Sweet and Sinister Swap--received

I was excited this year to be able to participate in ArtsyMama's Sweet & Sinister swap, a vintage-style Halloween swap where the theme colors were black and white. My partner was Julie B, who doesn't have a blog but is someone I had the pleasure to meet at Silver Bella last year. Julie sent me the most delightful package! It was tough to keep to the black and white color scheme (I know I added more than a touch of orange) but she did it well. Here are the fab things Julie sent:

The glittery Trick or Treat sign is hanging right outside my front door--very appropriate, no? The little glittery Boo is on the window ledge in my kitchen, where it looks just perfect. I can't wait to use the Martha Halloween banner in a garland I'm making--the letters are glow in the dark, how fun! Maren ran off with the googly eye glasses as soon as we pulled them from the box. Here she is modeling them:
Maren has also been enjoying the big jar of candy Julie sent! YUM! Julie decorated the jar with hand-stamped twill tape. Isn't it neat? I've actually been thinking of doing a little blog tutorial on how to stamp and print on twill tape. I love the little black crow she added!

I had mentioned to Julie that I'm really loving crows right now, so she made the neatest hanging with the words from Poe's "The Raven". I just realized that I forgot to take a picture of that so I need to add it later.

Julie also sent a darling handmade journal, great die cut felt ghostie garland, and look at these neat letter balls she made. They were in the candy jar--how clever, Sweet & Sinister! These remind me of the very pricey porcelain letter balls I've seen in catalogs and in boutiques. Julie made these by painting wooden balls and applying scrapbooking rub ons. Very neat! She also sent some great black 'pine' garland that will be perfect for decorating.

Julie sent her treats to me in a huge box filled with packing peanuts, and even that was enjoyed! Here's Maren taking a "bubble bath" later that evening:

Thanks again, Julie! You were a fabulous swap partner! Next up I'll show you what I sent to Julie. Right now, I need to go see what I can salvage from my sad tomato plants. We're scheduled for rain and snow and generally yucky weather for the weekend so I've got to work while I can. Have a lovely weekend!