Carey Burns

I was asked by two author friends to be a beta reader for their respective books and after many months, I am finally done reading! At first, I was hesitant to do it because there's always that nagging voice in my head saying "You're a sham, not a real writer and you have nothing to contribute." So I stuffed that voice in a gunny sack and dropped it into a deep well and just read. I'm glad I did. Reading someone else's work allowed me to see some of the things (good and bad) in my own writing that I had been blind to before. Passive voice...telling instead of showing...over-used plot devices...different uses of flashbacks...all of these things in their work helped me reconsider my own. Their words also rekindled the word furnace in my own mind and I'm itching to get to work on the projects I've abandoned recently. I owe these two writers a big debt of gratitude for the inspiration and competitive itch their books gave me again. I also got to have ...

I started this blog off staring out at a gray day at a decaying pile of gray snow and wishing I was someplace warm. Someplace not here. Now it is the next morning and I'm cold and tired and still wishing for that someplace else. I've been stalled on a writing project project for too long with nothing new to switch over to, so I've been crafting things. These are alcohol ink dreamscapes that I've completed and I've been searching for something in their faint stars and rippled skies to inspire me. Nothing so far. I've also been working on a necklace for an upcoming raffle. Perhaps the repetitive action of making wrapped loops will put me in a zen enough state where I can see what this character of mine wants. If anything, maybe the creative outlet will just get me out of this funk. Spring is soon, right? 

One would think I fell off the planet after the whole Creep-a-Day circus ended, judging by the state of this lonely blog. This is partly accurate. Writing anything has been pushed so far off the back burner, the pan is back in the fridge. Life gets complex and hectic and so many people need so much that something (sadly) has to get dropped. I'm sad that it was my writing that suffered.  To make that sadness worse, the few stories I had out in Submission Land found their way back to me with resounding "well-written, not quite what we're looking for, best of luck finding a home for this one" wishes. (I always wonder if they really mean "Good luck trying to find a home for this piece of crap! ") Anywho, after Thursday, I should have all of my commitments and demands sated so I can sit for hours and hours over my holiday break playing with words. I'm excited, nervous, and scared. I've even got myself a nice schedule set up for blog updates in 201...

So today I'm putting away all those awesome craft supplies and feeling very tired from a great Halloween. I also decided to put away items from my work Halloween party and clean the cesspit I call the office. I hope you all had a splendid holiday!!! Tomorrow we set the clocks back and the downhill sprint to January begins. Later this month I'll be selling items at a craft/vendor fair and I'll be adding more items to my Etsy store so if you liked any of the jewelry I made during the Creep-a-Day Challenge, check out my store and you might see some very similar items available. I thought about doing NaNoWriMo this year, but have other commitments (writing-related) so I am skipping the fun this year. If you are taking the challenge, I salute you and cheer your success.  There may be a cool thing coming up next year and once I discuss it with the hubs and get a firmer plan, I will share it here. Don't you love vague statements like that? Happy November!

Polymer Clay Fingers Can you point me in the right direction? Happy Halloween! Thank you so much for following me through this magical month of crafting insanity! I'm glad and sad to see it come to a close, but hey, there is always next year! Since this is the last night and we'll have trick-or-treaters and other fun things going on, I thought I'd do something simple, yet fun. Behold...polymer clay fingers! These awesome candy molds have been tucked away in a closet, waiting to be used for at least five years. FIVE YEARS! Well, they shall wait no longer. Cautions: Polymer clay can give off fumes--make sure you are in a well-ventilated kitchen. They say it is best to keep your polymer clay tools strictly for polymer clay. Supplies: Polymer clay in various colors (I used Sculpey) Candy mold Baking dish Parchment paper The How: Preheat your oven to 275 degrees and line a baking pan with parchment paper. Make sure your candy molds are clean and dry. Sele...

Shrunken Skull Shrinky Skull! I've had a Shrinky Dink kit for jewelry for several years and only made a few things out of it. A few weeks ago, I thought about making an articulated Shrinky Dink skeleton, but the paper I have isn't big enough for the size I wanted. Sifting through my royalty-free clip art collection from Dover, I decided to make a skull ornament. Supplies: Shrinky Dink plastic sheets Felt tip pen Aluminum foil Baking pan Oven Tools: Scissors Hole punch (mine came with the kit) The How: I traced out my image on the rough side of the Shrinky dink paper, per the instructions, adding shading where appropriate. It was time-consuming but it reminded me of my college osteology class. We spent a lot of time sketching the different bones in the lab and I still have many of my drawings. Base image With Shrinky Dink paper and my sketch over the top Lifting the sketch off My sketch ...

Spooky Halloween Album My own Halloween pictorial history Today's craft was unplanned. I thought I knew what I was making...but had swapped the craft out for a different night that had no craft earlier this month. What to do? What to do??? I couldn't sleep because of this then I thought of all the supplies I have the most of. Paper. Good gravy, do I have paper! And doo dads. Lots and lots of doo dads. I would combine the two to make a spooktacular Halloween photo album. Supplies: 2 book boards (I used 8x8) 8x8 Halloween scrapbook paper 2 Binder rings Halloween scrapbook paper in contrasting colors/patterns Glossy Accents Tim Holtz metal corners Photos Tim Holtz word bands Brads Double-sided tape Tim Holtz Clear Rock Candy Crackle Tim Holtz ornate plates Tim Holtz gears Tools: 7 gypsies Binderie Punch Scissors The How: A wee bit of what you need I had different sizes of book boards and the 8x8 size already had holes punched in them so that help...