Wednesday, November 30, 2016

DIY Traditional British Christmas Cracker Filler: The Destiny of Things, Story 410

DIY British Christmas Cracker Filler:  The Destiny of Things, Story 410

Get ready for DIY Christmas Cracker Snap time!

8, 10, 12 or 20 retro fortune teller fish, available here

I learn something new everyday!  And today's teacher was from an Etsy buyer from the UK, now living in the US.

Here is her message:

I bought these to fill Christmas crackers with. I don't know if your familiar with British Christmas crackers? They are usually filled with a silly joke, a paper crown and a little nick-nack. My mom sent me the some crackers to build but I needed a little nick-nack to put in them. The fortune teller fish is one of my families favorite nick-nack found in crackers. Thank you so much, my husband will be very surprised :) Since moving over from the UK it's nice to have some British Christmas traditions. 

I did not know it was traditional in the UK to have a fortune teller fish, paper crown and silly joke inside, nor did I know they were called nick-nacks!  So interesting and fun!

I just love the graphics on these!
8+ retro fortune teller fish, available here
   
How fun!  So nice to already have premade cracker snaps and just have to fill them.  

My family has them for Christmas Eve dinner as alternative plate decoration name cards.  Each cracker snap has your name on it and is filled with items everybody loves and one personal item just for you!

It might have your favorite candy, or a figurine you collect or a little sewing kit if your outfits are always mal functioning during the holidays or something sentimental or  something for one of your hobbies, etc.

Sometimes our family uses cracker snaps at New Year's Eve dinners too with noise makers inside, etc, our family loves mini kazoos for the midnight calling and the kid's and adults love temporary tattoos to pass the time til midnight and even at birthday events filled with party loot! 

We use cracker snaps for themed parties too!  We usually make them using recycled cardboard roll tubes, themed wrapping paper and themed loot!  For example, if it was a pirate themed party, then we just cover the tubes with pirate themed wrapping paper with pirate themed loot, like mini treasure chests, available here that open and you can add your own little prize inside.
  
All 4 of our shops have all kinds of themed and general fun nick-nacks to fill your cracker snaps, surprise balls, Advent calendars and other party event loot!  Links below.

If you run out of time to make cracker snaps, they also make nostalgic fun holiday card inserts!  Bring back old memories while making new ones too!

These are very easy and fun to use for all ages.  Just take out the fish from the envelope and place it in the palm of your hand and see what happens!  On the back of the envelope it tells what your "love" fortune holds for you!
8, 10, 12 or 20 retro fortune teller fish, available here

Saying Goodbye:  I used to use these in the classroom when I was teaching magic to third graders because these fish have a really interesting scientific explanation and are so fun and can revolve around and transfer to other modes of teaching, like vocabulary and making up your own fortunes for the movement of the fish!

I keep these on hand, in my purse and such because who doesn't love to have a dancing fish!

The directions are on each fish and your fortune is on the back of each envelope!  So simple to use! 
8, 10, 12 or 20 retro fortune teller fish, available here

What I Learned:

1.  So many of my third grade teaching props that I had extra or hoarded away have become best sellers on our shops!  I guess some things are just timeless.

2.  Since I've been mainly focusing on self care, my health is getting better much faster than usual.  My lower back pain is gone and so is my sciatica.  My allergies are more manageable and I'm sleeping much better.

I think this is due focusing on my health when I first wake up, instead of last when everything from my daily list is done.  Instead of tending to other needs, I tend to mine first now.  Also, learning how to meditate has worked wonders in all areas of my life.  I can even sit in a conventional chair now and not even think about my sciatica pain returning!

3.  My time has become more valuable to me, so I spend less time doing Etsy chores and give myself more me time!  Since my lower back pain and sciatica is gone, I've been spending more time exercising with yoga and slow walks.  

4.  Making healthier choices in my life has really made a difference!  Also, I think all the baby steps I've been making for better self care have really added up to miles of improvement!

