Toothy Tooth Locket Keeper Necklace: The Destiny of Things, Story XL

Toothy Tooth Locket Keeper Necklace:  The Destiny of Things, Story XL

Remember these?  I love little lockets and trinkets like this and I finally figured out why!

This might be long and round about posting, but let's see where it takes me today!  I don't know why but I love stuff like this and not just one, but in huge quantities!  Does it have to do with my art in repetition? From my teaching days with classes of 30 students or from my Dad!?!

Here are the other ones, I just love!  And I bought both kinds one of each for every student and more of their choice for falling out teeth in class, prizes and rewards individually and as a class, so you can imagine the quantity I would need each year.  Plus they loved them as much as I did!

And it was a good homework lesson in what I called, "the teeny tiny treasure hunter game" of who could find the most different items to fit in it and become the best teeny tiny "master" treasure hunter in the world and prove it with a written list.

Anyways, I kinda sorta had an interesting epiphany the other day with these.  An etsy buyer bought these and thanked me for selling them in small lots!  Imagine that!  I thought it was so funny, but then I realized that's probably how a non-hoarder thinks!  If one only needs one, only buy one!  I need to adapt exactly that!

Kennedy Miranda

January 25 2013 1:06pm EDT

Invoice: www.etsy.com/your/orders/77804486

Hi Ashley!

They will be shipped out on Monday, the 28th, which I think is plenty of time to reach you, however if you'd like to pay $3 more we can mail it in the USPS Flat Rate Priority Box.

Thank you for thanking me for keeping these- it gave me quite the chuckle!- but the only reason is because I'm a recovering hoarder and everything I'm selling at all three shops are my purge this time around!

As a matter of fact, if you have the time to share your story behind this order I could use it! I am collecting these stories instead of more things (well, most of the time-it's such an ongoing battle to recovery) and documenting on my blog to see if it ends my hoarding cycles.

So I'm quite curious what will become of these tooth saver lockets and by the 15th makes me even more curious!

Thank you and let me know, if you need an upgrade on your shipping

Hope you are having a good Friday!
Best regards,
~Kennedy

boandashley7

January 25 2013 1:17pm EDT 

I'm sure shipping Monday will be fine!

The tooth lockets are for my daughters reading fair project, which is due February 21st. She is in 1st grade and we are using the book "Fancy Nancy and the Too Loose Tooth". In the book, Nancy really wants her tooth to fall out at school so that the nurse will give her the tooth locket to keep it in. She is so careful all weekend so that the tooth will not fall out at home. We chose this book because my daughter's first tooth is loose and she is dying for it to come out! While they don't give out these lockets at her school, she still loves the book, and is really excited I was able to find one for her to use for the project. (She probably will also put her tooth in it when it comes out)

Everywhere else online was selling them in large quantities. I really only need one for her to wear while she presents her project, but I may put the others on the table for decoration.

Good luck with getting over the hoarding. I understand it is very difficult to overcome!

I will try to remember to send you a picture of her wearing the locket with her project board. You can use it for your blog!

Kennedy Miranda

January 25 2013 2:45pm EDT 

What a great story! Thank you! You are so kind and I so look forward to your daughter's tooth falling out, so she can use her locket and best of all to see her happy toothy tooth grin! That will be such the icing on the cake for my blog. Thanks!

Your daughter's story is classic and so cute. I think I had a lot of students wait til their teeth fell out in class or on the job as we called it, so they could have a tooth locket too. Weird, I can't remember which book I would read about teeth falling out, but Fancy Nancy and the Too Lose Tooth sounds fun and funny!

When I was a kid, I even tried the tying floss to the door knob and to my tooth and had my brother slam the door. I think we watched too many cartoons! I can't remember what the outcome was, probably got in trouble with mom!

Yes, hoarding has been an issue with me all my life, since I was a kid. I think my mom had me collect different things to keep me busy and it escalated! I blindly purged or dehoarded about every ten years or so and I hope this time by being more mindful it will end!

If you'd like I can sell you just one, if that's all you need for $3.00 total including shipping and refund the difference or I can sell you how many more you need so your daughter can give one to each classmate! and give you a 50% discount!

After all, it's going to a good cause!

boandashley7

January 25 2013 3:30pm EDT 

Thanks - I think the 10 will actually work out perfect, in case she breaks one or wants to give some to her baby dolls :)

I wish you all the luck in the world!

Saying Good-bye:  As a repetition artist and hoarder this is causing me some anxiety and conflict!  On the one hand, I can't think of a way to use them in an art project in multiples and the hoarder part of me wants to let them go!  And the FOMO or fear of missing out part of me thinks that as soon as I get down to my last few of these, I'll find a way to use them!

What I learned:

1.  I need to resolve the inner conflict!  but how?  I think I should just let them go because there is always something else I can use in art.  Especially since I can't think of anything!  Or maybe there's more to this loss than I know consciously at this point?

2.  Having all this kawaii cute kitschy stuff stems from my childhood.  My dad was in charge of buying all the games and prizes for the annual Gardener's picnic when I was growing up.  I would go with him sometimes to pick it up and of course, I was only allowed to look and not touch or have until the day of the picnic.

I have good memories of the Gardner's picnic.  Every family invited their extended family and everyone brought tons of home cooked finger foods!

