Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Saint Catherine McAuley Medal of Sisters of Mercy: The Destiny of Things, Story 402

Saint Catherine McAuley Medal of Sisters of Mercy:  The Destiny of Things, Story 402

St Catherine McAuley is a difficult religious medal to find!

St Catherine McAuley is sold out, but more of my unusual religious medal collection is available here

Here is the email story I received:

Hello Kennedy,

I am not very savvy with social media, blogs, so I thought I would explain the destiny of the Catherine McAuley medal here. You are welcome to post it.

My daughter just began her freshman year at Merion Mercy Academy. It is a private, Catholic high school that is run by the Sisters of Mercy, founded by Catherine McAuley. She loves her new school and the story behind the Mercy values.

Recently, I have been on the hunt for unique religious medals to add to bracelets and give as gifts. When I googled Catherine McAuley and jewelry, your item on etsy appeared and I just had to have it .

I hope that you will be happy to know that your medal will be a gift to my daughter. I know that she will wear it proudly and love it for years to come.

Thank you! 

St Catherine McAuley is sold out, but more of my unusual religious medal collection is available here
 
Isn't that the coolest story!  I love milestone gifts like one she gave to her daughter.  My charm bracelets hold many memories in them and I'm sure hers will for many years to come also.
 
I have two charm bracelets.  A silver one started from childhood and a gold one started from high school.  The silver one hold souvenir charms from our favorite places and vacations, like Disneyland, Yosemite and more.  Our childhood favorite is  a photo of my brother and I in our Halloween costumes when we were just toddlers.

I hope they both carry such great memories with them too!

St Catherine McAuley is sold out, but more of my unusual religious medal collection is available here
 
Saying Goodbye:  My religious medal collection is still massive! even though so many of my religious medals have found new lives and homes. Back in the 80s, I think I was trying to collect every Saint possible!  Little did I know how many Saints exist. 

This is one of my favorites, it's a 7 Saint scapular pendant necklace, available here

What I Learned:

1.  I am a memory hoarder and many of my memories are held in my things from the past.  In the past, I've tried taking photos of the items and putting them in a journal, so I can let them go, but that didn't work out too well for me for some reason.  I started the journal in the 90s and it's lost somewhere in my hoard now!

2.  Speaking of religious medals and charm bracelets, I have a charm quilt that my mom made me for one of my milestone birthdays and it has pieces of cloth from so many of my family's clothes.  Each piece tells it's own story and holds it's own memories.  I cherish that quilt and can easily find pieces of my past, like my Grandmother's favorite dress, our childhood sheets, my mom's favorite bathing suit, aprons made as gifts one Christmas, my childhood embroidery, my dad's work shirts, my childhood clothes that got passed back and forth with cousins, clothes I sewed myself in high school and the list goes on. 

3.  I really don't know what to do with my massive religious medal collection, so many have found new homes, yet so many are still boxed up.  At least they are organized and can be found easily now.

I had big plans to make jewelry with them, but since I'm allergic to most metals now, I'm not sure how possible that is for me anymore.  Here is one example of what kind of jewelry I was going to assemblage.  It's from one of my favorite religious necklaces I used to wear all the time, until I became allergic to it!

This has found a new life, but I have one like it with 18 antique religious medals available here

Thank you Etsy buyer from The Destiny of Things for making a milestone heirloom charm bracelet for your daughter starting high school and sharing your story with me.  It brought back memories of my silver and gold charm bracelet.

I hope you both make new memories while remembering all the old ones when the bracelet is being worn!
 
Again, thank you for sharing your story as it really helps me stay on track with mine. I'd love to see her charm bracelet and already wonder what fond memories it must hold for her!
 
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!

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!
 
 Part of my milagro necklace collection, but this one is antique with at least 18 rosary parts and medals, most of them marked sterling, available here

I am still in Etsy burn out and am baffled as to what I should do about it.  Does it mean my dehoarding days are over?  Am I ready to dump it all at a donation center?  Am I ready for a new adventure? but what?

