I’ve shown you what I got from my Secret Pumpkin, but what did I make for my recipient? I had to wait a few days to make sure she had it in hand before spilling the beans. As it turns out, my giftee is one of my favorite people in real life, the very talented Lisa Harkins of Fibre Isle. Naturally, I wanted to make something special.
A few years ago, I started a novella called A Quiet Haunting. The Spousal Unit wishes I would finish it. I decided to write a tiny story based loosely on the ghost I’d written earlier, and create an accordion book around it. The story:
She stilled, willing everything quiet
Her hair, her dress, still, still.
They were home, they were here,
And if they noticed
The gentle slope of her shoulder
Outlined softly in dust motes,
They would shriek, they would startle,
And her gossamer self
Would scatter to bits again.
The lines of the story were divided into nine Artist Trading Cards, and fitted into the pockets of the book.
Here’s the box, stained, decorated, and sealed. I didn’t take a picture of the inside, but it’s done in orange and purple, because hey, Halloween!
Inside, wrapped in black cloth, was the book. Closed with black twine, decorated with a web, spider, and burned-ribbon flower, and tagged with “A small ghost story from your Secret Pumpkin.”
Inside, ATCs nestled in delicately creepy pockets.
The back of the book shows a windswept evening landscape, and another glimpse of our ghost.
I’d never made anything like this before, and it was an absolute joy to put together. I’m sure my little ghost will be happy in her new home.
