Friday, April 17, 2020

PHOTO UPDATE Tiny Mini Birdhouses & Red Bird Ornaments: The Destiny of Things, Story 561

PHOTO UPDATE Tiny Mini Birdhouses & Red Bird Ornaments: The Destiny of Things, Story 561

Another creative Etsy buyer and shop owner idea!  BEFORE:

I used to have 100 of these hoarded away, but now they are all sold out!

I had 100 of these for school activity projects and still had them after I retired.  Of course, I had many ideas of how to use them and have saved 8 for myself and can you believe it?   All the rest have sold, that's 92 tiny bird houses!

Here is the note I received from a creative Etsy shop keeper:

Since your sweet message with my order indicated that you were collecting the stories behind the items you sell, I thought you might like to know this one. The little birdhouses got some crafty details added and were sold at my church's craft fair. I'm attaching several photos to show their transformation.

The final set were pale yellow, pale blue and white with polymer clay roofs and teeny tiny red birds on the perches. Everyone was delighted with them, and we thank you for providing the base for the project! :) Ida

Photo sharing of step by step transformation and it's amazing!

 It looks like first she glued in tiny sticks for the birds to perch on and then she painted them.

STEP 2: Make tiny wee red cardinal polymer birds and a black roof with an ornament hanger.

Ida is so kind to thank me for my part in this!  I am so happy to be a tiny party of her creative process and product!  Thank you Ida for sharing!

STEP 3:  Glue on the roof.  


STEP 3:  Add all the cute wee cardinals!  To me, this would have been the best part!
 
 
How cute and creative is that?  and where is the jealous button?  I'm so happy to see someone make their creative ideas come true!  And with wonderful results too!  Thank you Ida!
 
Saying Goodbye:  I saved 8 of these for myself and Ida bought 10 more to make this spring with blue birds.  I hope I she shares those with me too!  I have no idea what I'll do with mine yet.  I love her wee birds, but would have to go out or online shop for polymer clay and since I'd need just a bit, I'm not sure.... decisions, decisions.... 
 
 As close up I could find!
 
What I Learned:
 
1.  I am so grateful for Etsy buyers and Etsy shop owners for reaching out and being so creatively inspiring to me!  It's really helped my hoarding ways, at least in the retail therapy department.  I have been buying a lot of boro, but now that I've been organizing it all, I think it's kinda donning on me that I have enough to last a couple of life times and either need to start stitching my heart out and/or sharing it!

2.  Unfortunately, I had to buy a lot of boro before I finally honed in and figured out what types I am really interested in working with.  My last couple of purchases were a boro hakama that has the traditional tiny dots in ocean, a boro kendo bag and a boy's boro yukata.  I think I'm done buying for as long as I can hold out!

3.  My hoarding and agoraphobia seem to be more acceptable in these uncertain times, lol.  And so weird, I was doing so much better at letting go of both conditions.  I am still challenged and during these stressful times, I'm having to remind myself that I am enough and I have enough!  and to find other more positive ways to de stress, which seems to be organizing all my boro and other craft supplies.

I haven't been stitching textile art patches as much because I just can't get myself to stitch.  I must have "stitching" block, lol.  So I have been organizing and cleaning, but I do have a lot of textile art projects rolling around in my head!  And of course, I'm very slow mending when need be!

4.  My mom and her quilt guild made face masks for her nearby CHOC hospital and now they are making them for the marines at Camp Pendleton.  She has sent me some to use and some to embellish and sell, but since I seem to have some sort of "creative" block, I'm kinda stumped for ideas at the moment.

Have you ever had "stitcher's block" or any type of creative block?  and how did you get over it?  I'm not sure what to do, so I'm just waiting for "it" to return and in the mean time, I'm organizing and I started to buy more fabric, lol.   I've also started excercising more and began gardening, which at the moment consists of pulling out a lot of weeds! 

This years Garden of WeEden looks beautiful to me.  We have a lot of lettuce looking weeds and tall weeds with white flowers.  Also some volunteer sunflowers, cosmos, collard greens and frilly lettuce.

Last year's Garden of WeEden inspiration embroidered on some tattered boro for decorative patches on backpacks, totes or hats.  Available here, photo via Hoarder Rehab.

Thank you so much Ida for sharing your successful project!  And a heartfelt thank you for remembering me after a whole year!  She last ordered the mini bird homes last April 2019 and then sent me an email about it with photos last month and then she made another order for my last ten!

Wish I could be a fly on the wall, when she makes them with blue birds this spring and I hope she sends me photos!

She told me she sold these at her church's craft fair and several were ordered and reserved before the sale began and later they all sold out!  I can see why!  They are just too cute and adorable.

See more of Ida's creativity at her shops!  RitasClosetForDolls features handmade clothes for 15 and 18 inch dolls and bears.  My favorite are her mini backpacks, my all time favorite one is here!  and it arrives with mini school supplies too!  Her GiftsFromGabrielle  are for crazy cat lovers or crazy cats!  I love her tiny bead jewelry and unique cat themed items, here!  Love her book markers too, here!  Some proceeds from  GiftsFromGabrielle go to the KADO Foundation that helps people.  

The Kado Foundation provides all kinds of support (food, bedding, treats, toys, etc.) besides veterinary care for the companion and service animals of elderly and disabled people who would otherwise be unable to afford a pet. Kado is a 501(c)(3) charity.


I just love this tiny dot pattern on this linen hakama.  I don't know if this is the skirt or the wide pants kind, but if it doesn't fit me, I hope I'm brave enough to cut it up!

Okay, that was totally off topic, but for some reason this photos was already here.  I have no ideas how I did that, so it's staying.  This is some of the boro fabric I've been buying.  Back to blog land....

Sales are sky high! We are back to our regular average of 25 sales a week and then some!  I hope this keeps up to catch up on how poorly we did last year!  I think sales might be up due to the "isolation" situation and also for most of last year I tried Etsy's push for free shipping on all our items and since January 2020, I've been slowly changing my shops back to regular shipping and I think that's making a difference.

I haven't been adding new items lately, since sales are way up, but I will start again next week, so I can let go of more hoard!

Click on the shop names to visit my hoard: HoarderRehab with 180 items, The Destiny of Things- 172 items, VintageToGoEasy - 172 items and JunkDrawerAndMore - 167 items.   And now, Mending Ways with 32 items!    Many of my textile art patches have found new "forever" homes, so I need to make some more.  I am so grateful, thank you all who are supporting my alternative to hoarding!

Maybe you'll find something and give it new life and a new home!  All lookieloos are appreciated! 

This is my quick impromptu of mixed media art using the bird houses.  Funny, now that I think about it, 2 Etsy buyers did ask if I'd sell them what's in the photo, but I could not find the girl doll again, she's lost in my hoard!  Wee tiny mini bird houses are sold out.
 
"During these uncertain times, there is one commitment everyone should make:  always be part of the solution, not part of the problem."
Stay safe, stay well, stay calm and stitch on!  Thank you readers from all over the world who continue to support my Hoarder Rehab and The Destiny of Things by taking part with your visits!
 
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