One of my favourite blogs for awhile was A Collection A Day. The author, an artist and illustrator named Lisa Congdon, documented a piece of her many collections every day for an entire year. The vast majority of her posts featured vintage household items (things I have a huge soft spot for as well), and it was positively mind-boggling.  I remember wondering where she puts it all. And where’s the fuzzy line between collecting and hoarding? I find the whole thing really fascinating; who collects what, and why? What does a person’s collection say about them?

I thought I’d spend a couple of posts documenting a few of my own personal collections (even though they pale in comparison with Lisa’s!).

One of the things I really enjoy collecting is vintage playing cards. I usually pick them up at church sales and roadside yard sales. I never spend more than a few bucks on a pack of cards. Some of them are utterly charming, like this set of Old Maid cards I found a few years ago. They’re from the 1950s, and I think they’re hilarious.

I don’t let my kids play with these. They’re off limits.They have their own playing cards! Awhile back I scanned them and designed book plates out of them for a little friend. I loved the illustrations so much that I wanted to share them in a slightly different way. Other than that, they are languishing just out of child’s reach on our bookshelf. But in a strange way it makes me happy knowing they’re there. I guess what’s what our favourite collections do, they bring us comfort.