By Shannon Williams
Again, I have to talk (write) about “stuff” and what to do with it all. I am at the age in life, that dealing with stuff is just a major issue, as I have years of my stuff, then my parents and my husband parents belongings, and not to mention some “ Stuff “ that still belongs to my son and is housed here with me. One of my favorite things to do with items is to find a way to repurpose them and bring them to life again, but not in the original form. What does one do with linen napkins with a monogram that is several generations back, they just don’t go with red solo cups very well, but a napkin makes a great little pillow!!

When I was pregnant with my son, I had to spend several weeks in the hospital. My dear Mother was there every day, staying with me. She always had a project and at that time, it was her mother in law’s dining room chairs. She refinished all of the chairs, including using needlepoint to redo the cushions. She would sit in my hospital room working on her needlework. She ended up doing six chair cushions before my son’s first birthday. So, I used those grandmothers’ linen napkins to make a small pillow, so each of my siblings has a chair and a little pillow made from the napkin to rest in the chair.

When my husband brought his mother’s bedroom suite to our home, he used one of her old nightgowns to wrap up the mirror. I just did not have the heart to throw it out, so little pillows were made for her grandchildren and tooth fairy pillows were made for her great grandchildren. Full disclosure here, I am not a seamstress, in fact my homemaking teacher, that I told you about in an earlier column, told me it was a good thing I could cook, because I just did not have a gift for sewing. I have a secret weapon, in Janet Leigh (Originals by Janet Leigh); she can make anything with fabric happen and always has the best ways to make something old into a dear treasure! She was the one who first told me about “tooth fairy pillows”. She recently took two t-shirts that I had made for my father with his college nickname Big HooHa, into a special pillow for me. I can tell you that it brings joy to my heart each time I see it and on days I need to feel him near me, I just grab that pillow and it fills my heart with his love.

I have taken silver spoons and had spoon rings made and also made a wind chime out of the same set of silver. Again, it does not go with Red Solo cups, which is the only way I entertain these days.

When I discovered that some of my grandmother’s china had broken in storage, I made a mosaic cross from the broken pieces. My lifestyle now just does not include using many of the items, which have been handed down to me, but I still want those items to be part of my life to remind me of the person who once used them. Trying to find ways to do this is great fun and allows me to pass on these treasures to the next generation, most who also use the Red Solo method of entertaining and Red Solo cups just do not last long enough to pass on !! Old is new is so good for so many things in our life and a great way to deal with stuff!

[Oct-19-2020]