May Auld Acquaintances Be ... Steampunked!

Just in time for the celebration of a New Year, here are a few robotic steampunklicious gadgets to spice things up!

Corpse Reviver maker

made by Benjamin Cowden for this year's Roboexotica event

details at http://twentysevengears.com/

Mojito, anyone?

Robomoji by Robert Martin - Roboexotica 2009

White Russian Hippie (view as gigapan)

1st Vienna Cocktailrobot Workshop Crew  - Vienna cocktail robotics workshop 2009

Hope you have enjoyed this foray into the cross-pollenation of SP and the robotic manipulation of alcohol.

Thank you to all who read my humble blog. 

May all have a Happy New Year in 2010!

~ DreamSteam ~

Rotating Gear Ring with Hand-Hammered Brass Adjustable Band

One of A Kind!

This is one of my favorite rings that I have made. A one-way rotating timing gear from a clock forms the centerpiece; it will spin in one direction only, just as it functioned inside the timepiece itself.  Several people have told me that this is the ultimate "fidget ring"

and it has over 130 views on ArtFire alone, but it has yet to be purchased.

The pure brass strip for the band was hammered by hand and polished it until it gleamed.  I also wore the ring for a little while to be sure that the band was comfortable. 

It is set at a size 6 or so, but I can form it to one of several sizes (down to 4 or up to about 9) upon purchase if that information is given, or the buyer can easily adjust it to fit.

This ring was finally purchased in October 2010, with 1024 item views.  

After having it around my shop for almost a year, it is like seeing an old friend move away. Thank you, and I hope the buyer enjoys it very much.

Brass and Rotating Gear Ring

~ DS

"Add To Any" Toolbar Added

Rather than adding several social bookmarking site links individually, as I had started to do (!), the "AddToAny" toolbar has saved me from that fate.  (I mention this not to be a nuisance, but to point out this feature, which can easily be overlooked due to its' smallish minimized size.)

At the bottom of every post, you will find a pull down/pop-up bar with which you are encouraged to share a link to said article with any or all of several dozen, if not a hundred, sites, email it, or to just bookmark it for yourself.  The first few site options are displayed with just a scroll-over, but click on the bar itself to be taken to a  page where you can choose from them all.

I would be humbled and also greatly appreciative it if you should find any of my musings worthy of sharing with someone else, and take the time to pass them along.  Thank you!

~ DS

Stocking Stuffers! Brass and Pearl, Crystal and Gears Steampunk Earrings - Crystal Charm & Mechanical Mata Hari

I was industrious this evening and created a couple of pairs of earrings to post on ArtFire for sale.  The first pair sprang from some pretty dichroic red glass beads and some clear(ish) crackled-glass beads with silver bead caps that I found at the art store last week.  The second pair had been lying on my worktable, unfinished, for a while; the seed pearls I found added the final touch I thought it had been missing (it is VERY difficult to work hardware nuts into a pair of earrings, trust me!).

In a departure from my usual M.O., there are *gasp!* no gears on the second pair! 

I hope someone likes one or both pairs enough to give them homes this holiday season.

You may find them in my ArtFire shop.

~ DS

The Tree ... It's *sparking* ! Tesla Xmas Tree

As I searched for an interesting steampunk find for this week, I came across this, and said, "cool," out loud.

Now that I think about it further, this is the ideal time of year to pay homage to the master manipulator of electricity, Nikola Tesla.  This gentleman does so in grand fashion ... by creating holiday icons out of electricity!

The Tesla coil was invented in 1861.  The display above was created by medical doctor Peter Terren, whose "electrickery" experiments are known the world over.

In Terren's own words,"It looks unreal but there is no "photoshopping" anywhere on this website. All my photos are single exposures with very little post processing ie real photos.  The effects come from doing things during the exposure which can be striking particularly if the source of sparks have shifted or rotated."

The trees and stars are very impressive, but wait, there's more.  On other sections of his site, TeslaDownunder, you will find even more images of amazing and beautiful tesla experiments such as the Tesla car antitheft device and the Tesla antivirus ring for your laptop. Really!