If you need larger amounts like 50 or 100+ magic love fortune fish, they are available here

Thank you Etsy buyer from The Destiny of Things  for letting me know the traditions of British and your Christmas traditions for your friends and family!  I just love learning about different cultures, especially their traditions!

I think I'll put paper crowns and a silly joke for my next cracker snap filler
 
All these stories and ideas really help me stay on track with mine. And I am so happy to find that I can start throwing stuff away and it's just going to take a lot of baby steps.
 
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!
 
 We make our cracker snaps with recycled cardboard rolls and they also come in handy for making all kinds of things in a classroom!
40 DIY cardboard paper rolls for crafting, available here
If you need less or more, just contact us and let us know!

I'm going to continue in wellness mode and see if my health, especially my allergies continue to get better.  I'm going to focus spending my time on more meditating, doing gentle yoga and walking.  
 
Also, all the meditating has been bringing me an inner peace for longer lasting amounts of time and I've been feeling a shift of some sorts that's hard to describe at this moment.  I think it's called, "not sweating over the small stuff" or something like that.
 
I do spend on Etsy and am keeping all the shops open and relisting and new listing as often as I can because it reminds me of my old familiar regular routine.  
 
I have been relisting almost daily and will be new listing again soon!
 
If you need party fillers for just about anything, like cracker snaps, surprise balls, Advent calendars, piñatas, table confetti, party favor bags, wedding favors, etc.  You can find fun, some old and some new and some unique to bring back old memories and make new ones for all ages at our shops below!

Click on the shop names to visit new hoard listed daily and/or weekly: HoarderRehab with 147 items, The Destiny of Things- 141 items, VintageToGoEasy - 147 items and JunkDrawerAndMore - 151 items. 
 
Maybe you'll find something to adopt and share your story too!  Thanks for looking!
 
 I think I'll roll up or fold the silly joke in these gum ball capsules for fun, available here

Related Stories:

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
 

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
 
 These cocktail drink or cake toppers, also make great cracker snap fillers, my family loves these to claim their holiday drinks or put on top of desserts, available 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

9.  With an updated photo from an Etsy buyer using some of my items from the "Thank you" package, here 

10.  Fortune Fish:  The Destiny of Things, Story 238:  Various ways they've been used in themed parties.
 
 The fortune fish also make great holiday card inserts or any occasion snail mail cards from birthdays to cheering others up!
photo via kind Etsy buyer, story here

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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Friday, November 4, 2016

Day of the Dead Wedding Loteria Box Centerpiece Idea: The Destiny of Things, Story 409

Day of the Dead Wedding Loteria Box Centerpiece Idea:  The Destiny of Things, Story 409

An Etsy buyer found a cute way to use these as part of her wedding centerpieces!  Before:

Day of the Dead wedding party favor boxes or centerpiece accessories, available here

AFTER EXAMPLE:

 photo via Etsy buyer from The Destiny of Things

How festive!  Just add a loteria box in there with some jewel fiesta color candles, a loteria card here and there, tissue paper flowers and an El Pato can and Mexican beer bottle with flowers and greenery and your good to go for any festive fiesta party for weddings, anniversary and or birthdays!

Loteria game:  includes 10 game boards and 52 cards, available here
 photo via The Destiny of Things 

I've had other Etsy buyers turn the game boards into wedding programs and I've also seen them cut up individually and then glued back to back with a toothpick in the middle to make cake toppers!

 photo via google

Saying Goodbye:  I use the cards for my mixed media loteria art card nichos and to put inside my hoard of Day of the Dead tin shadow box ofrendas.  I couldn't let the game boards go to waste and started to make little boxes to hold my Day of the Dead loteria art cards.

The boxes also make instant fun little impromptu alter shrines too! Card and decorated cards with an Under the Sea them, available here
photo via Hoarder Rehab

What I Learned:

1.  Etsy buyers are very creative and come up with all kinds of ways to decorate for fun colorful events, like Day of the Dead weddings, anniversaries and birthdays!  I am so happy and delighted when someone shares them and with photos!  Thank you so much!

