¸¸,:•:*¨¨*:•:,¸¸,:•:*¨¨*:•:,¸¸,.•*•:*¨¨*:•:,¸¸,:•:*¨¨*:•:,¸¸,.•*•:*¨¨*:•:,¸¸,:•:*¨¨*:•:,¸¸,.•*¨¨*:•:,¸¸,:•:*¨¨*:•:,¸¸,.•*•:*¨¨*:•:,¸¸,:•:*¨¨*:•:,¸¸,.•*•:*¨¨*:•:,¸¸,:•:*¨¨*:•:,¸¸,.•*•:*¨¨*:•:,¸¸,:•:*

Would you wear and use a vintage pocket watch?

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Beautiful Bijoux



Please go see the shops of Gypsy, the wonderful Etsy SteamTeam jewelry artist!

For beautiful handmade pieces

and

For unique destash items!

Trust me when I say that any purchases from her will raise your cosmic karma a notch.  ;-)

~ DS

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Steampunk Goggle Progress! Pics of the Basic Parts




 There has been progress on my Steampunk goggles this busy busy weekend!

The first pic is the eyepieces, the strap, and the possible nose pieces I am considering. I put a very cool corroded patina on the rings of the eyepieces which does not show up in these photos at all.  Grr, stupid camera.  I will see if I can get more detailed photos another time, perhaps after I have finished the goggles entirely. It is down to five days until my costume party, and this is the only piece I have worked on at all (I have ideas for three more), and I still need to clean my house, cook the food, get maps out to people....Whee!

I have also been working on another S.A.S.S. badge holder (yes, I just made one last weekend, but it was too big for my gun belt and a bit floppy), and I need to do two more projects before next Sunday's cowboys' shoot.  Another shooter requested that I make her a bullet holder block, and I also need one. (What is it, you ask?  It's little block of wood with bullet-sized holes drilled in it and has a piece of leather for a flap to keep the ammo from falling out one side. Why have one? It organizes the ammo and makes life at the loading table faster and less stressful. "Hmm, did I just load nine bullets into my rifle, or ten?...")

AND I really eally really need to make some more steampunk jewelry to sell.

It's a good thing I am talented.  ;-)  Here's hoping I can get it together and keep it together!

~DS

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

My Jewelry On Fire ... ArtFire!

 Greetings!

ArtFire has given basic members the privilege of listing an unlimited number of items for sale, for just a couple of weeks.

Thus, I have posted every piece of jewelry I have for sale, on their site.  The benefit of ArtFire is that buyers do not have to register for anything, you can pay directly with PayPal, and there are no fees upon sale (except the usual PayPal fees).

I would be thrilled to have everyone take a look there, either by clicking HERE, or using the Rapid Cart at the bottom of this blog page.

Thanks, ArtFire!

~ DS

While Waiting for Goggleage...



While I am schlepping to start/finish my goggles (!) (I have done some leatherwork in the last few days, but it is a badge holder for my SASS badge, not very Steampunky), I thought I would share some more of my older pendants.

These are each made from half of a clock barrel gear as the base; the swirl inside is comprised of a gently uncoiling watch spring.  (I say gently, but those things are strong and wily!) While not very visible in the pictures, clear resin fills the base and creates a domed surface on top.

One of these sold, and I currently possess the other (the one on the right).  I may part with it for the holiday sale rush. (hahahahaha *cough* Hrm. At least offer it for sale.)

If you would be interested in a similar item, do contact me through ArtFire or Etsy, and I would be glad to create one or more for you!

~ DS

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Victorian Fingerless Gloves, Glove Rules and Styles



Clockwise from upper left to lower left:
 

I was recently approached by an acquaintance who, once he found out that I made steampunk-inspired jewelry, told me that he had his mind set on selling fingerless gloves with a steampunk aura to them.  He showed me a printed photograph of some ugly misshapen rainbow-colored mitts that in my opinion had more of a grandma aura to them than steampunk.  I thought he was crazy.

So I Googled "Victorian gloves", and sure enough, the demure little fingerless gloves were mentioned in several articles about the time period.

It seems that these gloves, called "mitts", had a run of popularity until the 1840's as an informal accessory.  Ladies always wore gloves in public, and often wore them indoors as well.  The etiquette surrounding hand wear could take up volumes, but here are a couple of web sites that sum up the topic tidily.

http://www.shootingstarhistory.com/gloves.html

And at the top, you will find a few items from Etsy that I liked.

~ DS

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Steampunkopedia




Steampunk.  When did it start? What books can I read that fit the genre? Are there steampunk games out there?

Have questions about the history of Steampunk?  Check out Steampunkopedia!

Under the Chronology section alone, there are 3000 titles of movies, books, films, comic books, games, and plays that have contributed to and created the phenomenon we now know as Steampunk.  You can even compare SP with its' cousin, Dieselpunk. 

The site itself is in Polish, but if you do not wish to translate the site, a downloadable English PDF of Steampunkopedia  is available.

Enjoy!

~ DS

Friday, October 9, 2009

My Cowboy Hat Band



I am a fledgling participant in the time-honored tradition of "Cowboy Shooting".  No, we don't find cowboys and use them for target practice. Instead, we maneuver and shoot our way through courses designed to simulate wild west scenarios using revolvers, rifles and shotguns.  Since I am new to the sport, I needed to go out and find the missing but requisite outfit components, such as a hat.

Here is my hat!
The idea for the decoration on the band preceded the hat purchase,
but got done when I bought the hat the night before my very first shoot.  I wanted a more personal embellishment than the traditional feathers or beaded band.  (Oh, and I had about 20 minutes to complete this project before I had to leave the house for the evening and would have no chance to do it the next morning.)   Its' design will undoubtedly evolve as I find the time and inspiration to make it bigger and better!

My shooting persona also has ties to the clock making world, so it is doubly representative of me.

Another idea -- hat bands made out of beads and spent brass pistol cartridges; they look amazing! 
Perhaps I could open another shop....

~ DS



Monday, October 5, 2009

Victorian Era Galore!


As I perused a web site dedicated to the Old West, I found a link to a wonderful web site which contains links to information about the Victorian era and just about everything in that time period.  One could spend hours looking here!

Victoriana.com

The categories on their main page are: Decorating, Remodeling, Fashion, Travel, and History.

Each section includes lots of illustrations, and many links to even more topics;  at first glance, I saw Gardening, Homes, Food and Recipes.

Here is the Halloween page.  If I had discovered this earlier, I might have had a Victorian themed Halloween party this year, but even so, I am tempted to include some of these wonderful ideas.

Enjoy perusing the site!

~ D.S.

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