Dear friends,
Are you a collector? What, in your mind, constitutes a collection? Is it 2 pieces of something? Or, do you have to have 3 of any one type thing for it to qualify? In my mind, where there are 3 like items, there is a collection.
I have LOTS of collections! Today, I thought I'd show you one of my most treasured collections (since I have zippity-zilch-zero stitching to show).
My Charm Bracelets.
I wear them all the time and always get comments and/or compliments on them.
When I was confirmed in our church, at the age of 11, my parents gave me a sterling silver charm bracelet with an ankh cross on it. This was the start of my charm collection. I have been collecting charms for it ever since. This bracelet, in many ways, tells my life story, which I suppose, is what charm bracelets often do and is what makes them so personal and loved. I am still collecting for this heavy weighted beauty and so it continues to grow and tell my story.
I have charms from when I lived in Korea
I have a charm from the Cowboy Hall of Fame
Charms from Disneyland and Disney World
A charm from England commemorating the Queen's Silver Jubilee
A hula dancer from Hawaii
A sunflower from when we lived in Kansas
A tri-corner hat from a family trip, when I was a kid, to Williamsburg, VA
Initials of the boys in those funky people figures from a recent trip to Williamsburg
There are cheerleading charms
An antique banjo from a trip Rob and I took to New Orleans
A baseball for Rob - he's a huge fan and should be your "phone a friend" should the need ever arise.
A hockey player for Matt
A Golfer for Tyler
This bracelet, more than any of my others tells my story. It is one of my most treasured items and could never be replaced.
~ click on the pics for a bigger view ~
But, there are more. When Matt was born, Rob gave me a gold charm bracelet with a baby buggy to represent Matt's birth. When Ty was born, he gave me gold baby shoes to commemorate him. I love this bracelet and it has continued to grow as well. This bracelet has a guitar from Nashville
my high school class ring
an Apple gifted to me by my mom when she and I went to New York
a "slipper" from Hawaii
a small basket to represent my days of selling Longaberger Baskets
hearts from Rob.
This is another of my most treasured pieces of jewelry and it means more to me than I can tell you. The bracelet that Rob originally gave me was a small, dainty one that was getting weighted down by my big charms. For our anniversary, quite a few years later, with the help of my mom, he found this big, chunky, antique bracelet for me on ebay. I had all my charms transferred to this one and I love it. It's big, chunky and jangly! All things I love!You know, if I consider 3 of something to be a collection, there must be one more coming...
This next one was given to me by my mom (she is a part of all of these, isn't she?). She had started one for herself that represented my dad's army career. He loved the army, loved serving and would serve today, I'm sure, if they'd have him. They should take him - he's more physically fit than most 40 year olds I know. But, I digress..... This bracelet represents his wonderful career. I loved hers so much she did one for both me and my sister. We love them! Included on this bracelet are:
A jeep
a saluting officer
a paratrooper (he jumped out of a LOT of planes)
a pistol
an officers hat
a steel pot helmet and of course,
an American Flag!
Isn't this special?
What do you collect? I'd love to see it!
Rob and I went out and about yesterday in the thumb area for the garage/antique sale trail. I found a few things I'll show you later. This is what Rob found:
NO!! I wouldn't let him bring her home!
Thanks for stopping by and for reading and leaving me a comment. It's so nice to know you were here!
Have a great week everyone!
Peace,
Terri
56 comments:
I do love your charm bracelets Terri. You are clearly as sentimental as I am. I know that Tanya from Scarlett House also collects charms but wondered whether you actually wear the bracelets. I collect jewellery from a Sculptor and artist called Szendy. My next piece will be the cherry on the cake. The most amazing peacock torque. Tomorrow I might receive the earrings I had made by the sculptor last week for another torque I bought last year. I love Art Nouveau and special things with roses,old photographs from the 1800, period dresses, gramophones, oil lamps, art and anything that brings out that "feeling" that I have just the spot in my house for it. I collect many things but don't need hundreds of the same things to be content. ; )
Alice
I love your charm bracelets!
