Carey Burns

One would think I fell off the planet after the whole Creep-a-Day circus ended, judging by the state of this lonely blog. This is partly accurate. Writing anything has been pushed so far off the back burner, the pan is back in the fridge. Life gets complex and hectic and so many people need so much that something (sadly) has to get dropped. I'm sad that it was my writing that suffered.  To make that sadness worse, the few stories I had out in Submission Land found their way back to me with resounding "well-written, not quite what we're looking for, best of luck finding a home for this one" wishes. (I always wonder if they really mean "Good luck trying to find a home for this piece of crap! ") Anywho, after Thursday, I should have all of my commitments and demands sated so I can sit for hours and hours over my holiday break playing with words. I'm excited, nervous, and scared. I've even got myself a nice schedule set up for blog updates in 201...

So today I'm putting away all those awesome craft supplies and feeling very tired from a great Halloween. I also decided to put away items from my work Halloween party and clean the cesspit I call the office. I hope you all had a splendid holiday!!! Tomorrow we set the clocks back and the downhill sprint to January begins. Later this month I'll be selling items at a craft/vendor fair and I'll be adding more items to my Etsy store so if you liked any of the jewelry I made during the Creep-a-Day Challenge, check out my store and you might see some very similar items available. I thought about doing NaNoWriMo this year, but have other commitments (writing-related) so I am skipping the fun this year. If you are taking the challenge, I salute you and cheer your success.  There may be a cool thing coming up next year and once I discuss it with the hubs and get a firmer plan, I will share it here. Don't you love vague statements like that? Happy November!

Polymer Clay Fingers Can you point me in the right direction? Happy Halloween! Thank you so much for following me through this magical month of crafting insanity! I'm glad and sad to see it come to a close, but hey, there is always next year! Since this is the last night and we'll have trick-or-treaters and other fun things going on, I thought I'd do something simple, yet fun. Behold...polymer clay fingers! These awesome candy molds have been tucked away in a closet, waiting to be used for at least five years. FIVE YEARS! Well, they shall wait no longer. Cautions: Polymer clay can give off fumes--make sure you are in a well-ventilated kitchen. They say it is best to keep your polymer clay tools strictly for polymer clay. Supplies: Polymer clay in various colors (I used Sculpey) Candy mold Baking dish Parchment paper The How: Preheat your oven to 275 degrees and line a baking pan with parchment paper. Make sure your candy molds are clean and dry. Sele...

Shrunken Skull Shrinky Skull! I've had a Shrinky Dink kit for jewelry for several years and only made a few things out of it. A few weeks ago, I thought about making an articulated Shrinky Dink skeleton, but the paper I have isn't big enough for the size I wanted. Sifting through my royalty-free clip art collection from Dover, I decided to make a skull ornament. Supplies: Shrinky Dink plastic sheets Felt tip pen Aluminum foil Baking pan Oven Tools: Scissors Hole punch (mine came with the kit) The How: I traced out my image on the rough side of the Shrinky dink paper, per the instructions, adding shading where appropriate. It was time-consuming but it reminded me of my college osteology class. We spent a lot of time sketching the different bones in the lab and I still have many of my drawings. Base image With Shrinky Dink paper and my sketch over the top Lifting the sketch off My sketch ...

Spooky Halloween Album My own Halloween pictorial history Today's craft was unplanned. I thought I knew what I was making...but had swapped the craft out for a different night that had no craft earlier this month. What to do? What to do??? I couldn't sleep because of this then I thought of all the supplies I have the most of. Paper. Good gravy, do I have paper! And doo dads. Lots and lots of doo dads. I would combine the two to make a spooktacular Halloween photo album. Supplies: 2 book boards (I used 8x8) 8x8 Halloween scrapbook paper 2 Binder rings Halloween scrapbook paper in contrasting colors/patterns Glossy Accents Tim Holtz metal corners Photos Tim Holtz word bands Brads Double-sided tape Tim Holtz Clear Rock Candy Crackle Tim Holtz ornate plates Tim Holtz gears Tools: 7 gypsies Binderie Punch Scissors The How: A wee bit of what you need I had different sizes of book boards and the 8x8 size already had holes punched in them so that help...

Mother of the Year This could easily be rendered into a cake. Hint-hint... I bought this paper pulp pumpkin on clearance last year, not knowing what I'd make with it. As this month progressed, ideas ranged from a newspaper-covered pumpkin to a button-covered pumpkin to a googly eye-covered pumpkin.Staring at the naked pumpkin, the idea of the pumpkin being an egg sack both terrified and delighted me. The spider on top is the Mother of the Year for protecting her soon-to-be hatched hellions. Supplies: Paper pulp pumpkin White acrylic paint Black paint (I used a paint pen as well as acrylic) Styrofoam ball Crackle Glaze (I used Tim Holtz® Clear Distress Crackle Paint by Ranger®) Tools: Paint brush Palette Knife The How: I applied a thick layer of white paint over the pumpkin except for the stem. I only used one layer because I wanted a webby/woven appearance. You won't need string for this one--this photo was before the spider idea took over my brain ...

