Steampunk Merida

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I've never gotten to talking about my steampunk Merida plans.  

The first thing I bought was a pair of army gaiters off etsy. They're like spats-kind of, they cover the top of the shoe and protect the ankle. 

Jeremy has a steampunk book that shows a pair of gatiers turned into a corset.  We liked that idea, and in theory it works--for a certain (non-existent) body-type--but I would need to alter them a bit.  But at the same time--I kind of like the idea of wearing them just straight up as gaiters under the dress as well. 

Yes, the dress.

It's amazing how when you know exactly what you're looking for you can't find it.  In the end I purchased Butterick B4827.

 

It's a beautiful dress.  I will need to work with the sleeves a bit.  Merida's dress is split under the armpits and at the elbows to expose her under-tunic/chemise/whatever.  Also, there is a teensy "v" cut into the front as well, and her underdress thing shows a small bit of ruffle all around the neckline and wrists as well. I could pin the front of the dress up like in the example, but without an underskirt my boots and gaiters would show well--I kind of like that idea. 

I really love the green fabric in this example dress--it's like a dream dress of my childhood or something.  I love wearing green because my eyes are green, and of course green looks great with red hair.  But Steampunk Merida needs to be a little less refined--a little more "earthy."

So I went shopping.  I found a fabric I really liked at Joanns.  It was an olive green "linen look" fabric.  Since it wasn't actual linen It wouldn't look all wrinkly but still had that really textured natural look to it.  

Here comes the first of my hurdles to actually making the costume this year.  They didn't have enough.  There was two pieces of fabric on the bolt, neither one had enough, and they were different colors, so I couldn't combine the two.  I asked the girl for some help in finding something similar to what I was looking for.  She showed me a number of options, and literally, the other two that I was most interested in--there wasn't enough fabric.  I really wanted to ask, "I'm sorry but is this a fabric store? Are you actually trying to sell fabric to people that want to use it for sewing projects?" 

The other major thing holding me back from making the dress is my expanding waist-line.  We are expecting again:-)  And really I wasn't sure how much different my waistline would be at Halloween, and if I could make the dress work or not, and the point is--I really want it to be cool.  I am so excited to make this dress, and so I want it to all work out, and didn't want messing around with the waist of the pattern make it not turn out well.  

So the project was postponed--'till next year Merida.

 Don't worry, we'll mod you a totally rockin' steampunk compound bow. 

And Jeremy has been in on the fun as well.  We did a bunch of research on sewing authentic kilts, and the WWI uniforms of the Black Watch--whom the German soldiers called "the ladies from hell"! 

Hahahahahahahahaha! Ahahaha. . .

Jeremy really likes these aprons they wear, and they fit well with his ideas for a steampunk wartime mechanic he's been working on. 

So although they will be from totally different time-periods our costumes will at least be from a similar region of the world, and the time-barrier will be crossed by the steampunk built into the two costumes.  I totally don't have too high of expectations for myself on this project. . . Good thing Halloween is still 10 months away.   

A Steampunk's Dream

We spent Thursday night with a good friend and great photographer.  Jeremy and I got all steamed up and we had an amazing portrait session.  I love these photos.  I feel like they lend a bit of legitimacy to our hobby.

And really--they make me feel like a princess.  I probably haven't felt so beautiful since my wedding day over 8 years ago.  Most photos of me these day are like Mothers' Day morning photos-- a whole five-minutes awake with no make-up and plenty of bedhead--Ah, motherhood.

But these pictures make me feel beautiful and sophisticated, and that I've got a pretty handsome beau as well.  

Check out some more photos from the shoot here.

Steampunk Bedroom Week

I hit a point this week where a lot of things have come together in our Steampunk bedroom makeover. (I feel like I need a graphic for this SBM! But I'm too busy on the makeover to make a snazzy graphic for it.)

We completed the faux headboard. I used a 4x6 piece of foam-core and Mod-Podged on torn pieces of craft paper.

It gives a really fun textured finish.  The tutorial I saw this on a long time ago called it a faux leather look.  I don't know if it looks like leather, but it looks really visually interesting and gives it depth, which we needed for this project since it is actually flat. 

You can see we just nailed it to the wall.  It got pretty warped from the Mod Podge, so nailing was a good option.  I'd thought of doing a border of brass tacks around the edge, but seeing it now, I'm not sure how well that would actually turn out. 

The quilt is still in progress, but we will definitely need pillows for the bed.  I picked up the two of these lace pillows at a thrift store for a total of $5.  The lace on the larger one is a bit dingy, so I will definitely need to wash and maybe  try and sun-bleach them?  (Or will that yellow them?)

