Creep-a-Day Challenge Day 1

Creepy Jar w/ Tea Light

I saw similar lights on Pinterest and thought, “I want to make those too!” After reading various blogs and watching video tutorials, I experimented with supplies I had on hand and the results were pretty cool, but very time-consuming. I came up with a very quick and easy method to make them. Perfect for this challenge!

Cautions:

You might want to cover your work surface with newspapers so if you spill the inks, you don’t stain anything. (mind your hands as well…the inks can stain your skin)
The ink contains alcohol so make sure you use it in a well-ventilated area and don’t use it near heat or open flames.
Not food safe! Don’t use the finished jars to store ANY food items.
Clean the finished jars with a dry cloth. I’m not sure how water resistant the inks are.

Supplies:
1 clean glass jar (either store-bought or recycled)
Alcohol ink (I used Tim Holtz® Adirondack® Alcohol Inks)
1 LED candle (I used a tea light)
A sense of adventure

The How:

A jar and some ink. What could go wrong?

Make sure your jar is indeed clean and dry. If you have trouble removing labels, adhesive, or ink date stamps, try using a rubbing alcohol-soaked paper towel to remove them. Set jar on your covered work surface, mouth-side-up.

Choose the color scheme you want your finished product to have. My favorite combination is Mushroom and Red Pepper for a nice dried blood look.

Adding "Mushroom"

Open the bottle of Mushroom ink and press the tip of the applicator against the inside rim of the jar. Let the ink flow down the sides, turning the jar while you do so. (don’t squeeze the bottle too hard—you’ll waste ink!) If you see any bare spots, carefully tip the jar slightly on its side to move the excess ink to the bare spots. Close the bottle tightly.

Let the ink dry.

Letting the jar dry

Here we go!

Once it is dry to the touch (a small pool of ink in the bottom of the jar is okay), open up the bottle of Red Pepper ink and add just a few drops of the ink by pressing the applicator tip against the inside rim of the jar and letting a bit drip down the sides. Do not turn the jar! Move the tip to another spot along the rim and repeat. Do this randomly until you are satisfied with the appearance. Close the bottle tightly.

Looks too stripey, lets add more mushroom!

Let the ink dry.

Looks like it is congealing nicely!

Once the inks blend and dry, it will have a different appearance. If you feel it needs more red or brown, carefully add drops of your desired color in just those areas. You’ll just tip the jar to the side and squeeze one drop of ink out, holding the jar in place for a few moments to let some of the ink evaporate so you don’t have a large drip of color.

The "dregs" in the bottom of the jar!

Creepy!!!

Make sure your inks are completely dry then turn on your LED candle and place it inside. Viola! A creepy candle! Each jar is unique, just like you.

In the Witch's Lair

So a little while ago, Tim Holtz had a video showing all of the new Ideal-ology goodies for Christmas. You know me, I bleed orange and black, but one thing in particular made me OOL (ooh out loud). The Vignette Box Tops. When I saw the sweet scenes he made out of Vignette Boxes and those tops...my Halloween vein started throbbing! I ordered them and finally got them Thursday. I was off work yesterday and not feeling well so I created this neat little vignette! Everything used to create this project is Tim Holtz except for the black creepy drape cloth, the glass glitter, and the moss. It all started with larger Vignette box. I cut a piece of Halloween paper to fit the back and edged it in Black Soot Distress ink. I took the largest box top and traced it out onto a piece of Lost and Found paper stash. I wanted to use a Halloween design, but the paper was just a bit too small. Once I had the box top traced, I cut it out and cut out the little window portion as well. I added B...

I Have No Words

This post has been a difficult one to write. Like so many others, the pandemic has really thrown me into a loop and brought many unexpected and unwanted changes. I left my job of over 19 years in October. The stress, frustration, and unhappiness was too much and the negativity was seeping into my off-time and basically killed any motivation I had to write or make anything. Around that same time, my sister's breast cancer returned with a vengeance and destroyed the funny, loving, energetic woman I had always known and loved. She became a fragile shell and then she was gone. My heart was still raw when my mother, the rock of our family, died unexpectely on Friday. I'm stunned. Shocked. It makes no sense. She's gone. I'm not sure what the future holds for me. I've been working in the healthcare field and I'm happy with the job but life keeps telling me how short it is and I think I need to really listen this time.

My Submission for Needle's Flash Fiction Challenge

"Gone Fishing" Copyright 2010 by Carey Burns Prissy jumped down from Veronica's lap and skittered to the front of the fishing boat, her paws on the side rail as she barked at the kids fishing on the shoreline. "Von, will you keep that ratty dog quiet? She's scaring away the fish." Sam reeled in his slack line, wishing he would have left her and that damn dog of hers at home instead of letting her weasel her way into his fishing trip with Bailey. Baily Evers was the only reason Von had any interest in fishing and she flirted with him mercilessly in the truck and for the first hour on the lake until Sam told her to shut her silly mouth. Since then Veronica sat sulking with Prissy whimpering in her arms. Bailey chuckled. "Maybe we can hang ol' Pris over the edge and see if there really are barracuda in this lake." He tilted back his Dodgers' cap and wiped the sweat from his brow, squinting as he stared off across the lake. "Should we...

Carey Burns

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