Starting an new collection

I love starting new collections after I am be lucky enough to get something really great that I in love and then finding more of them to go with that first one.  I have had a bunny figurine collection, a transferware and toile ware collections, a teapot collection, a teacup and saucer collection, a vintage salt and sugar collections, and many for Christmas time, and lots of old things, ephemera, postcards, buttons etc.

My new love is with antique baby clothes and shoes.  Here are the sweet shoes I have now and to display them, I had to stuff them with tulle, so the weren't flattened out, and then I embellished them in different ways.  My daughter-in-law gave these to me for a Christmas gift.  She and I were together when we found these and she pretended to want them for herself.  I was really happy for her, but her plan all along was to save them for me for Christmas.

 I am sure these little gems are from the early 1900's, and I love thinking about the sweet little baby who wore these.  I tried to clean one of them, and that was not a good idea, as the leather started to kind of disintegrate.  I quickly stopped, and decided that from now on I will use much caution when trying to clean any antiques of any kind.

These came from 1933 and were my mother's baby shoes.  I feel very lucky to have them.  

These leather booties were so old that the ribbon was literally disintegrating, so I 

put this other lace ribbon around to embellish them after they were stuffed with tulle.  

Inside the leather is very pink, and very soft, but as you can see they are faded and dirty from time I am sure.  

And last below there is one little crocheted bootie, that is pretty old but it's mate is gone. I thought it looked cute with the alphabet cross-stitch piece.