Hello everyone. I know it's been quite a long time since I've blogged. I had to have more surgery on my shoulder. I had rotator cuff repair 6 months ago and it started freezing up on me, so they had to go back in and "crack" the scar tissue away from my shoulder. I am finally getting more range of motion. On my 8th month of physical therapy, so this has slowed down my crafting a little.
My hair stylist and good friend asked me if I would make a "prop" for her son's upcoming community theatre group. He is narrating and the theme was steampunk; father time.
For those who don't know what "steampunk" is, it's a type of pop art that mixes the Victorian era with gears and machinery. This is totally out of my comfort zone, except for the Victorian part.
My blank canvas was a huge, bare umbrella. The requirements were: had to look steampunk, look like clock, had to have moving hands and it had to still be able to fold up.
Because of the folding issue, I decided to take each panel separate and not connect it to the next. So I came up with a design for each panel.
I started with cutting out gold roman numerals and glueing on the face of the umbrella, again being mindful of the folds and the metal folding panels.
I thought it needed some color, so I added this red, eyelash trim.
Because lace is my middle name, I used it on 2 panels.
The corset look came from the Victorian period; I added that look to a couple of panels. One, I used buckles and ribbon and the other chain-like hooks and leather trim.
On one panel, I added an open zipper and had the appearance of metal gears and other metal objects spilling out of the zipper.
Veil netting is popular in steampunk, so I used black netting with red velvet ribbon on both sides. I added feathers and a metal clock with a metal crown.
The next to the last section, I criss-crossed black and red ribbon and added a metal medallion and placed a clock piece in the center. I then hung a key with a picture of a Victorian gentleman with a mustache.
And finally, the last panel I swagged 3 layers of silver chain.
To finish off the bottom, I added an elastic black lace trim.
I made the hands of the clock with heavy , black chipboard and covered with a metallic paper.
I put a large washer under the end of each hand for weight purposes and so it would rotate easier.
The final touch , I added a finial using an old fashion water knob. This also helps hold the hands from falling off. I also added a leather looking gear under the hands on the very top of the umbrella.
This style was a real challenge for me, but was a lot of fun creating. The young man promises to send me pictures of his full costume, holding his steampunk prop.
You never know where crafting will take you, but I loved the challenge and am looking forward to my next project.
I will be posting real soon another album I'm working on with lots of flowers, lace and tea cups! And of course it has pink in it.
Happy crafting, Cindy
Posts