I remember my mum had a one years ago, i suppose she still has it, i will have to remember to ask her about it.
LOL at the photo of rob with the manaquine
Your charm bracelets are just gorgeous! How wonderful that you have a story attached to each charm.
2 is a start and 3 is a collection. I collect: books, coins, books, cross stitch charts, books, anime, books, fabric, and if I didn't mention it, books! LOL
Love your charm bracelets Terri, and lovely to know that you wear them too. I am a gold person , so of course that one is my favourite, but it also holds your dearest memories as well. Can't imagine why you wouldn't let Rob bring home his "find" !!!
(Thanks for visiting me.)
Mary
Terri, I love your braclets and the stories behind the charms. The charms are a great memento from different locations that isn't "clutter" for the house - you know the junk every tourist place sells! ~Ann
I love your bracelets!! They have everything that is important to you right there on your wrists. What do I collect? You mean other than stash?? LOL!! I collect pandas (shocking, I know) and Lenox Disney figurines. My kids get them for me for my birthdays and things like that.
Oh my goodness, Terri! I love your bracelets! What a treasure trove of memories they are for you!
Hmm...collections! Well in addition to stash and teacher stuff, I collect Dumbo related items, elephants, snowmen, themed-mystery paperbacks,and I am sure there are probably 2 or 3 or 4 more items!
Robin
What wonderful mementos of your life Terri and gorgeous as well. I have a few charms that are special to me but only a few.
I think you should have let Rob bring her home. ;o) What a conversation piece! LOL
Oh how wonderful, Terri! I had a charm bracelet when I was little. I wonder what happened to it. :( As for what I collect, well, let's put it this way. Way too much! lol!
what a beauiful collection! I love al your charms. Thanks for sharing. As far as collections or 3 or more of something I have lots....too many to zero in on one. Charms included! Have a wonderful weekend. Angela
Love your charm bracelets. I had a silver and a gold one too - that is until our house was broken into a few years ago. I was heartsick, there is no way to replace them. I started mine in the 8th grade. Maybe it's time to start over! Come on out and see me, I'll be back open on August 25 with lots of goodies from the trade shows. Dawn
SO funny! I love the braclets. I collect Elephants. I have over 236 of them! Steph
Love, love, love your charm bracelets! I have one of my own that my mother started for me. I was just thinking about it the other day. I'm sure it's in my jewelry somewhere. Going to have to go find that! I also have a fabulous charm bracelet from Shepherd's Bush. Can't wait til Sept!
Love, love, love your charm bracelets Terri. I am a bit of a bracelet girl myself too and for my recent birthday my family gave me a Pandora so I am looking forward to adding lots more charms and beads to it.
Chrissie
And indeed this Rob a sacred scamp says I! Your bracelet is a marvel that of history(story) all around! All this memory(souvenir) you are right it is the history(story) of a whole life! I collect the small angels, scissors and full of things still I am happy because I can better read everything on your blog I had not seen the translator quite below! Phew I understand everything now! Yesterday it was not party(holiday) one celebrated "Marie" my relatives(parents) were at home and I they showed your blog, they are happy for me to know that I have friend Américaine, because they know the importance for me! I kiss(embrace) you and good week to you too
Best regards marylin
To me a collection is three or more of something. I love your charm bracelets and the sentimentality that they represent! They make me want to start one. I saw a charm necklace someone had one time, and that was very pretty too.
I have a collection of vintage linens, old wooden chairs, outsider art and things with wild violets on them (my very favorite flower) and sea shell items. Fun!
Funny thing about collections, I think everything I have is part of a REALLY, REALLY BIG collection, I actually do have a couple of charm bracelets as well and yes, they certainly do depict our lives in a wonderful way. We won't talk about the 500+ snowmen or the Loons or the wooden Planers or the old irons and ironing boards. Ok now look what you have started... I hope you have a wonderful week Teri.
Be always in stitches.
That's a fun collection of charm bracelets. I have a box of charms I've had since I was a kid.. mostly the plastic kind you used to get from bubble gum machines. My friends and I got together and traded them. They are stored in a vinyl 'treasure box' that was all the rage in elementary school!
