Tuesday, October 30, 2012

say it with me:

AWWWWWWWWWWWW!

Isn't she just the cutest little zombie EVER!?




Thank you for my surprise Kerry!

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

One for me!

My partner got busy so I decided to angel for MYSELF!

I had this cute little epattern for a little 5" fairy and used it to make a Raggedy Anne zombie.  My son and I chatted while I made her.  He suggested that I sew her head on so it would flop...which I did.  It is pretty funny when it does that.


Thank you all for joining my little swap! 




Sunday, October 21, 2012



 I created a Little Red Ridinghood zombie for my partner. I love to work with felt and recycled wool so I created my doll from recycled wool sweaters, winter coats and a thrifted shirt. 

I was in a hurry to ship out so I didn't take pictures of the goodies I sent  but I wanted to share what I created. Sorry my pictures aren't the greatest.  I kinda of miss the that little sweet zombie and would like to make another one. 
I hope you all have a very happy Halloween!

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Zombie Party!

My partner Jennifer sent me a really great package!
 
The Zombie doll she made is Humpty Dumpty and he is so cute!
  

 
Jennifer also made me a super cute Halloween apron,
and sent lots of extra goodies.
 
As usual, the kids ate all the candy before I could take a picture.
 

 
 
I made a Zombie Belle doll.  She has a black Chip cup in her hands
that has a red glittery substance in it.
 

 
I made a Zombie Ball Kit complete with a ribbon chandelier, and a cookie platter
with felt Apple Slice Cookies with Poison Sprinkles,
Broken Heart Cherry Tarts
 and Magic Mushrooms with Hallucinogenic Icing on it.
The cookies can be used as tic tac toe pieces on the fabric board I made.
 


Thanks Val for hosting the swap
 
and
 
Thanks Jennifer for a really nice swap package!!

Friday, October 19, 2012

Alice


I was an angel for my zombie swap...someone got stiffed.  

Can't have that happen so I created this little Alice for her....

 

 and here she is with her goodies....

                       I know she has been received so I just wanted to share....
I'm still awaiting my own little zombie.....I hope she shows up SOON or it will be too late!

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Sooooooo....most of the zombies have moved on to their new homes.  

Micki, have no fear....a little bat package is on the way so you won't be left out!!!!  

Know what that means?

Yep!  my annual ornament swap is posted on my regular blog.   If you are interested, pop over and check out the info...then sign up!   




photo via


You know you want to!!!!


Sunday, October 14, 2012

zombie come, zombie go - the Texas/Pori exchange


Since signing up to Val's awesome zombie swap in August, I've been like a mad professor and laboured over my zombie with a mix of love and obsession, then sent it on its way to Texas.

The deal was that someone else in Texas will do the same and replace my crooked creature with their very own mad creation.

And that is exactly what happened.


The postman rang (three times, like a good postman should) and handed a HUGE box to me. Presenting the goodies inside was zombie Snow White who has the best Tim Burton-esque stare and the softest knitted hands - she is very attached to her poison apple even though I told her she probably ended up dead because of it... She kindly offered me some to taste but I politely refused, telling a white lie of having had my 5-a-day, cheers... She is quite a smart little creature, and very thoughtful too. She's been talking about her creator very fondly and pointed out that she feels very lucky to have been clothed in a warm dress of felted wool under her lace overskirt, as it's considerably colder in Finland than in her birth town in the States. What a sweet creature!

The Texan mad professor who created this kindly zombie girl was Kerry Ann. She revealed how she crafted her in this account here and also wrote a lovely feature of my package starring Zombirella earlier on this Swapper Spot blog - thank you for your praises and your super post Kerry!

I was bowled over by what's been sent - I don't think I ever expected to be so spoiled by Kerry! Again, thank you Kerry for your amazing package, it was like a Christmas in October...like a creepy Christmas to be precise :)

On the other end of the scale, I myself had quite a challenge finding Halloween related things for tuck-ins - in this Nordic country Halloween is somewhat extinct (or rather never really existed) and it's so new here that nobody really celebrates it....for you Americans that must sound unbelieavable, I know.

So I ended up making most of the extra bits and then found one nice jelly sweet called Pihlaja which is made of rowan berries and tastes like Turkish Delights. The other candy I sent was all salmiakki which is so disgusting I had to issue warnings and make a bag labelled 'Trick' to get away with it...

Oh, so you ask what were the tuck-ins Kerry sent me that required such an immensely sized box to be delivered in? Let me be a bit of a tease, and organise another post to show those goodies; hope you guys don't mind :)

Until then, here are the undead lovelies we exchanged for your eyes to feast upon:

Kerry's package and doll for me:




And my doll made for Kerry:



Thank you Val for this great craft swap!

