Articulated Cobalt Blue Koi Fish Cloisonne Pendant: The Destiny of Things, Story #132

Articulated Cobalt Blue Koi Fish Cloisonne Pendant:  The Destiny of Things, Story #132

I once had a big future for this little fish!  If only I could remember it now...

photo via VintageToGoEtsy

 

This little fish waited several weeks to be claimed once it was ordered, but it finally made it home!

Here is my email to the Etsy buyer:


Hi! No worries, it'll be shipped out tomorrow. Maybe you'll leave me a story about the purchase of this item. Will you be transforming it into a necklace? collector of koi fish? enamel jewelry? I wrote you a letter explaining my Hoarder Rehab journey. I hope you enjoy it as much as I thought I was going to in a future that never happened. lol I am happy that you will enjoy it!

Thank you for taking part in my HoarderRehab via VintageToGoEtsy!

Kind regards,
~Kennedy at
www.etsy.com/shop/HoarderRehab
www.etsy.com/shop/thedestinyofthings
www.etsy.com/shop/JunkDrawerLoveEtsy
www.etsy.com/shop/vintagetogoetsy

Read 110+ stories from Etsy buyers who have helped me stay focused on my HoarderRehab!

hoarderrehab.blogspot.com/

Here is the email I received in return from a kind supporting Etsy buyer:

Dated:  Oct 14, 2013

LOL, I love it!!! Hoarder Rehab!! I might need to join that!!! Too funny!
I do like Koi, and I'm going to try to use it with a necklace:)

Kennedy Miranda

Oct 15, 2013

 

Your cobalt blue koi is shipping today! Thank you so much for the back story! Can I use your -my -our story on my HoarderRehab blog? I'll leave you anonymous if you prefer.

I am so happy to hear it will have a new life on your necklace! I love koi and you just triggered a memory of visiting a family friend's koi farm when I was a kid! I think I've found the connection to all the fish pendants I hoard! Thank you so much!

Kind regards,
~Kennedy at
www.etsy.com/shop/HoarderRehab
www.etsy.com/shop/thedestinyofthings
www.etsy.com/shop/JunkDrawerLoveEtsy
www.etsy.com/shop/vintagetogoetsy

Read 110+ stories from Etsy buyers who have helped me stay focused on my HoarderRehab!

hoarderrehab.blogspot.com/

Of course, I'd love to see it as her new necklace!

 photo via VintageToGoEtsy

Saying Goodbye:  I think I have several of these and this was the first one off!  I think they've all found new homes now and I've figured out why I was collecting them. 

 

When I was a kid one of my Grandfather's family friends owned a koi farm and my Grandfather would take us on his visits and we were allowed feed the koi.  They would sometimes swarm and jump if they knew we were coming to feed them.  We were told that they can recognize the people that feed them and that the longest fat ones were the oldest.

Koi ponds are another form of Japanese relaxation and the koi or nishikigoi, litreally meaning "brocaded carp" and are a symbol of longevity.  In 1974, Hanako a scarlet and most famous koi had her scale rings tested and is said to have lived 228 years.  She out lasted many of her care takers.

Unllike goldfish, koi usually live to be over 50 years old.  Koi have been bred for thousands of years, first by the Chinese until the developments led to the goldfish.  To tell them apart just look at their mouth area because koi have barbels or slender whiskers that look a little like fangs and are actually organs or taste bud feelers that help them find food in murky waters.

 

Koi varieties are distinguished by coloration, patterning, and scalation. Some of the major colors are white, black, red, yellow, blue, and cream.  Japanese koi breeding was first seen in 1868 and today there are over 20 varieties of colorful, metallic, ghost and butterfly koi still bred today.  

 

 photo via VintageToGoEtsy

 

What I Learned:

1.  As a recovering hoarder, everything I collect has a potential future to be made into something later.  Key words being "future potential" and "later."  At the time I buy it I have a grand idea and at which point it diminishes to just a pile of hoard is beyond me, so that's is one of the areas I need to concentrate and act on.

2.  I need to plan first, use what I have, then buy if there is a need and actually begin and complete my planned projects.  I really need to stop buying haphazardly hoping it's going to one day culminate into something I created.

3.  For instance, since November 10th or so I've been "kinda" planning, shopping and making the Whole Foods DIY Decorating with Etsy Geometric Tree Advent Calendar.  And I can see now that my lack of planning well is taking it's toll and I'm going to barely meet my deadline which is to complete the forest and ship it off to the little ones in time for Thanksgiving.  So just seeing the the Advent forest can begin building the anticipation of Christmas as it turns into a huge crescendo for the 25th.

