Gypsy Party Fortune Teller Fish Party Favors: The Destiny of Things, Story 541

Gypsy Party Fortune Teller Fish Party Favors:  The Destiny of Things, Story 541

What fun!  A gypsy party!

Add "gypsy" party to how to use of fortune teller fish for another themed party favor!  Available here from 10 to 100 count.  Photo via JunkDrawerAndMore

Here are the two notes I received:

One with the order in note to buyer:

Thanks! These will be GREAT for my upcoming Gypsy Party! Happy Easter! Katherine

And one later in review:

This was a most WONDERFUL purchase from JunkDrawerandMore! The handwritten note that accompanied my order was truly unique and quite entertaining to read. Included were many little stickers and happy graphic arts items. The price was very affordable and the shipping speed was spot on! Thanks so much for this terrific buying experience! Highly recommend this shop!

I had never thought to use these for a gypsy party, but they would fit right in!  Off the top of my head, here are some other themed parties these have been used as party favors for:  fisherman, sushi, carnival, magic, circus, beach, pool, mermaid, pirate, nautical, bass fishing, retirement, weddings and birthdays!  These are very versatile fish!
 

Saying Goodbye:  I first used these as a teaching prop for my students when I was teaching because everyone loves a dancing fish!  It was how I introduced magic themed teaching to my class, which was really chemistry, math and other sciences.  I had a hoard of these leftover after I retired and soon found out they are our one of our best sellers!

Everything is easy and fun about these!  They have the instructions on how to use them, printed right on the fish and your love fortune is determined on how the fish moves in the palm of your hand and that's on the back of the handy dandy envelope it comes inside with such cool old fashioned graphics on the front of it.  Available here from 10 to 100 count.  Photo via JunkDrawerAndMore

What I Learned:

1.  To be thankful for my hoard because I have learned that letting go of it has become so much fun!  And believe me, I didn't think that in the beginning, as a matter of fact, each hoarded item that left was painful and some even left me crying!  which was very cathartic!  I've not only purged many hoarded items one by one, but let go of painful memories and emotions that I had forgotten all about and later I could recover and heal from them, since they were brought forward to my attention.

2.  I've let go of thousands of hoarded items and now I can safely say that I've become less fearful to the emotions and memories that come with letting go and sometimes look forward to them because I never what I'm going to learn from each item, until it goes to it's new life and forever home!

3.  These fish aren't hoard anymore, they are what I call re-hoard because I don't feel the need to hoard these anymore and now we just list them as a labor of love.  A reminder to myself that so much of my hoard has been a success to selling on my online shops! 

4.  There are several best sellers items that are re-hoard that we won't be restocking anymore, like cocktail animal and mermaid toppers and Twilight Zone fortune teller cards.  It's time to move on or at least I'd like to move on, but my life partner, he still wants to continue listing my hoard!  Can you believe that?

Available here from 10 to 100 count.  Photo via JunkDrawerAndMore

Thank you Katherine, Etsy shop owner of SMELLABRATION for sharing your fun gypsy story and adding to the list of how to use these through themes! Read her fun and funny profile here, it's interesting to see how her her business started and it's organic!  Visit her beautiful shop of one of a kind handmade organic scent-ual scents, eco friendly packaging that looks adorably wonderful and more, here. 

Visit some of my favorites, like this organic trio of oils, here! It looks like a little sample pack and she and her husband, William, explain how each ingredient will enhance your health.  If I were to splurge, I'd order this kit of 16 different dried flowers in vials, here.  And if I were on a budget I'd order the 10 organic set of dried cooking herbs, here.

Did I mention that everything is from her organic garden?  What a dream come true because I'd like to follow in their footsteps.  Well, not the organic online store part, but the organic growing flowers, veggies and herbs!  Last chance to check out their shop here and smellabrate all the beauty and talent!  They also will make you a custom scent or inhaler for stress relief or any other occasion!

Speaking of herbs and such, my latest favorite tea is a couple teaspoons of ground coriander seeds, ground cardamon, ginger and pepper seeds to taste with a heaping tablespoon of honey!  It sounds a little weird, but tastes great.  It's a spin off of Indian coffee, called Sukku.

These are the Twilight Zone fortune card slips we will no longer be stocking, we only have one complete set and some random mix ones left in stock here. 
Photo via JunkDrawerAndMore

I had reached my goal of listing 180 items on each shop and made my new goal o list 200 items on each shop!  But sales picked up last week and a lot of hoard items sold, so I'm back to listing to 180 again, which I did this morning. 

