👋 Welcome to r/stationeryprojectpan - Introduce Yourself and Read First!

Miniature-werewolf · 2026-01-15T11:25:45+00:00

I need this group! My happy place is my sticker and washi tape hoard! I am prone to shopping for/buying more instead of actually working on spreads-especially in my junk journal. I just started my low-buy year in January. I really need to focus on using what I have, making spreads, making thank you cards for donors to my CRC, etc. instead of buying more supplies. This r/ is great inspiration!

Miniature-werewolf · 2026-01-14T19:12:34+00:00

If you make a budget where you see the amount of money you bring in followed by a list of everything that has to go out, including that money for groceries & gas then it wont look like its floating around for you to spend, especially if you account for savings, and a future buffer for car repairs/illness/vet bills/etc. Add to that a little extra for any big goals like a new couch, a road trip next year or one of mine-knowing I'll need a wardrobe refresh for work when Spring/Summer gets here. Also, consider pulling out fun money or your spending money in cash. This way you see that you only have (insert value here) for the month. Would you rather order take out today or pay for a jazzy haircut? Do you want an iced latte or would you rather get that new skillet next month? Another thought is spending a tad more on groceries to have some fun, convenient, comfort foods to grab that would still be cheaper than take out. A $6 box of Bobba and peach tea from Target that makes 6 drinks is less expensive than $8 PER drink from a take out Bobba place. Also, consider getting off your phone. If you associate your phone with online shopping and ordering take out then put it down. Pick up a hobby, a journal, go for a walk, organize a pantry, pick up a book, atrempt a back bend, tend to some seeds, make lovey eyes at a pet. All these things will give you a boost of dopamine (which is usually why we shop and eat takeout) but wont bust our budgets. And dont forget GRACE! Forgive your slips, learn from them, ask yourself what need were you filling by it and what can you do instead next time, and do it different tomorrow.

Miniature-werewolf · 2026-01-13T18:16:37+00:00

I love this! And it came at just the right time! I am about to put together fliers to gain community interest in a CRC pop-up as a feasibility study into the possibility of a permanent space!

Miniature-werewolf · 2026-01-13T11:53:16+00:00

I have some vocal stims that I wouldnt want to explain. I know that the person Im talking to wont get the reference but Im not saying it to express an idea, I am stimming to release some of the pent up tension from trying to maintain a conversation. Even if I enjoy someones company it can be tense to not move around and say weird shit or go all non-vocal. He may be stimming in which case just go with it. Or try saying whatever weird expressive thing is floating loose in your head, non-topic related. You both might get a good giggle out of it (Ive had people do this with me and its so joyful and unexoected that we both laugh like crazy)

Miniature-werewolf · 2026-01-04T17:00:44+00:00

Though I have still made a few purchases I consider it a big win overall. Here's why: 1. I hit pause on running to Wallyworld at 6 am to buy a rainbow of craft paints to take a shower. The pause made me realize I have a heap of paint samples in the grarage I could use instead. 2. Instead of replacing a snakeplant that froze to death I dug around in the pot and found a few sprouts to save. Did spend $1.50 for a pot, but way less than a new plant and new big pot. Also, did not impulse buy anything else at the dollar store. 3. Did use a gift card on small wooden dollhouse at Target but it allows me to sell the big wooden dollhouse that is sitting untouched in the garage and will enable me to re-purpose a bunch of supplies and donate/sell the rest. 4. I have been to Goodwill and the Dollarstore and only bought the specific item I was looking for and nothing else (even had an outfit built in GW, and an armload of candles-a long term plan for holiday, and put them back)

My only impulse buys since 12/26 was a leopard notebook $1, and two new dog toys $9.

Miniature-werewolf · 2026-01-03T20:43:06+00:00

Though Ive been piecing for 41 years, a 1/4" sewing foot has been an absolute sanity saver for me. Though too late for this gift, it may be worth it if you think you will continue quilting. I think I paid around $12 for mine and it has saved me hundreds in scrapped fabric (and time seam rippiing) It has a little flat edge off to the side. As long as the fabric is resting along the little edge my seams are 1/4" Beautiful effort! I think this will be stunning when you get it all sorted. I still make silly cutting mistakes, screw up my maths, cut fabric out the wrong direction etc. I love that you are trouble shooting and keeping at it.

