All Things Pretty...

Is it Halloween yet?!?

I don't know about you, but I feel like I've been celebrating Halloween for a very long time this year...  that could be attributed to the fact that I started working on Fall/Halloween swaps back in early September...  in any case, I think I'm ready to move on.

But before I do that, I'd like to share some of my favorites photos taken around my home this season.

  

"The witch's reading corner"

Some of my favorite fresh flowers of the season.

 

 

Did you know spiders love Hershey's kisses?

 

..even the dining room chandelier gets 'dressed for the occasion'

The spray can was my BFF this season, as I turned inexpensive orange pumpkins into spooky black pumpkins.

 

Wishing you a spook-ta-cular Halloween!

 

(linking up to Beverly's Pink Saturday party... stop on by for an amazing array of Halloween and pink posts)

 

It's beginning to look a bit like Christmas...

We're not even done with October and I am already getting a bit antsy about the Christmas holidays... been thinking about decor for my trees (I change it up a bit each year) and seeking new"vintage" items to add to my collection(s).

Luckily for me, I found some lovely vintage Christmas pieces last weekend at an estate sale. I stopped by at the very last hour (literally) and there was not much left... you had to really rummage through tons of junk and moldy-smelling things (yes, it was one of those)... but I did manage to walk away with a few pieces.

 

This charming little handmade pink, glittery "egg" with an angel.

 

 

Another sweet angel, probably someone's home craft of the 50's or 60's...

 

Then I found a corner table with a pile, and I mean a PILE, of stained linens (some came home with me and are in the process of being restored), and underneath all that...

 

... I found a small box with some vintage jewelry!

Also, a band with some hand-sewn beads and rhinestones (this one was preserved nicely in a baggie) - must say, this piece was my absolute favorite find of the day!

 

A lovely vintage Christmas corsage/pick... a bit worn, but still beautiful and in my favorite holiday colors: silver and pink

 

 

And just look at this lovely little gal! Isn't she sweet? I was told there were tons of old photos at the sale, which of course, were all gone by then... but this little lady was hiding underneath some old books and magazines.

As always, I wondered about the photo's origins... and how anyone could part with her!

 

In the end, I was $3 poorer and in need of a deep hand washing,

but was happy to have stopped.

 

*********

The Christmas swaps and parties have already started to crop up over Blogland.

http://www.vintagedragonfly.blogspot.com/

http://anartfuladventure.typepad.com/

 

Stop on over and check them out; maybe join in?

*******

 

I'm sharing my Christmas pinks with Beverly and her Pink Saturday party.

 

Long overdue sharing...

My mailman has been busy these past few weeks!  He actually came up to my door recently, rang the doorbell, and asked if I was having a birthday soon!   I explained the whole blog swap idea and he seemed a bit perplexed (total strangers sending each other "stuff"??).   I don't think he quite got it -  especially the fact that we are not "total strangers" ...

 I have indeed received many packages full of splendid treats and gifts from my partners this season!  I apologize for being tardy in sharing; time has gotten away from me and before I knew it, I was behind posting about 5 swaps (eek!).

So here goes... are you ready?  Lots LOTS and lots of photos.

 

This altered matchbox came from Jennie, my other swap partner in the Speckled Egg's Petite Inspiration Box Swap - Curiosities Edition.

 

 

( I love this vintage Halloween photo!  Are you old enough to remember when Halloween masks looked like that?  What a hoot!)

 

All my treats!

Yummy black velvet ribbon, black roses and a darling key...

Thank you, Jennie, for all my goodies!

 Projects are planned for a few; others I'm hoarding.

 

***

 

Wendy from Bliss Angels hosted a Halloween altered tin swap and this is the amazing piece I received from my partner, Georgina.

 

 

I've named her Matilda... isn't she fabulous?!

 

She is totally different from anything I would have made - and that's exactly why she's so special!   
Muchas gracias, Georgina!   Matilda is lovin' her a new home.

***

 

Debi at The Bloggerette Sorority had a Something's Brewing Swap... we were to buy or make a Halloween bag and fill it with treats.

