the Nightmare Before Valentine's Day Swap Recieved

brown paper book

Here are a few snaps of the lovely Nightmare Before Valentine's Day Swap package I received from the lovely Jessica. I think she outdid herself sending me such a marvellous parcel in the post. I was beaming for days after the parcel arrived and I pawed through all the little goodies she thoughtfully gathered and crafted for me.

beautiful cover of the book Jessica made me

I told Jessica that Jack Skellington was one of my favourite Tim Burton creations so she designed her swap parcel around him (much more coordinated than I am). She made me a lovely pocket organizer (made with stripy fabric and vintage doilies no less) and a paper bag book (I had no idea what that was, my paper crafts abilities are quite small but the book she made is smashing. She wrote in a note that she thought I might like to draw and paint on the pages she crafted, I'm not sure I'm ready to draw and paint on the pages but the book sits beside my desk and I keep having a flip though the beautifully crafted pages when I need a little inspiration.

jam jar of buttons, cupcake cases and halloween cupcake toppers

Jessica did some snooping into my blog and my love of bon maman jam jars for craft storage... and drinking glasses. She filled a jar with black and white cupcake cases, some ace cupcake toppers, and red, white and black buttons. How awesome is that? I still have a few of the Mounds chocolates she sent me, they are hidden on my desk which is in an odd state of tidyness at the moment.

pocket hanger/organizer, a box filled with mounds

chocolate and coconut candies.

I love the packet of vintage ephemera she sent, I don't know what I shall make with this small horde of vintage papers, they are gorgeous and inspiring and I'm itching to doodle on one or two of them. It was a fabulous swap and I am so grateful to have had Jessica as my swap partner. We are off on holiday Friday to visit my parents otherwise I might be tempted to think up an idea for the next swap I host. ;o)

gorgeous paper ephemera, buttons and ribbon. <3

Malice in Valentine City

Malice posing with camera and skeleton key

Malice lives on the edge of Valentine City in a crumbling castle with whispering ghosts. She cries in the rain and laughs in the snow. Malice carries the tarnished key to her heart pinned to her dress. Her heart lies buried in a wooden box beneath the castle.

Once she fell in love and her heart was broken, dashed to pieces and she no longer lives in the bubbling metropolis of Valentine City filled with lovers, cherubs, flower garlands, frothy lace, heart shaped chocolate boxes, and Valentine’s cards. She roams the edge of the city in search of heartbreakers to destroy. To toy with their hearts as her heart was shattered into sharp edged pieces. She paints sorrow on candy hearts, and embroiders broken hearts onto rose petals.

Sally moleskin and the top of the key and button necklace

I made Malice and an assortment of other goodies for Jessica my partner in the Nightmare Before Valentine's Day Tim Burton-esq Swap. I dithered over what to make Jessica for days

weeks, I doodled in my note book ,read and re-read her likes and dislikes for the swap and finally decided to make a doll that would fit into Burton's Holiday World as her favourite film was Nightmare Before Christmas and Sally is Jessica's favourite Burton character.

Malice and her story card leaning against my inspiration board

I drew Sally on a sheet of book paper and decoupaged it to the cover of a little moleskin notebook. Then I made a heart pincushion in a vaguely primitive style with ribbon, lace, stripped ticking and a vintage button. Then I procrastinated for quite a bit gathering together some vintage haberdashery, a little clock stamp and ephemera items to go with the swap (better than candy and chocolate I think...a little bit better any way.) I made the necklace with a vintage key and red button (I slightly cheated here as I had made myself the same necklace with matching key and button the week before).

Sally notebook, pendant, pin badge, pincushion and pocket watch stamp

When I had procrastinated long enough I gathered together my fabrics, doilies and buttons and made Malice. I don't have much of a technique when it comes to doll making I tend to go with what scraps of fabric I have and begin sewing in a bit of a haphazard way. I do draw ideas for dolls and as I make them and draw them bits of story float through my mind and then everything seems to fall together.

Malice

I like that Malice carries a little key and though she is one of my simpler dolls I think she has a lot of heart even if it is locked up in a box safe and sound. I think she would live happily in Halloween Town don't you?

book page doodle illustration (one of my favourites)

all wrapped up, the pin badge is a typed quote

from Nightmare before Christmas

'What's wrong? I thought you liked Frog's breath.'

the Nightmare Before Valentine's Day

I finally managed to finish crafting for one of my partners for the Tim Burton Nightmare Before Valentine's Day craft swap. Though I had millions of ideas buzzing around my brain for the swap I ended up running late with the actual crafting of it. This morning I invited my friends Emma and Alison over for coffee and cake and while they were here I finished making a Burton-esque pincushion for Alison who ended up being one of my two craft partners in the swap. So instead of me posting her things I made coffee and gave her a red glitter covered triple chocolate and espresso brownie.... I'm nice like that.

We geekily talked about books, iphone apps and crafts, while I finished sewing and gluing the pincushion in place. I made the pincushion from a little silver plated bowl (possibly a sugar bowl?) that I found at a little junk/antique shop in Cromford (Arkwright's Attic in the mill). When I saw the bowl with it's lovely tarnished silver I knew it would be right for Alison and would fit perfectly into any Burton world.... OK maybe not Mars Attacks or Batman Returns but certainly it wouldn't go amiss in Beetlejuice, Nightmare before Christmas, or Alice in Wonderland. I used a scrap of vintage doily and some black and white ticking that I thought would fit in with the worlds of Burton.

I also gave her a copy of the Meloncholy Death of Oyster Boy and Other Stories by Tim Burton and a small zombie doll with a loose eye as Alison loves books and zombies too. The Corpse Bride is a zombie right? I really had a ball crafting for the swap, when we weren't all under the weather with awful colds and luckily for me I still have one more thing to finish crafting for my second craft partner the lovely Jessica of Kids Napping? I'm Scrapping before I can blog that too.

triple chocolate and espresso brownies

(I should probably write up the recipe)

I best go do some crafting... or put the kettle on for another cup of coffee. It's Valentine's Day and we never do very much but we will watch some crappy horror flicks later.. I quite fancy a zombie film as nothing quite says love like zombies eating brains...right?