Using the Stash

I’ve set a goal for myself.  You can play, too, if you’d like.  It is kind of easy but kind of…..limiting, too.  If you are anything like me, you have a large stash of things tucked here, there and everywhere.  Things like chairs, wood, lights, bits and bobs, fabric and frames.  Please tell me I am not alone in this.  I have stuff stashed in my father’s machine shed, in my parents’ basement, the garage, the barn and the loft.  Plus all that I have stored away neatly in my studio.  There may also be some here in the house, although with the studio, usually only completed projects find their way into the house.  Except the hallway….it lives here, hanging over my head.

My goal is to make over the things I have, get them ready to use or to sell, without spending big $$$$ doing anything over.  I’m willing to spend money on Milk Paint, that doesn’t count in my books!!  I know yard sale season is coming and I know myself, I won’t be able to say no.  Things will call my name and presented themselves with a new vision of how they want to look.  And they will come home with me.  And they may or may not get worked on, in all honesty.  That’s how I find myself in the position I am in now – too much stuff!!

I brought some things home and have started working on getting things fixed up and made pretty again.  Everything is dirty and needs a good cleaning before I start doing anything to them.  Something need a lot of help, others. not as much.  I love getting to plot and plan and come up with a scheme for each item.  And of course I love being in the studio working on things, too.  Painting, sanding and gluing and waxing and whatever else I can do out there.

I’m hoping to be able to organize another market or two in the Spring (real Spring, not this snowy mess that is not really Spring.)  And then I’ll be able to sell some of my goodies there.  I may also have some other things up my sleeve, more on that at a later date.  But I will list the goodies that are for sale over on my Facebook Page, pop over to see what’s available, it’s listed in the album named Farm Fresh Market.  I’m thinking about an Etsy site, too.  Anyone have any great insight on that?

Anyway, back to the stash…. I know my friend, Alena, is working through her stash of yarn and making some awesome things with what she has on hand.  { I will also be doing a Creative Interview with her next week, too. } And my other friend, Catherine, has been working through her stash of unfinished projects and whipping things up, too!  It’s exciting to see others doing the same thing!

Is it that Spring is on it’s way?  Do we feel the need to shed the layers that hold us back?  Shed the things that we have hanging over our heads?  There is something so incredibly satisfying about taking something you’ve had, turning it into something else or making it more attractive and then putting it to use or moving it along.

So, hopefully over the next few weeks you will be seeing more and more things come across your screen from me.  Things that have taken on a new life and a new purpose. The one thing I’m finding is that even though I do things with the intention to sell them, I find that I want to keep it all!!

How about you?  Do you have a stash you are saving for a rainy day?  Do you hoard things because you just never know what you might need?  Are you in the process of clearing out your stash?  Please feel free to share your hoard or your results!  We’d love to see them!!

To be continued,

Lori