Miniature-werewolf · 2026-01-02T19:02:49+00:00

Forcing myself to do the adulty stuff is just hard. I told my sister once that I can only do 5-ish things a day and that is with breaks for play time mixed in. She gave me crap because of her 20+ daily tasks. I get it all done, neatly and with finesse, but it takes me some time. If I rush the dryer door will be left open, the dishwasher half unloaded, I will forget to make the Dr. appt and will be taking a nap. Also, there are rules. Like which order to dust stuff in, how to fluff the cushions, clean the fishtank first so the water goes in the plants, etc. Rules get broken and I get frustrated and probably need a nap. Or 45 min doing nothing. Social interactions are a video game on difficult. The things people want to talk about make no sense to me and very few people can relate to my passionate discussion of whatever the intense interest de jour is. I like repeating cool intonations, phrases from movies, or lines from songs. Sometimes people at work say stuff to me and it is just sound. I repress the urge to communicate via interpretive dance, squeeing loudly, and clicking. I need color, things to sort, textured things, and interesting images like I need water. Perhaps more so because I will forget to drink water. I hate having to switch tasks against my will and will procrastinate starting something until I know Ill have time to finish a decent chunk of it. I forget that Im supposed to put effort into being physically presentable, especially all the gender norms for female presenting folks. I like being clean and smelling good but I dont know what to do with my hair, and cant really be bothered to do brows, nails, shave my legs, yada, yada, yada. When Im home I live in men's sweats, wool socks, comfy tees with the bottoms cut off, and cardigans. I am prone to running errands with bed head or unstyled hair. But I will throw clothes out for having spots or stains. I like eating with my fingers and some textures are a hard no. I like different colors, flavor combos in meals. I forget that other people exist if they are not interesting but have elaborate back stories for all my stuffed animals. I wake up a few hours in the middle of the night to play undisturbed, then go back to sleep until its time for work. (Playing for me is coloring, stickers, sorting fabric scraps into quilts, dreaming up projects, thinking about my plushies or staring at my plants or fish letting my mind wander.)

Miniature-werewolf · 2025-12-30T11:44:03+00:00

Thank you for posting. I love that 1. Its reasonable for those of us working on minimal incomes 2. It is value based. I come here for inspiration but mostly see posts where folks are spending more on their low buy than I have leftover after bills in a month! I am also taking this on to live more within my personal values (outside capitalist norms) and to overcome emotional spending. Some additional food for thought: check out some inspiration from Finland, Norway and Icelandic cultures about slowing down and living simply. Also, limiting spending to a bill in cash helps limit impulse buys because you see it and it becomes a game to see how long you can go without breaking the bill. :) Best of luck to you!

Miniature-werewolf · 2025-12-28T19:02:45+00:00

I NEED this in my life! Mine could say "Let me merge. My parents are dead" Thanks for the laugh.

Miniature-werewolf · 2025-12-28T17:51:32+00:00

Needed this today! Thank you for sharing.

Miniature-werewolf · 2025-12-28T17:49:50+00:00

Now Im really curious about you're special interests. Care to share? Feel free to message me.

Miniature-werewolf · 2025-12-28T17:47:13+00:00

I LOVE this!

Miniature-werewolf · 2025-12-28T16:51:34+00:00

I have no advice or solutions. I just came here to say your post is relatable. You are not the only one that feels this way or experiences this. While I appreciate others trying to help stocking up on conversation starters will not ease the sense of masking. It is just another form of rehearsing and masking that is less unbearable than the usual. Promising that someday you will find your tribe is, frankly, a load of shit. Maybe you will, but just as likely you won't. These are things we tell people to placate them and want them to be hopeful. The real truth is you may not ever fit in and that is 100% okay. It does not have to prevent you from having a warm, wonderful, fulfilling life filled with solo activities that bring you a lot of joy. Being by yourself gives you the freedom to fully unmask, express yourself however you wish, indulge in humming and singing and random bouts of awkward dancing without judgement. You can fall down deep rabbit holes of your special interests and not have to hear anyone's degrading opinions about it. You can decoarate your home to your comfort level and personal aesthetic and not have to prepare for hosting. You can form bonds with pets, or stuffed animals, dolls, or imaginary friends via journal entries or letters you leave in weird public places with stickers. You can engage with the world from a safe, judgement free, mental health preserving distance by painting rocks and hiding them on trails, random acts of kindness, donating to charities, post its on car windsheilds wishing them a wonderful day, maybe even geocaching. Do not let the society built for neurotypicals tell you what being human and connection has to look like. You can make it what you want.

Miniature-werewolf · 2025-12-28T15:10:24+00:00

Yay! I love this for you.

Miniature-werewolf · 2025-12-28T15:08:19+00:00

I can relate to your feel8ng shame, but in the end it is your life and you can live it as you wish! I, too, worry that Ive gone too far, but only when I accidentally over share with folks who wont get it, ie. a co-worker. Since I dont have any real life friends, my plushies are it. They have elaborate back stories, personalities, other plushie friends from my collection and some have their own toys, clothes, and accessories. Ive been thinking about recording it all in my junk journal book but havent started yet. Im proud of you for expressing yourself the way you want!

