Carey Burns

I remember watching some TV show when I was a kid of some guy spinning a bunch of white plates on poles. He'd get one started and hurry to the next, then another, and back to the ones that were slowing and on and on. That's kind of what I've been doing lately but with projects. Right now I have at least seven going in addition to writing and working a full time job. Eesh. I took this picture of everything to keep myself honest. Most of my focus has been on my Edgar Allan Poe piece, "Telltale Heart for Nevermore." I had one extra heart pan and decided to rust it up and see what inspired me. After going through my Other People's Photos, I stopped at a photo of group of girls. They just look bad ass and I immediately thought, "Squad Goals." Weird how the mind works. Anyway, I dry brushed on some white gesso and when it dried, I created a very green wash of paint to give it a verdigris look. I added Tim Holtz ® Distress Stain in Walnut t...

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...

For WIP Wednesday, I've made some progress on "By the Light of the Moon" and started another assemblage. The toughest part for the assemblage for me was connecting the wolf head to the action figure body. I knew Aves Apoxie was what I needed to use, but I'm not the most skilled at using clay. I blended the Apoxie and added bit by bit, building up a "neck" to connect the two pieces. Now that it is cured, I will go back and sand everything down to make it look (hopefully) like it was always one piece. The connection looks rough right now  I had a bunch of Apoxie left over and rather than make yet another pumpkin or skull with it, I decided to make my own full moon. I rolled it and flattened it into a disk and added "craters" by pressing the pad of my pinkie finger into the Apoxie. Next step for that piece is to paint it. Looking at the assemblage, there was a big empty spot below where the moon would be. It bothered me so to distract myself...

Worth more than $1.50 I found a tiny plastic baby doll with wonky eyes at an antique mall. He was only $1.50 and wanted to come home with me so I took pity and bought him. Rusting babies and bones He sat for a while until I decided to add a layer of iron paint and then rust him and I wasn't sure what exactly he'd be. I knew he was going to be on a small wooden block, but he didn't have a story yet. A Changeling is born After gluing him in place and pulling other assorted odds and ends around him, he looked sad and sickly...like he was wasting away...and there in the depths of my brain a memory was sparked. This sad, rusted thing was no child. No. He was a Changeling. The spawn of a fairy swapped for a lovely little boy. I opened my scrapbook containing Other People's Family and found the most perfect match! After taking a photo of the photo, I decided it needed to be in color so I tried my hand at giving him blonde...

  Other People’s Creepy Family What's her secret???   I collect old photos of people’s pets, people that creep me out, disasters, and funereal photos. A few years back I started making little ornaments featuring the people (and sometimes pets!) and I referred to them as Other People’s Families.   A few months ago I was at an antique store sifting through photos and this woman caught my eye. I knew she would be featured in something this Halloween but I wasn’t sure what it would be until yesterday. Cautions: Pretty much everything needed to make this craft I had on hand. You might need to buy a frame and mat or any of the other supplies. Supplies: Old photograph Halloween-themed scrapbook paper Stickers Glue (I use Ranger Glossy Accents™) Photo mat Frame Tools: Scissors The How: Something about her eyes... Once I chose the photo I wanted, I took a picture of it and emailed it to myself as a JPEG. You could scan the...