More Black & White Box Swap Fun!

Here are the fabulous boxes that I received from my swap partners!  Aren't they awesome!!  I'm in love with these! 

Here's what I received from Mary:

 

Don't you just love that glittery witch riding in front of a doily moon???  So clever!!  And here's what was inside:

So many fun things -- and that tiny purple doily??  Love it!  There are much better pictures on Mary's delightful blog.  You must go check it out!

And here's what I received from Stephanie:

How fantastic is this?  I'm loving that big flocked damask "A"!  And here's what was inside:

So many fun things for creating!  She put lots of little treasures into mini cupcake liners -- what a great idea!!
Stephanie has a wonderful blog -- be sure to visit her to see more examples of her fantastic artwork.

This was a wonderful swap.  I can't wait to use all my new fun crafting supplies! Thanks to my swap partners!

Black and White Box Swap Reveal

 I think that my swap partners have received their boxes, so here is the big reveal!  Here is the box that I decorated and filled with goodies for each of my partners.  A look at the items inside is at the end of this post.  First, here's a step-by-step of how I made the boxes:
 

 
I spray painted the match boxes a creamy white.

Then I used some ModPodge to adhere a piece of paper to the bottom of each.  (These are little pieces from the Halloween Alice in Wonderland paper I told you about a few weeks ago.)

 Not finished with the ModPodge, I then used pages from a vintage Physics textbook to cover the outside of the boxes.

 I then glued a piece of black lace along the sides.  After that, I admit I hit a wall.  I just couldn't figure out what to do with the top of the box!!  Finally, I decided to go with my first instinct, which was (and usually is) lots and lots of lace!  I got out the trusty glue gun, and glued several layers of lace to the top.  I hand pleated some of the layers as I glued them on:

Finally, I added the velvet flowers (seen in the first photo), and I was done!  They turned out a bit more frilly and less "haunted mansion" than I had originally planned, but I hope my swap partners like them!

 Here's what was inside: trims and laces, glittered chipboard, Halloween cupcake pics, several different types of flowers in ivory, clear adhesive gems, vintage tatting on an old wooden spool, a few tags, and a sparkly vintage button.

And, because the small match boxes kind of frustrate me (I can never fit everything in there that I want!), I added these separate packages, with flash cards, Quizmo cards, sheet music, pages from a vintage music textbook, and some orange velvet flowers:

What a fun swap!  Stay tuned, tomorrow I'm going to show you the FABULOUS boxes I received from my swap partners!

Halloween Decorating and Black & White Box Swap Sneak Peek

 

We hauled out all of the decorations this past weekend, and got most of the house decorated in my new fave "haunted mansion" style!  We used to be all about the "happy pumpkins" in this house, but lately I find that I'm gravitating towards more of a Munsters-style Halloween.  I find myself daydreaming about random things that I can spray paint black and then dunk in glitter.  That's normal, right?

In other news, my boxes are in the mail to my swap partners!  This was a fun swap, and it really got me in the mood for Halloween.  Here are some sneak peeks at the swap boxes that I made; I'll post full pics as well as a tutorial on what I did to decorate the boxes later in the week when I know my partners have received their packages.  Don't want to ruin the surprise!

 Hope you're getting in the mood for Halloween, too!  Lastly, if you're interested in doing a holiday stitchalong (or not) I'd still love to hear from you!  You can still leave a comment here, or on my stitching blog.  Thanks!