Do you have old concert tickets you have held onto for a long time? Perhaps a letter that your great grandmother wrote you? Or even old Christmas cards that you know you will reuse again . . . someday? All of this is considered ephemera.
Steps
1. Ephemera.
Ephemera is any material that was originally designed to be discarded after a single use. It is transitory. It includes concert tickets, advertising trading cards, postcards, cigarette cards, catalogs, greeting cards, pamphlets, matchbook covers, letters and more. Some people include old photos as well. Check out the longer list at the supplement listed below.
2. Beyond.
Ephemera isn’t limited to paper. Printing can be done on metal, glass, plastic and more. Often it is branded for a specific company or product. For example, metal bottle caps are printed. Check out the longer list at the supplement listed below.
3. Yours.
Chances are you’ve collected items yourself. Often the reason we keep something is that it catches our eye or it is a reminder of an event we attended, something we enjoyed or some other nostalgic reason. Look through your personal belongings to see what kind of ephemera you might have.
4. Collection.
Starting a collection can be free or costly, depending on how you acquire pieces. You currently have a collection . . . only it’s based on your personal history. Ephemera collections often start this way. Look through your ephemera. What type of items might you be interested in collecting?
5. Know.
You need to know about the items in your collection. It might be the information about when you participated in something or why you purchased an item. You can make your own notes in this case.
If you plan on collecting ephemera for other reasons, the more you know about the items you’d like to collect, the more comfortable you’ll feel sharing what you have in your collection. Take one piece from your collection and explore similar types online. Don’t have a special piece? Then learn about ephemera in general.
6. Online.
You can find images of ephemera online. It doesn’t matter if it’s printed on paper or something else. You’ll find huge collections at the Library of Congress and Flickr, to name only two sites. Search for general ephemera or your specific interest.
7. Buy.
You can purchase ephemera as well. You might buy a piece or a lot of different pieces. Explore locations online and offline where you can purchase items to add to your collection.
8. Inspire.
Your ephemera collection can be used for inspiration when you’re not feeling particularly creative. Look at designs that work or don’t work. What is visually pleasing for you? What don’t you like? What do you like? Try to explain why you feel this way.
9. Art.
Ephemera can be used with artist trading cards, scrapbooks, art journals and mixed media projects . . . to name just a few. Check out how ephemera can be incorporated in the arts and crafts you like.
10. Share.
Thinking of sharing? You can trade items, sell them or create digital images to upload or e-mail to others. Find others to share with and provide files / copies they can use. This can be a swap group like Swap-Bot, one-on-one or with a group of like-minded collectors. Check out how people on Flickr share their ephemera.
11. Reminder.
Each piece of your ephemera is unique. It may be the only one of its kind. If you use, sell or trade it, it’s gone forever. For this reason, I always recommend taking a photo or scanning it in at a high resolution so you have a piece of the original.
Badge and Supplement Files
Member Level
- EP_Badge List_EphemeraX_larajla — list of badge items
- EP_Badge Set_EphemeraX_larajla — list of badge set and related badges
- EP_Supp_List_EphemeraX_larajla — list of supplements for the badge
- SUPP_BPG_EphemeraX_2in_12up_larajla — generic badge printable
- SUPP_EphemeraX_Journal_larajla — badge journal
- SUPP_EphemeraX_Planner_larajla — badge planner
Supplement Fun
- SUPP_List Fun_Ephemera Other_larajla — Starting list for non-paper ephemera
- SUPP_List Fun_Ephemera Paper_larajla — Starting list for paper ephemera
Sites to Explore
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ephemera
- ephemeracorner.com/hobby
- www.loc.gov/search/?in=&q=ephemera&new=true
- www.flickr.com (search for ephemera)
- www.ephemerasociety.org/index.html
- www.ephemerasociety.org/blog/?p=331
- www.swap-bot.com
- snapguide.com/supplies/ephemera
Get the infographic here > larajla blog post
Get the PDFs of the badge program / supplements here