The position I was offered to join an educational children animation program kinda fizzled out when I heard "making lesson plans, recruiting teachers who want to make lesson plans and get paid with credit on the show, and finding teacher organizations that I could pitch the show too."

Unfortunately I've been retired from teaching for over 10 years, hmmm, maybe it's 15 and most of the teachers I knew are now retired too and I don't have any motivation to go talk with any teacher organizations that treat teachers like sheep!  besides, I am more of a behind the scenes type of person.

Well, my list for listing new items for each shop is starting to look like Santa's list rolling around all over the floor, so I hope we start photoing again this September.

Click on the shop names to visit new hoard listed daily and/or weekly: HoarderRehab with 177 items, The Destiny of Things- 180 items, VintageToGoEasy - 187 items and JunkDrawerAndMore - 181 items. 
 
Maybe you'll find something to adopt and share your story too!  Thanks for looking!
 
 Antique red mercury bubble glass Crowned Miraculous Mary religious medal intaglio religious medal pendant jewelry reversible pendant, available here
photo via Hoarder Rehab

Related Stories: about religious medals turning into the more beautiful!
 
1.  A Mighty Circular Destiny as Infinity Story:  The Destiny of Things XLIII:  Saint Christopher medal turned into a symbolic necklace for studies in Africa 
 
2.  Intentions for B. Maugerite Bourgeyeos Beatification Charm:  The Destiny of Things, Story XXVI : made into a beautiful bracelet for a daughter away at college
3.  Saint Patrick Trinity Clover:  for an Irish Rosary for St. Patty's Day
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Here is what I was doing with all my charms and milagros back in the 80s to 90s, Lover's heart cross, available here
Garden milagro charm cross, available here
 
"Art is the elimination of the unnecessary." ---Pablo Picasso.  So difficult for me to do!  but a great goal to take baby steps towards daily! 
 
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! 

PS.  I ran out of time to put the most interesting information I like about Saint Catherine McAuley, but she was a teacher way ahead of her time.  Read about her on wiki here.
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Monday, August 29, 2016

Cute Animal Figurine Rubber Stamps for Young Children: The Destiny of Things, Story 401

Cute Animal Figurine Rubber Stamps for Young Children:  The Destiny of Things, Story 401

I just had to have these because the animals are as cute as the rubber stamps!

Cute painted wooden animals with matching rubber stamps, available here
How the stamps look like on the brown area.  The wording is very tiny.

I try to use all the stamps to show examples at our shops and make sure they will work as intended, but lately I haven't had the time to do much of anything.

This Etsy buyer asked if I had tried my vintage boxed animal set out because she really really wanted it.

Boxed vintage animal set of 16 rubber stamps, available here 
These are very tiny, each animal stamp is less than 1 inch.

The set above is a vintage dime store craft toy, so the ink tin has long dried up and the rubber stamps still need to be cut apart, so they are not ready to use and I put aside the box of these with the most damage for me to use and can not find it now!  

It's lost in my hoard!  Tsk, tsk, I look for it when I have a stamping day because I stamp a lot of blank stickers for packaging our shop items before shipping them off, but have not found it yet!

The 16 different animals look like they'll be super cute to make 1 inch stickers or thank you labels.

Cute painted wooden animals with matching rubber stamps, available here
How the stamps look when stamped and a simple idea on how to use them.

Anyways, the Etsy buyer asked if a young child could cut the 16 animal rubber stamps a part and I don't thinks so because I think it's going to take a really sharp scissor and/or perhaps and x-acto knife for myself to separate them.

And since the pieces are fairly small, like about 3/4" tall and 1/2" wide, I think it might even be difficult for a young child to even stamp with.

So I asked the child's age and she said, "3 years old."

