Unburied treasure

Am feeling smug today, having finally finished a project which has been at least a year in its creation (although most of that was within my head and I didn't start in earnest until a couple of months ago).  And it's not like it's anything deep and meaningful, just something fun, but has taken an awful lot more planning and titchy working than I'd anticipated.


With the exception of the skull (Halloween purchase) and the shells, everything has been hand-made.  Most of it, with the exception of the rocks (papier maché) and the buckles on the treasure chest (bent wire), is fabric and/or stitched.  Both octopuses are crocheted, the pale one was intended for the lid of the chest but was too small so redeployed; the various weeds are painted ribbon, latex and chain stitch. 


To add to my smugness, this is intended for the next exhibition of my local Embroiders' Guild which has a deadline of April - for once I've finished a project early.  Although I have another idea which I want to enter, so I'm sure I'll be finishing that at midnight before the deadline.