2 Blue Enamel Virgin Mary Medals: The Destiny of Things, Story 514 & 515

2 Blue Enamel Virgin Mary Medal Stories:  The Destiny of Things, Story 514 & 515

Very nostalgic stories!  And the last few of my sterling blue enamel Holy Virgin Mary medals!

Lost and replaced Blue Enamel Holy Virgin Mary, Story 514

Story 514:

It's a gift for my mom. My uncle gave her the pendant as a gift and I always wanted to wear it. I went to the beach one day and put it in a pouch for safe keeping. My friend's mom said she should hold on to it and she lost it :(. It's taken me 15 years to find another one similar so I'm very excited.

This one even had a marcasite on it's bail!

Photo via The Destiny of Things

Here is what I wrote back:

Hi again!

Thank you for getting back to us and I just had time to read through all your emails and want to thank you for sharing your story!

So happy to hear you found one to return to your mom after all these years! I'm sure your Mom and Uncle will be quite surprised!

Best regards,
Kennedy

PS. I am so curious, will you be borrowing the pendant again?

My second to last sterling silver Holy Virgin Blue Enamel Mary

Photo via The Destiny of Things

And she answered back!  

I was thinking of having it shipped to my mom directly but I want to see the reaction on her face so I'm going to keep it until I see her again. I will definitely NOT be borrowing it again haha. Even though I feel like I wasn't to blame. I always kick myself for allowing my friend's mom to hold on to it. I had it in my phone case (when they were huge), it would've been safe. I will be requesting it in the will.

Thanks again.

Then I asked if I could use her story on my blog and she wrote back:

Of course you can! :) I didn't see the information about your Blog until after purchasing the pendant. I feel like it was definitely meant to be for me to find it. 

I just love it when Etsy buyers feel like something they found in my hoard was meant for them!  Then I told her I'd use here story in a week or two and it's been over a year!  Yikes!  I have a lot of catching up on stories to do!

Do you lose a lot of jewelry?  I have lost a lot of jewelry, especially one of a pair to earrings!  I have been finding so many single earrings that it's quite a collection now and I hope the other matching ones show up during my hoard organizing, but it doesn't seem likely.  

Story 515 is much shorter!

This is my last sterling silver Holy Virgin Blue Enamel Mary, the rest are 800, 500 silver or silver tone or at least that's all I've found so far and I think and hope I'm getting down to the bottom of religious medal collection.  I still have a lot of sterling silver religious medals and crosses, but not blue enamel ones.

Photo via The Destiny of Things

Story 514 came in the form of a little note in review:

It is such a beautiful piece and looks even better in person. Just need a long chain to wear with it. My dad and mom were a priest and nun so its value might have more value to me.

I hope she found a long chain to wear it!  I thankful it has a lot of value for her because I have no idea why I collected so many!  

One of my best friends from my teaching days was an ex-nun who married a priest and then had a kid.  She retired way before I did.  I wonder how she doing these days.

This one was in an unusual shaped octagon, which seems more difficult to find and I love the scroll work on the front of it, reminds me of butterflies in each corner.

Photo via The Destiny of Things

Saying Goodbye:  As a recovering hoarder, I am so grateful that many of my Holy Virgin blue enamel Mary's have found "meaningful forever" homes!  I was starting to collect mother of pearl sterling silver religious medals too and I'm so thankful that something stopped me!

What I Learned:

1.  Maybe I was meant to cross paths again with one of my best friends from my teaching days and the last story was meant for me as a reminder!  There were six of us and before I retired only one other retired before me...... hmmmmm, it might be time for a reunion!

2.  I'm still not sure why I got so carried away and bought so many religious medals back in the 80s to 90s, but I do remember what I thought I was going to do with them!  I was going to make them into religious folk art pieces, like my version of milagro crosses below, but use all blue enamel Holy Virgin Mary's and all mother of pearl Holy Virgin Mary's, etc.

The black cross is my garden milagro cross that helped me turn my black thumb into a green one and the heart milagro cross, my brother borrowed until he found his true love and married her!  Garden milagro cross is available here and the Lover's Heart milagro cross here.  Both have traditional Mexican milagros and sterling silver charms, etc on them.

