Steampunk Cinderella??

This month's Challenge at SanDee and Amelie's Steampunk Challenge Blog is Steampunk Fairytales.

At first I thought I would do Cinderella's carriage, but then I thought her glass slipper would be simpler and I wasn't sure how much time I would have this month with hubby at home as we are trying to get some long overdue 'stuff' done. So I went for the glass slipper.










I have several shoe templates (they appeal to me, what can I say. Probably because I can't wear real heels anymore) but for this shoe I used one from the House of Zandra. I cut the heel and sole from silver card and the top from acetate and was really pleased when it went together just fine (I thought I might have trouble attaching the acetate top to the sole because it doesn't 'grab' glue the same way paper does - fiddly but doable).

I decided that although I would decorate it in a steampunk style with cogs/wings/roses/clocks I'd like to keep the colours more feminine - cinderella always seems like a girlie girl to me!! So I chose to cover all my embellishments with 'aged rose' frantage which gives a sparkly but vintagey textural finish. The rose and wings are made from clearly for art treated the same way so I could shape them a little.

So, what can you do with a glass slipper? Use it as a gift box that's what!! Perhaps I am stretching the boundaries here but I have made other shoes in the past and tucked little goodies in them as gifts. Truth is, I saw a challenge this morning at Crafty Cardmakers to make a card or tag with with matching gift box, so thought I'd whip one up with the bits I had left.
So voila a tag, and finally my shoe stuffed with a little pressie wrapped of course in cog stamped tissue paper!! Don't worry CCers I won't argue if you say it doesn't meet the brief, it'sjust a bit of fun!!If I'd had time I would have made a piece of steampunk jewellery to go with it - you never know, it might end up being a giveaway at a later date!!

Challenges:
SanDee and Amelie's Steampunk Challenge Blog - Steampunk Fairy tales
Crafty Emblies (Apr - May)  - Anything Goes
Crafty Card Makers - Tag and Matching gift bag

Cuckoo clocks go Steampunk....

is the very first challenge at SanDee and amelie's Steampunk Challenge Blog. Well, being a fan of steampunk I thought I would have a go at this one.



My initial idea was prompted by a recycling theme and I was considering a toilet roll inner, which in turn made me think of something along the lines of an organ pipe (sometimes when I share my thought processes with you I do wonder what is going on in my head, it sounds so daft when you put it down in black and white).

So I extended the TR and made a conical 'roof' with some cereal box card. Added old book pages to strengthen it all and then painted.

I made the bird next from some metal covered card. Did some tooling marks and coloured with alcohol inks (can't seem to put them away now I've got them out). I was very pleased with it until I put the whole thing together - something about it doesn't quite 'gel' with the rest of the project (too flat and shiny?) but I don't have any better ideas so it had to stay.

I had kept a lot of 'clearly for art' waste from another project and now proceeded to cut it into little tiles. I knew there was a reason I had hung on to it!! I then heated each one individually to get a kink (not sure why they had to have a kink but turned out OK) and then stuck them one by one onto the conical roof.

That took quite a while......

While waiting for  that to dry I started treating the main 'cone' with distress EP applied pretty much all over and then added paints/stains/alcohol inks/inka gold and other metallic rub ons to grunge it up further. I should probably have done more paper or paint layers as the edges of the book pages were showing as lines but I was far too impatient - in the end I quite liked the effect, bit like flaky metal so I was glad I hadn't bothered to go for perfection (!)

I finished off with a clock face set in a cog and then various cogs and bits n bobs including the chains and a hanging wire. All in all I like this one and it's already got a nice space on my wall.

It's nearly the closing date for this month's challenge but why not make a note to join in next month?

Challenges: Sandee and amelie's Steampunk Challenge
                    Crafty Emblies Challenge Blog (Anything Goes)

Steampunk Dreams - October Art Draw

As promised, this month I am giving away this collection of 4 x 4 pages.

Therev are 6 pages in total and to see the whole selection go here. But for now here are just a couple more...

As usual, the Art Draw is open to all, and international players are welcome. All you have to do to be included is leave a comment on this post before Sunday 28th October 2012 and your name will go 'in the hat'. Feel free to link from your own blogs if you have the time and  inclination to do so - let me know and I will put you in the draw twice.

Thanks for playing!!

Steampunk re-visited

Earlier this year I had a bit of a steam punk vibe going on and started making some steampunk 4x4s to make in to a book.They've been languishing around the craft room on various stages of completion for months, but here are the results.

 

 

 

I did two of each design so I could keep one myself and give one away in the monthly Art Draw.

Here's my completed book. I'll save the other for now, although I will upload it for the October giveaway. To be honest it doesn't look that much different!! The current Art Draw is still running, go here for a chance to win. See ya soon.

Artful Times Challenge #2 - Sea of Greens

Well missed it last week and another week has nearly gone by (where is this year going?). It's good job the new challenges at Artful Times are fortnightly!!

Anyhow I'm entering this 4 x 4 piece (is that correctly called a fat page? I forget) with a lot of green in the background. And a smidge of orange. There's a little bit of digital, some stamping, embossing and collage. It's one of a series I am doing, there are six so far but I'm keeping the rest a secret for now as I have a cunning plan....(tease, tease...).

Hope you like.

Steampunk Dreams..

Yes it's official, I've even got steampunk on the brain when I'm asleep!! Here's a tag using the man from my new Indigo Blu Stamps. Not very steampunky I know but kinda has the vibe!!

I was intending to put it in the first Artful Times Challenge but I err, was sitting at my craft desk doing something else and before I knew it it was Friday and too late. Ooops! Still there's always next time.

I'm also taking part in a 4 x 4 challenge and the April page just happens to be steampunk so I was really in the groove for that one. My dress stamp from Kanban is getting a real work out - but I just love it!


 Steampunk afficionado's may also be interested  in this month's Art Draw - check it out! 

Have a great weekend!