with all of your ephemera, you can buy an inexpensive foldng screen and decoupage it or on an old trunk.

Liberty print silk scarves were the first thing I ever collected and I now have many beautiful ones. I'm a cowlector as well; my herd comes from all over the world. I just inherited part of my mother's paperweight collection so I'll be adding to that as well.

I made a tray with it once, but somehow it did not last; the individual tickets and bits and pieces came up and the frame was not sturdy enough to actually be used. I'm thinking of covering the outside of some sort of small container with travel mementos for #3 child.

What medium do you use, Cigale, to keep the paper stuff firmly cemented to the item covered, and do you shellac or polyurethane over it all?

I've found one item that doesn't take up much space is a bottle stopper(cork??). I get a kick out of how wild boar is served in Europe, so we picked up a cork with a boar's head on it in Provence last week. On the same wild boar slant, we found a small stuffed toy boar in Tuscany--San Gimanagno.

My girls also pick up the 'do not disturb' signs on our travels, which end up hanging from all our doorknobs. We use our bar coasters every night at dinner (shows what a refined table I set!)

I have bought aprons like Marianna and also tea towels.

I have some beautiful decks of cards. There was a nifty little shop on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh that sold just playing cards. They had some that were specially made for their shop - Scottish legends, I think.

jsmith, on this latest trip to Scotland (just got back from the UK last night) I found a replica carving from a cathedral of a pig playing the bagpipes.

Shoes! I just bought a pair of 4" high bronze Carlos Santana clogs in Belmont Shores, CA and a pair of 4" high brown wedge Seychelles sandals in Huntington Beach, CA.

I can buy the same brands "at home" but I can never find the same styles- fewer really high heels and funky designs in my midwest town.

Next summer I've planned my Paris vacation around visiting the Christian Louboutin store.

compacts; cigarette boxes; hotel silver and silver or cristal tea bells.
I am giving serious thought now to salt cellars.

oooooh Cigale. If I could post a cartoon of me with the light-bulb over my head...I would.
I have a small collection of old menus an old friend left me...and I could add more! A screen!!! What a great idea!?!
woohooo...

Christmas ornaments. T-shirts from Irish pubs, or failing that - a picture of me standing in front of the pub. Gluhwein mugs from Germany - have them going back to 97, with only 1 year missing. Pins from Hard Rock Cafes from wherever any friend goes - even though I've never actually eaten in one. I think my strangest souvenier are the pebbles pulled from the soles of my boots that came from Blarney Castle.

<u>Menus;</u> I collect the menus from favorite meals, frame them and they hang as art in my kitchen and family eating area. Many are beautiful art - hand painted or the like, and all bring back great memories. I note on the back of each the date and dining companions, sometimes add a photo of the occassion. Of course, not all go on the walls, just the special few, but the whole box full bring back wonderful recollections. Great fun to see how prices and menu trends have changed over the decades.

kswl... i've used ModPodge. works for me!

Thank you, callalilli---someone had told me to use thinned out Elmer's glue instead, but it was a disaster. I'll try the modgepodge, I have plenty of time to ruin several projects before Christmas :D

Hellman's mayonnaise in small glass jars. I have six from different countries - different languages! It's a strange long story!

Kwren-
I am interested in the Gault/Carlton miniatures. We will be in Paris for Christmas and I would like to purchase a few. I was told by Gault that they are no longer made by Gault, but the less expensive Carlton houses are available. Are they easy to find in Paris?

Add me to those who have an Eiffel Tower collection! I can't wait to get back in December and add a few.

I also have a small collection of Lilliput Lane- but only places that I have actually visited.

I collect and frame subway and bus maps from all my destinations. They are so colorful that they make a great visual collection on the wall...and they are fun to look at to remember the particulars of your trip.

Fantastic idea, kit--thanks!

ROCKS!

I bring home a rock or two from everywhere I go and put them in bowls around the house.

I love to think that in a 1,000 years an archeaologist will wonder how rocks from Australia, Greece and the Canadian Rockies all ended up in the same place.

It also makes me really look around me at the beauty of nature.

And they are FREE (but heavy sometimes!)

amaclise... rocks!! i love it !! I have collected rocks on hikes before, but only heart-shaped ones.. so far in all my years.. only 3. one is about 10&quot; across - carried 8 miles up out of the Grand Canyon... yes, heavy!

I love the bit about the archeaologist!
My husband loves rocks. He grew up in Arizona. He never misses it because he brought so much of it with him. Needless to say, we don't like to move much. The rocks are all around the yard.

Christmas ornaments, not always an ornament per se--sometimes key chains (remove the chain and put on hanger) or something typical of the place we're visiting that is the right size. I had my hair braided in Antigua years ago, and strung the beads in a circle and put an ornament in the middle. It looks good. I'm going to have to stop though as it takes me 2-3 days to decorate our tree (7' tall) we have so many.

Bookmarks. I started with the leather ones in Scotland and England, and have now branched out to paper, wood, tapa, whatever I see that I like. I've been trying to figure out how to display them as I have quite an extensive collection. Any ideas?

I also save the wrapping paper from the things we buy in Europe. I think it somehow could be made into a collage and framed. I love the way purchases are wrapped so meticulously and often the paper is very attractive.

I have some bells (a couple of Solaris we got in Phoenix--the big one is out in our patio), crystal from Prague and Venice, black clay from Oaxaca, metal from Athens and Cozumel.

I have a few &quot;do not disturb&quot; signs and love Faina's way of displaying them on doorknobs.

I have an album full of photos of lighthouses. I love to photograph interesting doors and windows, but haven't really incorporated them into one album.

We too buy small paintings everywhere we visit.

Like your son Missypie, we have crosses, crucifixes, religious medals and cards on a wall in our bedroom.