Photo via The Destiny of Things

3.  Which reminds me, I have an extensive sterling silver and 14k gold charm collection too!  I've started to list them at all the shops in groups, but I think they might find homes more easily listed individually.  It's just that I have so many.  I'll have to try another Etsy experiment and see what happens.

4.  It's so crazy hot here for over a week now that I haven't been sleeping or eating.  It's so hot that it doesn't even cool down in the wee mornings to even sleep with a sheet!  And I don't get hungry til around 8 pm and when I do, it's crazy hunger!  like eat everything in sight til I get a stomach ache.  Okay, I've learned to eat so I don't get a stomach ache, it only happened once or twice, lol.

I'm on a liquid diet of tons of water, green juice drinks, homemade aqua fresca, usually crushed grapefruit, blackberries and Pelegrino water.  What's your favorite summer cool down drinks?

Vintage blue enamel Holy Virgin Mother Blessed Mary ornate cross .500 silver medal art deco nouveau pendant religious birthday jewelry gift, available here

Photo via The Destiny of Things

Thank you Etsy buyers for sharing your stories!  I'm inspired to renew old friendships, instead of hoarding!

My purge pile has stopped growing.  So hopefully the weekend after the World Cup,  we can go drop it off.  Still not safe for me to go to a thrift shop alone, I'm so tempted to go in and "just" look, but end up buying who knows what!

I'm not a big fan of sports, but I am still enjoying all the sport snacks!  This weekend it's going to be some croissants for breakfast and Croatian snacks!

Speaking of snacks, I found an alternative to my favorite snack, organic chips!  It's LesserEvil Buddha Bowl Organic Popcorn Himalayan Sweetness, it's not too sweet and reminds me of eating cracker jacks without all the sugar.  We ordered a box of 12, since they have free shipping.

Everyday is such an adventure dehoarding on Etsy!   I never know who I'll meet and I have met so many Etsy buyers who share their stories with me and every time I glean some insight about where my dehoarding journey is taking me.

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 think this might be my last sterling silver mother of pearl marcasite Holy Virgin Mary medal, available here.  Photo via The Destiny of Things

My goal has changed to list more weekly, so my new goal is from 170 to 175 items per shop.   I've been working on 170 items per shop and new listing and all the shops have 170 items, except for one.

Sales are still up!  I think it might be from adding at least one new listings almost every week to each shop.  I'm still trying to narrow down my crafting options because I have way too much craft supplies, but I keep flip flopping about it and still need to decide what to list and what to keep.

Soon Etsy is raising their fees across the board, except for the listing fee.  So I might be adding a dollar or more to each listing and/or add a few coin to shipping to cover the new fees.  Here are the new fees, as I understand it, correct me if I've made a mistake about it.

Transaction fee was 3.5%, but it's going up to 5% on July 16, 2018.

New shipping fee, all shipping fees get charged 5% on July 16, 2018.

Processing fee is staying the same, I think, which is 3% plus .25 cents per transaction

Listing fee is still the same of .20 cents for 4 months, or .05 cents per month.

Click on the shop names to visit new hoard listed daily and/or weekly: HoarderRehab with 170 items, The Destiny of Things- 170 items, VintageToGoEasy - 169 items and JunkDrawerAndMore - 171 items. 

Maybe you'll find something and give it new life and a new home!  Thanks for looking!

I had several of these in different  colors and this is my last one in clear, available here.

Photo via Hoarder Rehab

"Educate your children to be happy and not rich, so when they grow up they know the value of experiences and not the price of things."---Unknown

Thank you for visiting my Hoarder Rehab and The Destiny of Things! 

My 2 Piece Local Art Showing at Holy Grounds Coffee & Tea this Friday: The Destiny of Things, Story 513

My 2 Piece Local Art Showing at Holy Grounds Coffee this Friday:The Destiny of Things, Story 513

My 2 art pieces are showing with three other artists at our neighborhood coffee shop, Holy Grounds Coffee and Tea!  Come join the Artist Reception this Friday, July 6, 2018 from 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm.    Holy Grounds address is 5371 Alhambra Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90032.

