A Month of Spookdays

This jack-o-spider from Pills Against Boredom left me in awe. I know how to needle felt, but I’ve never had the patience to get something so solid and smooth and gorgeous.

Felted spider with a pumpkin body.

Look at him! LOOOOK! I would love him and squeeze him and call him George, but I don’t want to ruin him (though he doesn’t seem particularly fragile) and I’m not sure George suits. Maybe Arbogast?

I don’t think I ever shared this when I made it, because it would have been a letterboxing spoiler. Letterboxers, especially in the PNW, love gatherings. After I’d moved to Florida in 2015, some friends back home requested I make a special box for their Halloween event. This would not be planted in the woods like most boxes, but shared at the table during the event. I got a notification that it was shared just recently, which made me so happy! I figure eight years on, I’m safe to share it here.

Large, evil book from the top, sporting a pentagram with skulls at the points.
Closeup of evil book.

I loved making this thing so much. This might be the first time I used Verday Metal Paint, which is still available from Sandra Evertson. Love this stuff.

Screaming Grimoire contains FOUR magical items of great power. Choose wisely.
Six corroded coffins nestled inside the book.

The book contained six coffin boxes…but only four had stamps in them. The other two had screamers. I wonder if the batteries are still good?

When I first got into polyclay, I bought a book by Donna Kato that showed how to make an inro (pronounced eenyoh) box. The clay I used was too soft, and I wasn’t experienced enough. Also, instructions in books, eh. But recently she’s started a Youtube channel! And with that, she uploaded a video tutorial, which I’ll include below.

So I finally made my first inro box!

Inro box in Halloween pastels.

It’s in Halloween colors, of course, with a little raven charm on the bottom.

Inro box open

I used Cernit, which is translucent with that mottled appearance you see. The box is by no means perfect, but I am certainly pleased with my first effort. Here is Donna showing you how to make your own:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ml1PyDq9IqU&t=328s

Every year, I participate in a small Secret Pumpkin exchange between a small group of friends. This year, my giftee received my first shadowbox:

Spooky graveyard shadowbox

I often buy bits from Sandra Evertson, and that panel on the left is a fave. I bought four, and I think I’ve used three already. Here it is a cemetery gate that opens to reveal…

Open cemetery shadowbox, with an owl inside the gate.

I had a lot of fun making this. For some reason, the owl inside the little door makes me so happy.