Visit our spring cleaning sale of 20% off at all our shops at the moment.  There is only 36 hours until the sale ends at VintageToGoEasy.  They are kind of rolling shop sales, which just seemed to happen again, but I'm pretty sure all the sales are until sometime mid May or sooner.

Free shipping doesn't seem to be working for our shops.  I tried several experiments at each shop using mainly free shipping to see what happens and it seems our repeat sales do much better without free shipping.  I was going to change everything back to regular shipping, but this weekend, Etsy is promoting a free shipping deal, so we will try it and see if it helps sales.  NOT!!!!

The Etsy promo sale is for buyers and is random and are catering to shops that aren't using free shipping, which is weird since Etsy is so into "free" shipping.  From my understanding of what I read, if a buyer spends $25 at a shop that doesn't have free shipping and you are a randomly chosen buyer that spend $25 in shipping, Etsy will pay for your shipping, if you are randomly chosen.  Did anyone out there read it differently?

How to include the new Etsy shop fees, plus their commission for shipping now and USPS fees increased in Jan of 2019 too by zones, so 4 oz now costs $4.00 to ship to the east coast including tracking and insurance. Yowza!  And on top of all that sales have been down and cross marketing (faving/liking) has changed also, so I'm not sure if cross marketing is even helpful anymore.

For instance do shop hearts and number of followers, even matter anymore?  I never fully understood how all that worked anyway, but now I'm wondering if hearts on listings and shop hearts and followers even help a shop anymore.  Anyone out there can help in either departments?  I'm still confused about that!  Thank you in advance! 

Click on the shop names to visit new hoard listed weekly: HoarderRehab with 180 items, The Destiny of Things- 181 items, VintageToGoEasy - 181 items and JunkDrawerAndMore - 177 items.   

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

 Many Etsy buyers have used these for gypsy fortune teller themed parties and weddings,.  We have either a full set of 52, which is one of each kind or random sets in 6 or more.  These are originally from Madame X or Swami napkin disperners that were in road side cafes in the 50s and shown in Twilight Zone's episode Nick of Time with William Shatner, available here.

Photo via The Destiny of Things.

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

My Childhood Bone Bracelet is a Beautiful Choker Now: The Destiny of Things, Story 540

 My Childhood Bone Bracelet is a Beautiful Choker Now:  The Destiny of Things, Story 540

Look how an Etsy shop owner transformed it!  It's beyond amazing!  FROM THIS:

This one has sold, but I have another almost like it here.  

Photo via VintageToGoEasy

Here is the email I received:

Hello again! I hope this "reincarnation" of your precious and treasured bracelet makes you happy. Cheers, Marika

www.etsy.com/listing/700330421/father-and-son-custom-designer-choker?ref...

TO THIS!

Order it here at Marika'sSugarFree Jewelry on Etsy.

Photo via Marika'sSugarFree

What a transformation, right?   Here is what I wrote back:

OMG What a reincarnation! Unbelievable, I don't even recognize my childhood bracelet! Thank you for remembering to share it's beautiful transformation with me! It makes me so happy! I'll share it on my Hoarder Rehab and The Destiny of Things Blog and link it to your shop!

Best to you and many happy sales,
Kennedy

Here's a close up:

Order it here at Marika'sSugarFree Jewelry on Etsy.

Photo via Marika'sSugarFree

I still can't believe that is part of my old childhood bracelet!  What an amazing choker.... I love the abalone cross dangles.  Can you see the details on it?  for example the tiny gold beads that make the jump rings for the cross dangles?  If I could wear jewelry I'd be thinking of ordering this back in all it's glorious reincarnation!!!  I just love choker necklaces!  and used to wear one a lot when I could wear jewelry.

Saying Goodbye:  I am now allergic to most metals in jewelry and have been waiting almost a decade to be able to wear my jewelry again, but now it doesn't really matter because every time I try and wear my favorite pieces of jewelry, they just feel heavy now and I feel better not wearing jewelry.

Here's what it looks like on:

Available here at Marika'sSugarFree Jewelry on Etsy. Marika also took many beautiful photos of all the details of this choker necklace, so be sure and look at all the photos!

Photo via Marika'sSugarFree

What I Learned:

1.   The creativeness of Etsy shop owners and Etsy buyers never cease to amaze me!  And I have so much evidence to prove it, lol.  I have plenty of posted stories on my blog and I have several more to write about in my "draft" pile!  Yes, my hoard of blog stories need to be released, now if I can only find more time to do so!

