Carey Burns

Today was my last day of "vacation" and this week's Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: Halloween/Spooky got me excited to make something dark ! Funny how an idea can go sideways from the beginning yet turn out just right! I had grand ideas for a very spooky make using an old printer's block but ... it morphed into something else. Being rested, I was able to make this piece and finish another blog post. Oh, to have this energy all week long ... This started off with alcohol ink on Yupo paper. I used Pitch Black and Purple Twilight. I added dabs of the Purple Twilight to a felt round on my blending tool then added dabs of Pitch Black.  I pounced and swirled the ink all over the Yupo sheet (I use a large pad of Yupo). Once the ink was dry, I added Archival Ink in Watering Can to a cool vintage printer's block, but it didn't hold the ink and wouldn't transfer to the Yupo. It was a bummer, but I decided to use an older Tim Holtz block stamp of...

This project turned out better than I imagined it would! You can see how I made the bulk of it here along with a detailed supply list and now I'll bore you with the fireplace details! Be warned: there aren't a lot of in-process photos again because I was really in the process ... Supplies: ***All of these supplies are Tim Holtz except for the E-6000 glue, acrylic paint and LED light string*** Specialty Stamping Paper Distress Inks in Candied Apple, Aged Mahogany, Walnut Stain, Wilted Violet, and Black Soot Harlequin Stencil Glossy Accents Collage Medium Vintage Cardboard from Idea-ology package Boneyard E-6000 glue LED Halloween lights Acrylic paint in black, white, and orange Hook and loop tape Batteries Tools: Scissors Round Blending Tool Metal Probe Small hole punch First thing I did for this portion was to paint the larger Boneyard pieces with black acrylic paint. While they dried, I cut a piece of cardboard from an Idea-ology package down to a li...

I took the holiday off yesterday but I have an update on my finished Halloween Wreath from last week's Maker's Monday ! First, I added two varieties of moss around the base of the metal sheet. I didn't glue them because I wanted to be able to reuse the large metal planter for a Christmas wreath as well. I've got some neat plans in my head... The moss was a mess and of course, I had just vacuumed before deciding to mess with it! Next time, I'll put paper or something down. As I hung it up on the wall and looked at it, the top seemed bare. I really didn't want to glue anything to the planter so I decided to grab some creeping drape material that I use for the bookshelves and windows. The black was too dark but the ivory was spot-on! After cutting, arranging, and fringing...I think it looks perfect! It'll be painful to swap out everything for Christmas, but you can bet as soon as January rolls around, I'll be ready to swap it back!

I belong to a group of like-minded crafters and it was brought to our attention that other countries don't go nuts over Halloween like we do in the States. After I picked my jaw up off the floor, a few of us decided to create unique Halloween cards and send them to our overseas friends. These are some of the cards I came up with, using Tim Holtz products (Ranger Ink Distress Inks, Idea-ology, and Sizzix as well). Hopefully they will inspire you to make your own cards or just get you a bit more excited for the big holiday! I'm putting on the finishing touches and awaiting some fun trims to arrive. I'll post finished cards before I send them on their merry way.  First thing I did was make my own cards. I had some envelopes on hand that would fit a 5.5 inch card so I folded black cardstock and cut it to size. Next I pulled some Tim Holtz Idea-ology Paper Dolls that I liked from the Halloween collection and set them aside. I matched dolls to Tim Holtz Halloween papers and cut...