Jeremy wasn't so sure about the lace.  So the first thing I did was show him a hideously ugly 90's-style lace pillow for comparison.  He agreed that the ones I had chosen were much more classy and attractive--that's what let me get them out of the store and into our car. 

The second step is to acquire or make the rest of the pillows for the bed, because I don't want just a bunch of lacy pillows and bedding.  This is steampunk.  One of my favorite things about steampunk is the layering.  The layering of old and new.  The layering of materials, and metals.  So I have a few ideas for other pillows.  My plan is to have different sizes and materials that mesh really well en masse, especially in front of the faux headboard.   I'm thinking leather, and burlap, and canvas, along with the cotton lace pillows.  If it works out in person as cool as it is in my head then it will be perfectly executed steampunk. . . 

So we finally got the steampunk lamps mounted on the wall as well.  They had to wait until we had the headboard up to decide where to put them. 

I realized that the last time I wrote about the lamps may have come across a bit confusing.   I was just talking about the cost.  I bought my two lamps off e-bay.  I was able to get the first one for $66.99 (I got a bit impatient about never getting one) and was able to get the second for $50.  Both of those prices included shipping.  I was trying to not go over $50 Because my original goal was to buy them at $40 each--but that just wasn't going to happen.  I was outbid on quite a few lamps before being able to get these for the prices I did.  But the good news is there are lots of them.  If you are looking for something similar, there was usually from 2-6 lamps up for auction each week.  Just search for "scissor arm lamp".

I really wanted these lamps as two of the main structural features for our steampunk bedroom.  Their utility and "gadgetiness" just make them perfect.  And they really are great bedside lamps because they scissor closed  and then you can swing them to the side against the wall so they are totally out of the way.  And I love sitting in bed to read and being able to put the light exactly where I want it. 

More progress to come later this week. . .

Steampunk Bedroom: Bird Clock

My first project for our Steampunk Bedroom Redecorating was a bird clock in a birdcage. Bird cages are just really cool looking, but it felt silly to just hang an empty bird cage in our room. I decided it needed to hold something to give it purpose, and I came up with the idea of a clock on a swing like a bird.

I used Crayola Model Magic to form the bird parts around the shape of the clock. I added the metal feathers into the clay at the edges of the wing and tail, and painted the dry clay brassy. The tassels are something I bought to add to my bustle skirt a long time ago, but didn't, so I added them to the birdcage instead. I made the swing with wood scraps and a wire coat hanger.

At the midpoint of the execution of this project I was about to throw the whole thing out the window as a bad idea manifesting itself as a kindergartner art project. But I stuck with it and am very pleased with it in the end. It turned out like the vision I had in my head, so that's as much as I can ask for any project I embark on.

I like how it is like an automaton bird. The functioning clock gives it a purpose, and almost makes it seem like the bird is really a "live" clockwork animal.

Steamy News

We've started decorating for SteamPatrick's Day around here.  We just love the LEGO minifigures (I won't mention how many we already have from series 6) and we particularity like finding ones that are a little bit steamy.  We traded the pith helmet and the hairdo of the scientist and the explorer, and I think it was an improvement for both of them.  

It just so happens that Jeremy and my anniversary of knowing each other, marriage anniversary, and St. Valentine's Day all fall within the same week.  We decided to institute a week-long Festival of Love and call it Lovanzuanukah.

So for my Lovanzuanukah present Jeremy gave me permission to redecorate our bedroom.  Eight years with the same bedspread was long enough, we're ready for something fresh and fun, and a little bit steampunk.       

After a shopping spree I came home with this metal switch plate, and put it up as the first accessory in our soon-to-be steampunk bedroom.  I also painted the switch metallic.  There's more where that came from so stay tuned for the great Steampunk bedroom makeover!  (I'm really excited about it.)

Taking Liberties with Steampunk

I was recently asked to make invitations for an annual event for the Young Women (Girls ages 12-18 in my local congregation).  The president had a loose idea for the theme "something about time" and had some assorted vintagey papers with roman numerals and pocket watches on them, and some clockwork-related embellishments.

Um, a project with vintage clocks and time theme--(I could make that so totally steampunk, I thought), "Yeah. . . I think I can handle it" I said.   

So I had fun making some blatantly steampunk invitations, that to the casual observer just look kind of funky and vintagey.

