Whether it’s Christmas, Easter or Valentine’s Day, Gail Tritten always decorates for a holiday. And we mean decorates. It started when she was little and she and her mom, Arlene, would strew the house with velvet ribbon, doilies and crepe paper for Valentine’s Day. All that attention to detail made a lasting impression on Gail, who now collects antique trinkets so that she can dress up her own home—even when there’s no holiday to celebrate. “Some people take walks or get a massage to relax; I go to antique malls and decorate,” says Gail. But it’s her knack for displaying her treasures that we find most intriguing. Her clever ideas often make use of one flea market find to show off another, and keep her rooms feeling homey and pretty—and somehow, magically, never cluttered!

“I was given my first dress form as a present a few years ago, and now I have five in my collection. The oldest one is from the turn of the century and is made of papier mâché. I can’t help dressing them for each season with vintage petticoats, aprons, flowers or ribbon.”

Collect It!
Look for adult- or child-size antique dress forms made of papier mâché, muslin or wire at ebay.com and craigslist.com.

Display it!
Since my forms are on display throughout my house, I can’t help dressing them for each season with vintage petticoats, aprons, flowers or ribbon.

“I got my first pair of doll shoes on a trip to St. Louis, Missouri, about seven years ago. Most of the shoes I have are from the 1940s to 1960s, and the more whimsical they are, the better. I love the roller skates, the cowboy boots with spurs, and anything with a pom-pom—I’m a total sucker for a pom-pom.”

Collect It!
Look for shoes packaged in their original box. The boxes are so interesting that they can be displayed right alongside the shoes.

Display it!
A bright coat of paint and a hint of patterned wallpaper turn a box with compartments, like this old soda case, into the perfect place to show off any petite collection.

I’ve collected tea towels for 20 years. The ones here, all from the 1940s, are graphic and whimsical. Women would make sets in which the towels corresponded to chores. One towel might have pots and pans on it to use if it was a day for cooking, while another might have a tea kettle because it was a day for visiting, and a third would have a dancing iron. Representing chores with fanciful motifs probably made them easier to do!

Collect it!
Look for tea towels similar to the one shown here at flea markets, antique stores and on ebay.com.

Display it!
I used an old piece of molding—though a new one from a hardware store would work just as well—to hold tea towels and aprons in my kitchen. I drilled holes to fit new drawer pulls and threaded the tea towels through curtain rings, right (available at any home-supply store), with the hooks removed so that the towels would hang from the knobs without falling off.

I love white ironstone, so that’s the kind of eggcup I look for. Zeroing in on a particular item makes collecting less overwhelming, and strictly from the storage aspect, it’s good to collect something that’s small because it will take up less space. These eggcups pair perfectly with my collection of children’s doll dishes and tea sets from the early 1900s, since they are all on a smaller scale. The little guy with the touches of red (shown on the middle shelf) is the only one with any color, so he draws the eye and makes the whole display more special.

Collect it!
Ironstone is a type of earthenware similar to, but sturdier than, porcelain. It was favored for its durability and used in the 19th century as an everyday alternative to fine china.

Collect it!
Look for creamy white ironstone pitchers, plates and platters by companies like Mason’s Patent Ironstone, Davenport, Hicks and Meigh, and Spode at flea markets and antique stores, and online at ebay.com and replacements.com.

Display it!
I gave an old wooden shelf a makeover with red paint and hung it from a nail with a strong ribbon. The colors fit with my Christmas and Valentine’s Day collections, so I don’t have to take it down!

My mom was an excellent seamstress, and I grew up surrounded by stacks of fabrics. That fostered my love for a type of embroidery called redwork, which often featured birds on white linen or cotton fabric and was used to drape over furniture as decoration. This one is a table topper from the 1940s, and its size and shape make it a perfect curtain.

Collect it!
Before World War I, black, white and red were the only embroidery-thread colors widely available—which explains the popularity of redwork on everything from doilies and dish towels to pillowcases and pot holders. Look for such items on ebay.com and at flea markets.

Display it!
Hang up the fabric with tacks from the same time period, or glue vintage buttons onto plain silver thumbtacks.

I love valentines from the turn of the century for their classic beauty. I have one that my grandma on my dad’s side gave to my grandpa before they were married in 1933. To have their handwriting on that card after all these years almost brings a tear to my eye.

Collect it!
The next time you’re at a flea market, explore the boxes of vintage paper ephemera to add to your craft supplies. You may find valentines that date back to the Victorian era.

Display it!
To make these vintage valentine holders, spray paint 1-inch clothespins (americanwoodcrafterssupply.com)—the kind used for doll clothes—gold. Then use a hot-glue gun to secure them to an antique metal receipt holder (ebay.com).

The little red cookie cutters are a cowboy and a kitty. They are from the 1930s or 1940s and are part of the collection that my mom and I use when we bake our Christmas and Valentine’s Day cookies. Because they’re very detailed, they’re not easy to work with, but that’s why I love them. We make sugar cookies and decorate them with every kind of colored sugar. Our friends and family have come to expect them, and what used to be an afternoon activity has turned into a three-day affair!

Collect it!
Look for similar cookie cutters at rubylane.com, ebay.com and at flea markets.

Display it!
I like to show off my cookie cutters (and some of my Bakelite syrup dispensers and salt and pepper shakers) by placing in small ironstone butter dishes and bowls on shelves throughout my kitchen.

I like to bring out my collection of Valentines and use them as decorations. I turn them into simple garlands, tuck them into the corners of mirrors, and arrange some of my favorites along my mantle. The great thing about using them this way to decorate is that I can change the display depending on which Valentines I feel like enjoying on any given day.

Collect it!
While Gail has many valentines that belonged to her parents, she’s found most of her collection by patiently going through boxes of them at flea markets and antique stores. You’ll want to take your time too—reading the old writing on the back of the cards is a true treat!

Display it!
I string them on a garland made from ribbon and either use miniature wire hangers with clips, like these which I got from Curious Sofa ($5 each, 913.432.8969) or tiny clothespins covered in silver or red glitter!. I hang them across a mirror or book shelf.