One Way to Save on Vintage Ephemera

I adore sifting through thrift store bins and flea market stands for lovely paper remnants from the past. How thrilling it is to find a 1940's women's magazine stockpiled with fashion sketches, skin cream ads and glimpses of Old Hollywood glamour.

One vintage magazine alone holds a myriad of creative sparks. I love to delicately cut along images that complement my personal style, then arrange them with decorative paper and found objects in a one of a kind collage.

One thing I don't love is to waste valuable resources. Vintage emphemera can be expensive. Lately, I am using my scanner and photo editing programs to preserve and reuse vintage ephemera. This saves me both time and money, as I can re-size images to fit particular projects and can make one new again with a little digital manipulation.

Having a computer file full of scanned and re-purposed vintage ephemera can help when money is scarce. And some pictures are just too beautiful to only use once!

In Pursuit of Many Passions

I have struggled my entire working adulthood with the dilemma of choosing a career. The traditional model for employment is to follow one pre-carved vocation and dedicate a massive chunk of your waking hours to it.

Recently, I read The Renaissance Soul: Life Design for People with Too Many Passions to Pick Just One by Margaret Lobenstine. This book was a revelation for me. She points out that some people become bored and restless when they are cut off from variety. Renaissance Souls are gravitated to multiple careers and hobbies and are invigorated by new challenges.

If I could live my ideal life, this is what it would look like:

I would be self-employed, and have multiple streams of income. Those streams of income would include creating and selling crafts, writing, selling vintage items and teaching via workshops or personal interest classes. To maintain my freedom to pursue these interests, I will live a life of voluntary simplicity. The less financial obligations I have, the better. When I am not busy pursuing all these passions, I’ll learn how to garden, speak French, sew, read, volunteer or whatever strikes my fancy at the time.

Currently, the biggest obstacle I have for obtaining that ideal is the need for a steady paycheck. I need the stability of a full-time job to help pay off credit card and student loan debt. I also want my savings to bulk up before I take the plunge into financial self-sufficiency.

Now that I have a dream in place, I'll draw a plan to obtain my goals. The first step is to develop my craft business, Lovely Fever, and sell my mixed media journals and altered décor boxes online on Etsy. Meanwhile, I will work my day job and keep on paying down that debt until it’s gone. Earnings from my side business will help slowly eradicate my debt load and also be reinvested into the business.

I am excited with the possibilities for a Renaissance Soul life design, but it will definitely take time! It might take several years to rid myself from bosses! But as my time frees up more and more, I know I will pursue the things I love intensely and find a way to make ends meet. For all I know, we get one crack at this thing called life, and I intend to fill it with passion and not as a corporate zombie.

Does anyone out there make a living from multiple interests? Or does anyone long for the freedom of self-employment? If so, please feel free to comment! I would love to hear what you have to say!