Steampunk umbrella

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