The site also has info on lasers, LED's, pretty Jacob's Ladders, magnets, and even rail guns.

I think Tesla would be very proud and amazed at what Peter has made his invention do.  When you see all the strands of lights this December, remember the pioneers who made it possible!


~ DS

Ideas, Part 2 ... Toys!

I am in a mood to search for steampunk toys!  I have found a couple of sets that were for sale, previously in this blog, such as the Mechtorians and  CrabFu , but I have found some that are absolutely amazing!

More sculpture than toy, the works of Stephane Halleaux have blown the world away.

The aesthetic has been described as "Tim Burton-esque," "retro-futuristic," and "steampunk meets Edward Scissorhands."

Sadly, the cry of "WHERE can I BUY these?!!!!" posted by so many commenters on so many sites has gone unanswered.  I would imagine that these are absolutely not for sale, but if you want to give the artist an offer for one on Facebook, you can give it a shot!

At the very least, some of you creative types might be able to take inspiration from these, and create your own toys.  You can do it!  Just do it quickly; Christmas is coming!

Holiday Steampunk Gift Ideas! Part One

Welcome to December!  Don't panic.  There are 24 shopping days left until Christmas, so you still have plenty of time to shop.  If you are into that sort of thing.  (*grin*)

I thought it would be helpful to compile a collection of things which would make good gifts for your Steampunk friends, family, etc.

1) Steampunk Jewelry!!!  (hint hint) ;-)  As for my shop, I include sturdy, pretty cord necklaces with silver lobster clasps with my pendants, or many of them come with brass or copper chains.

2) Steampunk Books -  One book that I, myself, have purchased and read is called (surprise) Steampunk by Ann & Jeff Vandermeer.  This collection of short stories of the genre is sure to please the sp reader.  Alist of more sp books can be found on Steampunkopedia.

Books by Jules Verne also make a wonderful literary gift; his novels opened up the world to imagine great accomplishments even beyone the steam-driven technology of the time.

Or, for the writer, you might choose a handmade book.  Here is a link to the ones I liked, and you can also check ArtFire and Etsy for more.

I will post more ideas soon!  You will also find many relevant topics and items in this blog as well.  Try using the Topic Cloud to find ones of interest to you.  I reccomend "toys," "journal," and "clothing" to start; each has links to unusual gifts.

~ DS

Silver Watch Plate, Gear, Beads, and Key Pendant

In the same class as my previous pocket watch part pendant, I finished up this pendant whose design has vexed me for a couple of weeks now.  At the top, a vintage metal bead leads down to the plate.  An almost tiger-eye pattern stone cabochon serves as the base for a large gear and a smaller accent gear.  The smaller silver gear on the left came from a watch, and so a silver watch hand dangles from its' edge.  The bead at the bottom was once silver coated, but has worn, showing the ceramic material underneath and lending an antique-y air.  To top it off at the bottom, so to speak, a miniature brass skeleton key hangs invitingly.

This pendant is also for sale in my ArtFire shop.  I have now paid for a whole year's membership there, which will give me many more opportunites and features beginning in January.

~ DS

Pretty as a Parasol

Peppermint Parasol

Outshine the sun?!  Certainly!

Whether you are taking your doggie for a stroll, or heading to a Mardi Gras parade, a parasol is just the thing to keep the elements from darkening your day!

In case some of my visitors have not yet been there, I would like to direct everyone's attention to The New Orleans Umbrella Company on Etsy.

The artisan, lizmpetro, creates unique and creative umbrellas of many themes and materials.  You will find dots, buttons, ribbons, lace, frills, and feathers, in lines, layers, trims and tassels. (The pirate parasol is very cute, but what rhymes with 'pirate'?...)

She sews each element onto the umbrella by hand, and securely attaches beautiful handles made from vintage finds.  The prices are very reasonable for such a unique and useful item.

I have communicated with Liz, and she seems delightful.  =)

Do take a look! 

~ DS

Pocket Watch Plate & Key Pendant

Well, I finally made myself sit down and brainstorm/create some actual jewelry. Yay!