2.  I've been spending too much of my time spring cleaning, which I guess is good because I've come to another hoarder epiphany.....  I have way too much stuff to either craft with or let go and I'll need to start prioritizing what I can list and what I'll need to donate!  My second experimental purge pile made it from the door to the trunk of my car.  (I still can't use my truck because it is still housing too much of my camping and other hoard!  There's just room to sit in thre!)

My first purge pile turned into all my Etsy shops, so let's see where this second purge pile actually goes!

3.  So I'm thinking about how to spend less time listing because to list 5-6 items a week means taking 8 to 10 photos of each item to list, which takes about 2-3 hours including editing them, then actually listing one item can take me 30 to 60 minutes, especially if I do research on the item with a price comparison and then pricing the item, depending on it's wear or if it's new old stock, etc....  it takes quite some time.....which means to cut costs I'll need to spend less time in all areas, like taking less pictures, not the full 10 Etsy allows, writing less on listing descriptions by depending on photos and then pricing everything dirt cheap!

Cross my fingers and hope I can do this!  because I like to take my time and be ultra thorough!

Have you been spring cleaning and has it made a difference in your life?  It sure has in mine!  However finding a solution to my hoard is still unanswered.  The best thing I can think of right now is to stop adding to it!  and donate what I can let go of without crying!  Okay, not crying, it's more like letting go without doubt!

I mean, can I possibly sell all my hoard in this life time and is that how I want to spend the rest of my living days?

 Here is my second bone stretch bracelet, which I bought when I thought I had lost my first one!  I was already hoarding back in childhood and high school! Available  here.  Photo via VintageToGoEasy

Thank you Etsy shop owner, Marika for sharing your lovely story and making my childhood bracelet into an unrecognizably gorgeous possibility!   Read her interesting profile here, visit here beautiful shop of one of a kind handmade jewelry here.  Visit some of my favorites, besides the obvious one! I love all her jade pieces and one is here.  This necklace would match my jade bracelet, here.  

And for the grand finale, you've got to see her bead art, this one consists of 44,064 Delica seed beads stitched to make a wolf tapestry of her flag ship!  It's absolutely beyond stunning!  HERE!  It took her a year to make it and it would take me 10 years and that's even if I finished it!

I have to say this again, Marika is an amazing artist and many of her pieces are for the bold, but she also has made pieces that are more subtle.  All are lovable and unique!  Check out here shop here and see all the beauty and talent!  She also explains the metaphysical components of all the materials she uses, which is a bonus in my eyes!

   

 Here is the choker I used to wear until I became allergic to metals, available here.

Photo via Hoarder Rehab

I reached my goal of listing 180 items on each shop, so my new goal is to list 200 items on each shop!  Sales are at a trickle for the past few weeks, but still thank my lucky stars that at least some hoard keeps selling!   Sales usually slow down around after Father's day, but this year it seems to have started before Mother's day.

Visit our spring cleaning sale of 20% off at all our shops at the moment.  They are kind of rolling shop sales, which just seemed to happen again, but I'm pretty sure all the sales are until sometime mid May or sooner.

I've been trying to adopt this new way of thinking, "Be willing to forgo all perceptions of gain, desire or profit and thereby be willing to be of selfless service to life in all it's expressions," but it's really difficult for me, but I've been taking baby steps about it and with each relisting I do my best to lower the price. Anyone out there have any suggestions to help me?

Free shipping doesn't seem to be working for our shops.  I tried several experiments at each shop using mainly free shipping to see what happens and it seems our repeat sales do much better without free shipping.  I was going to change everything back to regular shipping, but this weekend, Etsy is promoting a free shipping deal, so we will try it and see if it helps sales.

How to include the new Etsy shop fees, plus their commission for shipping now and USPS fees increased in Jan of 2019 too by zones, so 4 oz now costs $4.00 to ship to the east coast including tracking and insurance. Yowza!  And on top of all that sales have been down and cross marketing (faving/liking) has changed also, so I'm not sure if cross marketing is even helpful anymore.  For instance does shop hearts and number of followers, even matter anymore?  I never fully understood how all that worked anyway, but now I'm wondering if hearts on listings and shop hearts and followers even help a shop anymore.  Anyone out there can help in either departments?  Thank you in advance! 

Click on the shop names to visit new hoard listed weekly: HoarderRehab with 181 items, The Destiny of Things- 181 items, VintageToGoEasy - 182 items and JunkDrawerAndMore - 181 items.   

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

 I just remembered I have another bone bracelet and it's a lot thicker than both of the other ones.  It has an abstract moth or leafy face carved into each bead, available here.

Photo via The Destiny of Things

"Never allow someone to be your priority while allowing yourself to be their option."---Mark Twain

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