Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Not My Favorite Mink Jacket! The Destiny of Things, Story 304

Not My Favorite Mink Jacket!  The Destiny of Things, Story 304

I had to let go of my mink jacket from my fur collection!

One last piece of my mink collection, available here
photo via Hoarder Rehab

This Etsy shopper said she often toured my shop and when she made an order, boy did she make an order!  She took a half a dozen things with her!  including one of my favorite furs! 

Yes, I hoarded furs, but I didn't plan on it.  Many came from family and friends, some from one of my thrifting buddies who kept telling me to make them into couch pillows, until I was convinced that I would one day!

She asked for a discount and since she was ordering so much, I obliged as long as she sent her story too!  Oh yeah, she's a hoarder also! and a Miranda!

Here is her fun email and her cat from all the hoard packages:

For the first 20 years of my professional life were spent as an actress/singer/dancer on Broadway. During those years I dressed in my fantasies. I frequented second hand shops in the Village and the Lower East Side. This was long before "retro" and "vintage" became synonymous with expensive. I found a cache of late '30s and 40s Joan Crawford style dresses. Heaven! I found veiled hats, gloves and purses to match.

My second career was as a college professor. No more extravagant dressing. I had to suppress my bohemian spirit for nearly 20 years! I retired 3 years ago and now I can do whatever the blazes I want! This fur lined jacket gives me that old thrill. When I wear it I'll feel like a glamorous Hollywood doyenne.

The fact that I am a hoarder myself and have 2 closets full of clothes I no longer wear, need not diminish my delight in owning this showy beauty. Mr. Miranda, it's curious, is it not, that we share not only behavior, taste, but also our names? Synchronicity, serendipity, or just plain good karma. Whatever the reason, I'm glad we met.

 Oh the hoard, the hoard....
I look like that a lot!  My hoard can be exhausting!

How exciting!  She can wear whatever she wants now!  I know how she feels because after a career of wearing teacher clothes, I am so glad I can just meander around in my jeans and tee shirts now!

That's funny!  I still have most of my teacher clothes too! and I can't seem to part with them, but I can't think of one occasion where I'd ever where them again.  It's time to think about how they must relate to my hoard and see if I can part with some by listing them.  Expect to see more cat head fashion again!

I am so happy she loves this mink jacket!  I loved it too!  I wore it a couple of times with the satin side showing because the mink feels so yummy inside, but it just doesn't get cold enough in Los Angeles and now I'm allergic to most furs, except for some dogs.  So I listed them all and all but one has sold.

I love the satin side and Ms. Miranda loves the mink side showing!

One last piece of my mink collection, available here
photo via Hoarder Rehab

Saying Goodbye:  At the time, I was slightly sad to see this go, but maybe it was because she bought so many other things too.  I don't seem to do well when I part with my hoard too quickly.

For the past couple of weeks, sales have been high and I've been parting with hoard left and right.  Off the top of my head over 30 items a week!  Can that be, right?  No wonder I've been feeling somewhat off. 

She got this Oshibana Japanese How To Press flower book too, but it wasn't difficult to part with because it's available as an ebook here
photo via Hoarder Rehab

What I Learned:

1.  Dehoarding is a slow journey.  I keep having to remind myself I've been hoarding since childhood, so there isn't going to be a quick solution to dehoard.  I've have purged several times during my adult life and my hoard will just boomerang right back ten fold like the weight gain after a bad fad diet!

This time I'm trying to be more conscious of the digging for the reasons I hoard, the stress triggers that lead me astray towards retail therapy overload and focusing on my goals daily, like the visual pictures I have in my mind of how I want my house to look and how much healthier a dustless, clutterless space will be for my mind and body.

Some days are easier than others, but now I can find silver linings with each back slide.

Hmm... I didn't notice until now, but she is going for an Asian theme!
Honeycomb lanterns in sets, available here, and singles here
photo via Hoarder Rehab 

Thank you Etsy buyer from Hoarder Rehab for emailing your fun story in exchange for a discount!  I didn't know we'd have so much in common and so much I could relate too!
Thank you Etsy for the best Hoarder Rehab ever!  
 
