Carey Burns

I was home with a stomach bug yesterday and in the afternoon I was feeling better so I tinkered around with the His and Hers piece from a few weeks ago .  First I added a bit of  Tim Holtz ® Distress Stain to the edges of the torn photos. I used Broken China for him and Picked Raspberry for her. The colors are too bright and cheery for my purposes so I'll be dulling them down later. Next, I added a layer of Modern Options Sophisticated Finishes iron paint to the surface of all the metal findings. I had a bit extra on my palette so I decided to rust up some Tim Holtz ® frames for a future project. I'll be adding the rusting solution this week and then dry brushing on some white gesso to bring out the highlights. Still deciding if I want to add a wash of color over that.  The last thing I did before taking a nap was to add a layer of Kroma Crackle to a side of the drawer. I wanted to see how it looked on just straight wood. While getting ready for w...

 Another Maker's Monday, another pair of earrings! I'm using gold-filled findings this time and some lovely Swarovski rondelle crystals in Denim Blue. Variations on this basic jewelry project are endless! I linked to where I purchased my supplies but you can buy them elsewhere.  A dainty pair of earrings A note about gold findings: When I first started making jewelry, I didn't want to use gold because it was expensive and the findings I could get locally were gold-plated and just looked cheap. Gold-filled findings have more gold in them as compared to gold-plated so they should wear longer, be less prone to tarnishing, and the gold won't "flake off." A brief explanation can be found in this Artbeads.com article.  Supplies: 2 gold-filled headpins (2 inches long) 2 8x6 mm Swarovski rondelle crystals in Denim Blue 4 gold-filled saucer beads 2 gold-filled ear wires Add caption Tools: Jeweler's pliers (one or two pairs, depending on y...

Ah, WIP Wednesday! I've had a lot to work on lately, but I'll narrow it down to just "By the Light of the Moon." I had a pretty productive weekend which translates into me now having to clean up the mess I made. But it was an artful mess ... Step one for me was to sand down the Aves Apoxie on my wolfman. It was messy but I liked how it turned out. After I cleaned all the dust off, I painted it with black acrylic paint. (except the teeth and tongue) Caution: wet paint Man becomes wolf Once it was dry, I dry brushed on white gesso. Debating if I will add color to the highlights While I had the gesso on my palette, I took a bit and snuck it into a tough of black to make gray. I used the gray to paint the depressed areas of my full moon and then when that dried, I put the rest of the white gesso over the high points and sides. It resembles the moon, right? Next up, I aged the photo of my wolfman. I added Tim Holtz ® Distress Stain in Walnut to the tor...

Nothing like being jolted awake by your hubby yelling that it is 6 a.m. when you should have been out of bed by 5:45 a.m. Our power went out on Saturday and the alarm clock needed to be reset. Seems I set it ten minutes slow. Ah well. I'm awake and mostly alert now. It should come as no surprise that I didn't have today's blog post even started yet so I really had to hustle and go through all of my supplies to come up with a sweet necklace for Maker's Monday. I bought this lovely pendant from the Vintaj booth at the Bead and Button Show in Milwaukee.I've said it before, but if you're into jewelry, you should really attend this show! Can we just say how lovely this pendant is??? Supplies: 1 Vintaj brass Waterlily Maiden pendant 2 Vintaj Treasured Filigree Connectors (these may be retired) 6 small brass jump rings 1 large brass jump ring 26.5 inches of brass chain 1 lobster clasp I don't know the jump rings sizes - they are "leftovers...

What a whirlwind the last few weeks has been! I've been writing and doing a major purge of the office/craft room and this morning before work, I started working on a few pairs of earrings. I had very simple direction from the recipient: the colors to use were green, purple, and a melon/salmon. After sorting through my beads and clarifying that silver was the metal of choice, I just studied beads and findings until ideas formed. Beads I had on hand It was nice to just play around until something worked. Very therapeutic. Beads and findings ... what will become of them? So far I have completed two pairs of earrings and am almost done with a third. Onward and upward! Prehnite beads and sterling silver spacer beads Amethyst beads, sterling silver wire, and "upcycled" sterling silver toggles This weekend, I should have a lot of time to get back to those artsy WIPs. What are you working on?

I had a citrine chip memory wire bracelet in my Etsy store and sold it to a friend and she wanted matching earrings to go with it to give as a gift. With the recipient in mind, I came up with this sweet pair of earrings and decided to post the how-to for Maker's Monday! Can't find citrine chips? Substitute with a different crystal. Supplies: 2 sterling silver headpins (2 inches long) 6 citrine chips 4 sterling silver beads (3mm) 2 sterling silver ear wires Tools: Jeweler's pliers (one or two pairs, depending on your preference) Flush cutters Instructions: 1.  Look through your chips/beads to get six that are similar sized/shaped . Slide on a silver bead, three chips, and another silver bead. 2. Make a 90 degree bend in the headpin. Repeat for the other headpin. 3.  Line up two headpins and cut them about 1/8 inch from the tip of the tail. 5.  Now you'll make your loops. Line the very end of a 90 degree bent headpin and bead...

This is a stormy WIP Wednesday here in Illinois! Anyone else out there have a problem with starting new projects when others aren't quite finished? *raises hand, stares out into The Void* Okay then, just me. Well, when I was on vacation, I sketched out a few project ideas and began pulling items together for them. Not sure if they'll be a set or separate pieces but for now, I'm just calling them His and Hers. His and Hers assemblage basic concept I found the wooden drawers at one of my favorite antique shops and had to clean them up because they were pretty filthy. Next step for them is to add a layer of crackle paint and a wash of color. Nothing worse than dirty drawers The photos are part of my Other People's Family photos collection. I peeled them from the heavy cardboard backings and carefully ripped them down to size. I'll add a bit of stain to them and grunge them up a bit then add them to the boxes. What is he hiding behind his back??? I w...