"It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan."
~Eleanor Roosevelt~
Have you ever wanted something and then when you got it you did not know what to do with it? Sort of sucks the fun right out of the pleasure of the purchase doesn't it? Well, be careful what you wish for or you might just get it and then not know what to do with it. That is what happened to me recently.
I was browsing through a favorite antique store when I came across a very battered suitcase full of vintage ephemera. I nearly swooned at all the paper goodness it contained and I wanted it all. Yes, I am greedy like that at times. Paper projects galore swam before my eyes and I sort of lost my head. I picked out a few pieces and walked away, in body at least, my mind was still fixated on all that paper.A few days later I still thought about it, dreamed of projects to use it for, and wanted it even more.
I talked it over with Handy Hubby and I talked it over with my best friend, Pam, hoping one of them would talk some sense into me. I decided to ask if the shop owner would sell the lot of paper to me and how much she would want. No harm in asking is there? I thought for sure the price would be too high and then I could put my paper fantasies to rest once and for all.
The price was incredibly low for all that "old paper trash", her words, not mine! I gulped and knew I would soon be the owner of a pile of paper. I had to take the old battered suitcase in the bargain but I considered this a small sacrifice. One suitcase of paper does not look like so much when it is all contained. When it is sorted it is a whole other matter!
The sorting was fun, looking over each piece, seeing dates from the early 1800's up to the 1960's. The variety of the contents was pretty amazing too, sheet music, old canceled checks, personal correspondence, vintage photos, handwritten recipes and old recipe books, old book pages, various fine art prints, bird images from an old book, vintage magazine ads, Weekly Readers from the late 60's and early 70's, vintage magazines and covers, old greeting cards, a few cabinet cards, a whole stack of misc. items from old programs for plays to property deeds, old maps and travel tickets, misc. envelopes from banks and church offerings, a few child's book pages and View Master pockets, post cards, old paper photo frames, school tablets and paper packages, even a reproduction of a 1908 Sears catalog!
After it was all sorted it stretched wall to wall spilling onto a stool and the floor below. Merciful heavens! I was a little horrified when I realized I need to store it all somewhere and the old battered suitcase it came in was not the answer. One online search and a trip to Target later I was somewhat in business of stowing away my stash. I will never need another piece of paper as long as I live...I think, well, at least I hope, no really, I pray! Do they have a place for paper people like me? I think I need help.
I was starting to get a bit overwhelmed at one point as the Mary Poppins paper holding suitcase seemed to be bottomless but my super cute cheering section kept smiling that I could do it. 
I kept wishing their little elf selves would get up and help but they just grinned cheeky little grins and kept reminding me to work faster because Christmas time would arrive, ready or not on my part, and they wanted to decorate the tree NOT sort paper with me. Elves are kind of like that.
So, be careful what you wish for or you might just get it and not know exactly what to do with it. I don't regret the purchase but in the future, I will think ahead to ask myself if I have a place to store it until it can be used. I only wish I had planned better.
Today I will finish the very last sort in the studio, well, all except the three boxes of pesky paper scraps I found squirreled away in various places. See, I told you I need some sort of paper therapy. Anyway, I hope you all have some sort of Christmas fun in store for your day. I promised the elves that we would decorate tomorrow...and there might just be a little paper involved!Blessings,
Miss Sandy
18 comments:
Yes, I have done that with dishes! Then I remember, oh yeah, I have to wash & store all these! The sheet music that was in your suitcase will really be nice used in a project and what an assortment of old photos. I often find old cookbooks in the thrift store with loads of little handwritten notes. It's always like a treasure hunt!
YOU LUCKY GIRL!!!! I wish I had your problem!!!!! That paper looks too good to be true. But, I would get a whip after those elves. Smiling & laughing at you & not helping... SHAME!
Have a wonderful week. Thanks for sharing your goodies. Wish my studio was clean. But, I would have to stay home & work on it but, instead I am out & about everyday! Hugs~Charlene
SAndy -- WOW what a delight -- I am always wondering what hands preserved these recipes --pictures -and books -- DID they care for them the way I do ?? They preserved them - so they must --
What a delight -- messages from another time --Kathy - ga ♥
Miss Sandy - what a find! The answer to your question about what to do for someone who has a paper problem?
MORE paper! I'm sure you'll zip through that lovely ephemera in no time flat. As you do a project, you'll think of another, and another, and another, and then it'll be gone and you'll find yourself looking for another suitcase full!