Saturday, October 13, 2012

A Sweet Little Zombie



I'm late posting.  I started a new job this fall teaching preschool.  I love my new job, however I gave away all of my preschool materials last year thinking I wouldn't be leaving the 4th grade level. As a result I've been busy adjusting to the new job and creating all new materials to use.  It's kept me very busyAnyway, this sweet Snow White zombie arrived at my house last week.  I LOVE her. Chrissy made her from felt.  I love felt and wool so this was the perfect medium for me. I requested that my partner create a non-scary zombie; again Chrissy did a perfect job. She created the sweetest zombie, I can't help but love my little Snow White zombie.

Chrissy is super talented and created these amazing Halloween buntings for me. She also included some Halloween hairclips she made from felt.  My daughter snapped those up before I could get a picture.  You can see the amazing felt things Chrissy creates and sells here.  Thank you Chrissy for my adorably sweet Snow White zombie, she's wonderful!
Val, thanks to you as well for hosting this fabulous swap,  It was nice to get crafty again. I totally enjoyed making a Little Red Ridinghood zombie to send off to my partner. I want to make another one.

TA DAH ......

Here she is, the most fantastic zombie doll ever !!!!
Thank you Aniko - you are exceptionally talented. The detail on my doll is amazing, right down to her brains popping out the side of her head. She looks very much at home, nestled amongst my other Halloween decorations. Now, you may ask who is she ...... Well, she came with her Proof Of Identity ....
One day her Prince may return, and she'll need to prove she is Cinderella :-)

My package was filled with lovely goodies .....

 These little bags contained Finnish candy ...... some of it was delicious (I had to hide it from my kids), and some not so yummy (Aniko had warned me ahead of trying it, that it was ikky!!!)
Look at these super cute felt ornaments she made ...... the detail on them is quite lovely. Now if I could just finish my Halloween tree!!!! They will have pride of place on that tree:-)
The letter she sent me with the package, had me laughing ..... It read like a story, it was wonderful !!!

I've always said that one of my very favorite parts of taking part in a swap, is making new friends ...... this swap was no different. It was fun getting "to know" Aniko, we emailed back and forth often, and I'm sure we'll keep up that contact even though this swap is over.

Aniko, thank you for the most AWESOME package - it was a real joy to receive. You most certainly brought a smile to my day :-)
Val, thank you for organizing another phenomenal swap ........... your hard work in putting it together, and keeping us on track, is so, so, so appreciated !!!!

Friday, October 12, 2012

It's the zombie apocalypse

What a fun swap this was. I really don't decorate for Halloween but I did this last year and it put me in the mood. I was paired with a new friend...Heather. Heather wanted to use clay so I said I would too. What I didnt realize is Heather is wonderful clay artist. what I made for her looks like an art project gone wrong in comparison, but I hope she likes Little Dead riding hood despite her many flaws. Ironically, she sent me a Little Red too! She is so delicate and pretty I think in a past life she was a fairy.
She even made a pet wolf on a chain...The details are wonderful. She made soldered clay charms that I am going to make a necklace out of and an adorable bag that everything went into with chocolate too! Woohoo....
I love this little skull charm! absolute coolness...
Now for little Miss out of control Dead and just in case you missed it, she came with a disclaimer.....
Instead of bringing Grandma a basket she is sitting in one. I made her some halloween cards in the shape of gravestones and included some thin ginger cookies ( I LOVE these things) and some Hot Chocolate....
So I put Zombies from last year as a centerpiece for my table and here they are...A zombie tea party.
One last thing...If you want to read a great zombie apocalypse book for young adults read "The Hollowlands" and its sequel by Amanda Hocking...They both are page turners....Happy Halloween all...xoxoxmelinda

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Laura and Spring.....I need to hear from you two please.  Halloween is quickly approaching and zombies are MIA!!!!

Monday, October 8, 2012

I'm So Excited!

I can't wait for my partner to get her swap package!! 
 
 I'm so excited to see if she likes it!!
 
  Come on Mr. Mailman!!

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Zombie Swap 2012



They are all sitting on the buffet and looking really scarey

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Pippi Long"stalking"

Here is the package I sent Spring.  Pippi has been well received so I thought I'd share.

I got a book from the library and copied her from it ...here she is posed in front of the goodies I included in the package:



Monday, October 1, 2012

Here's what I made :)

I think they turned out cute :)


My partner wanted Cat in the Hat inspired zombies. One of my friends saw them and said "OMG it looks likes either Thing 1 or Thing 2 met with one of the Walkers from the Walking Dead."

Mission accomplished LOL



Poor Thing 1, had his head, hands and feet chopped off.

My dd still loved them an awful lot and was sad to see them go.