Another cute feature of these animal rubber stamps is the animal works double duty as a handle to make stamping easier for any age.
Cute painted wooden animals with matching rubber stamps, available here.

I wish I had started stamping at 3 years old!  How fun!  

I recommended the wooden animal figurine stamps, instead of the 16 vintage animal stamps, so a three year old will have enough dexterity and grip to hold on to the handle while stamping.  And less messy too, I'd think with less ink getting on little fingers and no cutting too!

Much easier for everyone involved!

She said she'd get back to me after talking it over with her granddaughter.

Cute painted wooden animals with matching rubber stamps, available here.

She wrote back the next day, so excited because her granddaughter loved the wooden animal ones so much more and quickly bought one of each!  And she was saving them for Christmas time!

Cute painted wooden animals with matching rubber stamps, available here.

Saying Goodbye:  I have my own set of these and use them often, as in at least once a month to make sticker label closures for packing our items before shipping them out.  They are delightfully cute to look at and so fun to use!

 I use these for closures for smaller packages before shipping out.
Cute wooden apple stamps that say, "For you" with a bow or "love" inside a wrapped gift box, here
photo via JunkDrawerAndMore

What I Learned: 

1.  I need another rubber stamp, like I need another hole in my head!  And as a recovering hoarder, it's taken me years to figure that out!  I keep most of my projects in a file box and my stamping file box has doubled!
And to top it all off, I usually just use my favorites over and over!  but of course, I'm having difficulties trying to decide which ones I won't be using and the thought of trying to let go of at least one box of them causes me great anxiety!

Another mystery I need to sort out and solve.

2.  I've been offered a job working with an educational animation show for children, but my position is still in the works and I'm not sure if I want to leave retirement.

Although, since I'm still in Etsy burn out, I am interested in doing something new.

3.  One of the reasons why I haven't had time to do much is because I am sleeping a lot.  Well, "a lot" for an insomniac like me is 8 hours a night, sometimes 10.  I'm finally waking up feeling refreshed, healthier and not fatigued.  So by the time I wake up and do my usual routine, it's already time to wind down for the day.

Time flies when the early bird does not get the worm!

4.  Last week someone emailed me and suggested I make a 12 step poster for dehoarding!  So I've been seriously thinking about it, but the list is much longer than 12 steps, which isn't ironic for a recovering hoarder like me!

So if anyone is reading this, I'd say "MY" first step was "Find the Floor!"  because I was in too much denial to admit I was a haorder.

I really love stamps with a solid background with words etched inside, like the "Believe" rubber stamp, all available here
I am so tempted to try these because I just love little stamps! and these are a little over or a little under 1 inch, I can't remember at the moment.

Thank you Etsy buyer from JunkDrawerAndMore for communicating until we found something suitable for both you and your granddaughter to have some easy stamping fun!  
 
Thank you for sharing your story as it really helps me stay on track with mine. I'd love to see yours and your granddaughters stamping art and would especially love to be a fly on the wall  and see her reactions when she opens them!
 
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!

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!
 
 I use this stamper at least 3x a week for dating tags and notes for packaging items I get ready for shipping out and for my journals and art pieces, available here
photo via JunkDrawerAndMore

We usually photograph items for new listings every weekend, but we haven't had time lately and since I've been burnt out Etsy and not as motivated to dehoard for some reason, I guess I've been taking a month long break and not realize it?

Well, my list for listing new items for each shop is starting to look like Santa's list rolling on the floor, so I hope we start photoing again this September!

Click on the shop names to visit new hoard listed daily and/or weekly: HoarderRehab with 177 items, The Destiny of Things- 181 items, VintageToGoEasy - 185 items and JunkDrawerAndMore - 176 items. 
 
Maybe you'll find something to adopt and share your story too!  Thanks for looking!
 