Spooky Silhouettes Don't be scared! Each year, I come up with different silhouettes for our front windows and I usually have all of the supplies for this project on hand. Bats always look awesome and crows look cool too. If I'm feeling extremely ambitious, I cover the windows in colored cellophane. This year, I was only feeling mildly ambitious. Supplies: Black paper (card stock or construction paper) Colored cellophane (the stuff you wrap gift baskets in) Tape Pencil Tools: Scissors The How: Some of what you need I start out folding a piece of construction paper in half and cut out a rough pumpkin shape. This guy was tall so I folded the paper long-ways and cut. With the paper still in half, I drew a large X where I thought the eyes should go. I opened the paper to make sure the placement was good. Next I drew an open, wailing mouth. I refolded the paper and carefully, I poked a "pilot hole" in the center of the X and began cutting it o...

I kept my word and finished this beast of a craft project. I won't say when I began or when I finally finished...but I'd say over 7 hours were put into this thing today only. If (this is a big if) I do any other cross-stitch projects in the future, I seriously would consider getting a magnifying light of some sort. Or just do needlepoint on bigger canvas holes. Anyway, this is my cross-stitched zombie that will be gifted to my hubby. The craft project that would not die! I'll post Day 27 very soon.

Cross-stitch Zombie...Part One Such a cool kit! I purchased this amazing cross-stitch kit a couple years ago, but never got around to working up the ambition to make anything. A long time ago in a world far away, I was in 4-H and my awesome mom taught me the fine arts of needlepoint and cross-stitch. I knew I could do this project, but knew I was rusty in my needling skills. Oh, if only I knew how rusty I truly was! So I should let you know that I just got back from a 3-day trip to Michigan to see the lovely fall scenery and visit our favorite haunted attractions. It is now 9:31 p.m. Today, I cross-stitched in  moving car until the squares of the cloth became a blur and the sun sank too low to even see what I was doing. It was fun and challenging and I know I screwed up a handful of stitches...because I am very rusty. This is as far as I got today, and I'm okay with that. I have all day off tomorrow so I will finish the zombie and work on a super cool craft idea that y...

Painted Skull Not my best paint job, but not my worst! Nothing says Halloween or scary like a grinning skull. I bought this one on clearance last year promising myself that I would paint it one day. Well, today was that day. Supplies: Paper pulp skull White acrylic paint Paint pens Green acrylic paint Waxed paper Tools: Paint brush Palette The How: Work in progress We took another road trip today and I knew it would take a while for a layer of white paint to dry, so I took my supplies with me and painted while the hubs drove to our destination. It was tough, but I got it done and by the time we got back, I could break out the paint pens and decorate my skull. Such a lovely smile  I painted on a pretty pink flower and added designs around the eye orbits and gave her teeth and pretty pink lips. We all need a little heart Isn't she lovely? Beautiful death I added a few leaves just because.

Shrouded Suckers Four little ghosties I remember these shrouded suckers from when I was little...I think they may have used muslin and yarn tied in a bow. Anyway, today was jam-packed with adventure so I needed an easy, car-friendly craft. Enter the ghostly candies. Supplies: White felt String or yarn Suckers Black paint marker (or permanent marker) Stuff you need Tools: Scissors The How: Remove any stickers from your sheets of felt. Match the short ends of a piece felt together to fold in half. Cut the fold. Repeat for each cut piece so that you end up with four rectangles of felt. Cut several 5 to 6 inch pieces of string. Wrap that sucker! Center the sucker under a rectangle of felt and wrap the felt around it. Tie a piece of string under the round sucker then make two black dots for eyes. Faceless and nameless You now have a bunch of cute little ghosties. Spooky and sweet!

Repainted Pumpkins Two fake pumpkins I can't remember where I got these fake pumpkins, but the yellow in them was always a little off-putting to me, so much so that I kept them hidden away in a plastic bag. Not anymore! With a fresh coat of paint, they look a little better to me. Supplies: Fake pumpkins Acrylic paint Paper towels Waxed paper Tools: Paint brushes Palette The How: Not a fan of the yellow... I covered my work surface with waxed paper so I didn't get paint everywhere. Next, I selected to colors I wanted to paint the pumpkins. I had a nice orange and then I mixed up a bit of orange and brown as a secondary color. Before... I painted a thin layer of plain orange over a section of yellow, feathering out the edges a bit. After-ish I took a piece of paper towel and wadded it up to dab the wet paint for a mottled-effect. I liked the way it turned out and did that on every yellow section then let it dry ...

His and Hers Coffins Creeptastic! Today was a rough crafting day! I didn't sleep much and I had a 6:30 a.m. blood draw for our yearly wellness thing at work. All day I've been tired, cranky, and a bit sore but hey, the crafts must go on. I mean...I've gone 21 days. I can't say "eff it" with ten days left. Anywho... I found these little wooden coffins at a craft store and the price was right, so I bought them. I didn't know what they would contain, but I had a vague idea. Deep in my sticker and embellishment horde, I had these cute die cuts I bought almost ten years ago and I figured it would be good to use them. Supplies: Two pre-made wooden coffins Black acrylic paint Glossy Accents Halloween embellishments of your choice Silver Sharpie marker Tools: Paint brushes Palette Waxed paper or paper towels The How: That's a hot mess right there... Cover your work station with either paper towel or waxed paper. I forgot the waxed p...