Hobbies- Collecting out of ordinary - 2

There are many people who have out of ordinay or weird hobbies. And reading about those people or browsing those sites is itself interesting. So let's discover more sites with people having (out of) ordinany hobbies and pastimes.

This post is part of Hobbies- Collecting out of ordinary-1


* Scratch ticket collecting: This hobby is called "lotology" and this site is from Scottlie, who is from Australia. Scottware is about collecting scratch off lottery tickets. Site provides information about this hobby as there is an interesting outcome of this hobby "Finding unclaimed prizes and winning on loosing tickets" and the story is:

$1000 on a ticket in a rubbish bin.

"I have collected many winning tickets over the years that had been thrown away by the person who'd bought them! A lady in the USA has found $1000 on a ticket that was in a rubbish bin!!! One day I'll find $250,000 on a ticket that someone has overlooked, you wait and see! (but don't hold your breath)

As well as winning tickets I have found100's of tickets with part or a whole game or set of numbers that have not been scratched. This means that I had a first hand chance of winning the major prize without purchasing the ticket."
There is a lot of stuff for people who want to stat this hobby.

* The Sneaker Net is from a sneaker lover, who have collected 250 sneakers. And the hobbyist request used or thrown away sneaker of any model, any size to make the collection bigger.

* Stegeo is a fairly eclectic collection consisting of stud boxes, roller blotter, coffee cream lids,time pieces, bakelite boxes and dishware. Site consists of images and some text in English and German.

* Talking Clocks : A collection of talking clocks. The site contains: photo galleries, some history of clocks that talk and interesting links about time.

* Tissue Box Cover Collection
: A collection of unusual tissue box covers. There are many tissue paper box covers in different shapes and figures.

* Teasure Jar a family's collection of miscellaneous junk that is found on streets and sidewalks. This family consists of John, Cheri and their kids Rena and Mac.
They say:
"On the rare occasions that we venture away from our keyboards we keep our eyes peeled for any interesting lost or discarded "treasures" to stash in a large jar in our living room. Who knows what the next treasure might be? Diamond ring or Hot Wheels Car? Hundred Dollar Bill or a golf tee? We hope that at the very least this web site will be of interest to people who are as easily entertained as we are."

Look of the site is also different, as they have made baskets of items collected at specific month or year.

* Yossie's hand cuff collection, a personal collection of Handcuffs, Leg Irons, and other insitutional and historical restraint devices. Includes resource links page, patent papers, function animations, and books.

* Brandon's siren site offers Photos, information, and links, including storm damage photos.

* Coach Built Pram site offers a collection of coach built prams or baby carriages and their restoration. Lots of images and descriptions.

* Collectors Tech "Davod May" a British collector of electronic devices, calculators, radios, television, electronic games, computers slide rules, and watches.

* Covers To Discover
A picture collection about manhole covers. Accepts submissions. [English and French]
- Drain spotting is another site about drain covers with interesting photos.

"Card Modeling" and FREE card models

This hobby is similar to origami, or paper crafts as "Card modeling" is the art of building scale models of aircraft, buildings, ships and many other real life objects.

This article provides you with links and resources where you can download many free models. Learning to make card models is very easy as most of the sites provide modelling tips or techniques along with card models.

Card models are made out of paper. A heavy, card stock, paper is used to create models. Similar to the type of paper used for business cards. The model is printed directly onto the flat paper and then it is cut out, rolled, folded, glued, sometimes tabs are insert into slots, to make the models. Since most of the time the colors and details are already printed, most of the modelers time is spent in assembly. Card models are available for almost any area of interest

I have personally downloaded some of the models and made attractive card models.

* "Pierreg" offers many card model projects. More on the site:
- Original model projects

It is a card model. Unbelievable but true!

- Tips and tools

*  Directory of talented paper model artists from all over the world that have created and offer free printable paper models, paper toys, cut-outs, paper dolls, printable paper crafts of cars, buildings, spacecraft, animals and more. We also offer our own free original printable paper toys. Assembling paper models are fun activities for kids and grown-ups alike.

* Card Modeling Faq

* Paper inside is from "Cláudio Dias", who is from Brazil and loves to create things!
About his blog and his hobby, he says:
"When I was a kid, I used to build lots of paper models that came inside magazines. And now, a friend brought me a Formula One model! Wow!
I built three Formula One cars and I thought: “What if I design my own models?”
Result: paperinside.com
All models I’ve designed are free. You can download and build them, as you wish."

