Kris Hurst

Kris Hurst of Georgia offers a wide array of elements and ephemera in her esty shop. They might be just what you need for your Halloweeen crafting!

Check out the Blissful Elements blog here.

dying to try these at home

I know, it's very bad of me... but I surf the blogs and get inspired to try all sorts of things for myself. Like these sweet Halloweeen charm bracelets. I've been eyeing them for a couple of years and gathering goodies. I'm hoping to whip one up for Miss Loopy and I to share over the next few weeks. But yes, I am diligently working away on my Zombie Jar for dear Angela... I've got my theme all set and I've basically gathered all my goodies. Assembly this weekend! After I'm done putting it together, half the fun will be parceling it up as fancy as can be! What about you... is packaging a consideration too?

Have a great, spooky and inspiring weekend, swappers!

All of these images are from Vintage Halloween... check it out if you have time. Wonderful goodies.

a glittered halloween

If you get a minute, check out A Glittered Halloween, a really delightful blog chronicling the creations of Kim Hardt... she just loves Halloween! There is so much Halloween inspiration over there, get going!

fairy jar tutorial

There is a tutorial available for purchase at A Little Speckled Egg Tutorials on how to put a fairy in a jar.

halloween fairy!

The card is several layers of index board, tissue paper, decorative papers. It features a lovely vintage photograph of a Girl with several layers of paper, sparkling glitter and Swarovski crystals! Signed by the artist Terri Gordon.

glitter bones

More inspiration for our jars of ghoulish fun... look away, dear Amy! This is from Martha Stewart.

Wendy Rae Leaumont

Take a minute and scope out this wonderful altered art by artist Wendy Rae Leaumont. She has got it going on.

halloween party planning ideas

Are you planning a holiday party for Halloween? Even if you are just looking for tooo cute favours, check out Amy Atlas Designs, starting here. You will be directed to the Brownie Pop site, Amy uses Brownie Pops for her parties, including these adorable Halloween pops.

hip hop jingle boo

Ahhh... here is a display... creepy artifacts under jars... isn't this what we are going for? Jars, boxes with windows, overturned glasses...

Hip hop over to see jingle boo for some altered art and vintage gruesome decor ideas.

free vintage halloween art

Vintage Holiday Crafts offers free downloadable vintage art for your personal use. Some of the images here are too cute and would work nicely in a jar. You may just find it interesting to look around for inspiration. I don't recommend printing these images off on inkjet for use in your jars. They wouldn't be archival in quality, and the ink might run if you decoupage the piece... it might be a better bet to print them as photos somehow.

today's inspiration

Hop on over to visit a gal named Tootie for a little dose of Halloween goodness and a glimpse of her altered Halloween art! I just love the attention to detail... she really has a wonderful imagination...

What have we here? This little creature is in a box with a window, not a jar... hmm....

Gorgeous accents of seasonal colour. Skip over to see her blog if you have a chance, she has Halloween music playing. Surely that will get you in the mood to create... or eat a bag of candy corn.

A tiny ghostie in a bottle? Amazing. Simply amazing.

Hello swappers. I have made the partners for the swap and here they are. I will be sending emails to everyone with shipping information and full names. Links to blogs are provided in the sidebar - please visit your partner if you can! What a fun way to get to know each other. Every effort was made to accommodate requests for partners and I hope everyone is satisfied. My first priority was to consider shipping requests and then requests for partners. How fun that some people requested new partners and not friends so they could meet new bloggers! Here is the list:

examples and guidelines

Plenty of you have asked for some examples of what our Zombie Jars might look like. I've compiled a little selection of fairy jar examples... that's what we are basing our creations on, but only we're using a slightly spookier, Halloween theme. Here is an example of the jar I made to exchange with Little Melfie last year in the Fairy Jar Swap she hosted. I put my fairy in a lantern, not a jar. Anything goes in a swap like this... don't you agree? You can see more pictures of my project here. Here is the jar that Little Melfie made for me for the swap last year! I love her. The theme of the swap was "home" and there is a little vintage house key tied to the jar. What cute details! Click on the image above to visit the fairy jar made by Little Things. Wedding Jar Fairies by Lisa Kettell. Or look here for an example of an altered doll in a jar. Remember... anything goes! Just a few reminders:

• What you put in your jar should be secured down so that it doesn't get wrecked in shipping.
• You can use any sort of jar or container... be creative! As long as you have a good view of the creature trapped inside!
• If you can't secure your creation, then the lid should not be sealed permanently so the new owner can "adjust" the creature inside.
• The inhabitant of your jar can be ghoulish or cute! It can be a monster, a ghostie, a pumpkin man or something completely sinister! It's up to you.
• Please wrap your parcel oh -so-carefully so that it arrives in one piece.
• Ship your parcel to ensure it is in your partner's hands by October 25th.
• Take plenty of photos to post on your blog... but the reveals cannot take place until October 25th!

Dear Swappers,

I am compiling a nice and comprehensive list of every participant's name and information right now. If I don't have your info, please send it to me by email... my address can be found on my main blog (Zombie Jar Swap announcement post.

There have been a few questions about the guidelines for the swap so I will post more about that tomorrow! Expect an email from me confirming your partner's name by the end of the week. It would be so nice to connect with your partner and try to make a little something they will love.

Have fun!

The swap is filling up at a good pace... there is still room for one or two more swappers but it will be closed by tonight. In the meantime, to get you motivated and inspired have a visit to the Curious Sofa Diaries - one of my favourite "haunts" in blogville. The Halloween displays are so wonderful, you may decide that decorating for October 31st is more fun than decorating for Christmas!

Welcome to our little blog space to celebrate the creation and the swapping of our Halloween Zombie Jars! All swappers will be added to the list of contributors. Feel free at any time to post images, teasers, ideas and encouragement as we embark on a journey of ghoulish creation and celebration!