Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Unlocking a Great Idea!

keys

It was one of those “Aha!” moments.  I looked at the rug in the sewing room, and looked at the curtains.  And then I thought of the rug in Amy’s room.  And the lights turned on. 

rug

Old rug..

blue curtains

Barkcloth curtains (and my mannequin’s arm!)

palm rug

Rug in Amy’s room.

I know this isn’t an earth shattering revelation, but all of a sudden it came to me that Amy's  rug would go perfectly with the sewing room curtains, and I asked her if she’d care if I switched her rug for the rug in the sewing room.  She is getting a room makeover as her Christmas present, and so it did not matter to her. She’ll be getting a new rug of her own choosing soon.   And so she helped me do some rug swapping right there and then.  (I feel guilty in that the sewing room rug still had bits of thread on it from my last sewing project, but I’m going to vacuum it for her.)

The sewing room is so striking now, with the rug and the curtains.  Why I wonder, didn’t I think of it before?

I guess this is my point today.  What causes those “Aha!” moments to happen?  What causes our thoughts to suddenly see things in a new way?

Monday night, I was contemplating what I would come up with for today’s post, and I could think of nothing.  Sometimes, I have so many ideas that they line up in my mind like airplanes on the runway, waiting for their turn to take off.  And at other times, nothing…

And then I happened to look at my key chain, full of so many other things than keys I actually need and use-a number 19 tag (19 is my favorite number), a Valerie keychain from a dear friend, a WWII era Victory key, a mini tape measure, a lucky horseshoe and penny, and my giant safety pin, given to me by my mom years ago-a sentimental favorite (almost confiscated at the airport once when they couldn’t decide if it could be used as a weapon.) 

Aha!

So my question today-what do you keep on your keychain just for fun, or sentiment, or luck?

12 comments:

  1. Do you know - I have nothing on my key chain but keys. I am so lame. I used to have a rock climbing clip that said Baylor for years. I wore it out.

    Love the rug/curtains combo. I hope you'll post before/after pics of Amy's room, if she doesn't mind sharing :-)

    I owe you an email - soon!!

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  2. I used to carry a huge key chain too until I needed to lighten the load in my purse (shoulder issues) and on the fussy starter of a former car. In the good ol' days, I had the fancy handle of a spoon made into jewelry, my father's lucky four leaf clover/cleverly disguised screw driver and a small string of beads. Oh, I also had a little pig that oinked when squeezed. It was also a small pen light. Now they all reside in my desk drawer and where I can see them. My key chain is b-o-r-i-n-g!

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  3. I have a very sparse keychain, and here's why. Years ago, I had my purse stolen and my keys were in it, naturally. House keys, car keys, you name it. Since then, I've trimmed down my keychain so that I can keep my keys in my pocket when I'm out, feeling that they're not as safe in my purse. After all these years, I keep them in my pocket out of sheer habit, and so I keep them lite :)

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  4. Lisa-I bet Amy would like a rock climbing clip. I'll have to get her one. she still loves climbing! I will post pictures of the before and after:)

    Mary-I like that you've put all your keychain treasures in a desk drawer where you can see them:) If I add much more, I'll have to do that too! My shoulders bother me too from time to time.

    Joanne-I'm so sorry you had your purse stolen! I can understand your sparse keychain now-that would be a very traumatic experience! I only hope the thief was eventually caught for his crimes. On a side note, it would be comforting in a way to jingle ones keys in one's pocket:)

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  5. I am sad to report that my keychain has nothing special on it. I do have a natural stone I have been meaning to make a decorative attachment for to add to my keychain (I even bought a book on how to make decorative knots) but like many of craft projects lately there has not been any time. Sad. Face.

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  6. Are you gonna do a post on Amy's room make over? I hope so.
    On my keychain is a CVS Extracare card and a Panera Membership card. Nothing too fun or sentimental.
    While I was in NM I got Sam a green rhinestone Alien keychain. She loved it more than the expensive handmade bracelets I bought her. :)

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  7. Perfect match!!!

    ... a silver heart - from AK

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  8. Tina-some day you will!! Happy. Face. :)

    Ms. G.-I will post photos of Amy's room-I'm excited to see what she has in mind. And the Alien keychain for Sam sounds really cool! I can see why she loved it:)
    (ps-I'm having comment trouble over at your blog, but I'll keep trying!)

    Lisa-Thanks:) A silver heart from Alaska sounds like a pretty special addition to your keychain:) I hope you are settling in nicely in your new surroundings:)

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  9. So I'm looking at your "old rug" wondering where I've seen it before and — Aha! In our living room! Lol.

    Love all the unique things on your keychain! There's a little fuzzy giraffe on my keychain from my friends.

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  10. Courtney-we have the same rug? That is so neat! It's a pretty rug, isn't it? After we redo Amy's room I'll find another room to put it in. I was horrified that while it was in the sewing room I actually dropped my iron on it-but no harm done:)

    Your fuzzy giraffe sounds so cute!

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  11. That kind of thing happens to me all the time - where the most obvious thing just dawns on me after a few years of looking at it. I love those curtains - did you make them too? Sadly I don't have anything on my keychain:(

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  12. I'm in good company then Kim:) I did make the curtains-that barkcloth is a favorite of mine. Hugs:)

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