penny pinching

Announcements went out all over Facebook yesterday relaying that the new rates for 2015 have been released. People are already booking their 2015 vacations and keeping the travel agents quite busy. In search of that memory, thrill, excitement and possibly even that one item they can't live without. When I am at the parks one of my biggest thrills are hotel hopping and trying to get all the pressed Pennies I am missing. 

The first Pressed Penny was made in honor of the "World's Columbian Exposition" in 1893. It was very simple the name of the event around the perimeter and date in the middle. Now they can be extremely detailed. There are machines that you have to turn yourself and some that you just insert the appropriate amount and it works on it's own. 

As of today I have over 7 books filled and even some in a ziploc baggie. I have entire sets and ones I am still working on getting. There are some I have that are retired and some from places that no longer exist like Camp Minnie Mickey and toontown. It's a huge collection but I fit the whole thing in a Sulley lunch box. There cheap , fun, and amusing . Something for everyone even when you have to be penny pinching. 

Spot light Sunday Tom Margarites

It's Sunday again ! That means time to spot light another wonderful collector . This week we have Tom Margarites a 55 year old WDCC Collector from Chicago Illinois. WDCC or Walt Disney Classic Collection are retired Enesco Disney Sculptures that debuted in 1992 and retired in 2012. Precious Moments purchased the rights for a short time. Although when fans of the originals did not care for the new spins , they decided to discontinue entirely.

 

 

Ever since Tom was young he had a love for three dimensional characters. You could only imagine his reaction when on one of his many window shopping excursions he saw a WDCC Sculpture. When he saw Pecos Bill, Slue foot Sue, and Casey at the Bat all together he was instantly in love. He had to refrain himself when he found out the purchase price was more then he could afford for just one of the pieces. After time passed about 7 or 8 years and the birth of his daughters led to the purchase of Disney dvds he sat down and watched "Melody Time", and was reminded of the Disney Sculptures he fell in love with on display at the Disney store.

 


Being that he was already familiar with ebay he searched the Pecos Bill statue. He found one that was less then a quarter of the price it was when he first seen it! He was sure to snatch it up right away and begin what would become his collection. After 13 years of collecting he has acquired 205-210 WDCC's. This does not count his beautiful collection of Big Figs ( Figures that stand about 18 inches in height), Markrita, and other pieces. They are displayed beautifully by theme of the movie they are from, giving them a breath taking exhibit.

Tom still buys his pieces off of ebay today. He has even taken an interest in fixing pieces that have broken. He has made a few videos sharing his step by step process of recreating the figures . He does an amazing job of both fixing and keeping the original essence of the original piece. Like most of us collectors he enjoys sharing his collection and there history.

Collection of wants

It has become some what of a fad to have a Disney Bucket List. People list out the things they want to do at the Disney parks and mark them off as they go . Just like a normal everyday bucket list. Check out WDW DADS for some amazing examples. Since this blog is about my collection I am going to share my bucket list of my collection.

1. Get at least one Jim Shore Big Fig.
2. Get one Disney Standee
3. Get at least one poster from a movie theater ( Frozen, and Million Dollar Arm)
4. Get at least one tin toy
5. Get one of the many Disney turn about Cookie Jars
6. Collect all the Disney VHS movies ever made
7. Collect all the 100 years of Disney Mcdonald's toys
8. Have at least one piece that I can have signed personally.
9. Find at least one wooden pull toy in Mint condition that is not a reproduction.
10. Own a Disney prop from a Movie.
11. Find the super rare Epcot released Viewmaster
12. Purchase at least one of the Disney Character props from the Disney Store.
13. Own at least one lithograph
14. Own a piece of Disney and a piece of the cruise
15. Own a unreleased piece
16. and most important ... Open my Disney Museum!

A Piece of me! ( My First Give away)

When ever I need comfort I go and sit in the middle of my Disney room. Something about being surrounded by Disney stuff makes what ever is wrong not so bad. A comfort from childhood like a Plushie in the arms of a small child. With lack of a better space stuffed animals are taking over my house. I use a over the door shoe organizer to keep my small plushes in and my closet is filled til I come up with a better Idea.