Of course, since my insomnia spell has been broken and I'm sleeping day and night catching up on 20-30 years of insomnia isn't helping my project much, but it must be helping my health, so I'm just going with the flow.

Anyways, here are the array of 9 DIY Decorating with Etsy Christmas projects here from Whole Foods:

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/bestholidayever/gifts-decor/diy-decorating-etsy

Which will take you to the directions, materials list and pdf templates for the Advent Calendar or here:

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/bestholidayever/gifts-decor/diy-decorating-etsy

or here it is from the Etsy blog:

 

https://www.etsy.com/blog/en/2010/make-a-geometric-tree-advent-calendar/

 

This project takes a long time to make - just imagine cutting out the 24 trees! and be sure and buy a whole lot of green construction paper among other things!

I modified it in many ways, like cutting out as many trees as I can at once, but that takes planning ahead!  I had to find an alternative to stenciling in all the numbers too!  Mr Oz calculated how many numbers I'd need to label at least 24 trees, so I'll share that with you later this week, hopefully tomorrow.

 

I did use what I have for advent gifts, like the tooth locket necklaces, treasure chests, fingerstache temporary finger mustache, gumball containers, mini marker set, wiggle eyes, Just Say No memo pad tablets, Miracle Fortune Fish, mini kawaii cute figurine erasers, mini jingle bells and more, but also went shopping for other "needed mandatory" items. What fun and how different! Purposeful shopping, instead of my usual random hoard shopping!

 

I also replaced the candy with more interactive activities, like a "Go Wild Christmas Wish List" using the Just Say No memo pad tablets with a later project of prioritizing it to a Top Ten List as a brain storm pre write to a letter to Santa and later as Thank you notes for Christmas gifts.  So I also made templates for bigger trees.  (I'll share it all as soon as I can get myself more organized about it)

I also made one of the trees a bank to give donations daily in coins or bills and think about a charity to give to down the road.

 

Here's the Geometric Tree Advent Calendar via the Etsy blog, story by Diana Stainton of Pygmy Cloud

photo via the Etsy blog:  Make a Geometric Tree Advent Calendar story by Diana Stainton of Pygmy Cloud

As you can see from the Etsy blog photo why I'm really excited about this project and it's been so fun and interesting and it has distracted me from my hoard of hoard!

4.  Better planning of project days is in the making and allotting more time for project days too!  And it's given me more inspiration and motivation to dehoard the music art room!

I hope to share more about this project tomorrow with my own pictures!

What Christmas projects are on your calendar for fun?  After the Advent Forest I'd like to make my family handmade Christmas gifts this year.

Thank you Etsy buyer from VintageToGoEtsy for sending me an email about the fate of the cobalt blue koi!  So happy to hear it's going on your necklace and would love to see it!

Thank you Etsy for helping me find good homes for my hoard while making connections with people who are willing and kindly helping me on my Hoarder Rehab journey!

 

Thank you Whole Foods for providing me with good tasting gluten free organic foods because that combination is not easy to find and is easier on my allergies!  And what a surprise it was to find these projects in the coupon newsletter with the Geometric Tree Advent Calendar catching my eye!  And even more surprised to find it was affiliated with Etsy!

Thank you US, China, Canada, Germany, UK, South Korea and Thailand for your visits since yesterday and joining me in my my Hoarder Rehab and The Destiny of Things! 

Click on the shop names to visit my hoard listed daily: HoarderRehab,  The Destiny of Things and VintageToGoEtsy and now JunkDrawerLoveEtsy!  There are about 100 items listed on JunkDrawerLoveEtsy and will be listing 1-3 new things there daily and 1-2 items at the other shops!  Thanks for looking!  Maybe you'll find something to take home and share your story too! 

 

Many items I used for my Advent Forest are at all four shops, but mainly from The Destiny of Things and JunkDrawerLoveEtsy.  Send me an email, if you are interested and I'll assist you or look around and see what you find.

Here's the list again, in case you want to get some ideas: tooth locket necklaces, treasure chests, fingerstache temporary finger mustache, gumball containers, mini marker set, wiggle eyes, Just Say No memo pad tablets, Miracle Fortune Fish, mini kawaii cute figurine erasers, mini jingle bells and more at HoarderRehab,  The Destiny of Things,  VintageToGoEtsy and JunkDrawerLoveEtsy!

 

Related Story:

1.  Another form of relaxation, besides a koi pond for the Japanese culture is an incense burner, read about my Incense Burner Collection, here.

Quote of the Day:  "Measure twice, cut once." literally and figuratively!