Blasts from the Past

 

My own personal collection of things from the Past I use almost daily that have a connection to my own history.   Some functional some decorative. I especially like the functional ones. They get handled frequently and remind me that simple things are the best in may cases. 

 Believe it or not these were in the kitchen I grew up in. Wooden spoons I use every day in my own cooking. The patina they have taken on is gorgeous.  Being able to use them on any kind of cooking surface makes them indispensable. They are 3 different lengths. The longest can be used when I'm stirring a "vat" of home made spaghetti sauce or soup. Whenever I see hand carved kitchen spoons at art markets I want to buy them, they are beautiful, but I have my own with all their little nicks and aquired defects I'm intimately familiar with. Why mess with well seasoned and familiar?

 These are aluminum serving pieces. The little tray sits on our counter top to catch sticky notes, paper clips, those little things you use all the time. Keeps them in reach but with an artful flair. The bowl on the right is my go to for chips & crackers for a get together. Love the flared shape of the one on the left and the grape cluster motif. Can you tell I'm a visual person? Always noticing the details. 

These take a little explaining. A friend of my father's made these. He melted lead and poured it into muffin cups...kinda scary don't  you think?  Then he painted them with enamel. I'm assuming that protects me from handling the lead! There is a screw embedded in each one so the knob of choice could be screwed onto the top. They are weights. There is a piece of felt glued to the bottom of each so they won't scratch anything they are set on. They come in SO handy in paper & book arts. That pesky rolled paper needs to be tamed, flat metal rulers need to be held in place, piles of small pieces of paper need to be contained on the table. These always get comments when I pull them out to use at work shops. Artists are envious of little gems like this.

I'm sure I could use them as a weapon as well, they are HEAVY. 

               Who doesn't appreciate a good ole' compass? I have about 7 of these in various sizes.

These bracelets are strictly decorative. I posted not too long ago in "Telling Stories" about these.  If you are curious about the back story check it out. I love wearing them in bunches of 3-5-7 or if I'm feeling really spunky 11 or so. 

When you look around your home what old treasures do you see that have a special place in your memory?  I'd love to see what others hold dear.