Carey Burns

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 I wanted today's and tomorrow's tags to be special and practiced making a tag on Sunday. It seemed to work okay, so I modified it to fit today's...but it didn't turn out right. I kind of forgot that there's a hole at the top of each tag. I ended up scrapping and salvaging bits from a complete tag to make a fun tag with movement! Supplies I used include white cardstock, Tim Holtz Halloween paper stash, Halloween ephemera skeleton, Halloween Clippings, Distress Marker and Ink in Black Soot, and Glossy Accents.  I traced my trashed tag out onto cardstock and cut it out, making sure to make a hole up top. Then I traced and cut out the cobweb paper. I decapitated my skeleton and edged it and the skull in marker then glued just his body to the cobweb paper.  Just above the cut mark, I made a dot on the cobweb paper and used my pen knife to cut out a long rectangle channel. I cut a long strip of cobweb paper just slightly thinner than the cut. I dry fitted it ...

Today I stayed home and pretty much napped all day. Did you know that mashed potatoes are notorious for aggravating GERD? I found out the hard way last night and was violently ill just before midnight. Around 7 p.m. this evening I started to feel human again so I figured I should make my tag. I made one tag and instantly hated it. So much brown...it was depressing. I inked a fresh tag but hated it as well. Third time was a charm, as they say. There are no step-by-step photos today but I'll give you an idea of the process. Everything I used was Tim Holtz. First, I inked a tag in Distress Ink Crushed Olive and edged it in Black Soot. I added Industrious Stickers to spell out 'EEK' but had to add Glossy Accents to the backs of the letters so they'd stick. I stared at the Halloween ephemera a long time until the skeleton decided it wanted to be in on the fun. I didn't just want it on the tag, so I glued Tinsel Twine to the back of it with Glossy Accents. I a...

While cleaning the craft room (aka The Pit of Despair) I found some Tim Holtz skellys from a few years ago. I had just bought some thin twine string and had a devilish thought to hang him from my favorite Tim Holtz tree stamp. I gathered my supplies and went to bed. This morning before work I got right to it. I had a tag, Distress stain in Twisted Citron and Mowed Lawn, Archival in Black, Distress ink in Black Soot, a skelly charm, twine string, my Tim Holtz tree stamp, and my water brush. Not pictured is my heat tool. First, I added dots of the Twisted Citron all over the tag. Then I followed with some Mowed Lawn here and there to fill in the blank spots. I used my water brush to blend the colors. Satisfied with the blending, I dried the tag with my heat tool. I inked up my tree stamp with Archival with the rubber stamp facing up and then I pressed the stamp onto the tag. I could have used more ink, but I like the ghostly look it has. Someone forgot to pack h...