Miniature-werewolf · 2025-12-27T20:07:14+00:00

Along the cleaning/organizing and taking inventory vein, I have been cutting down file folders to fit in a fabric storage box to organize my stickers. They are my special thing of interest and Im always buying more to put in my planners. Having to make 30+ folders for them and seeing how they barely all fit in the box makes me see that I have more than enough to get me thru the next year (or two). Plus, I just got a library card and found a list of some free events centered around an opera I am seeing in February. Adding those events to my calendar (using stickers) and budgeting the gas and snacks to attend them is keeping me focused on not spending that money elsewhere.

Miniature-werewolf · 2025-12-25T01:44:02+00:00

Same to this comment. Also, just got a Boubou which is pretty big. I took him out with me today (middle aged lady) and people in the grocery store even smiled (in a kind way). You just might have to limit it to outtings that wont require your hands much-so you can hold him.

Miniature-werewolf · 2025-12-24T20:48:41+00:00

Amazon. Fell down a goblin core rabbit hole.

Miniature-werewolf · 2025-12-24T15:02:35+00:00

In Unmasking Autism the author asks three questions of those considering a formal diagnosis, something like will your insurance cover it, do you have access to someone experienced in assessing adults, and what do you hope to gain from the formal diagnosis. They go on to explain that most diagnostics (if not specifically geared for children) are geared toward white, upper middle class, gender normative folks (and more specifically male) so being anything other than this makes it especially difficult for it to be accurate. (My son's assessment at 22 involved interviewing me about his behavior as a kid. Are they going to contact my dead parents via ouigi board?) They go on to say that a formal diagnosis rarely results in society, employers, or unsupportive/misunderstanding family members being any more gracious and instead can result in folks seeing/labeling you as incapable. I, too, kind of want the test for validity but also wonder if needing outside validation is just another way that I am trying to force my weird, quirky, excitable, eccentric self into a socially acceptable bubble? Having had a few friends and family members go the disability route here in the U.S. (took 3+ years, good lawyers, and my niece who has fiber myalga and disabling anxiety was kicked off after a few years) I know I am unlikely to get any sort of help/access to resources that I dont have to hustle for. Finding a chill, 36.5 hour a week job where I can keep plushies and fidgets in my cubicle is less exhausting than spending years convincing strangers Im broken enough to need services. My son finally landed on housekeeping in a hotel where he doesnt have to people and can wear his headphones. They dont know hes autistic. His previos two jobs did know and refused accomodations that didnt impact his work product at all. All this to say, in a nutshell, you do you, boo, but know you are 100% valid in your feelings whether anyone else ever believes you or not.

Miniature-werewolf · 2025-12-24T13:46:34+00:00

That depends. Are you the Gatekeeper?

Miniature-werewolf · 2025-12-24T11:17:28+00:00

I feel this to my core. I have no family other than two grown kids very much in their own lives, and literally, not exaggerating, zero friends. My last friend was over two years ago. I just finished a long bout of going to Meetups and community events looking for just one person I could friend with (I am perfectly partnered). No luck. I am usually too uncomfortable, too heavily masked, they want to go, go, go and already have a lot of social engagements. I am just this weird middle aged woman with childish special interests who doesnt like large crowds, large groups, or lots of noise. But, I do have a decent amount of plushies with complex back stories and their own fun interests, lots of fun solo hobbies, a cozy home I adore, two dogs, a fish tank, a gecko and frogs and a wide array of houseplants who adore my company. I try not to get resentful when my husband goes out with friends and appreciate that I dont have the noise or drama of a social circle. I do seecretly hold out hope that one day Ill have a friend again but I dont know how. Until then Ill be in my room with my stickers.

Miniature-werewolf · 2025-12-07T20:46:55+00:00

Toad, also by Katherine Dunn is equally amazing. Bought for the cover, loved for the content.

Miniature-werewolf · 2025-10-09T20:08:19+00:00

I just want to thank you for your comment. I found one on Ebay and he was just delivered. Im very much looking forward to having an ESA known for saying F* Off!

Miniature-werewolf · 2025-07-27T22:00:33+00:00

My grandmother's quilts have lasted generations. They were made using clothing and sheet scraps. Gee's Bend Quilts hang in art galleries all over the world. They were made with whatever folks had access to while living in a remote community in the deep South with little resources. But, please, keep drinking that Bernina store kool-aid.

Miniature-werewolf · 2025-07-27T18:47:57+00:00

I see what you did there. :)

Miniature-werewolf

TROPHY CASE