewelry. Most everything in my jewelry box above is vintage family pieces or things that hold sentimental value to me. You may or may not have noticed I have a rock in there, yes a rock. It's shaped like the state of OHIO and I've had it since I was a child. I found it one day while playing in my backyard.

I really enjoyed photographing my jewelry display and Vinylmations. They are so cute.
Since I can't paint in my stupid rental house, this is how I add color. Toys and spray paint. LOL

Wrapping Paper Bookcase Backdrop

After searching for months, I finally found some wrapping paper to put in the back of my large bookcase in my dining room. I wanted something turquoise. I had found some cool fabric at JoAnn's, but didn't feel like buying yards of it! A trip to the dollar store last week paid off.

I found some crazy blue floral paper. I purchased two rolls for $2. It barely fit! The rolls were only 15ft long and I really could of used 16ft, so there are a few places where the white backing of the bookcase shows. For $2 though, who cares! I can always change it later. It's crazy bright...

It really makes everything POP instead of looking so plain and borrowing!
I got some great Alice stuff for Christmas! My parents bought me the Alice Cookie Jar I really wanted...I had to rearrange my original displays in the bookcase to get everything to fit. The cookie jar is rather large! I think it looks so much better now! I also got the Alice Precious Moment that I have wanted for a very long time...
I love combining my Alice stuff with vintage Pyrex and other kitchen items!Above I have a teapot and Vinylmation sitting on a photo album I found at TJ MAXX for $7! I love the pattern on it so much! Below is just a photo of my favorite Alice Vinylmation, the White Rabbit...
I used my box of paint swatches to raise the Alice Book higher in this display...
When I first put the wrapping paper in the back of the bookcase I thought it might be way to bright and bold. I have lived with it now for over a week and it's grown on me, so I guess it stays!

Now I just have to still get artwork, a buffet and a new rug! It's all a slow process. lol
You can view my original Dining Room Post {HERE}