LoL about your Rob.
Collections..hmm..I think a collection is something that you specifically look for. Oh my, I am in trouble if 2-3 of something is a collection. lol! I have collected crystal bells in the past. I have an extensive collection of Department 56 Dickens' Village, I have Brighton bracelets galore. I'm almost afraid to think right now. lol. I used to collect little pigs. Right now it LOOKS like I am collecting fabric and dust. :) Neat topic. Love your charm bracelets. The only one I have is a Texas one--Brighton--from my son in Texas, and it has all of local charms on it.
Gorgeous charm bracelets!!!
I have a victorian slide bracelet I love. I also collect Polish pottery and I've started collecting redware and A&E pieces.
They are gorgeous!
My big collection is my model horses from childhood. They're now spread out over three houses.
Great bracelets! I have many collections - too many if you hear my husband's side.
Loved Rob's find!
Your charm bracelets are fabulous! I've always thought about collecting charms too, but have not started that obsession yet...someday. I think it would be fun to have a charm for each vacation we take. Maybe for Christmas, I will start one for DD.
Funny photo of hubby! I think you're a much better catch!
loved hearing about your charm bracelets Terri - both of mine were stolen in our home invasion last summer along with a full Pandora - it makes me sad every time I think of all my life memories that were ripped away from me. Cherish yours and keep them close in your heart - Mel
oh wow! This post brought back some memories. I think I was in high school when I got my first charm bracelet. I think it only had about 5 charms on it. I am going to have to go find it & become familiar with it again
I love your bracelets. I used to have a charm necklace. The part that holds the charms broke and I never replaced it. I do still have the charms. I collect Italian charms and I have 2 bracelets and 2 watches. I also collect coffee mugs from different travels.
Love your charm bracelets! I have one from the 60's/70's and have been wearing it again lately! Yep, like the jangly noise too. Such treasures! One of the great things about charm bracelets to collect is that they don't take up much room! tee-hee
Thanks for sharing your memories with us....pam
I can hear you talking as I read your post today, Terri. Yes, I agree - three definately makes a collection, which means I have a lot of collections. My newest - flower frogs. Wait 'til I post my next post (this week sometime) as I hit a good find on those...then there's scissors, pin keeps/cushions, books - all kinds that I will have to live to be at least 103 to read, cookbooks - I have kind of calmed that collection down. And that's just the tip of the iceberg! Have a great week and thanks for the charm bracelet memories - I have the flat kind that was very popular a couple years ago - love that one. I have one similiar to your gold one from when I was 16, haven't thought of it for years...have to get it out!
Your charm bracelets are lovely, Terri. Each of them are so unique and beautiful. Other than crafting stashes, I collect books, journal books, antique boxes, pencils, cups, collectible wine bottles, Coke's limited edition cans.... and many many more.. there are too many to list all of them here, my hubby always said I collect rubbish. (LOL) Hope I can show them all to you one day. :)
Collections, hmmm, I used to collect a lot of things when I was young but have reduced my collections a bit. What remains is a nice collection of stationery and note cards, and my Prairie Schooler charts. And quite obviously I seem to collect books because I have more than I can ever read and although I usually give the read books away the number of the books on my shelves never gets smaller, lol.
All your charm bracelets are wonderful! I have a charm necklace but would like another bracelet. I am like you and feel that 3 of something constitutes a collection. Thanks for sharing your wonderful collection.
I loooove the charm bracelets! Collecting is my thing but the only problem is I'm running out of rum..ha! That last picture made my day..ha!
Love your charm bracelets! I really enjoy mine and find that they are such a fun way to remember places I've visited, etc.
Oh Terri! Those are GORGEOUS charm bracelets!!!! How I would love to own one :o) My mother has one but that's it. Maybe I should convince DH...
ROFL! Now why didn't you let Rob bring that special thing home? ;o)
Very cool and sentimental!
Could've sworn I'd commented on this post already, but I don't see it! Oh well...