UPDATE:  The Artist Reception for Friday, July 6, 2018 has been cancelled , but the art work will be up tomorrow, July 7, 2017 for viewing until the end of the month.  Sorry, I just got the news of the myself this afternoon.

Get google directions here

Holy Grounds Coffee and Tea address: 5371 Alhambra Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90032

Phone: (323) 222-8884

Visit our local fascinating eclectic coffee shop that thrives on nourishment, community and culture.  I plan to be there at 7:30 pm, and stay at least til 8 pm, not sure if I can stay any longer because right now I have a head cold and can't stop coughing! Hope to see you and welcome you if you are in the Los Angeles area over by Cal State LA or where the 710 freeway ends.

Someone's always there to welcome you!

A couple of weeks ago, I had enough courage to submit some art through email and Eddi Ortiz, the art curator was very kind and friendly and told me about the themes of each month, so I titled the pieces to include this month's theme.

I am so thankful he accepted the two I submitted for the theme of Independence and that my art has found temporary housing for a month and hopefully will find a forever home!

I submitted several pieces without knowing the theme, but got accepted when I did use the theme!

The title of my pieces are "Independence FROM Fear TO Independence FOR Love."  Basically "fear" is like a lie I used to believe and live in, but freedom for love is much easier to deal with and a much more truthful path, so my 2 art pieces depict that.

Both pieces are in what I call International Folk Art style, one is assembled with Tibetan bone skull beads to symbolize Independence FROM Fear and the more than nine lives I used up in childhood and kept on using more through college, teaching in South Central and even after I retired, but since I have began my path on Independence FOR Love, life is much more joyful, easy and peaceful.

Find a quiet spot in the patio in the back.  They don't pump out any music or at least they didn't the time I was there, so it was nice and relaxing.

Even if you miss the opening, you can come later and enjoy a cup of coffee or tea with or without a bite to eat, food and drink menu here and stroll through the art gallery, artisan shop, browse through the community library (drop off your old books and find a new one to take home or read there) and explore all the little niches of the patio area.  It's beautiful with all kinds of little vignette surprises hidden around the plants, a working water fountain, fireplace and stage for music and comedy.  They even have an organic cup of coffee!

Check their website or facebook for other activities scheduled!  They have all kinds of weekly entertainment, like Comedy Night, Live music, Open Mic night, Psychic Sundays, end of the month free community art workshops and more!

This sign says everything about the place!

Hope to see you there!  Thank you for visiting my Hoarder Rehab and The Destiny of Things! 

Little Cocktail Mermaids for Mixed Media Patio Oasis Art: The Destiny of Things, Story 512

Little Cocktail Mermaids for Mixed Media Patio Oasis Art:  The Destiny of Things, Story 512

Someone shared a new use for these with photo updates!  BEFORE:

In the "note to buyer" it was added that she wanted all colors we had in stock.

6 or 8 Little Mermaids pirate sailor Peter Pan cocktail drink cake topper decoration wine charm marker Harry Potter 2nd Challenge fiesta beach birthday bon voyage reunion retro party July 4th supply, available here.  Photo via JunkDrawerAndMore

Here is the kind fun note I received:

11:55am EDT

Message:Hi there, I do so many purchases on here I forgot you were the awesome person that sent me the extra gems. People still stop and stare at my dragons all the time. They definitely look at those eyes. I have already used the new ones, love the look they give. Thanks for your lovely note and all the extras, you're the best. Sharing some pics of my patio oasis.

Her other story was about her dragon eyes, mini gardens, beach terrariums and cocktails!  This time it's about her backyard patio oasis! I just love them and am getting a hoard of ideas from them!  Note to self:  Stop and wait a bit, before I start buying to make my own! 

In the "note to buyer" it was added that she wanted all colors we had in stock.

These are the 9 colors we usually have in stock.  Off the top of my head, the true green is sold out.  We are running low on some of the other colors, but I get the colors available mixed up with the cocktail monkeys we also sell.  Order them in 8 different colors, here. 

Photo via Hoarder Rehab

 This is what I wrote back:

Hi there!

Thank you for taking the time to email with more photos of your wonderful patio oasis and an update on your dragons. Love how you used the new gems on the mermaid tree house! Love all your mermaid houses, so kitschly cute!