 Choose a font:  30 mini alphabet rubber stamps, available here
photo via JunkDrawerAndMore
 
Related Stories:
 
 
 
3.  Saving time for a kindergarten teacher:  Teacher Date Stamper:  The Destiny of Things, Story #109  
 
 
 
 
7.  Mini ABC Alphabet Wooden Rubber Stamps Set:  The Destiny of Things, Story 349:  an Etsy buyer using them in a different way 
 
 

10.   Another idea from a Grandmother using these stamps with her grandkids!  Baby Block Mini ABC Alphabet Rubber Stamp Fun:  The Destiny of Things, Story 388

Thank you for taking part in my Hoarder Rehab and The Destiny of Things!
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Monday, August 22, 2016

100 Empty Gumball Vending Machine Capsules: The Destiny of Things, Story 400

100 Empty Gumball Vending Machine Capsules:   The Destiny of Things, Story 400

Art scholarship charity fund, one quarter at a time!

50 or 100 empty gumball vending machine capsules, available here
photo via Hoarder Rehab

Here's the email I received:

Note from Buyer We have a little vending machine that is funding a community scholarship for the arts one quarter at a time.  

Incoming!
50 or 100 empty gumball vending machine capsules, available here
photo via Hoarder Rehab

How cute is that?  I'd love to be part of that community!  I wonder what they are filling them with?  Art, perhaps?  There is a gumball machine at the MOCA, Museum of Contemporary Art shop and it sells art from a gumball machine.  

It's not a quarter though, it's $20, which is paid beforehand and then they give you a special token to put in the gumball machine.  I've always wanted to try it, but I'm the type of person who likes to know what I'm getting for that amount of mula!

I sent them an origami crane that I folded in one of the gumballs!  I wonder if they'll notice.

Most of them have frosted tops, but some are clear.
50 or 100 empty gumball vending machine capsules, available here
photo via Hoarder Rehab

Saying Goodbye:  I use these in my own art and use them in a couple of on going projects.  One is for a gumball machine my brother and I fought over when we found it thrifting in high school and shared through our college days and I finally ended up with it because his wife does not like a lot of old things in the house.  Lucky me! 

It holds all my childhood toys and other stuff I just can't seem to let go of yet, like my famous champion hopscotch chain throwing bracelet and old toy prizes from Botan Rice candies.  I was so sad when they started giving out stickers, instead.

 We usually have 8 different colors in stock, but we do take custom color orders for themed parties, teams or wedding, so some colors sell out fast!
If you need smaller amounts, like 20, 25 or 30, they are available here

What I Learned:

1.  Surprisingly a lot of my hoard has become very popular!  I've been collecting these since college, when my brother and I found them at Venice Beach and since then I've been collecting the harder to find colors, like pastels and marbled ones and pass on the others. 

Yes, sometimes it's very difficult for me to distinguish between my hoard and my repetition art and my art supplies!  At least now Etsy has provided me an outlet!

2.  These have many different uses!  Many of these are from Etsy buyers sharing their use:  cupcake toppers with different sprinkles inside or prizes, bento food containers, candy favors, wedding exit containers for confetti, rice, seeds or other fun sending off items, pinata fillers for fiesta or birthdays, party favor containers for small things that might get lost in a larger package, jewelry or bead storage organization, jewelry shipping packaging, fairy lights, cat toy rattles, classroom writing prompts and more!

3.  Examples of theme colors:  baby shower pastels, Dr. Seuss, carnival, circus, patriotic, Ninja turtles, all pink, all yellow, all blue for Batman parties, Mardi Gras, fiesta, gender reveal parties and more!

3.  I'm still burnt on Etsy.  I guess it's mainly with the promoting.  I conduct a lot of Etsy experiments to keep things lively for myself and now I wish I had written them down because I can't keep track of them inside my head anymore!

4.  I haven't been blogging as much because we've both been either under the weather and/or getting ready for other things, like emptying my hoarded up long bed truck with double passenger cab!

So we hope to get back to taking photos for new listing next weekend!

