Steampunk box

Hi everyone, it's me again!
This blog has been very quiet of late, but I've been busy elsewhere.  To avoid confusion, I keep my Stampin" Up! projects apart from my Altered Art, but sometimes they cross over.  I came across the pattern for a self-closing box some time ago and a couple of weeks ago I shared it on YouTube.

The original was a pretty, feminine version that my mother-in-law's Mothers' Day gift was presented in - but I couldn't resist a making a Steampunk version.

 Here's the tutorial for the first version - (some people have reported trouble with the sound on this - there is a link to a sound-boosted version in the description below the video.  I haven't linked directly to it because, if you aren't having problems hearing the original, the boosted version will blow your ears off.)

I altered the proportions for the Steampunk box, making it from a piece of card 7 by 6 1/2 inches  and  scoring at 1 1/1/2, 3, 4 1/2 and 6 inches on the short side and 1 1/2 and 5 1/2 on the long side.

Then I covered it with gold card that I'd grunge up with acrylic paint and embossed and die cut.  The mask is made of air-drying clay.  I'm putting this into the following challenges -

Sandee & amelie's Steampunk blog challenge - Gear it up
Altered Eclectics - ATG

Please do check out my YouTube channel and my SU blog (Tuppence Coloured) - I'd love you to visit.

Crafty Hugs,

Keren

Lady Ermintrude's Aetheric Speaking Tube

I am so proud to have been asked to be July's Guest Designer over at SanDee & Amelie's Steampunk Challenge Blog.  Steampunk is just about my favourite style and I've had huge amounts of fun with this project.

Of course, when creating in the Steampunk genre, I channel Lady Ermintrude.  Inspired by Warehouse 13, Lady E has commissioned the Aetheric Speaking Tube (Steampunk mobile phone to you!)    Here's what it looks like inside -

And here's the exterior -

Here's what I started with- a tin of peppermints, some gold foil paper and some sealer.  First I ate the peppermints, and then I covered the tin and the foil paper in the sealer.

Then I gave the tin a couple of coats of black gesso and another coat or two of sealer.  I die-cut some fancy corners (the die is from Marianne) out of the gold foil paper.  Giving it a coat of sealer gives it more body and makes it look aged.

I cut a dial shape out of shrink plastic and painted it gold (after I'd shrunk it).  The other items in the picture are a circle of brown funky foam, a brass curtain ring, and a piece of mesh cut from a splatter guard (you know, the kind you use when frying sausages - well, cooking's not my strong point anyway!)  and coloured with alcohol pens.

I stuck the dial and the die-cuts on the front cover of the tin, cut a circle of card to fir the centre of the dial with a "telephone number" on it.  Then it was time to get on with the internal workings.  I cut a piece of card to fit inside,  covered in in some of the gold foil paper that I'd embossed and aged with a wash of black paint.  I cut a hole which will be for the screen and glued a curtain ring to make a frame, punched two holes and set grommets in them with the Crop-o-dile.  The speaker is was assembled by putting the mesh on top of the funky foam and sticking a curtain ring on top -

The black things you can see in the picture are stoppers from sample bottles of perfume, dipped in sealer first and allowed to dry, then dipped into gesso.  I cut the stems off and stuck them throughout the holes in the grommets.  Finally,  I cut another piece of card, stuck a large glass Glintz cabochon to it and assembled the panel.  The inside of the lid is a piece of copper foil, embossed and distressed.

And here's how it turned out again.

Thank you for visiting.  I hope you're going to play at Sandee's & Amelie's this month!  

Crafty hugs,

Keren

The Time Machine

Here's my project for SanDee and amelie's Steampunk Challenge blog this month.

The theme is a Steampunk Time Machine and my project is inspired by the George Pal version in the film of H.G. Wells's story.

It's based on a Sizzix Cabinet Card movers & shapers die cut.  The brass effect on the platform is gold foil paper given a coat of matt gel medium  - I was very happy with the way it came out.  Once it was embossed and assembled, I gave it a wash of black acrylic with a bit of transparent yellow iron oxide mixed in to get the sooty effect.  The console is a cotton reel, painted and covered with gold vinyl and bits of peel-off, held up with bendy bits of bendy straws and some dew drops coloured in alcohol ink glued on.

The back is made from a plastic dome coloured with Pebeo Vitrail and Moon fantasy paints - the pattern is cut, using my Cameo, in gold vinyl.  The clock face is a chipboard embellishment and the chair is made from foam board, covered in faux leather (see Sheena Douglass's YouTube video for the method)  I do hope you like it!

Crafty hugs,

Keren

If I only had wings...

I don't know, where does the time go?  Almost the end of October already, and here I am only just making the deadline for SanDee and amelie's Steampunk blog challenge.
This time it's aTic-Tac-Toe grid.

 and I've gone with Metal, Wings, and Braid or Ribbon to create a necklace for Lady Ermintrude.

I enjoy kumihimo braiding, and made the cord myself -for those who are interested,  it's an 8-strand cord made with 1mm rattail thread (it's not that easy to find 1mm rattail!)  The square pendant is a Media Mixage bezel, the background is done with Pebeo Vitrail and Fantasy paints like this;  once they were dry, the gear was added and then the whole thing covered in Gedeo crystal resin (I like this resin as it doesn't smell, but it does take a good 24 hours to set properly)  The angel wing charm I found on a well-known auction site .  Altogether, I think Lady E will enjoy wearing this piece when she goes for a jaunt in Major Thomas's Dirigible, don't you?

Thanks for visiting,

Crafty Hugs,

Keren

Ro-box

Sometimes it takes me a while to think of how I'm going to tackle a blog challenge, but once the idea dawns the project goes quickly.  Other times I have an idea but it takes a while to come together.  When I saw that this month's theme at Sandee and amelie's Steampunk Challenge Blog was " Dolls & Robots", I knew immediately what I wanted to do.

So here is Ro-box, big brother of last month's Matchbot.  He's based on two papier-mache boxes with half a polystyrene sphere stuck onto the lid of the top one.  I remembered some sheets of craft metal in copper and brass languishing at the bottom of the drawer and hauled it out,  and  embossed with Tim Holtz embossing folders - Diamond Plate and Riveted Metal (They come in the same set).

To cover the dome, I embossed the copper foil , stuck double-sided adhesive sheet on the back, and then cut it apart at strategic intervals.  Then I curved each piece over the polystyrene, starting at the bottom.  I covered the rim of the lid with brass craft metal, punched holes at intervals, and put paper-fasteners (big brads!) from the stationer's through them.

I stuck the base of the upper box to the lid of the lower one and covered them both with embossed metal.  I stuck wooden wheels onto bits of dowel, painted them black, wrapped Kraft card around the axles and stuck the card onto the base of the box, making sure that the axles could still turn.  I stuck bead caps on as hubcaps.

The robot's arms are based on wide-diameter drinking straws (the bendy kind) with sections ofgave him an old pencil and covered with the same metal.  I poked holes in the side of the upper box and pushed a little blob of milliput through to hold them in place.  The hands are moulded,rather inexpertly, from more milliput.

Once Ro-box was all put together I gave him a few coats of black acrylic paint wash and a few dabs of Patina Gilder's paste, die cut some dials and plates, stuck a few dewdrops (coloured with alcohol inks) onto paper fasteners for lights and went for a lie down.

And there he is.  He looks well-used, I think.  I rather like him and I hope you do as well.

Crafty hugs,

Keren