Carey Burns

A while back, I was given some unwanted laminate samples and I took them, not knowing what I'd make with them. They were in my junk bin and when I was purging items this summer, they made it to a zipper bag for the "free pile" of our upcoming yard sale. The other day, I thought "Hey, use them to make a more durable tag!" So this little taglet was born. In total, I made seven different ones and had six larger tags left. This tag is inspired by the taglet. New project on left, inspiration taglet on right Inspiration taglet Supplies: 1 laminate sample or paper tag Tim Holtz Ancestors Paper Doll: Witches Tim Holtz Botanical Tissue Paper Distress Collage Medium (matte) Tim Holtz Clippings and Big Chat stickers Distress Crayons: Twisted Citron, Picket Fence, Squeezed Lemonade, Tumbled Glass Distress Ink: Black Soot, Aged Mahogany Distress Marker: Black Soot Glossy Accents Tim Holtz Baroque Frame (rusted with Sophisticated Finishes) Tim Holtz ...

This project was on my mind all summer but I finally finished her! When I look at the finished piece, I can't believe I actually created it. It started with an antique brass match holder from Sweden I found at a junk store. It took me a year (not kidding) to decide which side to use. They're both fantastic! I had the head of a blinking doll that I had removed the hair from in my junk bin and one day I saw the two pieces together and had an a-ha moment. I started researching Aztec gods and goddesses and discovered Chalchiuhtlicue. As I learned about her being the 'lady of the jade skirts,' I decided to eventually add some jade tones. Playing around with other pieces from the junk bin, I settled on a skeletal torso and skeleton hands to crown the piece. I rusted them and dry brushed them in white, a golden yellow, and a lightened thalo green. The piece cried out for colorful flowers so I colored Tim Holt's Heirloom Roses in alcohol ink shades...

So this piece is 'done' but I'm just not in love with the nails on the top. I think they should be rusty and taller. Might be rooting through the nail jar this weekend... Wrath started with the vintage Japanese bisque doll. I thought the little fella was holding two machetes in front of him (honest mistake!) so he became my Wrath. After researching the figure, he's holding an airplane, which is funny, because I had selected the war planes to be in my background. Maybe my subconscious mind knew it was really a plane? Speaking of planes, I found these plastic toys at an antique shop and snatched them up. I knew they'd look great with a coat of rust and some paint. The antique cheese box was painted red and had some great staining so I cleaned it up and cleaned the planes too. Once the planes were nice and rusty, I glued them to the back of the box. They're odd sizes so it was a bit of a dance to get them to fit. When I added the doll, ...

It has been a long hiatus, but I'm back to blogging. Right now I have about six projects in process along with a very messy craft room! This piece came about in large part due to my hubby. He brought home a religious icon and said, "I thought you could use this." It sat for a while until I was looking through some metal items in my junk bin. Add caption The antique wooden box came from an auction and still has an old, hard-to-read tag on it. The ornate metal corners were from a beautiful photo album a friend had given me a few years back. I dry brushed some white, thalo green and burnt umber over the high spots of the metal to give the old brass even more character. Just an old box with small dolls in it... Old tag still in place! I love these corners so much I dry brushed the iron paint over the icon, but it hasn't rusted as well as I'd hoped. Will add another round of rusting agent tonight. Slightly rusted. Slightly unnerving? ...