Monday, December 19, 2016

Fortune Teller Fish Charity Drive Loot Bag & Wedding Favors, Story 413-414

Fortune Teller Fish Charity Drive Loot Bag & Wedding Favors, Story 413-414

So many fun ways to use these fortune telling fish!  Before photo:

Choose your amount of Miracle Fish from 30 to 100, available here 

I first started to use these in my third grade classroom for my magic themed teaching that focused on science and math and also integrated into all the other curriculum subjects.  

It's a fun way way to introduce magic as explainable science and especially chemistry, since the chemical used to make the fish dance in the palm of your hand is used for many everyday things, like Maximum Absorbency Garment used by NASA astronauts, disposeable diapers, potting soil and more!

My fifth graders loved them too.  Anyways, back to the stories!

After photo from kind Etsy buyer:

How cute is that!
photo via Etsy buyer from VintageToGoEasy

Here is the note that came with the photo:

We got these really quickly and they came with the loveliest note. We used them as a thank you for a charity drive at Build a Bear that my sons do for The Children's Cancer Association.

What a fun item to put in a thank you for a Build a Bear charity drive for The Children's Cancer Association!
Not only are these fun, but they are quite magical and have a scientific explanation of how they work, which can also become a teachable moment for all ages, young and old!

If you need these in smaller amounts, like 8 to 20, these magical dancing fish are available here

I received a short and sweet message from another kind Etsy buyer:

Shipped fast, very fun item. Using them as wedding favors :D

These fun fish make the perfect wedding favors because they are so nostalgic and tell your "love" fortune and can be so funny too, especially watching young children use them for the first time! 

I just love them because they bring back memories for the older crowd and make new memories for the younger ones!

 Choose your amount of Miracle Fish from 30 to 100, available here 

Saying Goodbye:  I call these my "rehoard"  because after I sold the ones I had from my teaching destash, people still wanted more!  So now they are a staple at all our shops and quite a popular item to use in so many ways!

What I Learned:

1.  Basically I used them for teaching my third and fifth graders, but I also used them for substitute teaching because who could ever pass up a dancing fish!  They are easy to use, inexpensive, and fun because they dance!  And don't forget they provide teachable moments!

2.  I tried to use my hoard of them up, when I had them as teacher destash by inserting them into winter holiday cards, Valentine's cards, birthday cards and other snail mail letters.

3.  When I started to dehoard them at our Etsy shops, I learned that Etsy buyers were using them as party favors, so I did too!  I passed them out at beach and pool parties, Little Mermaid theme parties, even pirate parties!

Etsy buyers started to ask for larger amounts and were using them as wedding favors, especially while guests waited for their meals, it gave them something fun to pass the time and was a great ice breaker for starting new conversations with others.

 The fortune fish fit nicely in these eco friendly inexpensive loot bags, available here
photo via VintageToGoEasy 

They've been used for carnival, circus, bass fishing, Bohemian beach, nautical and other themed weddings and birthday parties, I can't remember at the moment!

4.  They've been used as prizes in surprise balls, Advent Calendars and cracker snaps!

5.  They make fun card inserts for any celebration or just to send to cheer someone up!

6.  One Etsy buyer even passed them out in her college class while reading Cathryn Hankla's book of short stories, "Fortune Teller Miracle Fish."  

7.  And have been passed out at a quilting bee where many grandmother's giggled over their love fortunes! 

8.  I use them in my own Etsy shop "thank you" goody bag for orders going out for shipment!

How would you like to use them?

 Here's an example of what one of my "thank you" goody bags.  It's always evolving and I try to add new things each season and holiday, available here.
 I've tried to keep it fortune themed, since dehoarding is taking me into uncharted waters and I have no idea what to expect without my hoard! but I also include samples of items from all 4 shops!  And each shop has a different version of the above too!

Thank you Etsy buyers from VintageToGoEasy  for letting me know your plans for these and sending an update photo!  So fun for me!
I just love how these bring back old memories while making new ones!
 
All these stories and ideas really help me stay on track with mine.  They inspire and motivate to continue with my hoarder rehab!

And I've been spending more time in the music art room dehoarding it and organizing boxes and getting ready to list more in 2017!
Thank you Etsy for the best Hoarder Rehab ever!  And for all the kind people I'm meeting who are helping me indirectly and directly in so many ways with my Hoarder Rehab!  I've been gleaning so much insight about my hoarding ways.
 
 The mother of the bride ordered these for her daughter's wedding, so the guests would could have some fun before their entre arrived!  So festive!
photo via Etsy buyer

I've been catching up on sleep, since I've had insomnia for over 3 decades and still spending most of my time in wellness mode.  I meditate for at least an hour first thing in the morning before my day gets to busy and it has helped me the most, especially with my sciatica and lower back pain.  With less back pain, I can do gentle yoga twice daily now and take a long walk too!
 
I have been relisting almost daily and started new listing again too!  So check out the shops this week for more new things to come!

Click on the shop names to visit new hoard listed daily and/or weekly: HoarderRehab with 153 items, The Destiny of Things- 143 items, VintageToGoEasy - 153 items and JunkDrawerAndMore - 156 items. 
 
Maybe you'll find something to adopt and share your story too!  Thanks for looking!
 
 I use these smaller party favor bags to put items I don't want to get lost in the larger bag, like gift money, jewelry orders, mini cards or postage stamps when I want someone to write me back soon!, available here
photo via Hoarder Rehab

Related Stories:

 
 
3.  Other wedding themed ideas:   Fortune Fish:  The Destiny of Things, Story 238 
 
4.  As Underwater theme decor, see update photos and story here  
 
 
6.  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 
 
7.  How these fish work:  Teachable Moments with  Fortune Fish Tellers:  The Destiny of Things, Story 180 
 
8.  With an updated photo from an Etsy buyer using some of my items from the "Thank you" package, here 
 
9.  Fortune Fish at a quilting bee where old memories made new ones! Read it here!
 
10.  Miracle Fish Fortune Teller Surprise Balls:  The Destiny of Things, Story XCII, here 
 
11.  UPDATE on A Little Girl and her Miracle Fish:  The Destiny of Things, Story #112, Part 2, here
 
"Some old memories making many new ones!"---Hoarder Rehab and The Destiny of Things  

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