Later, they had all kinds of individual and team relay races, booth games, raffle ticket prizes for adults and children and even the classic tug of war!  I remember my dad would make double geta race shoes for two.  Every year he'd add another person, so triple geta shoe racing for three,four, five and six!  I honestly don't remember at what level it finally ended with!  Every year we stored them from the rafters in our garage!

Side Note:  A geta is a type of Japanese wooden sandal, like a mini stilt.  Here's a pic of one, usually for a male.  Just imagine it made for two to six people sharing one long one!  Here is a geta for a female.

My other favorite race was the gunny sack race!  (probably where my love of burlap started too!) Remember those?  Hopping around individually and then with a partner for a three legged race?  Then it was time for the booth games with all the prizes I could finally get and touch!  Those were the good ol' days.  I have no idea why the Gardner's picnic stopped happening or when, but I think that's where I've gotten some of my hoard mentality for some reason I can't fathom.

3.  So my childhood days of godzillian prizes came from the Gardner's picnic, transferred to my teacher days with rewards and prizes for myself and students and finally to as a repetition artist!  Hopefully when my hoard clears out and my mind is less cluttered, I'll have room in both places to actually get more of what I love done!

Thank you etsy for giving myself and my hoard a place in this world and for all the kind, supportive and non-judgemental etsyians I've met along the way!

Thank you Ashley for being such a fun mom to hunt down the tooth locket!  and for helping me to realize that "one" is enough and two can be too many!  I still don't quite grasp that concept, but I feel as though I'm becoming closer to it thanks to you!  Thank you for sharing your story in such detail.

Thank you Ashley's daughter and teacher for your class assignment and congratulations on your loose tooth and to growing up! I so look forward to an update with a pic of your new grin wearing the tooth locket just like Fancy Nancy!!!!  That part makes me so excited and happy to see my hoarded history stuff in it's new life!

Thank you US, Germany, Spain: new friend Miki from Sweet Vintage Goods, UK and Ukraine!  Welcome Suriname!  Thank you all for joining me on HoarderRehab:  The Destiny of Things!

Post Note:  Tooth saver lockets are available here!

UPDATE! Wed, 27 February 2013

I've been patiently waiting for this pic, since Ashley said she'd send me one from her daughter's book fair and here it is!

Ashley who went all out for her daughter's book fair on Fancy Nancy and the Too Loose Tooth on the 21st sent me a pic of it!!!!  Her loose tooth still hasn't fallen out yet, but she got to dress like Fancy Nancy for the book fair!  This is the preliminary dress rehearsal from the night before!  Thank you Ashley and daughter!

Fancy Nancy is about a girl who loves to dress up and can't wait for her tooth to fall out at school, so she can get a tooth locket from the nurse.  Doesn't that sound like my other tooth locket story?  See my/her/our tooth locket on her poster board.

I learned a lot from Ashley and it seems to be sticking with me and is really helping me out!  I've passed on a two discounted sales because I asked myself, "Is one enough and is more than two going to be too many?"

On Monday, I also found this quote on etsyian, Susan Arnor of ASuzyDesign's About page,  "Goal:  To use what I have, to finish what I start and to only buy what I need"  This quote has done a lot for me!  Thank you Susan!

So between Ashley showing me some non-hoarding thought processes of buying only what's needed, yet thanking me for saving my hoard, I'm catching on to the concept of how one is enough and two is too many and how one is not enough and two is too many!  Susan's goal put it all in perspective for me and although it's simple and true, it came just at the right time to hit a home run for me!

I debated for two days about buying stuff I wanted because it was 10% and offered free shipping and even though what I wanted only amounted to $10 I passed it up!  Yes, I lamented for awhile and felt FOMO (fear of missing out) terrible, like I really lost out on something, but the next morning I was glad I was able to pass it up!

Then I did it a second time on some stuff for one of my collections.  I was tempted to buy 20-100+ items for my religious medal collection not only because it was a super good deal, but because I loved the stuff!

"Use what I have and finish what I start and buy only what I need"....that's my new quote of a tool to help me think like a non-hoarder!  The practice of thinking "use what I have, finish what I start and buy only what I need" has already helped me to stay with my HoarderRehab etsy goals.  I'm still sleeping well too with naps, so I'm sure that's helping also.

Thank you Ashely for your continued support, inspiration and a glimpse into non-hoard thinking!  You've given me a valuable lesson that I can use as a recovering hoarder for the rest of my life!  Many thanks!

Thank you Susan for a "new" quote to keep me on course towards my Minimalistic organic home with a music art room, instead of adding more to my hoard!

Thank you etsy for giving me a connection with etsyians that keeps me supported and inspired!

Thank you US, UK, United Arab Emirates, Australia, Canada, Germany, India, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore, Venezuela and France for joining me today in another "moving merrily down the stream" day in the adventures of HoarderRehab: The Destiny of Things!

Related Stories:

1.  Teacher Tooth Locket Story: a story from a teacher that's like the Fancy Nancy Too Loose Tooth story!

2.  Mosler Bank Story:  another story of a mother going all out for their child's imagination!

3.  HoarderRehab Esty Goals:  Keeping steady to sticking to my goals with support from other etsyians!