My plushes range from vintage to talking. My favorite so far is the Interactive Stitch . He has different replies to what you say depending on his badness level. He is kept on the table in my bedroom in close range so I can find comfort in him when ever I need it.

I would like to share some of my collection with one of my readers . Share the blog on your facebook or Twitter and comment the link on this blog to be entered in a drawing I will announce the winner on this Sunday's spot light!

How about some Lunch?

People use to use Tobacco tins to carry their lunches way before lunchboxes were created. In 1935 the first Animated Character was lithographed to a tin box, none other then Mickey Mouse himself! At this time they were not shaped like rectangular boxes but oval tins. They even had metal handles instead of the plastic we see on some of the collectible favorites we have today.

I have accumulated over thirty lunch boxes since I started. Most of my tin Walt Disney Productions lunch boxes can be found displayed on top of my China Cabinet. I consider them the heart of my collection because they (in my eyes) hold the most history. With the etching of names on the outside of the box to the stickers strategically placed on the inside , they speak of a child that used to own , use, and love it. After all , my dream of collecting to open a museum is to tell a story, One about a man and a mouse.

 

 

 

 

 

 


 Today I received my first Frozen tin lunchbox. There are sites scattered through out facebook dedicated to sharing the Disney love. On one of the newest pages " Disney Share the Joy project", I met my newest Disney friend Jenn. She and I have become very close. She is very artistic , fun, loving, and kind and I thank the site for connecting us. She knows how much I loved Frozen and told me it was the very last one the store had. I couldn't be more happy today and looking for the perfect spot to display it will be half the fun!

Sources: Wikepedia
Disney Share the Joy Project - Disney's Share the Joy Project facebook like page

Spot Light Sunday Lindsey Paterson

I would like to open todays Spot light by apologizing for being MIA this week. I had a pretty rough week and it took me some time to get things under control. Even the bad things don't stop the Disney magic so I am here to spotlight Lindsey as planned.

I became a member of Lindsey's group "Disney Addicts and Jim Shore group" recently. A group on facebook for sharing and selling Jim Shore collectibles. I met Lindsey in the group while she was showing off her collection. I was Awestruck and envious of her beautiful display and I am so happy to have the chance to share it with you.

Lindsey Started collecting in 2007 when her husband bought her "Homeward Bound" for Christmas. This piece depicts the scene where the seven dwarfs are walking over the log bridge. She had seen the piece months earlier and her husband surprised her with it and three other pieces. She googled the name and became quickly hooked.

Almost 7 years later Lindsey now has 375 Jim Shore statues. She keeps a goal based on the number of pieces she has. She currently has enough preorders to meet her goal of 400 and has raised the bar to 450. Out of her entire collection so far, her favorites are her first piece and "Moonlight Romance".

Lindsey uses Ebay and Amazon UK, Amazon US, a UK and U.S supplier and the Present Shop to find her pieces. She also has many friends that keep a eye out for her as she does for them! Feel free to add her group and give her a shout she loves making new Disney friends and showing off her collection to all those that would like to see it!

Disney timeline

One of my by far favorite goals I have for myself and my collection is to collect every Disney movie ever made. I realize that this is probably next to impossible since VHS movies declined between 2004 and 2007. The one thing in my favor is VHS tapes are sold for fairly cheap now a days so I can get a bunch quickly to make up for lost time. The VHS movies I have were purchased between thrift stores and garage sales. We recently got our very own DVD / VHS deul deck so we can watch both .

When I get them all I want to build a shelf that goes around the room creating a Disney VHS timeline. I am sure this will require a lot of work in the hand craft department but I have a vision and I am determined to make it awesome! Right now I have 160 VHS movies not counting ones that I have in different editions and re-releases. I have been on the search for a list of all the Disney movies ever made and have never came across a list that had every movie on it. So I am going to try to do just that on this blog as time goes by if I can fill in anything I will return to this blog and put in the new movies. If you know any of the movies I am missing on this list please leave a comment below! Thank you!