* This site is not in english, but there are pictures of paper models and you can just download the projects:
- Download link

* 'Fox in a hole' is a blog with amazing paper crafts projects. Site is in Russian but you can translate the pages into English.

A craft blog from a hobbyist

I love to search for crafts blog because there are lot of ideas and tips which you can use to create crafts. Only browsing through crafts projects and ideas is really enjoyable for crafts lovers.


Ann Wood.com is a craft blog from a hobbyist "Ann Wood", who is from Brooklyn New York. This blog is really different from other blogs or siters, because everything which she made is exceptional and personal. And she is ready to sell some products also.

Blog was created and started around February, 2006 and it seems that she uploads all the craft objects on the site. So for crafters and craft lovers, only watching the models of the things she makes is fun, as each and every piece of craft is an art itself.

She says:
"I make things, paint, and draw for my life and livelihood.

Some of my favorite things ( in no particular order) are : ships and shipwrecks, paper mache, birds, books about exploration, dioramas, swamps, the out of doors in general, magazines, libraries, felt, flea markets, horses, dogs, cats, things that are victorian and things that are small."

She made paper mache products mostly and all the objects can be found the site (pictures) with description.

Few posts about the topics she prefers to make:
- 100 cardboard horses

- birds

- ships

"Your happy site" - A hobby blog helping you find hobbies

There are not many blogs or sites which are about hobbies. I would be reviewing the blogs/sites which are helpful in finding or suggesting hobbies/pastimes, offering tips, ideas or resources.

Your happy site is a blog helping you find hobby. Site is under construction, but may be in future we can get good content at the blog. Site is from a young college student, from Ohio, USA.

There are some good posts at the moment.
For example I liked the post with the title "Why you need a hobby?":

Why You Need a Hobby?

When someone decides they need a hobby it is usually for one reason: theyre bored. Being bored is, besides being extremely boring, often not all that healthy for you. While Im not a doctor, I do believe that having nothing to do in your free time can lead to lower energy levels, and often depression. Just think about it, or on second thought, dont think about it! If your mind is not entertained one way or another, your thoughts tend to wander aimlessly. For some reason, many reasons, people tend to let their minds wonder into a pessimistic, or apathetic attitude / state; causing depression, or at least making you feel down in the dumps. Who in their right mind wants to feel down in the dumps? Shoot, who wants to be bored for that matter? So, eventually, many people come to the realization that they need something to occupy their free time.

Hobbies do not only prevent people from entering that "down in the dumps" state of mind though, they actually help you get into a better one, too. If you have a hobby which you really enjoy, practicing that hobby will make you feel better about yourself both while practicing it, and afterward. Hobbies allow for people to achieve a form of fulfillment; a personal form of fulfillment. While doing well at your job, and helping people are common things that make people feel about themselves, they are a form of social fulfillment, not personal fulfillment. Its great if you do what you do well, and even better if you help people in some way. However, you must give yourself time to please yourself. Chances are, without doing some things to please yourself, instead of your boss, or other people, you will never be completely happy. In fact, if you please your boss, and you help people, you deserve time to yourself to do what you want to do.

Having a hobby can be extremely rewarding. So far Ive explained how having a hobby can prevent depression, low energy levels, and boredom. Ive also briefly described how a hobby can make you feel better about yourself mentally. Thats not all hobbies have to offer though.
Depending on the hobby you choose, you will not only feel healthier and better about yourself. You can also acquire new skills through hobbies. These skills can often be applied to social matters. So, lets say that youve learned to play guitar. Now youve gained a skill that will allow you to entertain people, and meet / make new friends who share interest in music. Entertaining people, and making new friends are two very nice things to do indeed.
What about animal rescue? Do you think learning how to care for wounded animals could help you to better understand how to care for another injured person given an emergency? Maybe, maybe not; its just an example. So you see, having a hobby can be very valuable and rewarding in many different ways.

To read more: Your happy site

* find a hobby links provides list of hobbies.

Benefits of hobbies and leisures

Hobbies or leisure are good way to pass time, which not only keep you busy and give you pleasure, but you get many benefits from it.