Thanks for making my Hoarder Rehab way more fun!

Big smiles over here,
Kennedy

Here are the AFTER photos from her!  What fun mixed media assemblage art!  Now I want to make too! or at least think I want to make!

I love her patio oasis mixed media assemblage art! 

I just love this curly roofed house with the bird on top and the two little cats on the bottom.  I think the mermaid is protecting the birds!  Can you see the blue rhinestone stickers?

photo via Etsy buyer

 What a great way to use a bird house!  The red rhinestones do add a pop of color to the bird house and the blue mermaid.

photo via Etsy buyer

I wonder if she makes the curled roof houses herself and then adds her little doodads to it.  Can you find the orange mermaid?  Photo via Etsy buyer.

I'll add the photos of her dragons that she added some rhinestone stickers that come in the "thank you" package I send out and you can read and see the photos about it, here.

Saying Goodbye:  I used to collect these cocktail mermaids that I remember from my childhood Shirley Temple drinks.  They used to be difficult to find, so most of mine are vintage.  I have all the animals too.  Now that I'm a recovering hoarder, I'm not sure what to do with them.  I used to use them on my mixed media assemblage nicho art, but I haven't done so in a couple of years now.  What to do with them now?  Any suggestions?  

I remember these toppers on my Shirley Temples from childhood.

These are the 9 colors we usually have in stock.  Off the top of my head, the true green is sold out.  We are running low on some of the other colors, but I get the colors in stock mixed up with the cocktail monkeys we also sell.  Get ready this summer for your pool parties, beach parties with these fun little mermaids!  Order them in 8 different colors, here. 

Photo via Hoarder Rehab

What I Learned:

1.  I come from a family of four who bought in bulk whenever possible.  So my family was a big fan of all sales, Fedco and now Costco.  I'm not sure why we bought in bulk, but I guess it was because it was less expensive?  buy everything needed on sale?  or had to go shopping less times a month?  I don't know because it was one of my chores to do the grocery shopping every week as soon as I could drive!

But I have learned from Etsy buyers to only buy what is necessary!  I get a lot of requests from Etsy shoppers for just one or two of this or that at our shops and even this Etsy buyer only needed a certain amount of blue rhinestone stickers and asked if I could just mail her some extras and she'd pay for them and the postage for their dragons.

At the time, she said that after she added the rhinestone stickers to it's eyes, it would freak out dogs and walkers!  And they still do!

photo via Etsy buyer 

2.  Lately, I seem to be living in an age of abundance, yet need very little!  I've bought sandals for this summer and some books that weren't at the library and that's about it.  

Even our grocery bills are less.  I've been using all the money I used to spend on my hoarder and donating it to causes close to my heart.  I save some for what I have no idea.  I've been making care packages for my friends, especially those that need some cheering up and some "just because."

3.  Since I don't go out shopping, like thrift stores, garage sales or craft places, like Michael's or JoAnns, even Target when they have sales or shop around for the best deals online, I've been using all my extra time reading.  Mainly reading for enjoyment and lots of sorting and organizing of the rest of my hoard.  Some mending.

What's on your summer wish list this year?  I am thinking about getting a bike.  Not sure I'll use it though, but I guess there's only one way to find out!

When I was a kid, I'd play with these until their tails broke off and with the mermaids, usually an arm or two fell off!  Let me know if you want mermaids and monkeys for pirate parties.  We usually have these in 9 different colors, but now we only have 7 colors in stock, available here

Photo via Hoarder Rehab

Thank you Etsy buyer for sharing another way to use these for a patio oasis of mixed media assemblage art!  I really appreciate the inspiration!  Maybe too much!  because I think it's a great way to used up my hoard of charms, millinery and other small stuff I have waiting to be let go!  Thank you for the updated photos!

My purge pile is still growing.  I add something every week, which is good for me because before I had to keep everything.  More and more goes into the recycling bin too!  Before I could not throw anything out because I thought I'd recycle it myself in some way.

Every weekend, we've been trying to get over to the King Tut Exhibition, but have been watching the World Cup instead, so hopefully I'll have a substantial pile to donate by the weekend of end of June!  I hope I remember to take a photo of my hoard pile.

