cabinet of wonders

halloween is coming and it's one of my most inspirational seasons. i can never get enough of vintage rhymes, eclectic keepsakes and random spooOOOookiness.

so what better way to celebrate than to combine my scrapbook island team project box o' joy - containing authentique's "glowing" papers how's that for serendipity - with tim holtz's configurations. the result?
a cabinet of wonders.

each tiny box is a vignette, a story all its own. and each  one features a special technique or discovery inspired by the "spirit" of someone special. can you find them all? tortured block letters, wrappings and rappings, edgar allan poe, potions and quotations, and trappings of woe?

hold on to your coffins gypsies, and away we shall go...

rattling and groaning and scratching at the door...

{i love happy accidents. when i took the heat gun to the 13 to save some time, it bubbled and blistered instead. love this look and i'll to do it on purpose next time.}

haven't we met in the graveyard before?
{the quote on the door is George Bernard Shaw's and as soon as i read it, i knew i needed a project with a skeleton, and a closet. i love how random elements can come together.}

dead man's hand will slowly creep...
{ghastly vapors (made from a not so ghastly cotton ball) pour from the glass bottle. the leering witch is stamped on acrylic and lit by "candlelight". the hand from the grave is a "shaker" box with dirt, bones and gravestone sealed behind a piece of acrylic - cut from the sheet that comes with the configuration.}

skeletons scratching while you sleep... 
the mummy is created by layering cheese cloth over one of the idea-ology "creepy dolls". i was inspired to make something of both "creepy dolls" after doing tim's classes. they just have so much potential! can you spot the smaller doll in disguise? and just to go outside the box, i created a hanging graveyard along with a tavern-inspired black cat to hang at the door.}

you've made it to the end of the road, but you're not out of the woods yet.  
next week i'm starting a new  feature - "technique of the week" - and you get to help choose what the first 'nique will be. choose one of these spookiliscious objects from the cabinet of wonders , post your choice as a comment by 8/28, and the one with the most votes wins!


1) wrapped up mummy
2) witchy votive
3) tortured letter blocks
4) door #13