I have 4 of these old printer's trays around the house, I find them fascinating to look at and try and find little treasures to fill them. I must say that I don't think they have photographed well - they don't look quite so cluttered when you see them against a blank wall. I will post them on Flickr and add some notes to explain who and what is what!
We have had a busy Saturday -- my youngest brother Matthew is staying with us and helping to lay a floor in our attic. Tom has finally bought some drums from Ebay and up in the loft is the only space we have to keep them. So this has been a major sort out of all that we have accumulated over 20 years! All the baby clothes-- arh, it brought back so many memories! I was surprised to find out that none of my children are sentimental like me. I have wanted ( and will do) to make/buy a box for each child and keep in there some of their baby clothes, favourite books and toys and a selection of cards sent to them from family members and cards/pictures that they have done for others and the things that I have sewn for them etc. Well, none of them see the relevance in doing that...even Lucy and Alice! I'm sure when they have their own children, their own childhood will take on a different perspective. I know I am particularly sentimental and Anthony isn't, but I was sure that some of my genes would have made a little bit of difference!
I suppose it is the same with the printer's trays around the house -- each item in them has a certain story and meaning behind it and some mean alot to me....I go all misty eyed when I look at my mother and father's name tags that had been sewn into their school clothes and found by me and put on display with my own. My first grown-up perfume bottle bought by a boyfriend, my nanny's brooch, a stone in the shape of a teardrop, a flower from my wedding day, my mother-in-law's china rose, my childrens' identity bands put on them at birth, a luggage label from the hotel I was brought up in, the list goes on.
Yes, I am a sentimental girl and that has made a big difference to my life and the things I have around me and yes, somedays I do feel too burdened with possessions ...but I wouldn't change a thing, because I have faith that someday, probably when I'm long gone, my children and grandchildren will look at something that I have kept and remember me and my love for them.