Love your charm bracelets and the stories behind them :) My mother and her sister (my beloved Auntie Anita, who was killed in 1977) wore big, clanky gold charm bracelets back in the early 70's. I loved to sit near them and play with the charms. I always wanted to have one, but never could acheive the same as theirs...
Collections are such a fun thing, it's always neat to go into someone's home and see what they collect. I've been through a few phases of things I collect, then get rid of. The collections that remain: teapots (mostly Mary Engelbreit, but a few others too), pincushions, scissors, cherry stuff, bluebirds, linens, decorative boxes, Longaberger baskets and pottery, buttons, old picture frames, old clocks, vintage perfume bottles, plates, old pictures....hmmm....there's probably more but can't think of them right now, ha!
Fun post!
Loved reading about all your charm bracelets. I recently came across the silver charm bracelet I had when I was young. In the box were about a dozen silver charms that had never made it on to the bracelet and it's something I should really do. You rarely see people wearing charm bracelets here now. The 'in' thing now are Pandora bracelets.
I don't know that I'd call myself a collector but I can definitely call myself a hoarder and someone who when they sees something thinks that they need to buy it because I'm bound to have a special place for it!!!!!
Love your bracelets! It's great to have sweet memories. I also have a Trollbeads bracelet which remember me when en from who I got the beads. For years I collect mice ( not a living one) and also nature pages and books from the illustrator Marjolein Bastin.
Terri....what a great subject, collections! I have more things that I collect, then I even want to own up to! lol Some collections I keep small in number, others I don't have any limit to how many of them I would like. I do have a couple of charm bracelets, that are much like yours, one sterling silver and one gold that were given to me and added to over the course of maybe ten years. I don't wear them anymore, but I treasure them and the memories that they bring me, when I look at them.
Hi Terri:
I think at least three things become a collection. I love your charm bracelets. I have a sterling one that I added to as late as last year while we were in Williamsburg. I've had mine since I turned 16, and it was a gift from my mum, too.
Thanks so much for visiting Brynwood! I'll look forward to coming here and getting to know you better.
Have a creative day!
xoxo
Donna
Love the charm bracelets! I have two from when I was a teenager, but sadly, when I looked at them recently, I couldn't recall how I acquired some of the charms.
I'm trying to moderate my collecting habits. For a while, I collected Longaberger baskets but think I have all I'll really need. I'm a big fan of my public library, but I seem to have a *few* books on my own shelves, too. And in the past two years, I've managed to accumulate quite a collection of quilting fabrics!
Oooo Terri I love charm bracelets and these are really lovely!
Thanks for showing us your bracelets! They are lovely! :)
As far as collecting goes... I make a conscious effort NOT to collect too much of any one type of thing... my grandma is a collector... and her home is lovely, but the collection clutter really drives me batty, lol!! And in my younger years any time I would declare that I was going to collect something, I would suddenly have whatever it was coming out my ears as family and friends gifted me with whatever it was for every possible occassion.
But, I suppose I am a collector of cross stitch... and artwork (If I could cover every square inch of wall space with art, I think I'd be happy). And charms for my new charm bracelet.
Have a great week!
What a gorgeous collection! I have a charm bracelet somewhere. When we moved, I put it someplace safe--and now I don't know where that safe place is. :P I have a Pandora bracelet but truthfully am not too crazy about it. I suppose collections for me would be Eldreth Pottery, A&E stuff, redware & saltware pottery--folk arty stuff. I also apparently collect handmade jewelry by goldsmiths here in Ireland. I love it--love anything made by hand--but DH knows he just has to run into the shop and give them his Visa and he'll walk out with a beautifully wrapped gift I'll love--LOL--definitely can't complain!
Naughty Rob!!
I have a charm bracelet that my mom had made for me when I lost a baby during pregnancy - it means SO much to me and although I don't wear it often, it gives me great peace just to look at it.
Oh, Terri, wonderful charm collection!!!!
I love books and can I think this is my collection?!