It is a pendant created from an Ingersoll pocket watch internal brass plate.  As always, I had to add a gear, this time a flywheel, and I used one of my miniature skeleton keys to add movement to the bottom edge.  The upper left items are two clock/watch hands.  What I like best about the piece is that the original engraving indicating the watch patent date spirals around the center.

Later,  I changed the pendant, as seen here on the right.

 This is still for sale in my shop on ArtFire.

A Handful of Helmets

(Clockwise, from upper left to lower left)

1. Black Leather Flying Helmet - atomefabrik

2. Steampunk Darth Vader Helmet - CREATUREFEATURE13

3. Blasting Time Lord's Hat Helmet - oldjunkyardboutique

4. Pith Vogue Couture Hat - whimandaprayer

Here we have a small collection of headgear from the Etsy site.  I found myself attracted to items that seemed to have required a bit of time and also had an aura of inventiveness about them.  It is my opinion that we as humans often believe things that we think we could not have made ourselves are cool.  I know I do!   ;-)  I tried to choose pieces from artists I have not included here before.  Enjoy!

~ DS

Presenting ... Mechtorians!

Want to give that special someone a delightful and fun collectible steampunk gift this holiday?

Look no further, for we have found ... Mechtorians!

These little toys are the ultimate combination of cuteness and technical whimsy.  Created by DoktorA, also known as Andrew Mitchell, They stand from 3.5 to 4" tall, are handpainted, and can be had for under $15 at TenaciousToys and also on eBay.  The members of the first series have names: Stephan LePodd, D.J. Gramo, Mr. Head, Scuttler The Butler, Sentry Wheel & Sir Shilling. 

I would love to have a couple of these, just for fun, but they seem to go up in value as collectibles as well.

 

The custom-made Mechtorians are especially cool.  Here is one that I especially like, with his collection hose:

You can see more custom Mechtorians here.  There is also a custom Mechtorians show, Doktor A's "The Barnabus and Wrench Traveling Robotic Freak Circus" show opening November 14th, 2009, in Detroit.  Here is a link to many photos of the show. Freak Circus

Of course, I have no affiliation with the artist or marketers, but just had to share these little guys! I would love to hear if any of my readers own one or more of these, or end up purchasing one (or more!), and what you thought of them "in person".  They look soooo cute!

Enjoy!

~ DS

My YouTube Video -- DreamSteam's Steampunk Jewelry

Hello, all!  Let me say that I hope to have some new jewelry to share and sell very soon.  Until then...

Upon the advice of a few web sites and through the inspiration of the Etsy Steam Team, a few months ago I ventured into the mysterious world of YouTube by making a slide video of my jewelry.

After getting just a few views in as many months, I just stopped checking to see how many people had viewed it.

People did leave comments that perhaps it would get more views if I was showing how to MAKE the jewelry, but that was not the point of that particular slide show.  Besides, do you win something for having more views than other people's videos do?  Out of feigned indifference, I say I think not.

But in the interest of pointing out its' existence, I give you:  DreamSteam's Jewelry Video Extrordinaire!

If you would like to watch it without leaving this page, you can scroll down and click on the box so labeled on the right hand side to play an embedded version of the video.

Please go watch it.  It has a lovely classical music accompaniment.  *grin*

(As a note: some of that jewelry is actually still for sale.  Check out ArtFire, which is where you may currently find all of my jewelry for sale, or go to the bottom of this blog page for the immediate gratification of instant checkout.)

Many thanks!

~ DS

Completed! My Leather Steampunk Goggles

above: Goggles by DreamSteam, after being modified in 2012

goggles before being modified

Here they are, the results of my very first attempt at goggle-making! They are actually wearable and sturdy. At first I wore them on my forehead, until a guest at my party asked if I was "Hellboy".  Pfffft!  (I wore them around my neck the rest of the night, lol.)