My amazing partner, Kim, really spoiled me!

 

..my purple and black bag had this hanging witchy tag "All my friends are witches"

 

Kim filled my bag to the max... lots of stickers, buttons, pins, vintage ephemera, bling, ribbon, chocolate!!, ATC making supplies, mini frame, a fabulous black/white skull towel (you'll see it used as a background in many of my Halloween photos)...

 

... a gorgeous vintage scarf in yummy fall colors...

 

Kim even made me an altered tin....  LOVE IT!

..inside the tin she had stashed a few goodies...  

I'm truly loving my altered domino!

Thank you, Kim, for being such a fun, creative and generous partner.

 

The Bloggerette Sorority is having their big reveal today from all the swap participants.  Stop on by for some fantastic Halloween inspiration...

 

***

 

 Whew!  We're almost there....  one more fantastic swap to share!

 

***

 

One of the funnest swaps was hosted by Jen at Altered Spirits; we were to create a mini spell book for our partners.

Wendy from Bliss Angels once again outdid herself... I received an awesome mini book from her... all wrapped up in another of her special envelopes

 

 

...this is the 2nd time I've had Wendy as a swap partner, and each time I've opened her package I say "ahh" when I see the lovely envelopes and wrapping.  She is truly gifted at spoiling her swap partners!

 

... the pages of my mini spell book are each unique and wonderful...  

Wendy has incorporated lots of details and tiny surprises.

 

This is the card she enclosed (smile)

Many thanks to Wendy for such a lovely book -

and once again bringing a smile to my face.

 

****

 

Oops!  One more!  Not a blog swap, but my very first ATC Swap.

 

"Autumn Splendor"

received from Karla.  

Karla's work is amazing; so I was thrilled when she wanted to swap.

 

***

Okay, now I think I'm done.

Except for the other two packages that just arrived yesterday!

 

...to be continued...

 

Anyone can be a witch...

I've always wondered when/where the "traditional" image of a witch - warts on her   face, big nose, toothy smile (or toothless!), bony hands and a bit of osteoporosis - originated...  However traditional that image may be, it never appealed to me.  I like witches that look "normal" - the ones that you can't tell from their image that they are evil, concocting all kinds of hexes and spells behind closed doors...   

 

So it's no wonder that when I create witches for my Halloween crafts, they tend to look somewhat "normal".  

Some would even call them pretty.

 

They can look like me.... like you.... like your next door neighbor.

 

They can be any age; after all, weren't witches once young also?

 

My normal, lovely witch tags were created for Vintage Dragonfly's mini goth tag book swap.

I can't wait to see what everyone has created!  I may even get to see some traditional witches!

 

Hoping your weekend is turning out to be a creative one...

 

A lacy Halloween...

Happy Wednesday!

Do you love lace as much as I do? Does your heart beat faster when you are out rummaging and find a grab bag full of old laces? My favorite thing to do is to purchase it unopened (as long as the price is right)... then wait 'til I get hope to open and marvel over all the beauties inside. I have never been disappointed with my grab bag finds!

I like to incorporate vintage laces into my project, and am always seeking new ideas and ways to utilize the zillions of odd pieces I have in my stash. This Halloween season, several of my swap projects featured lace as the main attraction (or at least as the co-star).

(note: I'm not sharing complete details yet about the specific swap or who the recipients are, as they are still enroute to their owners and i don't want to give it all away!)

One swap required that we create or alter a fabric bag, which is then to be filled with Halloween treats for our partner. I'm not sure if I've shared this with you before, but I am not much of a seamstress. Yes, I own a sewing machine... but my sewing schedules are rudimentary at best. Straight stitch all the way, baby! So obviously, sewing a bag from scratch was out of the question. I opted for the purchase of a canvas bag to be altered.

I found this fabulous ghouls and vampires digital art by Steam Dust Studios (http://steamduststudios.blogspot.com/) and thought they would be the perfect theme for my bag! I created burlap tags, embellished with tatting, crochet, bits and pieces of vintage lace...