Annamaria from Italy
Oh my, this type of post makes me feel like I need to go back 40 years and start over that there is nothing I have or own that tells the story of me. I think it is wonderful that your charm bracelets tell and show the world the story of Terri and her life and loves. I think each one is special and unique and perfect! Thank you for sharing them with us.
My family calls me the "hoarder" but what I collect is old things from the ancestors in both of our families that people have used or had handed down to them and now they don't want anymore. So instead of throwing it away, they give it to me. I have lots of wonderful things that probably aren't worth any money, but the memories they hold are dear to my heart :)
Fun post Terri - I still have a charm bracelet from my youth but it needs updating and transfer to a new bracelet. Three special charms my grandmother gave me for Faith, Hope & Charity I had sewed into the inside of my wedding dress. I have contemplated starting a gold charm bracelet or a Pandora which I like because you can add a bit of color to it. I have about 9 very good quilting buddies - some of us have been together through various groups for almost 15 years. On our quilting retreats over the last 10 years we got into the habit of getting a charm to go with the retreat theme. So now we all have bracelets with our charms which we wear to our meetings and add to them from time to time. I named our little group the Charm Sisters. I think you never get too old for a charm bracelet!
I LOVE your bracelets...how do you keep your silver one "silver"? I took out mine some time ago to let my daughter see it and possibly wear it, and it was practically BLACK! OMG! I need to clean it and store it differently, obviously...any suggestions??
I collect quirky things...brass and copper cool scuttles with white/blue pottery doo-dads on the handles, beat up band instruments, old copper jello molds, copper (and other nice ones) old "flour" cannisters to put my "flower" and plant pots in, old wooden bobbins,
interesting old wicker baskets, chicken stuff (baskets, etc.) to put in the bathroom with the chicken quilts (long story...), the wooden drawers out of past-their-prime treadle sewing machine cabinets, old empty wooden spools, and of course, fabric and quilt books!
thanks...that was fun!
in stitches,
Teresa :o)
I LOVE your bracelets...how do you keep your silver one "silver"? I took out mine some time ago to let my daughter see it and possibly wear it, and it was practically BLACK! OMG! I need to clean it and store it differently, obviously...any suggestions??
I collect quirky things...brass and copper cool scuttles with white/blue pottery doo-dads on the handles, beat up band instruments, old copper jello molds, copper (and other nice ones) old "flour" cannisters to put my "flower" and plant pots in, old wooden bobbins,
interesting old wicker baskets, chicken stuff (baskets, etc.) to put in the bathroom with the chicken quilts (long story...), the wooden drawers out of past-their-prime treadle sewing machine cabinets, old empty wooden spools, and of course, fabric and quilt books!
thanks...that was fun!
in stitches,
Teresa :o)
bonjour, j'espère que vous allez bien, j'aimerai bien avoir de vos nouvelles !
à bientôt marylin
Hi dear friend, your silence worries me a little are you on holidays, patient? I worry for you when you will can give I of your news(short stories) just some words to reassure me!
Thank you marylin
Great post, Terri, seems to have made all of us start thinking, about collections. Love your bracelets--really gorgeous. I have a few myself that I don't wear, and did that charm necklace thing with Charland 'stitch' charms, but I don't wear it. I collect tea pots. Have them all over the house. Most are full sized, usable pots but my favorites are ones that are hand thrown. Snowmen, angels, Boyd's Bears plushies, Boyd's Bears treasure boxes, etc, etc, and Stash. I collect stash. Sometimes I even use some of it, then run right out and replace it with more stash. And books and I've read every book I own. And scissors, especially embroidery scissors. Just love those scissors. Now, if I can just find a flower frog at a garage sale, I'll be doing well. Really loved this post! You are a great writer.
Hi Terry, are a lot of days that i don't read anything about you, alla is going well?
Kiss
p.s. lovely charms :)
Manuela
Stopping by to say Hi! I hope all is well with you.
Hello Terri !! We just met tonight at the Shepherd's Bush Retreat !! Isn't this a great weekend?? It is my first retreat and I am having so much fun. I do love your blog and I can't believe the amount of charms you have !!!
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