If you'd like to recreate something similar here's how I did it:

The steampunk font I used is Penshurst downloaded free from dafont.com.  I love, love that it comes with both a bold and a shadowed version of the font.  I find fancy fonts almost worthless if there are not options for layering the font visually on a page.  I used the shadowed and plain versions of the font for headings and text of these invitations.

The clock faces are the second one on this page of clock faces from The Graphics Fairy.   I just shrunk the image to different sizes according to the assorted sizes of the spinners. 

The game spinners mimicking clock hands are from the Idea-ology line by Tim Holtz available at Hobby Lobby, though I couldn't find the roman numeral clock face papers she gave me there when I looked later, but I assume that's where she got them.   

Finally, the really cool steampunk clockwork and gear corner graphic I downloaded from the Sum of all Crafts.  There are a ton of really cool graphics in that post--it was hard to choose which one to use for this project.  I had Jeremy take it into Adobe Illustrator to turn the graphic brown for me to not have as much visual weight as the text. 

I wish the clocks could have stood out a little more.  I needed some of those squishy foam stickers I guess to do that. (Yeah I didn't have any of those.) I also wish I had a circle cutter, because trying to cut out circles by hand created a less than satisfactory result.  But overall.  I love the project.  I had a lot of fun working on them and are pleased with how they turned out. 

I'm in charge of programs for the event too.  Hopefully they'll turn out as well.. 

Victorian-ize a Blouse

I have found a quick and easy way to modify a normal blouse to make it look more Victorian and work better for my steampunk costumes. I've done two versions now so here is my tutorial for how to steampunk a blouse. 

I start with a very structured button-up blouse.  The style was to wear blouses that looked almost like you were wearing a jacket.  I really liked a lot about this blouse, all except the turned down pointed collar which just doesn't look very Victorian at all. 

Start by flipping up the collar and cut off as much of it as you want to.  I have cut both of mine just above halfway. 

Then starting on one side tuck 1/4 inch of the raw edges to the inside and pin them all the way around.

Sew right along the edge with a machine or by hand. 

Now the collar will stand up straight giving it the feeling of a period blouse.

Me in Paris.

On my other blouse I tried to get the ruffly collar look of the Victorian era. 

 

Here was the collar previous to my mod.  

I cut this one down halfway as well.  To make it ruffle a little bit I pinched the fabric of the collar about every 3/4 inch and sewed little pin tucks--just sewing as close to the edge as possible to make the fabric pinch together-- alternating on the inside and the outside of the collar fabric.  I did this along the center line of the collar--not sewing the tuck all the way up to the hem.  This was enough to make the collar ruffle a bit.

Obviously there would be better ways to actually sew a Victorian blouse, but this is an easy way to mod an existing blouse to look more Victorian without needing to buy any other fabric or expend much effort at all.

Steampunk Chatelaine

I had a major critique of girl/female/woman steamers right from the start of Jeremy and my steampunk-ing a few years ago.  It was that they were trying to be too masculine--they were trying to be like boys. . . but in a sexy way?  (If that description makes any sense.)  From over-sized welding goggles, to mini top hats, to just plain choosing to dress like a boy "character", there seemed to be a dearth of classy feminine options for steampunk clothing. 

(I said classy feminine options, there was certainly enough brothel-worthy options out there--that's not the kind of "feminine" I'm after.)

The mini top hats have grown on me to tell the truth, and I did finally make myself a pair of feminine-styled goggles, but those both were girly versions of the most common boy accessories.  I wanted something awesome, steampunk, and completely a female accessory.

 I actually got my flash of inspiration in the February 2011 Country living magazine.  They had a whole spread on Victorian Chatelaines-- a sort of Victorian woman's tool belt.  Originally worn mostly by housekeepers they grew in popularity becoming adopted by wealthier women as well.  They clipped at the waist and hung a number of functional pendants,  needle and thimble cases, perfume vials, button hooks, little pencils and notebooks, or tiny coin purses, and they all were made of fine metals and highly ornamental like jewelry.  

This is almost a definition of steampunk--the point where beauty and utility intersect. 

My steampunk chatelaine, of course, includes my pocketwatch pendant.  I also got a pair of stork embroidery scissors--this was actually the first idea I had for a useful but beautiful tool I would be able to find.  The heart locket belonged to one of my great or great-great grandmothers and is reminiscent of the vinagrette of the day.  A vinaigrette would be perforated on the back side so that if a woman encountered a foul smell on the streets she could hold her vinaigrette (which would hold cotton soaked in vinegar or perfume) up to her nose.  I'm sure I could actually put some solid perfume into the locket to give it a real utility.  (Adding essential oils to my lotion bar recipe would do the trick.) And finally I have a key--fake unfortunately.

