Collections

Some simple facts about me:

I love collecting postcards. I always buy loads whenever I go away - abroad or even within the UK. I take photos on my camera too, but postcards are something else aren't they? They're someone else's view - a more professional take on that place you're visiting, a different view from what you're able to take, from a greater height, a more panoramic view that you just wouldn't be able to achieve on your own camera - whatever the reason postcards just do it for me.

They're one thing I beg my friends to send me whenever they go on hols and I go ga-ga over them when they give me even one postcard (yeah I'm a really cheap buy!). I display them proudly on my kitchen wall. It actually started on the huge notice board but then I kept getting and receiving more and I've had to spread them over the wall and now they're gonna spread down the other side of the wall. My daughter thinks I'm nuts - but I tell her in a wise motherly, knowing way that she too will end up doing this when she eventually reaches my age (she shudders at the thought!) :-D
I love collecting fridge magnets - I know, I know, I'm a hopeless cheap souvenier collecter - what can I do! It's the kitschy side to me - but hey tasteful kitsch if you please! This is another one of the little things I must get whenever I go away. My friends all know it too, so if they're left with a couple of dollars, pesatos, lira, rupees, dhirams, yen, pesos, pounds - whatever the currency, wherever the country they think "oh good, just enough to buy Lubna a cheap fridge magnet!" Hey I'm not complaining - I even buy my own thank you very much!

So here they are all displayed neatly on my fridge and I look at them every day and I can name where they came from and who gave them to me - it makes me smile!
With my postcards on the walls and the magnets on my fridge I have a visual impact filled with memories at every glance - what more can I ask for?

The reason I put this photo here was coz I knew if anyone saw the postcard photo their eyes would've caught this colourful display (I know I would've in someone else's pics!) anyway, they're a collection of just ordinary, everyday bottles that you'd normally throw away (or recycle) after use. Some years ago I had access to a kiln for fusing glass and I put the bottles in there and they just slumped in the high degree heat and then whenI took them out I placed glass beads, broken bits of glass, millefiori, nuggets, stained glass - in fact any glass bits - and then it went back into the kiln and came out fused to the bottles. Some fused into the bottles and became part of the bottle itself, whilst others fused onto the glass and are raised and looked as if they're glued on but they're actually fused into the glass of the bottle.

I thought they'd make a nice collection for this space of wall - and they're a great talking point too!