Laume's Studio

The mailing deadline was this last Monday and Sweet and Sinister Swap packages have been winging themselves back and forth across the globe all week. I got my last minute details finished, gathered boxes, wrapped and beribboned everything (leaving my messy house coated with another layer of mess, albeit a very decorative one) , and mailed my swap partner's box out on Tuesday (that was CLOSE to meeting the deadline!) My partner's box will arrive sometime this week but, alas, she'll be away from home until the weekend. I'm on pins and needles waiting to hear that it's arrived safe and sound. I spent last night surfing swapper's blogs to see all the great posts and photographs of lovely boxes that have already arrived.

And then, the box fairy... er, the mail carrier... brought me a box today. A lovely box full of all sorts of possible wonder. I dropped what I was doing to grab the box and do the happy dance all about the room. But not for long. I wanted to open it!

I took it out onto the front lawn where the lighting was better so I could photograph as I went along.

I've just opened the box here and already I'm thrilled - LOVE those checks and geometrics.

I have a white grapevine wreath for the front entrance - this bow will look fantastic on it. And underneath the bow is a sparkly black cat with "BOO" hanging beneath him. You can't see the cat well but he shows up in another photo later on. Where to hang him? He'll look great anywhere!

And if this doesn't qualify as the "Sweet" item, I don't know what could - is this adorable or what! It's a wee child's shoe made into a pin cushion. How could my swap partner Kathy know that my old pincushion just recently bit the dust. Literally. It was made from covered styrofoam and one day, albeit after a decade of use, it just crumbled to pieces. And who love polkadots? Me!

A cute, etched glass, flying witch candle holder. With one of those battery operated flickering "candles" inside it, which is fantastic as I am always worried about using real candles with all the cats around to bother things. Did I have my blog up yet the year my long haired black cat Nut climbed up into a holiday display and looked very annoyed but confused as she flicked her bushy tail back and forth through a candle flame until it was singed close enough to the skin for her to figure out it probably a good idea to MOVE!?

As a quilter, I LOVE this fabric. I don't know what I'm going to do with it yet but I'm thinking paired with brights it would make a great grandkid quilt. OR, paired with Halloween fabrics, wouldn't that be fantastic! I'm determined to use up a lot of my Halloween fabric this coming year in fun but simple quilts so that when the family visits, everyone can grab their favorite to cuddle in while we watch a video together or gather around to play board games.

More sweet stuff. A sweet "white"cookie. I'm guessing these will be mighty tasty with my evening cup of tea. Yum.

More checkerboard. More "BOO" - Kathy did the Boo embroidery herself. Aren't they great? Three different sizes. Or, hmmm, now that I'm looking at the photo I realize I didn't unfold them, maybe it's two larger dish towel sized and one hand towel size. These will look fantastic in in either the kitchen (which is decorated year round with kitchen witches and lots of black accents) or against the bright green in my front bathroom. They're soft and plushie. And black - finally a color my "boys" can't stain the first time they use them. (why didn't I think of this before now?)

I promised a better view of the cat. And this is a tote bag which is just the perfect size for when I want to carry a few extra things (like my cell phone, change purse, novel, writing pad, hat) without a lot of bulk. I have a couple large totes for travel, but nothing compact like this for day trips or around town activities. The fabric reminds me of Paris - love it.

You have to know this little glow-in-the-dark Boo rock is only a few inches across. When I took it out of the box I exclaimed "Ooooooh, it's sooooo key-ooooooot!" in such a high pitched voice the neighborhood dogs started to howl. Okay, so maybe it was just a coincidence. But it is - it's totally key-oooot!

A sort of Nightmare Before Christmas styled black and orange glass candle holder with another flicker light. Are you all catching on yet how amazing my box is? But just like the classic infomercial line - "But WAIT! There's MORE!"

Oh! My! Gawd! These ribbons are just.... just.... I want to throw them up in the air and let them rain down on me and then just pet them, wear them, wrap them around me. In particular, check out the absolutely gorgeous, gradated (is that the right word?) velvet in the middle. Kathy says it's vintage, which makes it more special in my mind - I love things with stories attached to them. Even if I don't know the story, knowing it's older, I can imagine one. Maybe when I'm done fondling these ribbons, I might even use them in some projects - hehe. Oh, and how clever to put them in the little candy wrappers and then in the plastic box (which had a lid, but it had come apart en route - hope I put it back together again properly.)

I have to admit, at this point I was feeling a bit overwhelmed by Kathy's generosity, and nervous - I hope she likes her box as much as do mine. Which might be near impossible as I ADORE my box. Okay, let's keep going...

Look at the wee bird who flew out of the box. How sweet - I wonder if Kathy made him?

More ribbons! More ribbons! More ribbons! More stripes and polka dots!

More Kathy Kreations - aren't these cute! I have so many ideas for using these - maybe set some of my tiny pumpkin collection atop each one? Maybe fill them with the gray sphagnum moss I found at the store and "plant" some bones or black and white flowers in them? Maybe put a little ghost in each one?

Last but far from least, the bottom of the box held this little basket of ..... uhm..... of..... tribbles?

I've decided they are little pet monster babies and they are so cute I can't stand it. As you can see, a couple of them are one eyed. (actually, I found a couple of loose eyes on the bottom of the box and I could easily glue them back on but I kinda like them this way.) Kathy says she "made" them but, duh, anyone can see that they were hatched somewhere dark and dusty. Maybe these are wilder versions of the dust bunnies I have roaming everywhere in my home.

They were content snuggled in their little "kennel" bed but they seemed happy to be taken out to play on the grass. Just for a little while though. They're still pretty young. And they came with their own toys - little pirate balls and feathers. Hmmm, not sure if the feathers are toys or the remains of their last meal - they ARE monster babies, after all. (I will probably steal the feathers for the crow fairy costume I'm making for next year's fairy festival.) I think I'll keep these little guys close to me in my bedroom where my bed monster can keep an eye on them.

Oh! And hidden in amongst the baby monsters were two very frightening spiders. They jumped right out and ran around the garden!

Here's one of them after it jumped up on top of Charlie the cat. Look at those evil glowing eyes! These guys definitely qualify as "sinister"!

Here are both of them running along the top of the fence just before I caught them and wrapped them up tight in the tote bag until I can find a more secure location. Since they like the garden so much, hmmm, maybe I'll put them in my wee fairy cages hanging in the bushes.

Whew! Are you as amazed as I was by the bounty of my box!? Have I been spoiled? Indeed! Have I been paired with the best swap partner ever? Absolutely!

Thank you Kathy, I thought making up a box to send was as fun as this swap could get but, I have to admit receiving such a wonderful box might just be untoppable.