Hobbies can engage you physically and mentally. People who have a hobby are generally healthier." This comment is from director of the Institute of Gerontology at Wayne State University. Not only in sense of emotional or physical health, hobbies are good for us in many ways.

"When people do things that make them feel good, like a hobby, it activates an area of the brain called the nucleus accumbens that controls how we feel about life", said Dr. S. Ausim Azizi, chairman of the department of neurology at Temple University’s School of Medicine in Philadelphia who studies brain activity and cell signaling. "Activities you enjoy also stimulate the brain’s septal zone — its “feel good” area — and that makes you feel happy", said Dr. Azizi.

Hobbies can enhance your creativity, help you think more clearly and sharpen your focus,
said Carol Kauffman, an assistant clinical professor at Harvard Medical School. “When you’re really engaged in a hobby you love, you lose your sense of time and enter what’s called a flow state, and that restores your mind and energy,” she said. In a flow state, you are completely submerged in an experience, requiring a high level of concentration. Research shows strong correlations between flow states and peak performance, said Ms. Kauffman.

Being in that heightened state of concentration raises the levels of neurotransmitters in your brain — chemicals like endorphins, norepinephrine and dopamine — that keep you focused and interested in what you’re doing and that energize you, said Dr. Gabriela Corá, a psychiatrist who is managing partner of the Florida Neuroscience Center and president of Executive Health and Wealth Institute, an executive coaching firm in Miami.

“Making time for enjoyable activities stimulates parts of the brain associated with creative and positive thinking. You become emotionally and intellectually more motivated,” she said.

Hobbies also enhance self-esteem and self-confidence.

Feeling that you are solely defined by your job — even if it is going well — can raise your chances of experiencing anxiety, depression and burnout, because you don’t have a perception of yourself outside of work, said Michelle P. Maidenberg, a psychotherapist and business coach in New York, and clinical director of Westchester Group Works, a center for group therapy.

“When people rely only on their role at work to foster self-esteem, that alone cannot typically fulfill their needs,” she said. If you are unhappy with your work performance, you are more inclined to define yourself as inadequate, but if your identity is varied — businesswoman, mother, wife, painter, cook — you can reflect on your success in those other things, she said.

Hobbies can make you better at job!

How?
Doing something you enjoy can help you think more creatively and give you confidence. Ms. Kauffman said a hobby could even help prepare you for a difficult meeting, making you more sure of yourself and energetic. “Let’s say you are passionate about opera. Google your favorite opera piece and listen for five or six minutes,” she said. “That positive emotion builds your cognitive and social skills. If you follow your bliss for a little while, it really gives you a surge of energy.”

Challenging and stimulating hobbies may inspire ideas that will help you at work — leading, for example, to a new approach to making presentations, solving problems or meeting a client’s needs. “Any time you take a break from routine, you develop new ways of thinking,” said Gail McMeekin, a psychotherapist and owner of Creative Success, a career coaching company in Boston and author of “The Power of Positive Choices.”

Ms. McMeekin said that by tapping into our creativity through hobbies, we make connections that lead to a flurry of insights and new ideas.

Source of article: Hobbies Are Rich in Psychic Rewards

Related post:

The role of hobbies in our lives

Hobbies and crafts for kids at "Indian Child"

"Indian child" is basically a site for internet safetly. Parents, teachers all can find it useful, and it is very interactive for children as well.

The site describes the benefits of hobbies as:

"Stress seems to be a predominant ingredient of human existence. No matter how old a person is, one is forever chasing goals. Sad, but true, even kindergarten kids are under pressure to excel in their class. They are burdened with more to learn. And as a child grows academically competition increases, which causes even more stress. Amongst adolescents there is a need to work and study at the same time in order to get that plum job after university. Adults are busy making a living. And in this rat race called life, one just forgets themselves.

Hobby is any leisure activity that diverts an individual from their daily strenuous like. Or it also plays the role of keeping the unoccupied, occupied with something to do. As, in the latter case an empty mind is a devil’s workshop. Indulging in a hobby actually does away with the boredom that sets in due to the monotonous life one gets used to. Certain hobbies also help release pent-up frustrations."

* There are lots of links to the sites offering hobbies and crafts for kids: List of hobbies & crafts for kids