Carey Burns

Mother of the Year This could easily be rendered into a cake. Hint-hint... I bought this paper pulp pumpkin on clearance last year, not knowing what I'd make with it. As this month progressed, ideas ranged from a newspaper-covered pumpkin to a button-covered pumpkin to a googly eye-covered pumpkin.Staring at the naked pumpkin, the idea of the pumpkin being an egg sack both terrified and delighted me. The spider on top is the Mother of the Year for protecting her soon-to-be hatched hellions. Supplies: Paper pulp pumpkin White acrylic paint Black paint (I used a paint pen as well as acrylic) Styrofoam ball Crackle Glaze (I used Tim Holtz® Clear Distress Crackle Paint by Ranger®) Tools: Paint brush Palette Knife The How: I applied a thick layer of white paint over the pumpkin except for the stem. I only used one layer because I wanted a webby/woven appearance. You won't need string for this one--this photo was before the spider idea took over my brain ...

The Spider's Wreath Simple yet sinister I hate spiders. I do. Big or small...I do not like them. I knew I wanted to do a creepy wreath and nothing says creepy to me than a big, fat, fuzzy spider. This spider I found reminds me of the one the hubs and I encountered in the desert while camping once...yeah, creepy. Supplies: Grapevine wreath Halloween drape Fake spider 4 silk flowers Black wire Tools: Wire cutters The How: When I planned out most of this month, I wanted to use things I had on hand. A few years back I tried my hand at a spooky snake wreath and the end result was languishing in the basement. So I removed the snakes and had myself a wreath. What you will need... That grapevine really likes to snag things! I opened the Halloween fabric drape (scored at the dollar store!) and wound it over and under the wreath. This was tricky because the grapevine kept tangling with the open webbing of the fabric. Once I had it draped t...

I haven't been blogging because I've been writing, working out like a crazed woman, and trying my best to get done with my haiku horror story book.  I'd like it to be out before Halloween, so I need to get in gear.  One thing I'm figuring out is making a contract for my artist.  We agreed on terms and I'm so very, very excited!  Now for the nitty-gritty paperwork... While on vacation this past weekend, I discovered a very unsettling thing.  On our last morning, I saw a piece of something floating past my head.  I watched it and noticed that it wasn't falling or being blown by the wind, but actually moving.  As I stepped close to it, the sunlight reflected off a long, dangling filament of web.  I looked up and saw the spider and by god, it wiggled the piece of whatever was on the filament.  Was the spider fishing?  If so, what for?  Whatever it is, I don't want to know and I'll never camp at that particular spot again.