I have made some of my own, and a few I got from some interesting notebooks that had stencil covers. I found a book with cardboard stencils, and used a few of them. And some stencils that are Mendhi stencils, used for henna tattoos! Other things that you might not think of.... lace, even some interesting flyswatters. I use them in card making, in gelli printing, in art journal pages, just doing it for fun with inks or paints or sprays.
So there are two reasons I do this inventory, one to see if I can cull out some so others can get some use out of ones I don't use, and to remind myself of what I actually have so I will use them. And to get myself in creative mode. Sometimes it's too much in creative mode because I stop what I am doing and create. Right now my creative surface is full of stuff and I need to clear it off before I can do anything. That's ok, it will keep me from getting too sidetracked.
I'm getting there. My next project is stickers, which I love for who knows what reason. I have a notebook of them, and a drawer of them. I like the notebook because you can flip through and see them, and they don't come off the background... but I think I have too many for that notebook, so I either need to not worry about it or cull my collection.
I also found some projects I need to get finished. One thing at a time, right? It overwhelms me if I try to think of it all at once. I have also told myself that I am under no obligation for any of it. That helps, because sometimes when I think of things I was going to do... like a wall hanging for C or M or J (which all three had fabric gathered, but never finished) or all the card ideas I have but don't get to, or the supplies I buy or never use.... well it gets me into "I am such a failure" mode and that never helped anybody, it's just a deadly down spiral.
So the goal for today was to get through one box of stuff. Instead, I went through my stencils. I did eventually get that box emptied. And culled out a small pile of stencils I never use and can't imagine using. So my Out pile is growing, but the thrift stores aren't open at the moment due to the pandemic, so can't donate. I'm going to see about making a few calls and see what I can find out.
I've been going through my clothes, and I am making good progress letting go. The KonMari method is not particularly helpful to me, since it involves gathering each category into a pile and then putting them away and I don't have all that sorting room. But something that HAS been helpful is thanking whatever you are putting in the out pile. It sounds crazy, but when I talk to the item, thank it for serving me (or my mom, or dad, or whosever it was) and tell it to go bless someone else, it really helps me let it go. I have a gorgeous embroidered pillow (actually a LOT of them; I had talented aunts, mom, and mother in law) and picturing someone being delighted to have it instead of me grudgingly keeping it "because so and so made it" and I know MY kids don't want them... but by that letting it go and reminding me that someone else using it beats another 20 years in a box somewhere... well it helps me let stuff go.
Things are memory triggers. But truthfully I don't need ALL the things my father made to remember my father. I handed out a lot of ceramics to my kids and cousins, but there are STILL MORE> and I just can't keep all. Telling them to go bless someone else helps. I still have a lot. And I have pictures of all that he ever made, since he did that. So I can look at the pictures, and smile.
Right now I have many of my wall hangings hanging up. I can't stand to let them go, but maybe I should. Blessing someone else is a good thing, not a bad thing. Some day, my kids will have to go through my stuff, and they will stand there saying, what the heck should I do with THIS?? And I should really let go of a LOT.
Funny. I was thinking of a blouse that was my mom's. I remember thinking one time, that's going to be mine some day and then feeling guilty that I thought that. It was a really loose shirt jacket on her, so it was like a regular blouse on me...Well it's mine now, my mom is gone. And when I go to put it on, it is not a warm memory of my mom that greets me but a memory of my greedy thoughts. I need to let that bless someone who does not have that connection to it, or LET GO of my guilt. It does make me laugh. There is a LOT that is now mine that must be let go of. There's a packed garage out there of other folks' stuff, as well as my own. I would love to just hire a dumpster for much of it.
So now I will go and find fifteen things to let go of. It won't take long. I'll be hugging coats and pillows, and thanking them for keeping my mom warm and comforting her. I can't wear them, she was 5 ft tall and 95 pounds, and I am..... larger than that. Of course that reminded me of my mother in law, also a 5 ft tall 95 pound person, who was trying to get me to try on some jackets of hers one day. They were size 8. I wear somewhere around a 12 or 14. I finally gave in and "tried" to get one one but of course it wouldn't fit. Her response? "I had no idea you were so fat". Thanks Grandma.
But there's someone out there who needs this exact coat. And these pillows. And these hangers, and suitcases, and books.....
and I need a thrift store to be open somewhere.
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