I’m going to tell you something that I’m certain will surprise or shock you.  I was a bit of a nerd as a kid.

Not shocked?  Probably because I’m still a bit of a nerd 🙂  I’ve come to terms with my nerd-tendencies, and I’m trying to use them to my advantage in my older age.

It seems like kids all tend to find something really fascinating.  They start collections.  They quit collections and start new collections.

Unfortunately, my boys don’t seem to be moving past the bone collection stage.

Luckily, they have a spacious tree house, and I direct all bone storage to the tree house.  I still find a random bone here and there [am I the only one that finds this fascination somewhat disturbing?  Is this normal?]

My collection of choice as a child was stamps.  I’m not sure what started it, and I’m not sure when it ended, but I was madly in love with stamping.  And I was incredibly dorky about stamps.  It helped that our church minister was very well-connected throughout the world, and he started saving stamps for me.  I don’t think I purchased many, if any, of these stamps.  People around me embraced my love and gave me stamps.  I do remember being obsessed with every letter than came in the mail, and I was pretty good at soaking the envelope, removing the stamp with a tweezer, and drying the stamps.

This notebook full of stamps sat in my attic until last year, when I got a wild hair and decided I needed to make my stamps into something more than a notebook in storage.

I love it when people use their collections as a way to decorate and personalize their home.

Via Better Homes & Gardens

This is an awesome combo of maps & plates….I love it!  {I’m not sure where this image came from–it’s pinned to my Pinterest page, but it doesn’t take me to the original creator. }

If you have a beautiful cake plate collection, there’s no reason to keep it under wraps.Via Barefoot In The Kitchen

I saw this awesome Fiesta Ware collection just yesterday on Country Living Instagram feed:

A CL reader shared this great photo of her Fiesta ware collection with us, inspired by the story in our #September issue! Show us your collection by tagging photos with #MyFiestaWare

A post shared by Country Living (@countrylivingmag) on Aug 12, 2014 at 1:01pm PDT

I’m not sure where I got the idea, but at some point I came up with a vision of making my stamps into a graphic design statement piece.

It meant I had to deconstruct my notebook, which was sort of sad, but I would rather have a deconstructed notebook displayed on the wall than a notebook in a box.  It took some time & effort, but the expense was minimal.

I upcycled an old frame my mom was getting rid of.  Luckily, the matte was a neutral color that worked.  I didn’t want the matte to steal the show.  The stamps are the vibrant centerpiece.

Do you remember any of these?  The puppy dog stamp was really popular.  First class mail was .22 cents!  My favorite is the Mongolia stamp with the monkey riding a tricycle.

One of the most difficult parts was fitting all the stamps together, sort of like a puzzle.  I gently took them out of the notebook, and re-fastened with new stamp hinges to a piece of matte board from Hobby Lobby.

It’s hanging in our guest bedroom, and is always a bit of a discussion piece.  I love the colors.  It’s large and always a statement.  Stamps are such a work of art, it’s a shame to not display them.

I miss letters and interesting stamps.  It’s such a treat to get a real, handwritten letter in the mail from a dear friend.

I would argue that stamp collecting, while nerdy, is much superior to bone collecting.

Do you have any collections, or did you have any as a kid?  Don’t let them go to waste in your closet.  I think I have another collection display lined up for the heart room, when it’s done.

XOSJ