A Forgotten Treasure Box

While prepping to do a Product Review of Regreet, I came across an old box with tons of letters, notes, cards, quotes, ticket stubs, and all sorts of things. Some things I had completely forgotten about. Other things I had "lost" awhile back and suddenly found again. Other things were reminders and highlights of life well lived.

The box of old things

In this old box I found 25 two cent stamps.  Over 30+ old birthday invites from 3 years ago that are printed on both sides.

What am I supposed to do with this? I can't use it as scrap paper. But there are only so many things you can do with 30 images of yourself. (Yes, I had a cool picture of myself put on my birthday invite). And those are some of the two cent stamps in the bottom left corner. :) That's like finding money.

This pretty picture and note is from a student in a classroom that I chose for a Donor's Choose program. I love this program. You get to see exactly what each classroom needs for toys, to supplies, to books and you can pick which project and classroom that you'd like to fund. My favorite part is having the students draw pictures and write you notes thanking you for their new things and they tell you exactly what they did with the things your donation paid for. I remember tearing up when I first received the thank notes and as I found them again, I cried again. Happy tears.

Okay. This is a little shameful. See these Christmas cards. They are cute ones I bought, wrote notes in, put in envelopes, put stamps on and then put in a box. Those cards are from Christmas 2005. Four years ago. How lazy am I that I apply the stamps and just never put them in the mailbox. Unfortunately with the way the cards are made and how I wrote in them, I'm not sure how to reuse them. I guess, if I still like the people I wrote them out to four years ago, I can resend them this year. Although some of the address probably changed. 

The lower left hand side with the pink envelope on top. That's a stack of cards and pictures for my ex boyfriend that died in a car crash in college. Since this summer I've been looking for those pictures and never thought to look in this box...since i have a separate photo box and thought they might be in there. Finding these photos of him and I brought me to tears as well. 

This is one of the photos I found.

I also came across over 20+ handwritten letters and cards from my friend Amber who lives in New York. She sends me cards every year for my birthday, valentine's day and christmas...as she's jewish! She sends me just because cards. She sends me ornaments. Handmade scarfs and mittens. I mean, I can't even place a value on these. And I could never regreet or regift anything from here. I had no idea the volume of stuff she sends me until I started making piles and Amber had her own couple of piles!

This is Amber. Isn't she gorgeous!

I also came across wedding invitations and holiday gala invitations and company picnic invitations and all these things are too expensive and pretty to throw away or rip apart and turn into something new. And I don't scrapbook and I also don't think they are fitting for my art journals. So what do I do with those things? Suggestions?

I came across many dear notes and letters and it was great to reread them. Although I wish they didn't live in a box under my bed. There were also the notes and cards from people who are no longer a part of my life, no longer my friends...and some of them were still great to have and others, my impulse was to burn. :) I didn't though. I'll upcycle them into brand new cards!

Which upon closer examination I saw a number of cards that were handmade from friends or blank cards that received a lot of jazz from magazine clippings and such.

While I won't be able to regreet most of these things because they are either too precious to give up or won't fit the regreet labels, I will defintely take the time to regift them in my own way. I do a lot of art journaling and have all the supplies I need to give new life to these cards, take back some of my storage space and divert them from going into the trash.






You also, don't have to wait for the next card to come in to try something. I once took quotes and pictures I'd ripped out of magazines and framed them to make cast gifts for a show I worked on. While each of the seven pieces were uniquely different there was a common thread throughout the tie them all together. I actually wish I had kept them all but giving them to the director and each cast member was much better.

So if you have an old frame just lying around, why not throw something together and send a creative gift to a friend.

Or I once sent over 10 different postcard type things to my mom. I just took cardstock paper, added quotes, pictures, and pretty paper and mailed them to her. When I later went home ot visit I saw she had framed some, had some lining her bathroom sink, her bedroom dresser and in other places around the house. During a trip to Vegas with her, she even brought some to make the hotel room more like her bedroom. It took me a short period of time to mix match quotes, pictures, and paper and for her is something so precious.

Why not find ways to make the scraps around your house into a creative gift for someone you care about?