Some may wish to know what materials compose these wonders of tinkering.  Here is a link to the post which contains pictures of the pieces before assembly: Goggles in Progress

The strap is a purse strap; the eyepieces are heavy leather that I cut, dyed black, formed, pinched, and laced together. The lenses are clear glass that I also cut by hand, and the metal rings are some pipe fittings which I antiqued. (As an interesting bit of trivia, Lord Featherstone of Brute Force Studios told me that years ago, he was one of the first people to use this style of pipe fittings as goggle parts, and then everyone began copying the technique.  I think they did so because it is an easily found metal goggle part for those of us who do not have milling machines!)  The leather pieces are joined by rivets and leather lacing. Twisted copper wire with jute twine wrapped around it forms the nose piece.

In the future I may add the decorations that I had in mind but did not use (a couple of small watch gears on the eyepieces at the temples), but the siren song of other projects and prospects may steal me away.  Regardless, I have thought of making more of these and posting them for sale on ArtFire.  Perhaps I will even offer these for sale.  I would consider taking offers.... Stay tuned!

I hope you have enjoyed following the short but suspenseful saga of steampunk goggle-age over the last weeks!

~  DreamSteam

Note: in 2012, I modified these goggles.  I disassembled the eye cups and cut the leather to make the cups shorter, re-laced the nose piece area, colored the metal pipe rings copper, and added some copper accents to the outer edges.  Then I wore them to Anachrocon 2012, yay!

Beautiful Bijoux

Please go see the shops of Gypsy, the wonderful Etsy SteamTeam jewelry artist!

GrenadineBijoux

For beautiful handmade pieces

and

The Gypsy Tinker

For unique destash items!

Trust me when I say that any purchases from her will raise your cosmic karma a notch.  ;-)

~ DS

Steampunk Goggle Progress! Pics of the Basic Parts

 There has been progress on my Steampunk goggles this busy busy weekend!

The first pic is the eyepieces, the strap, and the possible nose pieces I am considering. I put a very cool corroded patina on the rings of the eyepieces which does not show up in these photos at all.  Grr, stupid camera.  I will see if I can get more detailed photos another time, perhaps after I have finished the goggles entirely. It is down to five days until my costume party, and this is the only piece I have worked on at all (I have ideas for three more), and I still need to clean my house, cook the food, get maps out to people....Whee!

I have also been working on another S.A.S.S. badge holder (yes, I just made one last weekend, but it was too big for my gun belt and a bit floppy), and I need to do two more projects before next Sunday's cowboys' shoot.  Another shooter requested that I make her a bullet holder block, and I also need one. (What is it, you ask?  It's little block of wood with bullet-sized holes drilled in it and has a piece of leather for a flap to keep the ammo from falling out one side. Why have one? It organizes the ammo and makes life at the loading table faster and less stressful. "Hmm, did I just load nine bullets into my rifle, or ten?...")

AND I really eally really need to make some more steampunk jewelry to sell.

It's a good thing I am talented.  ;-)  Here's hoping I can get it together and keep it together!

~DS

My Jewelry On Fire ... ArtFire!

 Greetings!

ArtFire has given basic members the privilege of listing an unlimited number of items for sale, for just a couple of weeks.

Thus, I have posted every piece of jewelry I have for sale, on their site.  The benefit of ArtFire is that buyers do not have to register for anything, you can pay directly with PayPal, and there are no fees upon sale (except the usual PayPal fees).

I would be thrilled to have everyone take a look there, either by clicking HERE, or using the Rapid Cart at the bottom of this blog page.

Thanks, ArtFire!

~ DS

While Waiting for Goggleage...

While I am schlepping to start/finish my goggles (!) (I have done some leatherwork in the last few days, but it is a badge holder for my SASS badge, not very Steampunky), I thought I would share some more of my older pendants.

These are each made from half of a clock barrel gear as the base; the swirl inside is comprised of a gently uncoiling watch spring.  (I say gently, but those things are strong and wily!) While not very visible in the pictures, clear resin fills the base and creates a domed surface on top.

One of these sold, and I currently possess the other (the one on the right).  I may part with it for the holiday sale rush. (hahahahaha *cough* Hrm. At least offer it for sale.)

If you would be interested in a similar item, do contact me through ArtFire or Etsy, and I would be glad to create one or more for you!

