I am a collector, accumulator, or my husband might say hoarder.  I call it having a skillful eye at recognizing usefulness.  I know the second I throw away that little scrap of paper or tidbit of lace that has been taking up space in one of my drawers for possibly years (or more realistically approaching decades) I will need it desperately for a project I just started.  That is why I have a very difficult time throwing things away.  I am not a discriminating collector, either.  I collect it all, new paper collections, ribbons, buttons, brads, and flowers, as well as anything vintage that I can envision fitting on/in a mini book, card, layout, journal, or other piece of altered art.  I especially love ephemera.  I save things like movie tickets, cards, travel brochures, newspaper from a trip, the price tag to my favorite fleece top from REI, the pretty kraft paper insert that came inside the locally grown carton of eggs I buy explaining what makes a happy chicken…you get the idea.  I like old ephemera, too.  I collection old book pages, maps, postcards, dictionaries, letters, and stamps.  To me, these are things that are not only pretty, but are apart of history, whether mine or someone else.  They tell a story even if we do not know what it is.  When I am collecting ephemera, it is because I found something that I love, or an experience I do not want to forget.  When I look at vintage ephemera, I think of all of the people that may have encountered it and had fond memories surrounding that item.

That brings me to my card.  I have some vintage Canasta score sheet cards that came from God only knows where.  I have never played Canasta, and honestly do not know what it is other than it involves cards.  BUT, I look at those old sheets of paper and envision a group of beautiful ladies sitting around a table playing, laughing, and having a wonderful time.  They may have been Moms having an evening alone with girlfriends, possibly having a hot toddy or even a smoke (I hate smoking, it’s bad for you, but there was a time when it was viewed as trendy).  It might have been family who sat around the kitchen table giggling, though with watchful eyes making sure their siblings did not cheat.  They are old, and almost crumbling apart, so I know they would have stories to tell if only they could speak.  So, I have saved them for I am not even sure how many years.  They are the perfect size for cards, so I pulled them out of the shoebox they have called home for so many years, along with some vintage dictionary pages.  I stamped a pretty girl in toffee ink on plain cardstock, and distress inked the edges.  I layered it all together, added a ribbon and flower, and stamped it with a phrase.  I think it is a beautiful place for those score sheet cards to call home…for now.