Thank you all readers from all over the world who have stopped by to visit my Hoarder Rehab and The Destiny of Things!
 
 She ordered my round fan tray too, but I've forgot to save the photo and have already replace it with these stacking square ones, available here
photo via Hoarder Rehab
 
I'm returning to my dehoarding goals and am starting to new list and relist at each shop again!  My goal is to list 200 items on each shop again!
 
Click on the shop names to visit new hoard listed daily and/or weekly: HoarderRehab with 180 items, The Destiny of Things- 174 items, VintageToGoEasy - 175 items and now JunkDrawerAndMore - 174 items!  

Maybe you'll find something to take home and share your story too!  Thanks for looking!
 
 My favorite of favorites out of all my coats! Available here 
photo via Hoarder Rehab 
 

Speaking of goals!  I have a friend who opened her shop, FawnLilyVintage and now we are both dehoarding.  She hopes to move soon and is cleaning out her closet.  
 
Check out her closet here!  She has some beautiful vintage dresses, mainly lacy romantic clothing.  Some of my favorites are this lovely sheer grey dress here, oh my it's already reserved for someone!  That was my favs of favs!
 
Other favorites are: this 70s paisley dress,  I wonder if that's a little drawstring bow, so cute!  This classic lace sleeved 60s cocktail dress here, love the lbd bow at the waistline.  Love this vintage black velvet blazer that would go with anything from jeans to my favd dresses!  
 
I have so many favs, so go see for yourself, but here is my last one, I love this Lanvin blue shirt dress from the 70s!

It's nice to have some mutual support!  If you would like to dehoard too and open your shop let me know and we can both have 40 free listings!  It's a good way to dip your toe in the water and get started!  We can help each other learn along the way!
 
 Futaba Furrier of the Imperial Hotel, available here
 
Related Stories:  Everything in the beginning was painful to let go, but as time wore on it got amazingly easier, but I still hit some bumps and these seem to be my most painful.  I think the fifth story was the worst and with bittersweet tears!
 
 
 
 
 
 
Thank you for taking part in my Hoarder Rehab and The Destiny of Things!  
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Monday, August 10, 2015

Vintage PT Barnum Doll & Cocktail Drink Mermaids: The Destiny of Things, Story 303

Vintage PT Barnum Doll & Cocktail Drink Mermaids:  The Destiny of Things, Story 303

Who would recognize this face? A kindred Etsy shop owner did with photo updates!

 PT Barnum doll is sold out, but George Washington Carver is available here 
and he's still in really good condition in his box too!
photo via Hoarder Rehab

When I was listing this, I was wondering if anyone would even remember PT Barnum or his face!  He sold quickly and just as quickly I received an email from a kindred spirit, Linda from Laughing Pencil Art.  

Here is her fun and funny email with the best part.... hoard photos! 

Hi Kennedy! 

I just love all the neat little things you sent me! 

I want to tell you about my hoarding, except for I started really organizing it 15 years ago. 

I tell anyone that comes into my "Cartoon Room", that my room is a look into what's really in my brain, haha! Most laugh, but I've actually had 2 different clients literally back up and say 'thank you' and leave! I love that!! This is where I always do all of my artwork now. 

I used to do huge murals for 25 years and had hoards of painting supplies, enough to paint the '' Wall of China'! So after falling off of a ladder and completely breaking my ankle in half were it was pointed backwards (eeewww), I gave up all painting things to a couple of schools. Much better. I am way to accident prone and ditzy to be on anything higher than a fork, ha. 

So anyway my journey in life has been absolutely a crazy one but the majority has been a blast. Staying positive, praying and using humor is the only way to make it through our lives. I'm sending some pictures of my studio so that you don't feel so bad, haha! 

