Vintage Dashund Planter

They’re too cute to throw away, but too small to use for plants or they don’t have a drainage hole. So what can you do with a collection of vintage planters?

Here are some ideas from Martha Stewart and ebay user bloomingale54:

• business card holder
• pen and pencil holder
• paint brush holder
• fill with candy or small gifts and wrap with clear wrap for a lovely and quick gift
• use in the bathroom to hold hair clips, guest soaps,seashells or marbles
• use in the bedroom as a tray to hold change, keys or other contents of your pockets
• use to hold jewelry
• on your tea tray to hold sugar lumps, napkins,tea bags or cups
• at the kitchen sink to hold scrubbers, dish and hand soap, or bottle and vegetable brushes
• at your desk to hold paper and binder clips, pens and pencils, notepaper, and even the stapler and hole punch

To clean these beauties, always hand wash using a gentle scrubber and a product like Bon Ami to remove mineral deposits and water stains. Use a steel scrubber very gently to remove the most stubborn stains.

Hint: Click on the links for more information!

In the most recent National Button Bulletin there is an article about the advertising campaign in England to promote antiques as being green. The thinking behind the slogan “Antiques are Green” is that if you buy antiques which have been recycled for generations instead of buying newly made goods, you are reducing by extending the life of an object and not purchasing an object likely to have been made of petroleum products or other non-recyclables.

This ignores the fact that there are many reuseable items that are made of plastic, most of which are certainly made of petroleum products. Still, by reusing these items instead of creating a demand for more petroleum based products, we are reducing the carbon footprint and helping to save the planet.

So there you are. Another reason to buy collectibles to reuse as well as to collect.