Plastic Tooth Locket to Sterling Jewelry: The Destiny of Things, Story LXXXIII

Plastic Tooth Locket to Sterling Jewelry:  The Destiny of Things, Story LXXXIII

A story found in feedback!

 

Kate (silverside) says: Love them, thanks! I'm planning to try casting some in silver to see if I can make a little box. Might add gold leaf to look like a filling or crown!

How fun does that sound! Just imagine these transformed into a new life of silver! I just love charms and  with a gold filling or as crowns? That's over the top!

Kate is a marine biologist who also makes beautiful jewelry, some are ocean inspired.  I love her sea urchin cuff links, coral creature ring, but really caught my eye are her chunky cocktail rings, like this one and her button split rings!  Click on the highlighted words to go check them out! or here to go directly to her shop, Silverside.

I am so happy that there are others loving these as much as I do.  I don't know how many generations of dentists and schools have been passing these out, but I passed them out like candy as a teacher.
 

In my class, everyone got one just for coming to school at the beginning of dental hygiene week.  You also got one to put your tooth in if it fell out on the job.  There was the tooth molar locket necklace and the tooth saver treasure chest to choose from!  Click on the highlighted links here for the tooth locket or here for the tooth saver treasure chest and order some!

Remember those red chewable pills to see how well you brushed your teeth?  They came in our school kits for each student.  I have a large plastic tooth model and toothbrush somewhere in my hoard that I used to model proper brushing and flossing and then everyone got to try it with their own kit while wearing their toothy tooth necklace.

Those kits are long gone, at least I can't remember using them the last ten years I taught.  I think they took it out of the curriculum.  My dentist was gracious enough to donate 30 toothbrushes yearly, so we still had a quick impromptu lesson when someone's tooth fell out!

Speaking of toothbrushes, I don't even use a conventional one anymore!  I'm allergic to many things and the plastic was making my mouth itch, so now I use an organic toothbrush or twig called Miswak.  I know if I was still teaching we'd have to try a "battle" of the fittest toothbrush test and compare the Miswak twig with the conventional toothbrush.  Here's my pros and cons about it here and an update here.  I wish I had found Miswak earlier!

Saying Good-bye:  Even though my teaching days are over and I hope Dental Hygiene Week is back at schools with the dental kits, I am happy that people still order these so the tooth fairy can find their way! or cast silver locket jewelry!  So it doesn't look as though I'll be saying good-bye to these for good.

As soon as my hoard is more manageable, I'd love to incorporate these into some mixed media art and keep them available for others to enjoy!

What I Learned:

1.  When I retired from teaching, I donated a jam packed  two car garage full to the ceiling of teaching materials from the 60s to the year 2000.  I do miss some of it, like my wooden base- ever sharp vintage paper cutter, vintage Bunsen burner, rock collections in boxes, vintage microscopes, books, etc., etc.  

My lamenting list goes on and on, but I'd be selling vintage on Etsy forever! And as a recovering hoarder, I am trying to not to cry over spilt milk! Besides, I can't believe the amount I still find that slipped through the cracks!  

and even worse, I can't let it go of it easily for some reason!  It's a tug of war!  Some of it is on all three shops and you can visit it by clicking on the highlighted links to the shops, VintageToGoetsy, HoarderRehab and The Destiny of Things.

2.  Some good news is that 291 items have found new lives and better homes and I am now ready to clear out just cardboard boxes from the music art room!

Thank you Silverside by Kates Mansfield for leaving your inspiring story on feedback!  I can't wait to see the tooth lockets made even more beautiful in silver with gold fillings or as crowns!  Please send me an update, so I can post another one on my blog!  I'm so excited about it, thank you!

Thank you Etsy for another wonderful job at making my days brighter as I move through my Hoarder Rehab! and many thanks for helping me disperse my hoard!

Thank you US, Canada, Finland, France, Hong Kong, Germany, Australia, United Kingdom, Japan and Philippines for your visits the last two days and supporting my HoarderRehab:  The Destiny of Things!  Click on the shop names to see newly arrived hoard daily on VintageToGoetsy, HoarderRehab and The Destiny of Things!

Click on the highlighted link here for the tooth locket necklaceor here for the tooth saver treasure chest and order some! And remember to please share your story because for some reason I have many other memories connected to them!

Related Stories:

1.  A mother hunts down these tooth lockets for her daughter's presentation here!  with updates and pics!

2.  Tooth locket story from a fellow teacher, click here!

3.  Pros and Cons of Organic Toothbrush Twig called, Miswak here

4.  Update on Miswak, here, yes I still love it and use it twice daily.