OUR FAMILY HEIRLOOM

Bottle cap man

A few years ago we were the recipients of a funny looking figure that my in-laws had kept on their patio for as long as I can remember. I think we ended up with it by default as no one wanted it. Nevertheless, it was now ours and it remained in a box for the last several years...until last year. I decided it HAD to go so I gave it as a white elephant gift at a Christmas party with some friends.

Even though my husband had never wanted it, after I gave it away, he now decided it was a precious family heirloom that I should have kept. It was kind of a family joke for a while. Then one day after a trip back home to his hometown to help his aunt, he came home with yet ANOTHER ONE of these characters. He found out from his aunt that his grandfather had made several of these so all family members could have one. The arms and legs are made of bottle caps and he has a green bowl on top of his head as well as the one he carries.

I gave in and found a special place for this "precious family heirloom". He was kind of growing on me and I even started liking him after a while. I DO like folk art after all.

But imagine my surprise when I was looking through the latest FLEA MARKET STYLE magazine and saw that this little guy was listed as one of the TOP TEN  collectible vintage items for 2012! I like to think I'm up on most things that are currently collectible but this one caught me by surprise. My husband, of course, said he knew it all along.

So I guess we'll keep him! He's a family heirloom, after all!