Continue your awesome and amazing journey Kennedy. Oh one of the neat things in my life was when my day worked in the White House with Kennedy until his assassination. He worked waaay underneath the White House were there is an entire massive complex . He was a Missle Controller. Best part is my doll and myself got to go down there a lot. Fun times! Oh in the picture look at the silver robot, you'll see Barnum! 



 PT Barnum doll is sold out, but George Washington Carver is available here
photo via Hoarder Rehab

Now take a good look at PT Barnum above, so you can find him below!

Now that is some beautiful organized hoard!  Instant inspiration for me!

Could you find Mr. PT Barnum?  While you are looking, I must say, "Where is the jealous button?" 

Here is what I emailed back:

Hi Linda!

Thank you sooooo much for the inspiration! Your email and photos are over the top! I love your art room (and your art!) and my hoard used to sometimes look like your photos... what I call "hoarder brain" organized, but now I have really really bad allergies to almost everything and can not be near dust!

I love your stories, thank you so much for them. I hope you will allow me to use your email and photos on my Hoarder Rehab blog. I can either link it to your shop or leave you anonymous!

You are so funny! Thank you for the good laughs and I see Barnum fits right in! Thank you for giving him such a good home! I'm sure he's so happy to be out of my teacher fun box!

Again, thanks for making my day!
Kennedy

 PT Barnum doll is sold out, but George Washington Carver is available here 
and he's still in really good condition in his box too!
photo via Hoarder Rehab

If you can't find PT, maybe you can find him better in this close up photo!

 He's so cute in between the hamburger and the robot!

I could let my eyes wander around for days and find all my favorite things!  What memories!  These photos remind me of my classroom, which looked like Pee Wee Herman had come and decorated it.

Here's a photo of her Pez collection (jealous button again!) and you can see her desk where Lisa created all her art that is also in her Etsy shop!

So inspirational, thank you!

Another funny inspiring email from Linda:

Hi, 

Absolutely you can put my email on your blog and link it back. I also wanted to thank you for your compliments, that really makes me feel good. 

I have an absolute blast drawing these caricatures and to be able to meet people from around the world. It's been crazy! Perfect for a Goofball Nuthead as my brother calls me, haha. Etsy has been a true blessing for me, yay! 

Wow, to be allergic to your stuff because of the dust, that's just crappy. I try to lightly dust this stuff, but it's pretty impossible as you know. When my grand kids visit I let them play with all of the toys and before I put stuff back I can dust a bit. That is if I can find all of it. It's like a treasure hunt around here, I constantly am finding little tiny things behind something or stuck in the carpet. Usually my 6'7"very large and very loud husband is the lucky one that finds the teeny toys in the carpet. I just run and put on my earplugs, ha! Ok, got to go and actually start drawing. 

Bye, Bye

 PT Barnum doll is sold out, but George Washington Carver is available here 
and he's still in really good condition in his box too!
photo via Hoarder Rehab

Saying Goodbye:  Yes, it's such a bummer that I'm allergic to dust now or my art room would have all my collections organized like Linda!  

Today when I was listing one of my favorite Day of the Dead ofrendas I had a slight twinge of anxiety of having to get ready to let it go and remembered my Mexican religious folk art hallway and shrine nooks from when I wasn't allergic to much.

I haven't felt that kind of dehoarding anxiety in a long time! 

What I Learned:

1. Here is a very mini simple ofrenda I made the other day because I miss arranging my Day of the Dead hoard.  Of course back in the 80s and 90s my ofrendas had tons of items and took up a lot space and I had several vignettes around my home!  Lots of dusting!

 Day of the Dead ofrenda shrine box with glass panel that lifts up available here
 photo via HoarderRehab

2.  Due to my allergies, the only shrine I'll be keeping is the brown wooden one that you can see in between the couch and my Empire State Building neon light because my Grandfather made it for my Grandmother out of scrap wood during while in Internment Camp during World War 2 in Arizona.

Inside it are mismatched Buddhist alter items my Grandmother used while she was incarcerated in camp with her three children, one being my mother.