2.   I am still on the mend.  My lower back pain is completely gone now and my sciatica is much better too and guess what?  I can sit down now for about 20-30 minutes at a time!!!!  Yes, in a conventional chair to have meals and sit in a car to go places pain free!  

I healed much faster this time with gentle yoga, walking and most of all I think it was learning how to meditate.

3.  I've been slow stitching and have carried the "slow" part and incorporated into the rest of my life.  I do everything slow now, lol, but it beats re-injuring my back again and I don't worry about it anymore!

4.  I haven't decided what to do with the rest of my hoard, in the sense, if I am going to continue my Etsy shops as a way to dehoard or I just need some time away from it all.  In previous decades, I have purged my hoard completely, but it usually boomerangs back ten fold, like a fad diet.  I am tempted to try purging again to see what happens.


 Another Etsy buyer turned them into a beautiful dinner seating chart with ribbons:
Beautiful unique example of wedding seating arrangement display an Etsy buyer emailed to me, before they bought 9 loteria games!

Thank you Etsy buyer from The Destiny of Things  for sharing the photo idea for you Dia de los Muertos wedding!  Best wishes and Congratulations!
 
All these stories and ideas really help me stay on track with mine. And I am so happy to find that I can start throwing stuff away and it's just going to take a lot of baby steps.
 
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!
 
 I found some larger loteria game boards and can now make bigger boxes, this gift box is about 5 x 6 inches.  The box and nicho is available here
If you'd like the larger boxes only, please contact us, so we can arrange it for you, but keep in mind, that the bigger the boxes, shipping becomes less cost effective.
photo via VintageToGoEasy


I'm still in wellness mode and lately I've been spending a lot of time, either meditating, doing gentle yoga or walking.  Also, all the meditating has been bringing me an inner peace that I haven't felt before, or I should say for such long periods of time now.  
 
I don't have the same amount of time to spend on Etsy, but I am keeping the shops open and relisting and new listing as often as I can because it reminds me of my old familiar regular routine.

 I have so been relisting and new listing almost daily!

Click on the shop names to visit new hoard listed daily and/or weekly: HoarderRehab with 157 items, The Destiny of Things- 149 items, VintageToGoEasy - 154 items and JunkDrawerAndMore - 169 items. 
 
Maybe you'll find something to adopt and share your story too!  Thanks for looking!
 
  I found some larger loteria game boards and can now make bigger boxes, this gift box is about 7 x 6 inches.  The box and nicho is available here
If you'd like the larger boxes only, please contact us, so we can arrange it for you, but keep in mind, that the bigger the boxes, shipping becomes less cost effective.
photo via Hoarder Rehab

Related Stories:
 
 
2.  Loteria Mexican Bingo Game Wedding Crafts:  The Destiny of Things, Story 188, here

3.  Day of the Dead skull beads cake topper:   The Destiny of Things:  Day of the Dead Calavera Skull Beads, Story V

 
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 Feliz Day of the Dead:  a time to honor our ancestors!
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Wednesday, November 2, 2016

All Green Mermaid Bridal Shower Cake or Drink Toppers: The Destiny of Things, Story 408

All Green Mermaid Bridal Shower Cake or Drink Toppers:  The Destiny of Things, Story 408

For some reason, all green mermaids are very popular now!

All green mermaid drink or cake toppers in various amounts, available here

I have no idea why all green mermaids are so popular for parties!  And I have no idea if they are used as cake or drink toppers, but let's keep the roll going!

All other colors in mixed or all one color and various amounts, available here
 photo via The Destiny of Things 

Traditionally used for cocktail drinks from old school restaurants and bars, I remember mine from my childhood as a topper for my Shirley Temple drink!

Now, the new generation seems to be using for cupcake and cake toppers for Peter Pan, Harry Potter's 2nd challenge, bon voyage to nautical and of course, Little Mermaid events.