010-VS   : Pete's Dragon
011-VS   : The Black Hole
012-VS   : The Love Bug
013-VS   : Escape to Witch Mountain
014-VS   : King of the Wild Frontier - Davy Crockett
015-VS   : 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
015         : Alice in Wonderland
016-VS   : Bed Knobs and Brook Sticks
017-VS   : North Avenue Irregulars
018-VS   : Apple Dumplings Gang
019-VS   : Hot Lead Cold Feet
020-VS   : On vacation with Mickey
021-VS   : Kids is Kids
022-VS   : Adventures of Chip N' Dale
023-VS   : Mary Poppins
024-VS   : Dumbo
025-VS   : Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
026-VS   : The Apple Dumpling Gang , Rides Again
027-VS   : The River Pirates, Davy Crockett
028-VS   : Absent Minded Professor
029-VS   : Gus
030-VS   : One and Only Original Band
031-VS   : Snow White Live Radio
032-VF   : Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck Cartoon Classics Vol 1
033-VF   : Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck Cartoon Classics Vol 2
034-VF   : Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck Cartoon Classics Vol 3
035-V     : A Dream Called Walt Disney World
036-VS  : Alice in Wonderland
037-VS  : Old Yeller
038-VS  : Darby O' Gill and The Little People
039-VS  : Amy
040-VS  : Walt Disney Christmas
041-VS  : Treasure Island
042-VS  : Herby Rides Again
043-VS  : Shaggy Dog
044-VS  : Goofy Over Sports
045-VF  : Pollyanna
046-VS  : A Tale of Two Critters
047-VS  : Sign of Zorro

I realize this may take me a very very long time to write so I will save and add as I go!

Fun and Games

One of the things I collect that I think is probably abnormal is games. It doesn't matter to me if they are old or new and sometimes if they are even complete. Some I would never even consider

, even thinking about playing but if it is Disney I have to have it! I have never counted out all of my games since some are packed in the closet, in the Cars toy box, my mom's RV, and around the house.

 

 

 

I have games like Pixar Uno all the way to the Haunted Mansion Board game from 1975. I was lucky enough to have someone through my husband looking for Disney stuff for me and grabbed the Haunted Mansion board game for an amazing prize. I have been asked to sell it a few times and have always refused. It has sold for as high as $245.00 on Ebay.

My most recent Disney Board games were mostly DVD games such as POTC and High School musical. I scored 2 Hannah Montana games with a Toy Story operation just 2 weeks ago. Other games I have are Disney Trivial Pursuit, Disney Monopoly, Toy Story connect 4, multiple Mickey math games and more. I even have a vintage set of little blue dominoes. I hope to some day get the newer Disney World based games .

 

 


There aren't just Board games though . Right now Disney digital games are more popular then ever. Tsum Tsum is one of the newest Disney games taking the world by storm. Getting points by matching little oval shaped plushies of our favorite characters to earn points and get new Tsum Tsums. You can also look into Words , a Disney search and find game with a spin (shocks me to say Disney related things like characters names don't count as words, The producers should fix that!). But fun none the less as long as you have friends to send you tickets so you can keep advancing . Hidden Worlds a search and find based in several of the Disney stories. Using the items you find you receive different inks to create something that is missing from the story line. You can also check out Frozen Free fall , a Frozen themed match game like candy crush. These games are sure to have you playing non stop and wanting more!

Spot light Sunday Cindy Collins

It's Sunday again and that means time to pass the spot light to another Disney lover! Today we are showing off Cindy Collins and her beautiful Collection. When Cindy was around 4 years old she went to Disney World for the first time. This would have been when Disney had open for about 1 year.  She remembers staying that the Contemporary Resort, it was only $50.00 a night, and she got a hat with her name on it that she has kept after all these years. Cindy was born to be a Disney collector!

Cindy started receiving Disney gifts from friends and family. Not much has changed in the recent years she loves to share her collection and pieces. She has entered multiple antique toy fair contests, and has won several times.  Her love for Disney still thrives and as a Teacher she shares that love with her students. They also commonly give her Disney gifts.

 


When it comes to her collection she prefers Porcelain figures, Metal toys, and older music boxes. She and her husband Chuck like to frequent antique stores to find new treasures. One of their newest finds is a figurine from "A Bugs Life" they found on a recent vacation to Louisiana and Mississippi. It now holds a special spot in a small Display case as their item of the week. Her husband changing the item weekly to display a new item they got has become a tradition.

 

 

 

 

 
     

QOTD - What is your favorite Disney memory?