3.  Now that I've seen another hoarder with organized hoard, I'm a little sad that so much of my hoard is sold and gone!  And I won't be arranging it ever again!  When this happens I have to remind myself that I still have plenty of hoard collections still on hand in boxes and still taking up too much space!

4.  It's not been easy changing my stubborn mindset from hoarding to dehoarding!  I am getting somewhere.  My stairway tansu can now be used to display whatever I want besides boxes of hoard to photo and list on Etsy! Ha!

George Washington Carver is available here
photo via Hoarder Rehab

Thank you Linda of Laughing Pencil Art for enjoying my little "thank you" package and letting me know through email and such wonderful feedback!  I was thinking about stopping my blog and was cautiously wondering if I'd start hoarding again!

Go check out her shop, Laughing Pencil Art, you will be smiling, laughing and in awe while you browse around because she does serious or funny custom caricatures too!  Very talented and versatile artist!  Some of my favorites are here, here and here!  Find some favorites of your own!

Thank you Etsy for the best Hoarder Rehab ever!  
 
Thank you all readers from all over the world who have stopped by to visit my Hoarder Rehab and The Destiny of Things!
 
 My favorite cocktail figurines, available here
photo via Hoarder Rehab 
 
I almost forgot about the little mermaid drink toppers.  Linda must be a baby boomer too because this is what she said about these little charmers!

"Love my little mermaids! I remember them from my childhood when our parents had their cocktails parties. I was fascinated with them and now I have my own, yay! Thanks Kennedy! Fantastic shops!" 
 
The red and orange colors are running low in stock and the new colors are yellow and neon candy red now!

Here are new little mermaid colors, available in 30,50 or 100 count here
These can be found at all our shops in different amounts and color combos
 
I'm returning to my dehoarding goals and am starting to new list and relist at each shop again!  My goal is to list 200 items on each shop again!
 
Click on the shop names to visit new hoard listed daily and/or weekly: HoarderRehab with 180 items, The Destiny of Things- 174 items, VintageToGoEasy - 175 items and now JunkDrawerAndMore - 174 items!  

Maybe you'll find something to take home and share your story too!  Thanks for looking! 
 
Other popular drink charms from the baby boomer era, available here 
photo via JunkDrawerAndMore
 
Related Stories:
 
 
 
 
4.  An Etsy buyer had her mermaid for over 50 years and then found it broken:  Retro Plastic Mermaid Cocktail Drink Charms:  The Destiny of Things, Story #116 
 
Thank you for taking part in my Hoarder Rehab and The Destiny of Things! 
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Monday, August 3, 2015

Cocktail Drink Monkey Toppers as Plant Jewelry! The Destiny of Things, Story 302

Cocktail Drink Monkey Toppers as Plant Jewelry!  The Destiny of Things, Story 302

A barrel of monkey fun as plant jewelry!

8 monkey cocktail drink, cake toppers or plant jewelry, available here

An Etsy buyer sent me a very inspiring email story about how she uses these!

Note from Buyer  

Hello, I read the description so I thought I'd share why I'm buying these. I have a jade plant named Warren whom I ornament with cocktail monkeys. It's currently Warren's growing season and he now needs a few more monkeys to balance out. I was really glad to find that you were selling them in small batches, and I assure you they're going to a good home where they'll be on display as plant jewelry :-) 


8 monkey cocktail drink, cake toppers or plant jewelry, available here

Warren is a very lucky jade plant!  And how fun and practical!  What a great way to balance out a plant!  I've been trying to get my little jacaranda bonsai and avocado tree to grow straight and tall and these little monkeys certainly seem to help!

So I tried out the fun with some of my little kitchen plants.

8 monkey cocktail drink, cake toppers or plant jewelry, available here

These are so versatile since they can hang by their tails on plants or lips of cups, stand in a terrarium or cupcake or straddle a branch or favorite beverage cup!

8 monkey cocktail drink, cake toppers or plant jewelry, available here

Not only are they fun for all ages, but add color wherever they may roam!

