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