Boop Oop A Doop!

Do you know who said that famous line? I'll reveal the answer soon but first a little back story.

So remember when I said I was going to have something special for you this Friday? Well here it is, I'm revealing to you one of my most treasured collections. A couple weeks ago, one of my favorite blogs, Casey's Elegant Musings was asking for fellow bloggers to share their collections and be part of this week long blog tour. If you want to see some of the previous collections click on the banner below:

So do you think you know the answer yet? You'll find out here soon enough!

Most of my childhood was spent at my grandparents' place while my parents were working. They taught me a lot growing up, Grandpa on how to make the perfect grits and mash potatoes (LOTS OF BUTTER! haha) and Grandma on how to be a "lady." One life lesson they taught me was collecting. Between the two of them, I can remember there being at least five somewhat large collections. Whether it was coins, old glassware, Chicago Cubs memorabelia, you name it. One of my favorites was my grandma Betty's (hint hint) collection that I still hold near and dear to my heart.

When my grandma was young she had the nickname "Betty Boop" just like the comic strip/cartoon. (Did you guess correctly?) The story went when the first Betty Boop cartoon came out in 1930, friends and family just started calling her that, and the nickname stuck. I remember going with her to one of her high school reunions and the classmates calling her Boop. Shortly after the reunion she started her collection of all things Betty Boop. First it started small with some Christmas ornaments...

Then a set of candle sticks...

An occasional salt and pepper shaker...

She even signed up for a "Betty Boop of the Month" type club, which was always exciting when those packages came in the mail because we never knew what kind of persona it would be!

This set is always bittersweet to me. I remember watching my grandma unwrap them and putting them on their stage. I would sit and stare at these for hours making up a story for each one and trying to pick a favorite although I loved them all. These ladies also provided me comfort when my grandma got sick after a hip replacement, giving me hope that she would be alright. Sadly, my grandma never did make it back home. And with most other things the collection was packed up carefully and stored away in our basement.

It wasn't until three years ago, while storing away some of my things I didn't want to take with me to college, that I found these again. It reminded me of how much fun me and my grandma had collecting, so when her birthday came around I found something to add to the collection. And have been doing that every year. So far this is what I've added this year...

But I also wanted to share that this is not my only collection. Remember how I said my grandparents had five or so, well I have inherited those plus have started five of my own, but mine are smaller. Maybe I'll tell you about those in the future. Thanks for stopping by and as always, stay crafty!