Saying Goodbye:  So happy to hear these are going to a much loved plant and good home! 

What I Learned:

1.  I've been collecting cocktail figurines since I can remember, but most of the ones from my childhood didn't make it through time travel and most bars don't use these anymore, so I have picked them up through the years.  Of course, I ended up more with more than one of my junk drawers could hold and I've been sharing them ever since.

Now they are some of our best sellers, so most of the ones you see in the shop are new mixed in with a few vintage ones. 

2.  I think children would find decorating plants and making terrariums with monkeys and other cocktail animals quite fun and it would be great for their motor skills and they could even pretend play hide and seek with them!

2.  Applying plant jewelry is fun and can get quite addicting!

This plant was more challenging to balance, but so fun to watch when washing dishes as they teeter tatter around, especially with a breeze!
8 monkey cocktail drink, cake toppers or plant jewelry, available here

Thank you Etsy buyer from The Destiny of Things for reading the entire listing and sending me an email story in "note to buyer."  What inspiration and surprise fun!
Thank you Etsy for the best Hoarder Rehab ever! 
Thank you all readers from all over the world who have stopped by to visit my Hoarder Rehab and The Destiny of Things!
 Other cocktail animals ready for plant jewelry fun!
6 different party animals, available here
photo via VintageToGoEasy

Etsy sales slow down during the summer for us, so this year my experiment is to see what happens if I just let many of the listings expire.  I wonder if the number of items in a shop benefit or deter the number of monthly sales.  I do know sales picked up in each shop after I had a little over 100 items listed.  Only time will tell.
I still relist or new list weekly and sometimes daily on some or all of the shops!  Feel free to visit often and see!


Click on the shop names to visit: HoarderRehab with 169 items, The Destiny of Things- 164 items, VintageToGoEasy - 172 items and now JunkDrawerAndMore - 172 items!  



Maybe you'll find something to take home and share your story too!  Thanks for looking!


Drink cake toppers or plant jewelry, like these are available in different amounts and colors at each shop.  Larger amounts from 30 to 100 are at Hoarder Rehab and most small packs are at JunkDrawerAndMore.
24 set variety pack, seen above is available here

Related Stories:

2.  An Etsy buyer had her mermaid for over 50 years and then found it broken:  Retro Plastic Mermaid Cocktail Drink Charms:  The Destiny of Things, Story #116
 Classic mermaids, ready to sun bathe as plant jewelry, available here
photo via Hoarder Rehab 
Thank you for taking part in my Hoarder Rehab and The Destiny of Things!
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Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Rockabilly Cowgirl Porcelain Doll Figurine: The Destiny of Things, Story 301

Rockabilly Cowgirl Porcelain Doll Figurine:  The Destiny of Things, Story 301

A story with the cutest collection of update photos!

photo via VintageToGoEasy
More porcelain doll and other figurines here

An Etsy buyer has a large collection of these big eyed porcelain doll figurines from around the world.  I do not know much about these, but they seem to be made for collecting from an International It's A Small World perspective.

Anyone "out there" know any more about them?


photo via VintageToGoEasy
More porcelain doll and other figurines here

I couldn't find another like her during my search to compare pricing, nor for  information about the make or date of these types of figurines.  I could not find a cowboy brother either.


photo via VintageToGoEasy
More porcelain doll and other figurines here

However, an Etsy buyer has a whole slew of big eyed porcelain figurines from around the world, so this little one has a huge family of sisters!

 photo via kind Etsy buyer from VintageToGoEasy

and many brothers and sister from Asia too!  How cute is that?  Can you find my, or hers or our rockabilly cowgirl in the "It's a Small World" bunch?

She's in the back in the middle of the fan between her Eskimo brother and Native American sister!

 photo via kind Etsy buyer from VintageToGoEasy

I think this is a sister who wants to find 3 sets of International dolls, like the ones above to share with her 2 sisters.  How fun is that!

