Carey Burns

This summer is flying by and on this WIP Wednesday, I'm trying to catch up. I've made a little progress on "His and Hers" since last time and have added another art supply to my every-growing collection: clear gesso. The Kroma Crackle dried and I love how it looks. It really bleached out the wood! The Sophisticated Finishes rusted up the new metal embellishments too. There were a couple spots where the iron paint didn't stick, but rather than reapply, I figured I was going to dry brush over it anyway, so I left it alone. Love that texture! To make sure I didn't lose any of the lovely crackle due to peeling, I bought some Liquitex Clear Gesso to seal the crackle. Next step is to add one more layer of the clear gesso and then add crackle topped with gesso to the other sides. I grabbed my regular gesso and dry brushed it over the rusted embellishments Highlights ready for a wash of paint Once everything was dry, I assembled the start of ano...

I was looking through my findings, wondering what to make next when I saw a neglected zipper bag of sterling silver crimp tubes. These tubes looked fine on the outside, but when I'd try to crimp them shut, they would break along the fold in the metal. They've been in a sort of limbo where I didn't want to throw them away, but I could use them. Today, I found a use for them: as beads for a pendant! I've added links to where I've purchased items. My source for the small Swarovskis in Dark Red Coral seems to have dried up. Supplies: 3 sterling silver headpins (2 inches long) 1 sterling silver split jump ring (8 mm) 1 sterling silver filigree scalloped component 9 sterling silver crimp tubes (2 mm) 3 round Swarovski crystals in Dark Red Coral (4 mm) Tools: Jeweler's pliers (one or two pairs, depending on your preference) Flush cutters Instructions: 1.  Slide a Swarovski onto a headpin and follow it with three crimp tubes. Repeat for t...

I was home with a stomach bug yesterday and in the afternoon I was feeling better so I tinkered around with the His and Hers piece from a few weeks ago .  First I added a bit of  Tim Holtz ® Distress Stain to the edges of the torn photos. I used Broken China for him and Picked Raspberry for her. The colors are too bright and cheery for my purposes so I'll be dulling them down later. Next, I added a layer of Modern Options Sophisticated Finishes iron paint to the surface of all the metal findings. I had a bit extra on my palette so I decided to rust up some Tim Holtz ® frames for a future project. I'll be adding the rusting solution this week and then dry brushing on some white gesso to bring out the highlights. Still deciding if I want to add a wash of color over that.  The last thing I did before taking a nap was to add a layer of Kroma Crackle to a side of the drawer. I wanted to see how it looked on just straight wood. While getting ready for w...

 Another Maker's Monday, another pair of earrings! I'm using gold-filled findings this time and some lovely Swarovski rondelle crystals in Denim Blue. Variations on this basic jewelry project are endless! I linked to where I purchased my supplies but you can buy them elsewhere.  A dainty pair of earrings A note about gold findings: When I first started making jewelry, I didn't want to use gold because it was expensive and the findings I could get locally were gold-plated and just looked cheap. Gold-filled findings have more gold in them as compared to gold-plated so they should wear longer, be less prone to tarnishing, and the gold won't "flake off." A brief explanation can be found in this Artbeads.com article.  Supplies: 2 gold-filled headpins (2 inches long) 2 8x6 mm Swarovski rondelle crystals in Denim Blue 4 gold-filled saucer beads 2 gold-filled ear wires Add caption Tools: Jeweler's pliers (one or two pairs, depending on y...

Ah, WIP Wednesday! I've had a lot to work on lately, but I'll narrow it down to just "By the Light of the Moon." I had a pretty productive weekend which translates into me now having to clean up the mess I made. But it was an artful mess ... Step one for me was to sand down the Aves Apoxie on my wolfman. It was messy but I liked how it turned out. After I cleaned all the dust off, I painted it with black acrylic paint. (except the teeth and tongue) Caution: wet paint Man becomes wolf Once it was dry, I dry brushed on white gesso. Debating if I will add color to the highlights While I had the gesso on my palette, I took a bit and snuck it into a tough of black to make gray. I used the gray to paint the depressed areas of my full moon and then when that dried, I put the rest of the white gesso over the high points and sides. It resembles the moon, right? Next up, I aged the photo of my wolfman. I added Tim Holtz ® Distress Stain in Walnut to the tor...

Nothing like being jolted awake by your hubby yelling that it is 6 a.m. when you should have been out of bed by 5:45 a.m. Our power went out on Saturday and the alarm clock needed to be reset. Seems I set it ten minutes slow. Ah well. I'm awake and mostly alert now. It should come as no surprise that I didn't have today's blog post even started yet so I really had to hustle and go through all of my supplies to come up with a sweet necklace for Maker's Monday. I bought this lovely pendant from the Vintaj booth at the Bead and Button Show in Milwaukee.I've said it before, but if you're into jewelry, you should really attend this show! Can we just say how lovely this pendant is??? Supplies: 1 Vintaj brass Waterlily Maiden pendant 2 Vintaj Treasured Filigree Connectors (these may be retired) 6 small brass jump rings 1 large brass jump ring 26.5 inches of brass chain 1 lobster clasp I don't know the jump rings sizes - they are "leftovers...

What a whirlwind the last few weeks has been! I've been writing and doing a major purge of the office/craft room and this morning before work, I started working on a few pairs of earrings. I had very simple direction from the recipient: the colors to use were green, purple, and a melon/salmon. After sorting through my beads and clarifying that silver was the metal of choice, I just studied beads and findings until ideas formed. Beads I had on hand It was nice to just play around until something worked. Very therapeutic. Beads and findings ... what will become of them? So far I have completed two pairs of earrings and am almost done with a third. Onward and upward! Prehnite beads and sterling silver spacer beads Amethyst beads, sterling silver wire, and "upcycled" sterling silver toggles This weekend, I should have a lot of time to get back to those artsy WIPs. What are you working on?