Shhh... Don't tell!

I've been making these adorable magnets and tacks out of my Great Grandmother's old jewelery and other found items. I'm going to give them as gifts, so don't tell. :) Great Grandma Hazel was quite a character. She lived through the Great Depression and nearly made it to the Great Recession (I've heard that is what our current economic situation is being called). No one really appreciated her, um, hoarding habits. Until now that is. Waste not, want not! Frugal was an understatement when it came to my Great Grandma. She 'collected' everything, found beauty in the strangest things, stashed money in every sock, film canister, and book. She took advantage of every bit of aid that was available. She's been gone 3 years this coming January and my mom is still going through all her stuff. You can see each generation's lives in her closets. Great Great Grandma's old dresses, Great Grandma's clothes from every decade, Grandma's baby clothes, and my mother and her siblings clothes from the 60's. I don't know if she ever had any of my clothes, but I wouldn't be surprised.
There are too many stories to retell here. Trips to South Dakota, her beautiful chaotic garden, all those chihuahuas, her house packed to the gills and overflowing with doll heads, pepper mills, peppermint schnapps, photos, pill bottles, cereal boxes, newspapers, clothes. . .
I guess this story could be any body's. Most people who survived the Great Depression have their coping mechanisms. But how many people knew their Great Grandma? There is a five generation picture of me with my mom, Grandma, Great Grandma and Great Great Grandma. I have no children, but my cousin Mindy does. Just before Great Grandma died, we got another five generation picture of Travis, Mindy, my mom's brother Jim, Grandma, and Great Grandma. It makes me wonder if another five generation picture is in store for Travis.
I don't know what Great Grandma would think of these magnets and tacks, but I'd like to think that she would find them beautiful. It is my way of connecting to generations past. Each member of my family will get a few as a remembrance of Great Grandma Hazel. Probably not this year, I'm not done yet!
Happy Holidays!!