"Do you have any collections hiding in boxes and drawers?"

Just the coins and the stamps... but that is the norm for those.

Gave my DH (for his 40th birthday - a lonnnnng time ago! LOL) a small shadowbox with his dad's police badges, etc. in it. I had gotten them from his mom and he didn't know it. He cried and later told me that it was the best present he'd ever gotten.

But I digress...LOL If they're all patches or pin type awards, how about attaching them to a sash type ribbon and hanging them as art? The proverbial shadowbox? Attach them to a pillow?

I agree - if they mean something to him, get those suckers out and enjoy them while he can!

When I was a teenager, my Dad proudly showed me his WW2 medals, mostly awarded for good conduct, things like that. I'd love to put them in a display. I asked Mom where they are and she doesn't know. Dad died in 1998. I sure hope they show up someday. . .

Sis and I had a conversation about her MIL's matchbook collection, specifically about what to do with it after MIL died. I said she should throw them in the garbage, she thought they had value.

I believe that the value in collections (of the type the OP describes) is in the enjoyment of the acquisition over time. So, transferring ownership of a collection decreases the value to zero.

I like the pillow idea. Or maybe sew hubby's merit badges onto a quilt. Anyone else have collections lying around? Or do you actually have them on display? How? Keep the ideas comin' guys!

I think sometimes of sewing stuff like merit badges on a fabric panel and hanging it in the closet w the clothes. So it's not out on display for everyone else, but YOU see if every day

"I believe that the value of collections...is in the enjoyment of the acquisition over time. So, transferring ownership of a collection decreases the value to zero."
Graywings, that's a very interesting thought, and you are probably right. I would hate to be given someone's cow collection, or even some valuable collection that I personally was not interested in.

Anyway, I would go with the shadowbox idea for lumpy things. Scrapbooks for anything flat. Or, I've seen glass-topped tables with things displayed under the glass. That would depend on what your kids are like, or how much money you wanted to spend.

My hidden collection is buttons. I know there are tons of interesting ways to show off this type of thing, but I haven't got the time or interest in doing anything about it. Every once in a while I add the buttons to a blouse or sweater, and the really old larger ones make wonderful pins, and nice gifts for friends!

Last night I talked to hubby about the merit badge on the quilt idea. He likes that better than the pillow. I'm already planning to make him an I-spy quilt out of novelty fabrics. He said I should incorporate the merit badges into that quilt. So his little patches will finally have a home. Yay!

(Now, I have to finish those charity I-spy quilts so I can start on hubby's I-spy quilt.)

I have one of those shadowbox tables. I talked about it on this forum.href>

I have seen necklaces made from buttons. They'd have to be all the same size. I looked online to try to find out how the button necklaces are made ... to no avail.

I looked around online for other craft ideas that use buttons. The "Martha" website had a purse, covered with buttons.

Buttons could be used to decorate a quilt or wall hanging, but not a quilt that will be used by children young enough to swallow a button.

I also like the idea of sewing buttons onto a jacket, or the cuffs of jeans.

Or, you could just put them in a far and set them out for a decoration. They look just like candy. But maybe that's the problem. Not a "good thing" when small children are around!

I meant to type "Jar," not "Far." What an odd typo!

DH has a bunch of merit badges. I had his Eagle Scout stuff framed, but for the badges, I'd like to put together a scrap book with pictures from his Scouting days. Right now, everything is in various boxes.

Same with his old band stuff. We can make copies of the music and use it for the background for high school pictures.

Gloria

How timely that I found this discussion this morning. I have had a collection of tins that I've been adding to for years now. The larger holiday tins I started using for storing holiday decorations in. But the smaller ones I found that I just didn't have anywhere to display them that they wouldn't just be clutter and not serving any real purpose. Well a couple weeks ago DH and I picked up a HUGE entertainment center that came in sections. We really only wanted it for one section so have been repurposing the remaining sections. Anyway to make a long store shorter, part of it we're turning into a sewing area and we're using to 2 of the sections to frame it. When I started going through all of my sewing stuff and sorting and organizing it, I started looking at how I was going to put it in the cabinets. I thought of going out and buying some cute baskets and containers and then the proverbial light bulb went off over my head. I sent DH up to the attic to bring down the BIG box of my tins. I cleaned them all and started putting everything in those tins. We have a 6 month old grandson who is beginning to get mobile so I'm also baby proofing the house for his visits. Well I know that he can't get into these tins because it takes me quite a bit of effort to get into some of them. The bonus is, this area now looks wonderful! I just love Garden Web and often spend hours here just looking through posts getting ideas for decorating, storing, cleaning, you name it! Thanks, Cindy