Halloween matchbox swap

time for my favourite swap of the year ... the Halloween Matchbox Swap over at Vintage Dragonfly.

So we make a large sized matchbox, fill it with goodies and throw in some other "handmade" goodies.  My swap partner has received this package and by all accounts she was thrilled with it.

I had so much fun making all of these goodies for her ...

First up, the matchbox ... I did a whole skeleton theme this year so you will see skelly's in just about everything i made.  This little skelly, reaching from beyond for her broomstick was fun to do.  I imagined her a witch ... painted her plastic skull and arm with a white dabble and put some diamond stickles in her eye sockets.

This is a shot of the top, or end of the matchbox, with a little fly button to open it up.

I put little things inside the matchbox, including some of the things below.

 Some items were too big for the matchbox so i made this cute little burlap bag and stuff it full!  I tossed in lots of candy and stuff for fun ... and hey, crafters ... we like to munch!

Pictures of the bag empty and the bag full!

Next up is a creepy little birdhouse ... well i guess it's more of a spider house ... the rat is nibbling on a hand ... and skelly's arm is reaching for her head ....

and of course every skelly needs a party hat and festive collar for halloween ... and see how sparkly the roof is!!!  I had some gunmetal glitter in my stash and thought that it went perfectly!

Every body needs some light reading .... right?

So I made this cute little 3 x 3 mini book, full of little tales ...

It stays closed with a nice big black bow

And every wall needs a bunting ...  this one is kinda creepy with a bat screwed into the middle O

 and a mean looking owl in the last O...

And finally ... a gothic arch ... only not to gothic ... i loved this little project ... i stamped the images a couple of times and cut out elements from paper that i had covered with spray ink ... it was fun to do!

I can't wait to see what I get from my swap partner ... her package was mailed before mine was, but it must be stuck in the dreaded Canada Customs snarl ... crossing my fingers it will arrive soon!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  have a beautiful autumn week!

In the spirit of fall ...

... I have been busy creating ... and taking lovely sunny walks with my dog .... leaves crunching beneath our feet and sun warming our faces ...

 but back to the creating ... I am having a blast ... making this ...

 and this ...

I know, it kind of looks like a pumpkin bone smoothie ... without the smoothie bit ...

and this ....

and this ... kind of looks clownish ... or birdish ... or ???

Can you guess what i am making???

Some of these are gifts ... so once I have done they are in the mail i will do a full reveal!

Thanks so much for stopping by, you always make my day when you do!!!

peace, love & paper

I'm back!

Summer is suddenly over ... although the weather is sunny and bright, it no longer contains the heat that is summer.  Leaves are falling ... quietly drifting to the ground ... only making a noise when they crunch underfoot ...

So I am back to blogging, and hopefully on a much more regular basis!

This last summer is going down as one of the best in a decade ... my DD and I were constantly busy, constantly exploring and constantly having fun.

I have a new passion ... and that is being in the mountains around cattle country ... exploring on an atv ... oh the things you can see ... amazing ... and driving up high in the fresh air, you can smell everything ... each flower, the grass, the trees ... even the not so pleasant things like ... well ... droppings ....

Here's a few shots of the last trip we took to my Brother's cabin ... hopefully we will be back again next summer ...

 My Dear daughter and my niece ... wish flowers!

 a new horse ...

Artists live down the old highway ... their house is amazing ... such fab art can be found everywhere, like this shed adorned with skulls and birdhouses made from reclaimed wood and findings

 I made it up this scary huge hill .... i was totally excited!

 a lady bug visits my daughter ... she had many stories ....

 hide and seek in a fabulous aspen grove ...

riding on a ranch road ...

the girls tubing ... it was actually a game of battle tubes ... yeah it was a hard fought game but they had a blast!

And now, back to the routine that is the school.  So far DD is happy with her classes ... they actually had a farmers market up at the university today so DD came home with books and lots of lucious local fruit and veggies!

Thanks so much for the visit ... peace, love and paper y'all!!!