~ DS

Victorian Fingerless Gloves, Glove Rules and Styles

Clockwise from upper left to lower left:

1. Butterfly Snap Gloves - Radjuli 

2. Perfect Fall Mitties - sevndreams 

3. Pewter Cuff - skywatcher1121

4. Angor and Soysilk Lace Gauntelts - Lacewood

 

I was recently approached by an acquaintance who, once he found out that I made steampunk-inspired jewelry, told me that he had his mind set on selling fingerless gloves with a steampunk aura to them.  He showed me a printed photograph of some ugly misshapen rainbow-colored mitts that in my opinion had more of a grandma aura to them than steampunk.  I thought he was crazy.

So I Googled "Victorian gloves", and sure enough, the demure little fingerless gloves were mentioned in several articles about the time period.

It seems that these gloves, called "mitts", had a run of popularity until the 1840's as an informal accessory.  Ladies always wore gloves in public, and often wore them indoors as well.  The etiquette surrounding hand wear could take up volumes, but here are a couple of web sites that sum up the topic tidily.

http://www.shootingstarhistory.com/gloves.html

And at the top, you will find a few items from Etsy that I liked.

~ DS

Steampunkopedia

Steampunk.  When did it start? What books can I read that fit the genre? Are there steampunk games out there?

Have questions about the history of Steampunk?  Check out Steampunkopedia!

Under the Chronology section alone, there are 3000 titles of movies, books, films, comic books, games, and plays that have contributed to and created the phenomenon we now know as Steampunk.  You can even compare SP with its' cousin, Dieselpunk. 

The site itself is in Polish, but if you do not wish to translate the site, a downloadable English PDF of Steampunkopedia  is available.

Enjoy!

~ DS

My Cowboy Hat Band

I am a fledgling participant in the time-honored tradition of "Cowboy Shooting".  No, we don't find cowboys and use them for target practice. Instead, we maneuver and shoot our way through courses designed to simulate wild west scenarios using revolvers, rifles and shotguns.  Since I am new to the sport, I needed to go out and find the missing but requisite outfit components, such as a hat.

Here is my hat!

The idea for the decoration on the band preceded the hat purchase,

but got done when I bought the hat the night before my very first shoot.  I wanted a more personal embellishment than the traditional feathers or beaded band.  (Oh, and I had about 20 minutes to complete this project before I had to leave the house for the evening and would have no chance to do it the next morning.)   Its' design will undoubtedly evolve as I find the time and inspiration to make it bigger and better!

My shooting persona also has ties to the clock making world, so it is doubly representative of me.

Another idea -- hat bands made out of beads and spent brass pistol cartridges; they look amazing! 

Perhaps I could open another shop....

~ DS

Victorian Era Galore!

As I perused a web site dedicated to the Old West, I found a link to a wonderful web site which contains links to information about the Victorian era and just about everything in that time period.  One could spend hours looking here!

Victoriana.com

The categories on their main page are: Decorating, Remodeling, Fashion, Travel, and History.

Each section includes lots of illustrations, and many links to even more topics;  at first glance, I saw Gardening, Homes, Food and Recipes.

Here is the Halloween page.  If I had discovered this earlier, I might have had a Victorian themed Halloween party this year, but even so, I am tempted to include some of these wonderful ideas.

Enjoy perusing the site!

~ D.S.

Goggles in the Works!

     My goggles are progressing, bit by bit!  Though I have been fighting a nasty sinus problem which has made me see double for over a week (makes typing VERY interesting/frustrating, and driving even more so), I have gathered the materials together and also started experimental assembly.

     The upper left pic shows several belts I bought at Goodwill for $1.50 each, the plastic pipe part I will cut the ends off of to hold the glass for the lenses in place, and the "washers" to go between pipe threads and glass.  In the upper right pic you can see the circles of glass that I cut and shaped by hand, along with the parts seen in the previous photo.

     The last pic shows the remnants of a soft leather purse I also bought for about $3; the leather is supple and yet sturdy.

     The belts may not be wide enough to use on their own as eye cups, but I may end up using them as a rigid base and then cover them with the thin leather and other accouterments that I have in mind to make these unique.