The Etsy buyer who ordered all green and inspired this posting mentioned these were for a Bridal  shower.  How fun!

All other colors in mixed or all one color and various amounts, available here
 photo via The Destiny of Things 

Saying Goodbye:  I have my own stash of these from vintage to new in an array of different colors to hard to find colors, like true pink and light blue.  I was saving them for my mixed media art, but I haven't been doing much of that lately, so ...... what to do?

Anyone have any creative ideas out there?  Etsy buyers have used them as plant jewelry, terrarium figurines for mermaid grottoes.  For careful children, using them as toys for light tables,

Here are some of the other colors that include a more aqua blue, orange and true red, instead of candy red, available upon request or when the other color get too low in stock.
Large amounts in 50 to 100, available here

What I Learned:

1.  What I'd really like to know is why "all green" is so popular compared to all the colors, so I can use figure out how to update the tags for the item.  However since, they seem to sell out quickly, I guess it doesn't matter and I should not over think about it.

2.  Yes, I am learning that as a recovering hoarder, I tend to over think just about everything!  This is a habit I am learning to change because it really doesn't serve a good purpose for me and it seems to take me to future thinking, instead of present thinking.

3.  My insomnia is back, so I've been practicing a lot of meditating (at least an hour, sometimes more if I have severe back pain) which not only helps my sleepiness, but reduces and sometimes eliminates my back pain.  Also, it seems to help me focus on the "now,"  which as a recovering hoarder, I tend to dwell in the past (all the memories my stuff holds, etc) or in the future (what am I going to do with all this stuff or about projects I aim to do one day).

4.  Meditating has not come naturally for me and it's taken a lot of baby steps for me to meditate for an hour.  Two minutes used to be very overwhelming for me, but finding music has helped me meditate longer and also reading books, not reading on the computer has helped me slow down.  Right now the book that is helping me the most is the Power of Now by Ekhart Tolle.

I've had the book for decades and have picked it up to read many times, but it none of it really made any sense to me until now.

5.  I can still only trash paper, but who knew I had so much paper to throw out!  And I've been moving on to bottles and jars here and there, so that's more progress!  Baby steps!

Here is an example of my mixed media art that is interactive, meaning you can arrange the items as you like or use the one that is already finished.  This one has sold, but I can make one like it, if requested.
photo via Hoarder Rehab

Thank you Etsy buyer from The Destiny of Things  for mentioning these will be use for a Bridal shower.  The mystery for me continues as I wonder if these are mostly used for cake or drink toppers!
 
All these stories and ideas really help me stay on track with mine. And I am so happy to find that I can start throwing stuff away and it's just going to take a lot of baby steps.
 
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!
 
Here is an example of my mixed media art that is interactive, meaning you can arrange the items as you like or use the one that is already finished.  This one has sold, but I can make one like it, if requested.   We have a DIY heart nicho kit at VintageToGoEasy, available here.  Request it in "note to buyer" and I'll send you a mermaid topper!
photo via Hoarder Rehab

I'm still in wellness recovery mode and lately I've been spending a lot of time, either meditating, doing gentle yoga or walking.  I don't have the same amount of time to spend on Etsy, but I am keeping the shops open and relisting and new listing as often as I can because it reminds me of my old familiar regular routine.

 I have so been relisting and new listing almost daily!

Click on the shop names to visit new hoard listed daily and/or weekly: HoarderRehab with 157 items, The Destiny of Things- 148 items, VintageToGoEasy - 153 items and JunkDrawerAndMore - 170 items. 
 
Maybe you'll find something to adopt and share your story too!  Thanks for looking!
 
 True vintage monkey cocktail toppers from the 60s, available here
photo via VintageToGoEasy 
 
Related Stories:
  
 
Upwards and onwards in baby steps!
 
 We have all monkey too in assorted colors, including orange and true red, available here
photo via Hoarder Rehab

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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