My Dream Book Jewelry Fundamentals of Metalsmithing by Tim McCreight: The Destiny of Things Story 545

Jewelry Fundamentals of Metalsmithing by Tim McCreight:  The Destiny of Things Story 545

My "once upon a time" dream book come true or at least close enough!  BEFORE:

Photo via VintageToGoEasy

This was one of my many dream books from the late 90s that I still had a tight grip on because when I retired from teaching one of things I wanted to try was jewelry making.  I did retire and became allergic to many things, one of them being metal.  Don't worry, I can touch door knobs and water faucet fixtures now, but not so much jewelry.  

Ho hum, so I finally let go of one of dreams by letting go of this book!  And guess what?  It went to another retired teacher, so she could fulfill her dreams!  In my book, that's as perfect as it gets in my hoarder rehab department!

Here is the email I received:

Hello.  I’m a retired teacher. I have been taking silversmithing classes for several years now. A friend shared this book with me and I just loved it. Was so glad you had one to sell. Making jewelry is now my passion.  Loved your little gift bags. Each piece made me smile 😊
Thanks so much for your special efforts.

What are the chances of this book going from one retired teacher to another?  I am so thankful!  This is the kind of email that keeps me motivated to continue with my Hoarder Rehab journey!   which has been waning for several months now!

And the email came with some beautiful silversmithing photos! 

What a beautiful lotus flower!

Photo via kind Etsy buyer

I love these playful dragonflies!  Photo via kind Etsy buyer

Below is my favorite of them all!

I want these!  How were they made?  I hope this person opens and Etsy shop soon!

photo via kind Etsy buyer

Saying Goodbye:  So one dream is building and another dream has been let go and even though it's not my dream coming true but someone else's, that's a good thing because now even in a tiny way, I've helped someone else's passion grow while for me, I've made room for a new possibility.  

And one thing I've learned as a recovering hoarder is that even one possibility is like having a key to everything and holding on to old dreams is like wanting to sleep all day.

I've loved lockets and shadow box dioramas, since I was a kid and would have loved making a locket that a locked door with key was made to open secrets!  Even though I can't make this out of metals, I can still make shadow box diorama vignettes! 
Photo via VintageToGoEasy

What I Learned:

1.  As a recovering hoarder, I am either a true optimist or in denial because I've been holding on to this book for over 20 years now!  Better late than never and I'm thankful that I could finally let it go!

2.  And now that I think about it.... I did get a new book to take it's place.  Well, not just one but two!  I'm usually too late by the time I think Junk Oki has a new book out, but this year I am not!  And I ordered her new book, Truly Indispensable and a book by Misao Wada!

Both are beautiful and part of my new dream of Mending Ways!

3.  I have a ton of Hoarder Rehab stories piling up, so I've got to limit myself to an hour per post now!  Wish me luck!

What dreams have you replaced lately?

 I've collected stuff with eyes, hands and crosses since college and I often use them in my textile art. so even though I might not be able to make them in metal, I can open up the possibility to some other materials!  Photo via VintageToGoEasy

Thank you Etsy buyer for taking the time to send me an email with photos!  I really appreciate the motivation it gives me to keep on posting about my Hoarder Rehab journey and the inspiration to move with my dreams into a different medium!  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Your metalsmithing is beautiful and I'll think I'll experiment with yours in fabric and see what happens!  So fun, thanks!

Eyes and cross incorporated with fabric.  Interesting, I guess I need to be more conscious about what I'm doing!  Eye heart cross patch available here.  Photo via Hoarder Rehab

I'm still doing my best to reach my goal of 185 to 190 listed items per shop.  So far, so good!  In many ways because hoard keeps selling each time I make my goal at 185!  I'm so thankful for that!

Click on the shop names to visit new hoard listed weekly: HoarderRehab with 181 items, The Destiny of Things- 184 items, VintageToGoEasy - 185 items and JunkDrawerAndMore - 187 items.   

 

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

 

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

DIY Farrel's Zoo Ice Cream Party: The Destiny of Things, Story 544

DIY Farrel's Zoo Ice Cream Party:  The Destiny of Things, Story 544

What double whammy memories!  and what a summer fun idea!  BEFORE: 

 

6 different color monkey ice cream, cake or cocktail drink toppers in 50 or 100 count, available here.

Photo via Hoarder Rehab

I'm so excited about this new idea!  Here is the note I received:

Received them quickly; the finishing touch for tomorrow’s party! We are making a big bowl with 3 types of ice cream, every topping possible, the plastic monkeys, cherries and whipped cream and ran around the back yard “Farrell ‘s ice cream style“before serving.