     I like unique!  =)

Edit:  As I have found inspiration and made progress on these, I decided I might not use the little plastic rings to pad between the glass and the metal ring at all.  The leather will hold the glass in, and it will look better without it.  Maybe.  Hrmm. 

Jolly Good Online Steampunk Clothing Shop

This is a shop that has some of the prettiest/most handsome steampunk clothing I have found to date. If all the pieces are available, it is indeed a large variety of finery.  I may have to place an order!!!

Steampunk Emporium

My Precious Clockwork Pendant and Brass Necklace

This fabulous pendant was created by yours truly a few months ago.  I wanted to create something which was larger than my usual pendants, and that had nothing but pure metal on it.  I fit each piece and gear meticulously, changing their configuration a countless number of times until I was satisfied that it looked as if it could function as a true clockwork.  Every piece is from a vintage clock or large pocket watch; all have the beautiful patina that metal receives over many years' time.

This is currently for sale in my ArtFire shop.

You can click and buy it; there is no signing up for anything if you already have a PayPal account.

I value this piece highly because of the sheer number of hours spent perfecting its' design, and the fact that the materials used are rare and possibly even one-of-a-kind in this day and age.

I am fairly certain that absolutely nobody is mass-manufacturing any clock parts of this quality anymore.

Go to DreamSteam's ArtFire Shop to view more pictures, read a more detailed description, and to purchase this wondrous and quality piece of steampunk jewelry art.

~ DS

Domo Arigato, Mr. Butterflyboto

I have been intrigued by the designs of American artist Mike Libby for a long time.  He acquires dessicated insects and adds watch and clock parts to them to create tiny robots!  The beetle pictured above is my personal favorite.  Many of these fascinating fauna can be purchased from his studio web site -- Insect Lab.
Although I try not to create knock-offs, the sale prices of these make me consider scouring my yard for dead insects!  The price of one robot can range from $600 to $2500.  Here, buggy buggy buggy....

Crania Mechanica

 These imposing sculptures are the work of artist Ron Bell, featured in the internationally acclaimed museum-and-art-gallery-touring "Crania Mechanica" exhibit.

The artist/mechanic integrates machine parts and animal bones in sculptures inspired by the 18th-century scientist Luigi Galvani.  (Galvani is the unorthodox thinker who introduced an electrical spark to the exposed muscle tissue of a severed frog leg and saw that the leg twitched.  Galvani’s experiment led to the discovery of bioelectricity, which controls heatbeat and other important bodily functions in living beings.)

Methinks Bell could make props and stage settings for some of SyFy's movies! (Using their new moniker under protest here.)  I know I would be hitting the pause button on the TiVo....

Who is that Masked Madman?

Clockwise, from upper left to lower left:

1. Fan Leather Mask - TomBanwell  

2.  Leather Gas Mask - ProfMaelstromme 

3. Rust Spider Mask - ScowlingOwl 

4. The Wind-Up Guardian - ioianthe  

It's that time of year again! A day soon cometh when all steampunks-at-heart can break out our imaginative retro-futuristic creations and collections and wear them, carry them, and even use them without receiving strange looks from the uninitiated populace. 

Here are some innovative masks which you can purchase on the wonderful Etsy, or use the ideas to spark your own creative endeavors. As for me,  I am going to attempt to make some goggles to accentuate my own Halloween party attire; it is still in the materials gathering stage now, but you can bet that if they turn out well enough, I will share them here.  

In the meantime, rejoice! And get to making the best steampunk outfit ever!

From The Ashes -- 3D Resin and Copper Airship Pendant

                                                        This is a stunningly rustic pendant I made many months ago.

I wanted to create something from raw materials that would have an unmistakably steampunk aura.

The base is sheet copper and copper pipe, with a weathered vintage Soviet airship airmail stamp as the background image and several watch gears resting inside a domed sea of crystal-clear jewelry resin.

The process took many hours and much experimentation to perfect the patina, but I am thrilled with the final product!

It is currently for sale in my Etsy shop.

  From the Ashes

It's A Small ... Steampunk World? ... After All

It seems that information regarding a possible new video game leaked to the public. *gasp*
This one allegedly involves the designer of Deus Ex and Disney working together to create a post-apocalyptic version of the Magic Kingdom.

