on retreat ...

so I went to a crafting retreat, hosted by my dear friend Sue.  all of my scrap friends were able to attend so it was an absolute hoot!

The strange thing, is that me ... who takes photos by the millions ... actually forgot to take many pictures ... but i did take a few!

I designed and taught a mini album class, and forgot to take photos ... it was cool, and somewhat masculine ... but i have it locked away in my head so at least i have that!

I designed this fab little christmas bunting class with my friend Sue, and I taught the class ... it was loads of fun! The products are all Stampin Up ... their new scalloped tulle is so easy and fun to play with!

My other friend Sue, and Iris both took the class!  It was fab to have friends in the room!!!

Sue and I also designed and taught this fab tag class ... it was my kind of fun, all messy and grungy!

 i created this little christmas house for the display table.

 The wreath is made from satin ribbon that has been "fringed" and heated so that bits of it melt.

 An easy peasy card for the display table ... punched out flocked velvet acetate sheet that is folded for dimension.

 I made lots of these little vintage style paper ornaments for the christmas tree!

A gathered fabric tree!  Stampin Up has some very cool fabrics and trim, loved this sweater trim!

and finally i made this little house for display ... i think i need to make a whole village of these!

Diane and I win the 50/50 ... even Sue is amazed!!!  what a hoot!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Halloween is for the birds ... errrr ...

okay well in my view at least it is for birdhouses!!!  I've been altering little birdhouses for Hallween decor and it has been fun!

 First up ... this tiny little slant roofed birdhouse ... full of bones and bits and a creepy little rat nibbling on a hand ... this one was sent to my matchbox swap partner.  I love the glittered roof on this one!

                                                      

A little glittered bad added nicely to the spooky feel

The little hat was totally easy to make, as was the ruffled collar ... this is what happens when clowns go bad!

 Remember this shadow?  I left it as a teaser on my blog in a previous post.  Here is the finished product ...

This bird house had a kind of industrial theme with gears and sprockets attached and some stenciled onto the roof of the house as well ... The birds are all stamped and then coated with glossy accents ... the little stand used to be a black and white shot glass ... now its all shiny and black.  This one went to my dear blog buddy Lynn for her birthday!

 Gears and bones ... and flowers ... i do love my flowers ...

 The stencil was done with a sliver/pewter coloured cream paint ... i loved the effect!

This one is my daughters fave ... a kinda cute county look to the haunted house, set up high on a crystal glass from the thrift store.

I filled the glass with little pumpkins, some bones and a bit of green satin ribbon to resemble leaves.

 I used some stickpins that I received last halloween in a swap ... and i grunged up the the flower a bit ... then added glitter ... because i do love my shiny glittery stuff ...

 What a happy looking skelly!  Gotta love E6000 glue ... it holds anything in place!  Even creepy skelly arms ...

And finally, my fave ... this little birdhouse is mounted on an old white and black candleholder, that is now a matte black ... The creepy little doll was my daughter's necklace ... 

I distressed and attached a little picket fence to both sides ...

 

I love the bottle of red ooze ... it's just a dylusions red ink spray mixed with some glossy accents ...

and the flowers were coloured with the same red ink ...

 little skelly hands are all over this house ... no bodies though ...

 Here they all are ... I kept the two on the right ... they look perfect on my desk for Halloween!

Thanks so much for stopping by!!!

K493 and the Halloween Matchbox swap

So what is K493?  other than a boarding school in Brooklyn? (googled it) ... It is a new apple ... one that has yet to be named ... hence the K493 ... and one that I was lucky enough to receive from my parents.

This beauty is naturally sweet, yet it has a tartness to it as well ... it's flesh is crisp and firm, just biting into a fresh one is pure joy!

It is supposed to last long in storage ... don't know if that is true or not because they are so good you cant help but eat them up!!!

I turned most of mine into delicious apple sauce ... just cooked apples and cinnamon, no sweetner required when using this apple ... I cant wait to see it next year when it should have it's real name!

And remember that Halloween Matchbox swap I participated in ...  I received an absolutely fabulous box of goodies from my swap partner Cindy! (no blog) ...here's what she sent me ...

 When my parcel arrived it was totally decorated on all sides ... even the bottom!  It was a shame to rip into it ... but I did!

This piece was fabulous, (but hard to photograph) A hand made cat with costume & pumpkin in a shadow box with a huge gothic looking frame on the top!  

 A collaged block and box and lots of little goodies to play with!

 This cute little ornament with fibres attached to it

 This is the top of the little box, and inside was this hand painted bag!

 Fab Halloween socks!

 Wonderful pendants ... gorgeously made!!!

 and the matchbox ... so much detail ... a stick broom ... pumpkin paper ... and hand made witches boots!

 from this view you can see the inside of the box and the hand made witch's had at the end of the box ... everything that the fashionable witch needs!

Thank you so so much for stopping by ... Peace and Love to you!  

and remember ... an apple a day ....

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!