5.  Maybe it's time to move on from dehoarding!?!

Halloween colors: orange, green and purple and now we have a new color BLACK!
The combo color above is available here in the amount of 10

Thank you Etsy buyer from Hoarder Rehab for sharing your story as it really helps me stay on track with mine. I wish your gumball machine was closer because I'd use a roll of quarters to help fund your scholarship for the arts, one quarter at a time!  I love little surprises and I'd hope for tiny art!

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!

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!
 
 5 or 10 empty gumball vending machine capsules in Ninja turtle colors, available here or request your own color combinations and we'll see what's available for you!
photo via VintageToGoEasy

If I can get up early enough, I'll be listing new items tomorrow.

Click on the shop names to visit new hoard listed daily and/or weekly: HoarderRehab with 176 items, The Destiny of Things- 181 items, VintageToGoEasy - 190 items and JunkDrawerAndMore - 179 items.
 
Looks like several shop needs some new listings for next week!
 
Maybe you'll find something to adopt and share your story too!  Thanks for looking!
 
Email us, if you need them in all one color or theme colors and we'll do our best to see what's in stock!
Love themed color combinations, available here

Related Stories:


 
 
4.  Fairy light Garland:  DIY Fairy Lights with Gum Ball Capsules:  The Destiny of Things, Story 311
 
5.   Flower Fairy Lights from Gumball Capsules:  The Destiny of Things, Story 374  
 
6.  Ninja Turtle Party Gumball Capsules Surprise:  The Destiny of Things, Story 273 
 
7.  Cat Toy Gumball Capsule Rattle:  The Destiny of Things, Story 345 
 
8.  How a teacher uses them in the classroom: Back to School Gum Ball Machine Capsules:  The Destiny of Things, Story 306
 
9.  These come in gum ball capsules:  Mini Easter Basket Baby Chenille Chicks:  The Destiny of Things, Story 287  
 
 Chenille baby chicks for your alternative Halloween treats, available here
photo via Hoarder Rehab
 
What creative things will you make with yours and what will you put inside them? 
 
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!  Happy Monday!
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Friday, August 5, 2016

Sara Midda's South of France Sketch Book & Teachable Moments: Hoarder Rehab Inspiration or Desperation, Story 23

 
Sara Midda's South of France Sketch Book & Teachable Moments:  Hoarder Rehab Inspiration or Desperation, Story 23

Such a fun and inspirational book! And memories of my teaching lesson days!

144 pages of inspirational fun! Available here

Midda documents her year of travel through the south of France with sketches and her writings, mostly in watercolor.  She seems to take in everything!  And I mean everything!  She sketches the people, fruits, scenery, plants, pastries, breads, house numbers, vases, landscapes and the list goes on.  And she makes a lot of lists too!

Sara Midda spends a year exploring the south of France and documents it by month.  She must have traveled in the late 80s because the book was published in 1990.  Available here 

This is another book from my Mom's collection, the first one is here.  She sent this to me in a care package last month and I remember it from way back when, as it was being passed around during one of the holidays.  I have one aunt who was crazy for scrap booking long time ago one summer and she was just fawning over this book!  So we all did!

There are a lot of artists in my family and a lot of teachers looking for art and writing projects for student in their classrooms, so we came up with some lesson plans.  I did share this book with my students back in the 90s and they enjoyed it too!

Here is her table of contents, it starts in April and ends in March.  Each month has about 10 pages.  Available here 

In the classroom, we made our own books, like Midda's, but this would be a great example of how to use it in my daily writing journal too!

Her table of contents is in the photo above, but instead of the monthly table of contents, we made ours daily for a week and just took little exploring walks around everyday places to explore the uncommon discoveries in our common places, like our favorite recess areas, cafeteria seating, school library, etc.  Like Midda we were inspired to discover and document the little epiphanies and such in our day to day lives.

