Paperweights make for good decorations.After those first three, "I had about 20 small paperweights given to me as gifts over the next few years," she says, "before I ever started buying any for ...

There are also paperweights from England, France, Italy, Sweden and China. All of them are remarkably delicate and exhaustingly intricate.

A preppy spin on old-world porcelain can be found in Herend's Anchor paperweight, shown here in blue ($335, scullyandscully.com).

We bought several items, including a dark blue, rock-shaped, molded glass paperweight embossed with a gold “1620” date.