my (accidental) stamp collection

I've written before about how much I love collections. Still, I never thought of myself as a stamp collector. I simply, quite unthinkingly, did what my mother did: I tore or cut off any pretty stamps that came my way and put them into a mug.

It so happened that the mug was made by a dear friend of my mother's who is a potter. It is extremely pretty - pale blue and egg-speckled - but not necessarily great for drinking big vats of morning tea or putting in the dishwasher. So it became my stamp mug.

 Lately I noticed that the mug is getting rather full. I thought I should take out the contents and have a little look. I found so many pretty treasures!

 I think these light bulbs from the Netherlands came to me not so long ago from Laura of Blue Eyed Night Owl.

 Look: a giant spider! It's a huge sculpture by the surrealist artist Louise Bourgeois. It's entitled "maman". Creepy!

 I don't have any criteria for saving stamps: I just keep them if they seem pretty or interesting. I keep British ones too. My mother often uses lovely stamps. I'll bet the two above came from her.

 I found a couple of older stamps: I have no memory of where they came from, oddly enough! I wish it still cost 2p to send a letter!

These pretty American stamps came from my penpal and friend, Ashlie. I love it when stamps are bright and interesting and convey a message or tell a story. My collection will probably never be valuable to anyone except me, but I still love it.