I would love to get the cool little pencil and pad of paper, or one of the little chain-mail-like coin purses.  Those were a few things that I couldn't find or fabricate in time for this evening.  But I was really happy with how my chatelaine turned out--I even needed to use it to check the time while we were waiting in the-worlds-longest-popcorn-line-ever to see if we were missing our movie yet.         

A Night at the Theater

 Last night was the premier of Sherlock Holmes:Game of Shadows.  Jeremy and I attended in full steampunk fashion.  To be clear Sherlock Holmes is not a Steampunk genre film; but is a film extremely enjoyable to any steamers.  Holmes and Watson even sport goggles in one scene.  And there's a certain gadget again--definitely steampunk.  And some of the weaponry. . . Like I said not steampunk, but leaning just enough to make it fun. 

 I worked on a new costume for the premier--I wanted a more formal one.  It's the luck of the draw, but I recently found a prom skirt at the thrift store for $6, so I started with that. 

 I gathered the skirt at the back of the knees.  The skirt still wasnt quite as flat-fronted as period whould require, but it was an improvement.  I made a bustle and overskirt combination, just lined with tulle so I could still sit down.

 A chatelaine which deserves it's own post (but thanks for the brooch/pin Anna).

 I finally made a pair of goggles, but all along had wanted something more feminine.  So I painted a pair of Jeremy's old swimming goggles, and clipped my feathery fascinator thing on the side.  I think the combination was awesome (along with the purple streaks in my hair).

Jeremy looked super suave with his empty classic Sherlock Holmes thrift-store pipe, and cane of my grandpa's.

The movie was well-worth it and so was dressing up.  It reminded me of going out for the first Holmes movie--that was our very first time going public with our steampunk cosplaying. 

Cirque Mechanics -- Steampunk Entertainment Review

We watched Boom Town last night --the current touring show of the Cirque Mechanics.  The show takes place in the wild west in the 1860's.  The storyline follows a prospector, feuding saloon owners, forbidden young love, and the antics of the town kleptomaniac (a sweet-looking girl).  Though, not advertised as such--it's true steampunk entertainment.

The program describes: "Cirque Mechanics explores the relationship between man and machine.  Inspired by early mining equipment and the spirit of adventure that brought prospectors and entrepreneurs alike out west searching for gold, Boom Town, features innovative and one of a kind mechanical apparatus that serve both as scenery and performance prop."

These telegraph poles were vertical most of the show, but during one act the ropes let the poles swing up and down for the acrobats to interact with them.  

During one scene two girls perform a trapeze act swinging from the saloon chandelier--which itself is created from an old wagon wheel. 

A trampoline act takes place on moveable metal ore-mining carts modified to frame trampolines.  Though this act was the second act after intermission, they did not take the time to set up the stage during intermission.  Instead, during a scene representing mining for gold, the cast worked to assemble the track segments and push out the carts with the audience watching.

That is steampunk-- Not covering up or hiding the mechanics of how things work, but exhibiting them and celebrating them.

There were some more fun acts as well.  A scene with a silhouette screen where the town kleptomaniac is going through her haul from the day.  A dancer en pointe dancing and hand balancing on palm-sized disks three feet above the saloon table. 

But the jewel of the show (and the steampunk entertainment)  was the trapeze act on the man-powered crane. 

A man climbed a rope ladder up to this reclined bicycle apparatus that was connected to a rope that went through a pulley at the end of the track.  The other end of the rope held the trapeze.

(Crane rehersal photo credits here.)

During the performance the man would pedal backwards along the crane track to pull the acrobat higher off the ground, and pedal forward to move himself forward towards the pulley and lower her rope down

Then there were two performers to either side holding on ropes that were strung through the crane.  One man pulled to make the whole crane spin clockwise; the other man pulled to make the crane spin the opposite direction. 

Beautiful--truly.

So beautiful that Jeremy admitted to forgeting to watch the graceful female acrobat performing on the suspended trapeze--he couldn't peel his eyes from the beautiful machine. 

The show was amazing.  A number of the troupe are veteran Cirque du Soleil performers.  The show had a clever storyline that pulled all the acts together, and it was very family friendly.  We took Owen (6) and Jonas (3) and they loved it.  (And to tell the truth it held their attention better than the Muppet movie we took them to the week before.) The show goes east from here.  If you have the chance I would highly recommend taking advantage of this most excellent production.