I'm not a big fan of sports, but I am enjoying all the sport snacks!  This weekend it's air fried wings, popcorn and butter and who knows what else!  And it's usually the time, I start new listing too!  

Speaking of snacks, well, it's not a snack, we tried Costco's all organic burger from their food court on Monday.  It's supposed to be all organic, the bread, the patties, you get 2 patties!, cheese, tomato, lettuce and sauce.  It reminded me of In and Out, but the Costco burger was not as juicy.  At least it's all organic!

Everyday is such an adventure dehoarding on Etsy!   I never know who I'll meet and I have met so many Etsy buyers who share their stories with me and every time I glean some insight about where my dehoarding journey is taking me.

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! 

If you like to use these for indoor gardens, hanging plants and terrariums, here is a party pack of these in 24 count of every type of drink or cake toppers in stock, available here

photo via JunkDrawerAndMore

My goal has changed to list more, so my new goal is from 170 to 175 items per shop.   I've been working on 170 items per shop and new listing, at least 1-2 times a week.  It looks like I have a lot of listing to catch up on!

Sales are up!  Strange, since the Etsy birthday sale is over.  I think it might be from adding at least one new listings almost every week to each shop.  I'm still trying to narrow down my crafting options because I have way too much craft supplies, but I keep flip flopping about it. I think I'm going to start listing my washi tape because now I have made so many paper quilts, I'm not sure what to do with them all, except to start using them as postcards.  

Etsy is raising their fees across the board, except for the listing fee.  So I might be adding a dollar or more to each listing and/or add a few coin to shipping to cover the new fees.  Here are the new fees, as I understand it, correct me if I've gone overboard.

Transaction fee was 3.5%, but it's going up to 5% on July 16, 2018.

New shipping fee, all shipping fees get charged 5% on July 16, 2018.

Processing fee is staying the same, I think, which is 3% plus .25 cents per transaction

Listing fee is still the same of .20 cents for 4 months, or .05 cents per month.

Click on the shop names to visit new hoard listed daily and/or weekly: HoarderRehab with 167 items, The Destiny of Things- 166 items, VintageToGoEasy - 169 items and JunkDrawerAndMore - 172 items. 

Maybe you'll find something and give it new life and a new home!  Thanks for looking!

A couple of Etsy buyers have shared with me that they use the cocktail monkeys and mermaids as plant jewelry.  They didn't send me a photo update, so I used my own plants as examples, monkeys available here

Photo via Hoarder Rehab

Related Stories:  Some other uses for mermaids, monkeys and other cocktail animals!

1.  Dragon Eyes and Mermaid Cocktail Drink Toppers:  The Destiny of Things, Story 472:  original story from Patio Oasis and Dragon Eyes.

2.  Little Mermaid Grotto Terrarium Inspiration!  The Destiny of Things, Story 276:  some have mini dragons added to them!

3.  Mermaid in a Jar Aquarium Party Favors:  The Destiny of Things, Story 467

4.   UPDATE on The Little Mermaid Party with Ursula-tinis:  The Destiny of Things, Story 259: traditional way of how to use these as drink toppers with updated photos.

5.  One of my favorite stories from an Etsy buyer:  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

6.  How my love for these started:  Retro Cocktail Animal Figurine Drink Marker Charms:  The Destiny of Things, Story  181  

7.  Mini Patriotic US Flag Pins:  The Destiny of Things, Story 392

If you just need a small batch of these for your own personal use.  6 Shirley Temple cocktail Sonic drink cake toppers mermaid animal figurine wine markers decorations birthday, available here.

Photo via JunkDrawerAndMore

"Never let the things you want, make you forget the things you have."  For some reason, I'll need to investigate why I feel a shopping splurge turning on!

Happy Independence Day!  Happy Birthday America of 242 years!  And many more!  Thank you for visiting my Hoarder Rehab and The Destiny of Things! 

11:55am EDT

Message:Hi there, I do so many purchases on here I forgot you were the awesome person that sent me the extra gems. People still stop and stare at my dragons all the time. They definitely look at those eyes. I have already used the new ones, love the look they give. Thanks for your lovely note and all the extras, you're the best. Sharing some pics of my patio oasis.