Yes. A steampunkish, dark vision of Disney World. Maybe. Someday. Aren't rumors fun?

In the meantime, enjoy the drawings and sketches of these brilliantly twisted minds.

SP Disney

Reactions

Unfortunately, the "reactions" feature does not seem to work. At all.  Hasn't for months, at least.  Oh well.

Apologies to anyone who actually did click and vote. I appreciate the effort!

Removing it.  Bummer!

Pocket Watch Robot... continued

I am going to make a concerted effort to continue work on my poor little pocket watch robot. Things have gotten a bit crazy recently, and it got put on the back steam generator, as it were.

The last big thing I did was completely strip all of the paint off of the entire piece.
Yep.
After weeks of painting and finger-crossing that it would cure up, I finally decided to start over.

Good thing, too, because when I removed the paint, I discovered that the very first layer was still wet and gooey! Grr.

With more than a few choice words, I finished up sanding and scraping, then added a coat of the only real metal primer I had, which is rust-colored. I hope that does not bite me in the butt later.

Soooo... I need to look at the main part again, and decide how to proceed, paint-wise. The the paint on the pieces for the arms and legs seems to be fine. If I want to stay with that color. *sigh*


Here is a link to what it will almost look like (picture taken after the very first coat of paint, before I stripped all of the several layers of paint off and started over) .  There are no embellishments or joint pieces in this pic.

Pocket Watch Robot, take one

SteamWorks Steam Powered Toys!

I totally thought I had posted this a while back!
This is a site dedicated to the works of a very creative and mechanically adept person who converts and creates machines that run on steam.

Here is a link:    CrabFu SteamWorks


The centipede is my favorite. here is a link to the video of it in motion.
Steam Centipede Train

Enjoy!

My Possible Pendants

DreamSteam's Pendants

These are photos of various pendant combinations that I assembled one day when a client asked me to make her a custom piece. The weather has been exceedingly humid here this summer, so I have not made anything out of resin recently for that reason. As fall approaches, my thoughts have turned back to the miraculous and challenging process of making these beautiful pieces.

Steampunk Name Generator

Just for fun, here is a link to the Steampunk Name Generator "a generator of names and titles for those who may have temporarily misplaced their own,"  on Brass Goggles.com.
Hopefully it will bring a smile or even a giggle. =)

Les Machines l'Isle - Verne and DaVinci Tribute Museum

When I saw this, my reaction was "OMG!!!"
and "I wish I could be there!"
To quote the creators of this wonderland:

“A team of machine builders have set up their workshop in the industrial warehouses of the former shipyards, at the heart of the Ile de Nantes. The designers let their imaginations roam from the treetops, the savannah to the ocean depths, building a bestiary of living machines to populate this area under redevelopment. The Great Elephant, the Marine Worlds and the Heron Tree are urban sculptures open to the public. Like doors to the world of dreams and magical journeys, they give this island a mysterious feel as if we were back to the time when the vessels set sail to travel around the world.” -- François Delarozière and Pierre Orefice

There are several beasts that people can climb inside and control in the Gallery section of the museum, including a crab, a manta ray, and a squid! In the Workshop, visitors can watch builders working to create astounding new creatures and devices.

The video shows demonstrations of the massive mechanical sculptures and creatures including the elephant. This 12 meter high, 8 meter wide creature regularly carries 49 passengers inside its' balconies and indoor lounge on leisurely excursions around the site of the former shipyards on the isle of Nantes.

If I ever make it back overseas, I am so going there!

Steampunk Tree House -- FOR SALE!

http://www.steamtreehouse.com/

If you have a large amount of flat, crane-accessible (!) space in your yard and probably a huge amount of spare cash, you can rent or even BUY this gargantuan sculpture to make your next steampunk-themed party wildly memorable... and possibly irk your neighbors, too.

As they mention, there can be only one... err... they say there is only one of these in existence.
Click on the image or the link to go to the Stempunk Tree House home page for rental information! Or at least to see more pictures taken during its' construction. Drool.