How fun is that going to be?  And in more ways than one!  Okay, the running around the backyard yelling, "Farrel's ice cream style" or "I scream for ice cream" is a must because you won't be able to do it afterwards!  That's for sure!  It's 30 scoops or 8 1/2 pounds of ice cream.

This is as close as I could find to it's original recipe! from statesman journal, here 

Just in case you're curious, the Farrell's Zoo, or Portland Zoo as it was originally called, contained a giant scoop each of vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, chocolate chip mint, peppermint, and spumone ice cream to make the first layer. Orange, raspberry and lemon sherbet alternated with scoops of vanilla to create the second layer. Poured over the entire bowl were the following toppings: strawberry, chocolate, pineapple, butterscotch and blackberry. Three bananas were cut crosswise and spaced evenly around the bowl. A stripe of whipped cream decorated the edge of the bowl between each banana slice. Then rosettes of whipped cream were sprayed on top of each banana and topped with a plastic toy animal. The crowning touch were the chopped toasted almonds and cherries sprinkled generously over the whole bowl.

Did you get that last part?  Each banana is topped with a plastic toy animal, that's where all the monkeys come to play!  And it's not over yet because that much ice cream sundae deserves a hellabalu!

It's so much, it takes two strong men to carry it with much to do! And off it raced in a giant stainless steel bowl of ice cream cradled in a wooden board balanced on the shoulders of two strong young men. Sirens blaring, bells clanging around the restaurant they went until finally it made it to the customer's table.  You can watch a delivery on youtube here.

It looks a lot bigger when it's at your table and your ready to dig in!

Saying Goodbye:  I remember saying goodbye to Farrel's, but they made a come back and there is still one left now in Brea, California.  It's a must for childhood bucket lists to bring back memories and make new ones!

What I Learned:

1.  Etsy buyers are so creative!  I had forgotten all about how the monkey and other animals were used for Farrel's Zoo back in the day!  And this Etsy buyer has revived it all!  Thank you!

2.  We won't be restocking these or any of our cocktail toppers once they are gone.  I have conflicted feelings over that, but as a recovering hoarder I feel like I should move on to my other interests, which at the moment seems to be mending and textile art.  Plus I need more room and having these in bulk so we can sell them affordably takes up more space then I like.

I am continually asking myself, would I rather have room for cocktail animals or fabric?  I need to start asking myself with more of our best sellers that take up a lot of space!

3.  I've been organizing and cleaning up the room that has all my hoard and I realized that I have a lot of supplies in drawers that I never use and have all my art stuff in boxes piled up!  Shouldn't it the other way around?  lol.  Working on that now! 

4.  I got lost in the world of Pikord for a week, not kidding, which is like Pinterest, but you don't need an account to lookie loo all over for as long as you want and it actually takes you to the original site of the source, so I ended up exploring a lot blogs, shops and other places.  I even bought stuff I've seen over and over on pinterest, but could never figure out where it originated.  It was fun when I started on Monday, but before I knew it, it was the weekend!

Zoo animal in smaller amounts for Ice cream sundae's and banana splits, available here

photo via VintageToGoEasy

Thank you Etsy buyer for your kindness and sharing your fun story.  It brought back a lot of memories for me, like my favorite order was a Tin Roof.  Love all the salty Spanish peanuts with fudge and ice cream. Thank you for being so creative and fun and letting me know how you made your own Farrel's zoo!

 

What Farrel's memories do you wish to share?  Have you ever heard a pin drop at Farrel's?  Not a chance, right?  Once, when we were at Farrel's and the zoo was making it's round when one of the runner's slipped and the zoo took a jump and landed on someone's head!  Just like in cartoons!  You could hear a pin drop.

Perhaps you'd like to add some mermaids to your dessert, available here.

photo via VintageToGoEasy

I'm still aiming for 185 to 190 listed items.  So far, so good!  In many ways because hoard keeps selling each time I make my goal at 185!  I'm so thankful for that!

Click on the shop names to visit new hoard listed weekly: HoarderRehab with 183 items, The Destiny of Things- 182 items, VintageToGoEasy - 184 items and JunkDrawerAndMore - 185 items.   

 

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

If you just need all mermaids, we have that too for pool and beach parties! Available here

Photo via Hoarder Rehab

Happy Friday!  And thank you for your visit!