Mad as a Hatter . . .

It has taken me awhile to get on here and share the zombie doll that I sent to Trish.  

One of the "missing zombie doll" requests she listed was a Mad Hatter doll.

. . . so meet Hatter.  I really had fun making him!

As far as zombies go, Hatter is very friendly . . .

but more than a little bonkers!

He loves tea, and never goes anywhere without his hat.

Hatter has been known to be very charming . . . especially with people he knows and

when attending tea parties.  Although, his obsession with tea and tea parties

may also set him off.  Then you may see is “mad”, crazy, eccentric side.

Yep . . . completely off his rocker. 

Enjoy this little zombie doll.  He may be entirely bonkers,

but I’ll tell you a secret . . . All the best people are.

We're not in Kansas anymore...

  Now that my partner has received her package I can show what I made. Mandy was wanting a Zombie Wizard of Oz doll and I just happened to have a 1976 Bucilla Tin Man craft kit, and no memory of why I bought it in the first place, it was Karma.

Photo 1 is what it was suppose to look like and Photo 2 is what I did to it.

A couple of the tuck-in's I made (big cat not included).

  The Wizard of Oz image I found on line and added it to a frame I painted. The doll head is a "non-traditional" flower pot.

I look forward to doing this swap every year.
Chris =]

Follow The Yellow Brick Road .......

Poor ....Poor Dorothy .......
She followed the Yellow Brick Road all the way to Ilinois ......It was a perilous journey, that left her a little (LOT) worse for wear !!!!

This was the "missing Zombie" of choice for my partner Vanessa.

Thanks Val for another awesome swap ...... my little zombie family is expanding !!!!

QUEEN of the ZOMBIES!

Iara out did herself.  I mean seriously.   The doll she made me is AMAZING!
I named her Anastasia.
She has gorgeous hair and a crown and a scepter and and and....well you get the picture.

I can go on and on but I'll just show you.

See?  She even has FLIES in her hair!!!!

And she didn't stop there...she included all sorts of goodies including some "wool?" roving from her OWN bunnies!

I guess everyone knows I like to add poems and/or  back ground stories to my dolls.   She started a poem and it made me laugh out loud so I had to include it with the photo...TOO funny!

Thank you Iara!!!

Total Cuteness!

Lest you think poorly of our wonderful hostess, I did receive my zombie from Val BEFORE the shipping deadline, but have been so busy trying to catch up on the one I was making for her that I had not had a chance to take pictures or post.  Having recently moved to the Gulf Coast, I finally feel like some beach-themed decor is appropriate, so one of my suggestions was a doll to incorporate.  I present to you, my little surfer girl:

 I absolutely adore the tiny touches like her belly button piercing and her anklet:

 She came with some goodies that I refused to touch until after I had sent out the doll I made for Val.  Last night I celebrated by opening up that bag of Chex Mix and promptly attracted the attention of my own local zombies (13 yr-old up past bedtime).

 Also included was this darling felted owl.  I have to fight my daughters off for possession of this too.  Nina loves owls, and Nora loves needle felting. Mine! Back off I say!

Thank you Val -- both for my box o' fun, and hosting these swaps.  I enjoy the opportunity to share my love of things handmade.

Happy Haunting Y'all.

Something Is A Cookin ......

I am in love ....... look at this creature of cuteness !!!
Vanessa you have no idea how excited I was when I opened my package ...... there's a good chance I squealed :-)
Thank you SO much for my Chef Zombie - I adore him !!!!!

Complete with his little chef hat ... but don't be deceived he is completely 100% Zombie .... just look at what his chefs hat hides !!!!

Vanessa also sent me some fun Halloween goodies, including some of my most favorite candy of all .... little Halloween Peeps !!!

Thank you ... Thank you ... Thank you ... for spoiling me, and adding such an adorable Chef to my Zombie collection ... I will treasure him :-)

Thank you Val for hosting another Zombie Doll Swap - I know how much work goes into planning and organizing it, you are SO very appreciated !!!!

Zombie swap package

Thank You Mandy for my Day of the Dead girl, she will fit right in with my DoD display.  I like the anatomy pieces on the charm bracelet and I have a few ideas for the stickers.

It was fun!
Chris =]

Tiny Sneak Peek

The zombie I created is on its way to its new home :0) I am trying really hard not to give it away. This one was as challenging as it was fun. I fell in love (as always) while making it.

Here is a tiny peek. I can't wait for Barbara to get her package. I hope she really does like gruesome!

Thank you Valerie for hosting this awesome swap.

Debbie

Annual Ornament Swap!!!

It is time for my annual Christmas ornament swap!  As always, this swap is for handcrafted ornaments. Any medium is allowed!  You don't have to be an artist to join in!  

This year the theme is "HolidayToadstools." That means that somehow, somewhere, there needs to be a toadstool/mushroom incorporated into your ornaments.

We are doing a "5 for 5"  swap.
What this means is that you will send me 5 of the same handmade ornament.  Then you will receive a variety of 5 ornaments back. 

Once you join, I'll send you an invite so you can post on the swap blog.
You do not have to have a blog or webpage to join.
The deadline to sign up is Oct. 28th. I am limiting participants to 20 this year.

To sign up, send me an email at valpowery(at)yahoo(dot)com with your name and blog or flickr link/info.  

This will be a USA only swap due to shipping.

The do's and don'ts: 

Please DO create something you would love to receive and be sure to package your ornaments in a nice, 

re-usable box so I can mail your new ornaments back to you in it. 

Please DO NOT send any one dimensional tags as ornaments.  If you do paper crafts, you must have layers and glitter and gorgeousness.    Tags are great and I have a few lovely ones on my own tree but they were created as gift tags, not ornaments.  I just chose to USE them as ornaments because they were so nice.

Please DO take care when wrapping to make sure the ornaments are cushioned, etc. please put each ornament in it's own baggie or cellophane wrap so it doesn't get tangled with the others in shipping.   We DO want all our ornaments to arrive in pristine condition!  

Please DO double/triple check your ornaments before shipping to me.  I had several 6-8 that needed fixing or replacing.  Some I replaced with ornaments that were actually sent to me as a gift.  I had to make more ornaments to replace the others with.  

Please DO NOT join if you are unable to commit to making something you would enjoy receiving in return.  

Shipping: Please send in $10.00 to cover the cost of sending ornaments back to you.  This will also cover tracking.   Please include a return address label already filled out.

Ship in time for me to receive them by Thanksgiving.  That way, I can get them in time to organize, repackage and mail them out by the first week of December.  

Sadly, I can't guarantee you getting an exchange box if your ornaments do not reach me in time.  (If that happens, I'll gladly return your own ornaments to you using the money you sent for shipping.)  
Shipping funds are important!  If you forget to include shipping, your ornaments can't be sent/returned until you have sent me the funds to send/return them to you.

If you finish your ornaments early, feel free to send them to me early so I can start organizing them.

If time gets away from you and you need to back out, no big deal, just drop me an email and I'll remove you from the list.  

Also, don't forget to grab the badge to put on your own blog to spread the word!