And there is a collection of Christmas big eyed porcelain dolls too!

 photo via kind Etsy buyer from VintageToGoEasy

So if anyone "out there" can help her out with any information regarding these and if you know of a collector ready to sell their collection, I'm sure she'd be happy to hear about it.  I'll pass a long the message to her and let her email you back!

She asked me some collections about my collection, like how long I've been collecting and how I found my figurines.

photo via VintageToGoEasy
More porcelain doll and other figurines here

Saying Goodbye:  I've been collecting these porcelain doll figurines for about a year now, but I was only collecting the same ones for an art project I had in mind.  Unfortunately the dolls I chose to collect are very difficult to find and I would end up buying a group of them just to get the ones I wanted, so now I've ended up with more than a handful of these frozen Charlotte penny dolls.

I can't locate the photo of the ones I collect, but they are very mini sized and about 1 inch tall with silver or gold hair.

photo via VintageToGoEasy
This cute little guy is available here

What I Learned:

1.  As a recovering hoarder, it appears many of my art projects get out of control due to trying to find the pieces I think I'm going to need to start and complete a project.

2.  My decisions might also be negatively effected by allergies and insomnia and I now know I should not be buying things when I'm in poor health because art projects just start piling up. 

When my health becomes so problematic, like right now, I can only really dream about my art projects because it takes so much time to take care of myself.

And if you've ever had allergies, then you know how exhausting it is and with insomnia, it's a double doozey!

photo via VintageToGoEasy
This cute little country chore girl is available here

The bright side?  Right now, I can't do any chores due to dust and mold allergies and I can't seem to find a dish soap that doesn't burn or itch, so I do a lot of relaxing in the sun while reading, catching up on my favorite shows and movies and day dreaming and planning out my art projects.

Right now I've just started reading a really good book on allergies called, "Allergy Relief and Prevention" by Jacqueline Krohn, MD.  Maybe I'll write a review about it when I finish it.

3.  One of the reasons, why I haven't been keeping up with this blog is because at first I thought I was done with it and now I'm not sure because my allergies and insomnia are so miserable right now I'm not even sure how clearly I am thinking or feeling. 

4.  I started this posting a month ago and was trying to work on it at least once a week while working through my allergies to distract myself and decided today to just finish it no matter what.  Just so I can move on!

photo via VintageToGoEasy
Matching little dutch girl is available here
She's also a Weatherbird shoe doll.

Thank you Etsy buyer from VintageToGoEasy for sending me an email with several photos of your fun collection!  They are so cute as "It's a Small World" collection!  I just love them!  And so glad we aren't collecting the same dolls.... less competition!
 
Thank you Etsy for the best Hoarder Rehab ever!  Who knows what what my hoard would look like now, if I hadn't started dehoarding!
 
Thank you all readers from all over the world who have stopped by to visit my Hoarder Rehab and The Destiny of Things!


photo via VintageToGoEasy
These two little cuties are available here

Luckily things slow down on Etsy from July, so I've been trying to relist something on each shop daily, if not weekly.
 
Click on the shop names to visit new hoard listed daily and/or weekly: HoarderRehab with 170 items, The Destiny of Things- 169 items, VintageToGoEasy - 174 items and now JunkDrawerAndMore - 180 items!  

Maybe you'll find something to take home and share your story too!  Thanks for looking!
 
photo via VintageToGoEasy
Each shop has figurines made from different materials, so visit each shop and do a search using the word, "figurines" and see what you find! or go to the shop section of Yesteryear's toy box here
Follow the white rabbit here
 
 photo via Hoarder Rehab
Follow this sweet pink rabbit here 
More collectible figurines in Yesteryear's toy box here
I seem to be collecting rabbits!

Follow the silly rabbit here
More collectible figurines in this shop here

Cutest little fawn trio here 
 Remember to do a shop search using the word, "figurine" to visit more animals, mermaids and such!
 
Thank you for taking part in my Hoarder Rehab and The Destiny of Things!
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