Homework was to capture something common, yet uncommon in your favorite spot in your neighborhood, home, bedroom or even if your favorite spot was in front of the television.

We didn't use watercolors as often as Midda did, but sketched with what was more handy, like pencils, crayons and markers.  I wish I would have saved some of those books now!



Midda's sampling of french labels.  We did our everyday school supplies.
Midda's book, available here 



We made a sampling of the tools we used for our books, like pens, crayons, markers, paints, etc.



Her writing is a not too easy to read, so I impressed on my students how important it is to write neatly, but since this was a personal journey that she decided to share later, it was already done.

Plus if it's so personal, it's for your eyes only and as long as you can read it, that's fine too.  Students love that kind of open mindedness!


This is a great lesson in journal writing and drawing for all students at any level because this book is not judgmental.  There is no right and wrong way to this adventure, except to write or draw about what appeals to you and all your little day to day discoveries of the uncommon joys in your everyday life and students love that!  

And if you prefer writing, write your little heart away and if you prefer drawing, this books shows many different way to express your style! 


And for those that like to start at the end of the book, that's okay too! because in her ending, even a little funny bone business goes along way!

Saying Goodbye:  Now that I've been reinspired by this book, it might not be so easy to let it go.  So many teaching memories in it, now that I've remembered them.
And I've started to get an itch to cut up this book!

Did I just say cut up this book?  On one hand it sounds fun, but on the other it sounds scary!

 This book has been used in the classroom and has seen better days, but it's still in decently good shape and still has the postcard that I think came with it.
Midda's book, available here 

What I Learned:

Hoarder Inspiration: There are so many reasons that I can't let go of my things and when I think about them, mainly it's because of the memories inside of my things, trigger so many different feelings, many of them conflicting.  I think it's the conflicting feelings I need to deal with because I think it's those feelings that lead me to hoard.

I hope I can soon dehoard by donating some of my items, instead of listing them all on Etsy because it's been over 3 years now and it's getting old.  I don't know if I'm burned out or ready to move on.  Only time will tell....

Hoarder Desperation:  I have so many projects I'd like to start in my head and some I've already started and are sitting in stacks!  However, my hoard is still interfering with my life by overcrowding my home and mind!

What is your biggest challenge this week?  Mine is wondering if I can actually donate some items without having a hoarder break down, huge regrets, fomo, fear of missing out and stress over making the right decisions and anxiety over running back and retrieving it all back!  Time to work on getting out of my comfort zone.

The condition of the book is listed in the description at the link below. Here is the postcard with it's matching page.  Students get a kick out of that too!  And it can become another art and writing spin off to another lesson!
Midda's book, available here 

I'll be listing new items tomorrow, if the M80s stop going off around here in the middle of the night and I can wake up at the crack of dawn! 

Click on the shop names to visit new hoard listed daily and/or weekly: HoarderRehab with 181 items, The Destiny of Things- 184 items, VintageToGoEasy - 188 items and JunkDrawerAndMore - 184 items.
 
Looks like several shop needs some new listings for next week!
 
Maybe you'll find something to adopt and share your story too!  Thanks for looking!
 
 Another one of my inspirational books!
This is the best of the 2 copies of her book published by The National Museum of Women in the Arts, from January 1992, available here
photo via Hoarder Rehab
Story on this blog, here with lots of photo sharing!
 
Related Stories:  I've been attempting smaller projects until I can get to and find my rag hoard to finish my Inner City Alphabet Quilt, but lately I've been too tired to do much of anything.  I have been mending some, but I don't think anyone really wants to see that!
 
2. Not a huge rip in my favorite jeans!  Before pix  Mending as a Creative Outlet, Story 1   
 
3.  Other Hoarder Inspiration or Hoarder Desperation on this blog, here
 

"A stitch a day keeps the hoard away."---Hoarder Rehab and The Destiny of Things  Now if I can only get myself to start that one stitch!  Happy Friday!

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