spooky scary...a haunted house invite

it's been a while.
i'm working on some balance in my life and i'm learning that it's a slow process.
in the meantime, though. i've been plotting. planning and throwing some parties of pure awesomeness.
to get back into the swing of things, here's a little introduction to one of my latest projects.
i'm throwing a halloween party with a friend. it's a haunted house themed party.
the party isn't until this weekend but, i thought i'd give you a sneak peek. here are the spooky, scary invites that we sent out a few weeks ago.

because it's a haunted house party, we really wanted to make the invite detailed. so we crafted a letter/story to explain why/how the house is haunted. we made them look even spookier by aging the paper with tea and burning the edges, and then sealing it with some sealing wax. to look even more cool, i sealed the wax with the prong-y part of the skeleton keys. *ps. this entire process was super messy. super stinky, and slightly dangerous. thankfully, we managed to not burn down my house. phew.

also included in the invite was a key. with instructions to bring the key with them to the party. mwhahahahaha...

we found these super cool skeleton keys in the dollar bins at michaels,attached a little tag with the phrase, "your presence is key" stamped on it and placed the key on a little bed of moss (dollar store).
did i mention that it all came delivered in a freaking cool coffin? because, it did.  shush. i know, i get it. i'd want to come to the party, too.
anyway. this week is full of party prep. and blog catch-up. plus. a HUGE announcement coming. soon very very soon.
so excited.
spooky, scary.

you have to every now and then...puppet week!

i'm directing a show right now.
and it's more than consuming my life right now.
so. so. excited.
the show is into the woods. but not the full version. we're doing the first half. because it's for kids. well, teens.
and it's rad.
on its own, it's a gorgeous show.
and i'm looking forward to putting my own spin on it.
with puppets. but not just any puppets. i'm making my own. and, true to form, i'm making them for practically nothing and with found items.

tomorrow.
rod puppets. for under $8.
shush.

craft week linky party...you know, for olympians

craft week. that happened people. i had more crafts to do. more parties to attend. and yet, some of it will just have to wait. but not this. the craft week linky party. so do it. link up your awesomeness. and be prepared. for some awesome awards coming your way.

summon my eagle powers....

team craft so far is freaking awesome.
did you see these herringbone rugs?
or this sweet coupon caddy?
shush. just shush, liz and caroline. you guys are fab.
and so is this.
we've discussed my obsession with all things modpodge.

here come the sonnets...hand stenciled sonnet ottoman

my fellow olympians.
we've seen the parade of awesomeness over the past four weeks. there have been some killer projects.
but now, it's my pleasure to welcome you to
bloggy olympics week #4.
craft week. 
are you even ready for this? can you handle it? it's not for the faint of heart, people.
hosted by caroline at c.w.frosting, liz at here's to handy andy, and me (naturally), this week will knock you on your freaking craft.
seriously.
because we're sharing our craft projects this week.
and, i'm not going to lie. they're rad.
really rad.
and on thursday (july 5 to july 6) we're having a craft week linky party where you can show off your olympic-worthy crafts...
why would you do this?
because there will be awards.
that's right people. we're handing out awards on saturday (july 7th)

this is what i came up with for my project. (read on for the tutorial...and for a washi tape giveaway. *le sigh)