 

(please excuse all my threads... photos were taken prior to "cleaning" up my work)

 

 

A while back, I found rolls of sterilized gauze bandages at a junk shop and purchased several rolls, hoping I would one day have a use for them. That day is here.... "rosettes" made from guaze were the perfect adornment for some of my tags.

 

I love the sassiness of these ladies!

 

The tags were then sewn onto the exterior of the canvas bag to create a collage effect... a photo of finished product will be shared next week, but I have to tell you that I'm pretty happy with how it turned out!

 

Next, a paper-mache witches hat that has been decoupaged with vintage laces.

 

 

The rosette was made from vintage doilies, petals from a silk rose, tatted lace, and my favorite "fishnet" black lace.... a bit of charring on the edges with a candle... finished off with some vintage bling.

The black lace around the crown is from an old Spanish mantilla.... the black plume from a 1920's hat... the pearls are actually a double-strand necklace from the 1950's Vintage re-use at its best!

 

I hope you liked my lacy inspirations...

what have you been using this season for your creations?

 

Linking up to share with

White Wednesday at Faded Charm Cottage

Show and Tell Friday @ Romantic Home

Feathered Nest Friday @ French Country Cottage

Vintage Inspiration Friday @ Common Ground

 

Ghouls, witches and other visitors...

I'm feeling a bit ghoulish these days...have finished 7 of the 10 Halloween swaps I've signed up for... packages have been mailed and I'm up to date!  (for now...)

Playing with witches, ghosts, vampires, zombies and ghouls has been an adventure...  altering art to give it that extra spooky feel is fairly addictive. Although I must admit that I still cannot get myself to create an "ugly" witch; somehow they all turn out to be just a tad on the pretty side!   Even my ghouls and vampires have that certain look about them.

 

(front of altered domino book)

Today I'm sharing a glimpse of a couple of items created for a swap partner; these are still enroute, so I don't want to disclose who the recipient is... just hoping they will like them!

 

(inside of altered domino book)

 

(ATC titled "witches can't cry")

 

(cover of altered matchbox, titled "Anyone can be a Witch")

 

(not spooky, or scary.... just for fun!  

Altered bottle in shades of black and lavender...)

 

Hope your week is off to a good start!

 

I'm linking up to Wendy's Spooky Mondays party; stop on by for some boootiful Halloween inspiration!

Spooky Monday...

The Halloween fun continues!

I spent quite a bit of time this weekend in The Sunshine Room working on swap projects, a couple of which I'll be sharing with you and the Spooky Monday party being hosted by Wendy (have you seen her blog?!? ... if not, it's definitely worth a visit!).

 

I made my very first "altered Altoids" tin. (This swap is being hosted by another Wendy... this one resides at Bliss Angels.)

The hardest part was deciding on a theme, and whether I was going to just go with the traditional open/close box, create a hanging piece, a piece on a stand, or "other." And then there was my fabulous swap partner, Georgina. She loves the macabre and creates amazing, original pieces of art - see it here. I'm totally in love with her style (and the music on her blog!).

My cutesy, pretty, frilly style wasn't going to cut it. I wanted to go a bit more "Goth" or at the very least, "weird." ((insert a big laugh here)).

This is VERY hard for me to do (go without the pretty,cutesy, frilly).

VERY HARD, INDEED.

This is what I ended up with.

... it is a hanging bit of art... titled "Vampire Bride"

Lots of texturing techniques were used, including melted wax and singed tulle...

 

... the image below was edited a bit using Picnik...

it makes my vampire bride look at bit more edgy...

(Image used is from http://www.etsy.com/shop/keeperofthenest)

 

On the back of the tin, we find one of the Bride's victims...

certainly not her first, nor her last.

(image prior to Picnik editing)

My mailman also delivered a couple of packages on Saturday: another Petite Inspiration Box - Curiosities Edition (from my 2nd swap partner) and a large box from an unknown sender (!)... which turned out to be my "secret" partner for the Halloween Bag Swap being hosted by Debi at Bloggerette Sorority. ( Lots of boootiful Halloween goodies to share with you later this week.)

 

I must confess that I am feeling a tiny bit spoiled :) and loving it!