New Steampunk Blog Linky Party

There's a new

Steampunk Blog Link Party

going over over at the wonderful

Steam Ingenious.

Hop on over and say

good afternoon

to

Violet von Mickelsburg .

Tutorial.Steampunk Surveillance Arthropod

Steampunk Surveillance Arthropod 

or

Bug Bug.

You may remember this from last year.

It's the reason I bought a gross

of plastic compasses.

Yes, I still have about 120 left...

This is a tutorial

presented as a gonfalone

for Pinterest.

However,

it's not really

big enough

to read.

So not much use as a tutorial...

The original is here

on my dA account.

It's bigger.

And, therefore, 

better.

I'm hoping the

Dollar Tree

gets some more of

 these clockwork insects. 

I'd like to build a display case

with lots of different ones.

Georgina and the Double Feature

This links up with 

Georgina's dolls

on my doll blog.

Gorgeous Georgina

and her Rose Fascinator.

Georgina is a talented

doll maker and designer

who makes a range of fascinating

Steampunk items

Stepping away 

from the usual

cogs-with-watch-parts

which has become so familiar,

Georgina's designs are

fresh and new.

and cover the 

alternative timescale

from Victoriana

to 

post-apocalyptic retro.

Photospam

and links.

Black Vent Necklace

Faun Fascinator

Gold Robot Badge

Autumn Rose Fascinator

Garrison cap

Her work covers such a wide range

and is so inventive and creative

I think she deserves to be better known.

Georgina's facebook

Georgina's Curious Doors Etsy

Georgina's Nevermore Dolls Etsy

Please note

these aren't my images. 

They're Georgina's.

I know him; Marley's Ghost!

Last year, I showed you this remarkable

Christmas Wreath

by 

William Bezek.

Isn't it glorious?

Well, I wanted something similar.

With less bone

and

more brass.

But the same notion

of capturing

the authentic flavour

of Dicken's 

Christmas Carol.

And accepting that part of Christmas;

is the telling of ghost stories

the wickedness of Krampus,

and the certain knowledge

that hearth and home

is the best place to be.

Here is my effort.

Not as glorious, I know.

But it did only cost me only $2 for the materials

(I can be a bit of a Scrooge

where crafting materials

is concerned)

and he is wearing his spectacles

on his forehead.

Bah! Humbug!

Way back in 

August

I wanted to enter a competition

hosted by the wonderful

Monster Kookies

whose fabulous steampunk creations

I have featured here before. 

The contest was to design 

or create something

inspired by her polymer clay figures.

Well, I got sidetracked

and I made this, instead.

However,

 just in time for Christmas

I finally finished my 

Steampunk Bird!

Inspired by

Monster Kookies

wonderful

Mechanical Birdies

and influenced by

Mary Ann's

smexy

Russell Crow.

I made my clockwork

Nice-o-meter Finch..

On one side, a gaudy brass

clockwork finch.

On the other,

buttons  and a gauge 

to measure if you've been

naughty or nice!

(Yes, the key turns!

You have to make the

key-turning noise, though.)

It's made from one of those

little feather covered

Dollar Tree birds.

I removed the feathers,

added a new bill.

(Or beak?)

Embellished and gilded

and generally had fun with glue 

and bits and pieces.

Here he is on my tree.

Pick him up,

and he'll tell you if you've been

naughty or nice.

Want to risk it?

The Magical, Mysterious Mantelpiece.

 Here, at last

is the faux fireplace

assembled in the 

Steampunk Study.

A blank space.

Nothing here but the

Ugly Wallpaper

and the 

Nasty Paint.

Then, the fireback.

Literally, a piece of drywall,

mounted with a Halloween skull

 propped against the wall.

I'm a Master Builder...

Next, the mantelpiece

and the 'cast iron' fireplace.

It can stand on its own,

but at this stage it's not

terribly stable.

The miraculous

faux fire insert.

The wooden bits are real wood

so it's not that fake.

The plastic looks like real plastic,

for instance.

Finally, the mantelshelf

made of two strips of drywall

glued together with Liquid Nail

(This is a real craftsman's job, boys and girls.)

and painted black.

It helps stabilise the whole structure,

which is good,

because otherwise the whole thing 

was going to tip over.

Hubby is thrilled with it!

I'll have to take another picture of it,

 in all its festive finery.

It's the first time I've had

a mantelpiece to decorate

for years!

For observant fans of 

The Guild'

yes, that is the sword from the

Highland Sextasy 

poster in the corner of the iphotos.

It was a gift.

Honest.

Get your own poster, here.

Image isn't mine.

Copyright

Greg Aronowitz.

Proceeds of any sales go to

Child's Play

charity

Building a Christmas Mantelpiece.

 Firstly, I apologise for the sub-par level 

of some of these photographs.

My camera hates indoor shots,

close-ups

and anything not in

brilliant daylight.

My camera also makes me look like

a middle-aged woman,

which can't be right.

Anyway,

a long time ago I showed you some images

from the on-going project

of Hubby's Steampunk Study.

Started here.

No, I'm not ashamed.

Hubby is now ensconced

in his study and loves it.

He's in there so much,

it scares the heck out of me 

and the dog

when he comes out

unexpectedly.

What he 

really, 

really,

really 

wanted for his study 

was a fireplace.

This house is built of wooden boards 

and plastic strips and so

doesn't have a chimney of any kind

But I found the beginnings of a fireplace

on a neighbour's dump. 

Here.

I don't know what it was, originally.

Confession time.

I do know how to do some minor woodwork.

My claim to carpentry skills is that

I used to make rocking horses.

I loved the carving and 

painting.

I loved the designing

and  planning.

I hated the sawing and 

screwing gluing.

So I used a sheet of drywall

for my basic construction.

Yes, I have worries, too.

It's really not one of the things

drywall is designed to do.

Anyway, forging ahead in blissful ignorance,

here is my basic design.

An insert, edged with 

moulding for support. 

The little ceramic shield

was a gift from my dear friend Kate.

I'd link her blog but

SHE DOESN'T HAVE ONE, 

despite my protests.

Moulding, rondels and little heraldic device

all glued with Liquid Nail. 

This was a real craftsman's job, ladies and gentlemen.

Gluing the fireplace to the mantelpiece.

Of course, what I'm actually doing is gluing the

 PAPER of  the drywall to the mantelpiece.

Paint it black.

The black paint was magic.

It made everything fit together.

It even, (kinda, sorta)

looked like cast iron,

which was what I was going for.

Now, the worrying bit.

Even though I left this glued and drying 

for three days,

I still expected it to fall apart

when I stood it upright.

Ta-da!

That, there, is a fake fire.

Fake as a wig,

 fake as a glass eye.

It doesn't even heat up,

it's just a red light bulb

and some split timber.

It's kitsch and tawdry

and perfect for what I needed.

See?

It even crackles like a real fire!

I've made a mantel shelf, by gluing two

boards of the drywall together,

 leaving the finished edges at the front

so that it painted nice and smooth.

And I'm making a fireback,

otherwise the Ugly Wallpaper

will show through and rather spoil the illusion.

Why yes! That is a skull 

with a paint can on its face.

 Long story.

Anyway...

You'll understand my excitement

because, when this is finished,

 I get to decorate a mantelpiece

and hang stockings on a fireplace

for the first time in a decade!

Proof is in the Pudding

 Picture of my Christmas Pudding.

Yes, I made a wish.

(so did Hubby.)

No, it doesn't contain any silver charms.

Yes, I will set it on fire.

For post on the making of

see here.

It's really very easy,

and absolutely steamy.