As I was reading your post this morning, I was reminded of a project that a friend of mine did awhile back. She had her husband build her a big wide frame maybe 6" or so all around. Then she tore or cut different shapes of scrapbook paper and other kinds of paper and decoupaged them to the frame, antiqued it a little, sealed it, and voila! It turned out beautifully - with a big mirror in it! You could do something big like that with your papers. It would be so "one of a kind"!
I burst out laughing when I got to the picture of the long table...laughing with you, not at you!!! I relate totally on the paper storage problem...
ooooh, lucky you!!! it looks like you hit the paper jackpot Miss Sandy...congrats on finding that, and getting a good price...that really is part of the thrill i think...have fun playing with your papers!!!
Oh, what fun! Sometimes when we get what we want, we wonder why we wanted it.
But although you're overwhelmed at the moment, I'm pretty sure you'll adjust and have a ball using your wonderful papers.
Lorrie
Oh how I would LOVE to search through all of those papers, hoping against hope that I might come across some snippet of our family history. You see craftability and I see Genealogy when I see those items. It actually makes my heart sad when I stare at the old photos and wonder why they weren't kept for all time in someone's family. I guess that's how life goes.
I love those elves - my parents have one that has been in our family since forever, all of my 45 years and beyond that. Every year, my sisters and I look for the Elf within their Christmas display. :)
Hope you have a blessed December, my friend.
Love, Linda
Of course you have too much paper, but you know, you have to, if you want to do something with it. Creating from abundance is so much easier in stead of thinking all the time: mmm no I will not use that this time (meaning never!). Just start creating Miss Sandy! lol, the problem will be solved before you know it. Making a few paper wreaths will certainly diminish your stash!
Oh my stars...all I can say is you lucky, lucky girl! :) How I wish I could find a treasure like that, I can't even find old receipt or ledger books here :( Have fun creating, I can't wait to see what beauties you creat! Besos, Rose
shaking head in jealousy...lucky..lucky girl :)
Oh sweet Sandy, I can't think of anyone better to own this wonderful stash than YOU!!!! I'm so happy for you girl!!!! I know you will create beauty with the wonderful old things, xxoo, Dawn
Wow, what a great haul that was ! There is very little Old paper in Las Vegas. Well, very little Old anything, lol !! Unless you count the Fuzzy Dice. :) Cant wait to see what goodies you make Sandy ! Hugs :):)
I echo what Linda said,when I saw your treasure trove my first thought was "how sad", there are pictures and other gems of family history. When I see such items in antique and thrift stores I wonder how someone could value them so little and if my careful collection and documentation of family history will ever be so unimportant as to end up for sale somewhere, or even in a burn pile or paper shredder.
Sad thoughts aside, I just know you will have all that paper turned into gems soon..or you could even consider selling ephemera craft packets!
Sandy--I think it is safe to say, anyone who follows your blog would have the same problem. I loved reading this post, wish I had found the suitcase and contents before you, and LOVE your cheering section(I have about 50 of their relatives in all shapes and sizes, some sans legs, down here in Florida).
Have fun with that ephemera!
Well, I must echo everyone else in saying, "WOW!" I hadn't thought about a Weekly Reader for a long time! All that paper trash will be WONDERFUL! I am so happy for you!
Oh Miss Sandy...It sounds like a GREAT find to me! I never come across good deals like that. It's so funny how what some people treasure, others consider junk! Well, I think you have many readers who think the same way you do.
I look forward to seeing the wonderful things that you create from your stash!
Hugs,
Lori
That was truly a treasure chest! What lovely things, but what an abundance!
It's funny, but I haven't had much time to read blogs lately so I needed to catch up on yours and two things in this post were just for me today.
First, over the last few days I can't begin to tell you how much I've heard the phrase, "Be careful what you wish for because you might get it." Well, I wished for something, a big change, and recently it was granted. I felt much like you did with the paper.
Secondly, this post is a reminder to me to really get on top of the paper situation in my office. It's out of control and not nearly as pretty as your things. It's just regular old junk. Maybe we should start a support group for people with paper addictions?
You did very well with that purchase, even if it did cause some storage concerns. I still regret the stack of letters written home by a WWII soldier "somewhere in Europe." That's how he signed off on all of his letters. An entire stack for $12 and I left it right there. So, yes, you have no regrets with this purchase.
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