Tim Burton inspired craft swap

So i can finally show you what i made for the
Tim Burton Inspired Craft Swap
organised by the fantastic
Meridian Ariel
my partner has let me know that her parcel made it to America
BUT she is not going to open it intil she has sent my parcel
i can wait no longer to blog about it so have warned her off my blog :)

everything to be squeezed into a shoe box!

some crafty treats

a pumpkin softie or pin cushion
i made it with a vintage linen napkin - a recycled t-shirt - a vintage duffle coat toggle
and a big m.o.p. button

i found this swap really hard
which really surprised me as i love Tim Burton films
but i just couldn't get the creative juices flowing

collections of supplies lay around the work table
failing to inspire me

i had decided early on i was going to decorate a tote bag
i used this one which i'd previously dyed in burlesque red
my swap partners colour choices were i'm afraid ignored
as burlesque red - orange and teal seemed to force themselves onto this project!
i'd never of thought of using these colours together normally
but they just seemed right.

i used a band of vintage cotton lace aound the top of the bag
made several suffolk puffs from a vintage pillowcase
i'd recently inherited from my great Aunt

and selected some vintage doilies and teal buttons
made a teal zipper rossette
and pinned them to the bag
at this point i wandered off for several weeks
occasionally re-arranging the different elements

my swap partners favourite Tim Burton character is Sally
from the Nightmare before Christmas
i had a patchwork theme in my mind and visible stitches
but i've not yet attempted patchwork {scared}
so i felt these different textures and colours
could represent Sally's dress

and the embroidery the stitches Sally uses to sew her body parts back to together
the words are from the song she sings about her love for Jack Skellington

it always amazes me how many things i make for a swap
that never make into the final selection
does anyone else do that?
these spiders seemed a good idea but didn't quite work out!


so there you have it
everything i made i have made this year
i can't understand what has happened to my creativity
this time last year my blog hits were through the roof
i was prolific in my crafting
i need my mojo back
if you see it please send it home.