New ideas for old family doodads, mementoes

Joan Therese Seivert's necklace — a large heart shape covered in tiny pieces of sparkly jewelry attached to a bolo tie — looks homemade, and it is. It comes with a heartfelt story.

Her sister made it for her before Seivert left her hometown of St. Paul, Minn., 35 years ago to live in Denver. All those little sparkly bits were culled from the jewelry passed down by her grandmother.

"It's Grandma. It's my sister. It's my path of service. It's my work. It's my faith. It's my way of taking care of myself. It's a way of showing up. It's a reminder," says Seivert, who helps families navigate senior-living choices through her company, Connections Unlimited. Clients, often unfamiliar with elder-care options, start out worried and stressed. Seivert wears the necklace to remind herself to work from her heart, and to signal that message to others.

Many of us collect or end up with old family knickknacks - sewing notions, keys, jewelry, handkerchiefs, buttons, all manner of little, ancient doodads.

Often, we don't know what to do with them. What is this thingamabob anyhow? What's it made of? Should I cherish it, or toss it? How might I use it?

Some, like Seivert's sister, know exactly what to do with the jars full of keepsakes and the drawers stuffed with thingamajigs.

Take Giuseppina "Josie" Cirincione of Phoenix, who teaches community art classes and has written several crafting books, including "Collage Lost and Found" (North Light Books, 2006). It shares ideas for making collages and jewelry with old photographs, memorabilia and vintage ephemera.

For Cirincione, creating begins with collecting. She collects a lot of old things, from wooden dry cleaner hangers and yardsticks to kitchen and woodworking tools. Cookie cutters. Brass keys. Ice picks. Handwritten letters and envelopes. Velveeta cheese boxes (they're wooden and tout "the delicious cheese food" in vintage lettering).

That's only a slice of her collection, and Cirincione puts it all to good use, eventually.

"I've always been drawn to anything old, drawn to that unique thing," says Cirincione.

For the rest of us, who simply want to make a little something special with a family member's memorabilia, Cirincione recommends making a two-dimensional collage or three-dimensional assemblage - but handle your treasures carefully.