Red Fortune Teller Fish: The Destiny of Things, Story 185

Red Fortune Teller Fish:  The Destiny of Things, Story 185

This story from an Etsy buyer and shop owner came with a surprise!  This cheerful photo!

photo via Jessica Arb of Ocean Violet

How beautiful is that? And it gets even better with her email below:

Hi Kennedy! 

I got your adorable package with extra little trinkets and one of the items was a beautiful little butterfly. 

Attached you'll find a picture of a note I sent to a friend who is a butterfly herself and needed a little pick me up. 

This couldn't have been a better surprise for both me and now her!

So thank you for the extra effort to make my purchase special.

I will certainly be buying again from your shop!

Kindly, 

Jessica Arb

 photo via Hoarder Rehab, available here

Jessica also mentioned that she'll be using these as party favors!  What fun!  I've gotten many comments from all ages about these Fortune Fish!  These get a lot of love!  From a 4th grade teacher saying her class loved them to grandmother's at a quilting bee giggling about love in the air!

I've loved mine since I was kid and still use them for all kinds of things, like cards, book markers, gift card money envelopes, but especially for my little "thank you" package that goes out with every order with a little note about how I am collecting these stories, instead of more things to help me on my Hoarder Rehab journey!

photo via The Destiny of Things, available here

I've sent out over 600 of these and it's always so fun for me to make one for each order!  Each one is a little bit different and I choose fortunes for those that inspire me at the moment.  

When some ephemera runs out, I replace it with something new.  I try to keep it in a "fortune teller" theme because it's always a reminder to me to wonder about what my life will be like without hoard!  Staples are usually loteria cards, an origami folded crane, lots of stickers new and vintage from my stash, fortune cookie slip fortune and something pertaining to the season or a holiday.

As you can see, I love little doodads!

  photo via The Destiny of Things

Who doesn't like to take the familiar little red fish out and watch what it does in the palm of your hand?  How does it wiggle?  Well, however it wiggles, moves or doesn't move, it's predicting your fortune!

And then simply put it back in the old fashioned envelope of such nostalgic graphics!  I remember getting a new one each year at a summer carnival we used to go to each year.  Back then they were printed on glassine wax bags.  

 Yes, I have loved glassine bags since childhood too and put all the little "thank you" doodads in one, plus they are more eco friendly.  They can be purchased here.  

 And I love those butterfly stickers too and had to have them!

photo via Hoarder Rehab, available here

Saying Goodbye:  I keep my own stash of these in my backpack and thank you packaging drawer.  I never know when they will come in handy to pass out to brighten someone's day!

What I Learned:

1.  I think there's another pattern emerging inside a pattern besides I seem to recollect items from my childhood, but items such as carnival prizes, stationery and stickers!

I still have have some of my stationery and stationery boxes from childhood, especially Japanese kawaii stationery.  Stickers too!

2.  My latest craze is collecting old origami books!  Remember the ones with the sample origami in them?  Those are the ones I've been collecting here and there.  I've been trying to stop, but CAN NOT!  I stop for awhile and then something gets triggered and I start again!   I need to figure the mystery to why I collect them!

3.  So my Hoarder Rehab art therapy has been working for the most part and my Mom and Aunts will be getting a whole lot of washi tape cards this Mother's day!

My latest washi tape mixed media collage art series is inspired from looking for a quote for a dear friend and I found this interesting Marilyn Monroe quote and of course a quilt from a Gee Bend quilter!

Reversible geometric neon front side with Marilyn Monroe quote on backs

available here or see more views.

What's inspired you lately? Too much seems to inspire me lately and I spend more time being a lookiloo, instead of making things!  Everything in it's own time....

Thank you Jessica from Etsy shop, Ocean Violet for sending your email story with a beautiful photo using my stuff!  It's so inspiring and so is your site, http://www.oceanviolet.com/ .  Take a peek at her stationery drawer with some fortune fish inside, here!  Oh and I just love the mandalas examples made from flowers and shells, here

Very inspiring.  I hope I can get my stationery drawer down to a select favorite few, instead of several box loads!

Check out her shop, Ocean Violet for vintage clothing, here. I love everything from the logo, banner font to eclectic flair!   

My favorites are her 90s Bergdorf Goodman's long elegant yet simple long silk dress, here. This vintage garden party dress with a beautiful scalloped boat neck detail, here and my ultimate favorite is the super cool unique little black dress halter stylish in crushed chocolate velvet and cream satin detail, "must see" here.

Thank you Etsy for buyers who are kind enough to make connections with me to help me with my Hoarder Rehab journey!  Their stories help me with mine by providing weekly insight to solve the mysteries to my hoarding habits!

Thank you US, China, Estonia, India, Germany, UK, Indonesia and Netherlands for supporting my HoarderRehab and The Destiny of Things with your visits!  

Click on the shop names to visit my hoard listed daily: HoarderRehab,  The Destiny of Things, VintageToGoEasy and now JunkDrawerLove!  There are about 110 items listed on JunkDrawerLove and relistings to each shops daily and adding new listings weekly to all shops too!  Thanks for looking!  Find something to take home and share your story too!

 Read the Marilyn Monroe quote on zoom, here!

Related Stories:  All from Fortune Fish!

1.  An Etsy buyer from NY sharing Fortune Fish with her college classmates as they study, Fortune Teller Miracle Fish by Cathryn Hankla:  The Destiny of Things, Story 152.  I also included some of my favorite passages, read it here 

2.  Fortune Teller Miracle Fish:  The Destiny of Things, Story LXXXII, here used as party favors!

3.  Miracle Fish Fortune Teller Surprise Balls:  The Destiny of Things, Story XCII, here

4. A Little Girl and her Miracle Fish:  The Destiny of Things, Story #112:  Part 1

5.  UPDATE on A Little Girl and her Miracle Fish:  The Destiny of Things, Story #112, Part 2, here

6.  As Underwater theme decor, see update photos and story here

7.  Fortune Fish at a quilting bee where old memories made new ones! Read it here!

8.  Teachable Moments with  Fortune Fish Tellers:  The Destiny of Things, Story 180

Thank you for stopping by!