Carey Burns

I finished my Creepy Charlottes and posted them in the shop and one already has been claimed. These necklaces were so fun to make! I'm thinking of doing another batch... To start, I dry brushed white craft paint onto the high points of the rusted dolls. I always end up using way too much paint on the brush, so I dab my index finger in the paint, rub most of it off, then lightly brush the high points of the dolls. It didn't take very long for the paint to dry. Rusty girls Just a smidge of white acrylic craft paint First doll all dabbed up Ready for the wash! Next, I decided a very blackish blue wash would look good on the dolls. I mixed up a wash of paint and brushed it on the dolls, blotting away some of the excess. I added a few layers of wash until I was satisfied. My first doll had too much blue so I added more black to the remaining two. One layer of wash Love her light blue hue Barely there wash Love that dark grunge! Once the wash...

Work on the Creepy Charlottes continues! I ended up adding more rusting solution to the Salvaged Dolls and really like the colorations now. I found some nice brass-toned chains for the necklaces and trimmed them down to size and needed to figure out what kind of dangle I wanted from the bottoms of the pendants. I had beads on-hand, but they didn't look right so I went on a shopping trip. I ended up finding some gorgeous Swarovski teardrops and some cool brass-toned skull and crossbones charms. I bought them both so I could decide which looked best. After hemming and hawing, I decided the Swarovskis went better with that chunky black glitter. What do you think? Now that the Charlottes are as rusted as I want, I'm going to add some highlights and a wash of color. With luck, they'll be done by the weekend!

Today's project is a fun necklace that has me singing 'Poison' by Bell Biv Davoe. I love the sheet of Tim Holtz's scrapbook paper with the creepy old photographs and the photo I selected just looked extra creepy to me. I didn't have my Vagabond cutting machine with me so I had to cut out the photo by hand. Supplies: 1 Bezel (I used a Susan Lenart Kazmer Hobnail Bezel which are sadly discontinued) 1 Skull and crossbones charm (brass finish) Satin cord 2 Jump Rings (brass finish) Tim Holtz Ephemera Pack Curiosities Tim Holtz Halloween paper stack Glossy Accents Tools: Jeweler's pliers (one or two pairs, depending on your preference) Scissors Instructions: 1.  I couldn't get a great action shot, but to get the outline of the bezel on the photo, I lay the bezel face-down on top of the image I wanted and then pressed the paper firmly over the bezel lip from below. I went over the lip a few times, pressing firmly. A ghostly impression appear...

I've made a bit of progress with my Creepy Charlottes necklaces! I've added paper and glitter to another bezel and even found the perfect paper for a round bezel - featuring Edgar Allan Poe! Both papers are from Tim Holtz. Perfection in a pendant? Perhaps. While the glue was drying, I decided to rust all three of the Tim Holtz Salvaged Dolls so I painted on a layer of the iron paint from Modern Options Sophisticated Finishes . The iron paint hides their features a bit but just wait! Once they were dry, I coated them in a generous layer of the rusting agent and let them soak in a pool of it on both sides for the entire day. Rusting away the day... After the glue dried under the glitter, I added some T im Holtz Heirloom Roses to the Poe pendant. I had used Adirondack Alcohol Ink to dye them a bloody red for previous projects and had just enough left over for this one. The roses are a shout-out to the Poe Toaster. Once the Creepy Charlottes have th...

My last post mentioned necklaces for WIP Wednesday and here they are: Creepy Charlottes! I know technically these aren't Frozen Charlotte figurines, they are Tim Holtz Idea-ology Salvaged Dolls and they're available at many craft stores as well as online. Creepy Charlottes coming soon! I didn't think to take photos of each step until after I had my papers trimmed and glued in place, but the idea started with a bezel, a coveted Susan Lenart Kazmer Spellbinders Media Mixage hobnail bezel, to be precise. I had bought up a good supply of these bezels because as far as I know, they aren't being made anymore. You can still find them online. Happy hunting! Months ago, I had thought of making some necklaces out of hemp string tied noose-fashion around a doll so I snagged a package of Salvaged Dolls. They've been on my desk, waiting for that motivation and me learning to tie a noose. (seems I should know how to tie one, doesn't it?) Thanks to insomnia, I had ...

Today's Maker's Monday post is probably one of the easiest thus far. I've been in my head for almost a week and kinda forgot about posting today. Oops! So, at 9 p.m. last night I was racking my brain for a quick and easy project. I present to you: Creepy Cameo. You've probably guessed I'm already in Halloween mode at my house. I actually went to one of my favorite stores and bought three huge orange and black crepe pinwheels and a few reproduced vintage decorations and put them up. This cameo is sure to keep me in the spirit and goes well with the orange shirt I'm wearing.  Supplies: 1 Tim Holtz Crypt Cameo 1 Tim Holtz Jump Ring in Nickel Satin Cord (cut to your desired necklace length) Tools: Jeweler's pliers (one or two pairs, depending on your preference) Scissors Instructions: 1. Cut the satin cord to your desired necklace length. I've been wearing longer necklaces lately so I opted for about 29 inches. 2.  Open your j...