Birthday Card: steampunk

There is something special about making, receiving or giving a hand made card.

Below is an example of a hand made card I created. I did this card in "steampunk" style for my friend, D. L. White's birthday. I tried to include some steampunk elements like cogs and old fashioned type-writer keys, along with hand made paper, twine, and ink stamps. It was a blast creating this card for my friend.

The outside cover:



The inside:

First watercolor.

My son and I have been spending time doing some fun watercolor painting and this is his first creation. He had fun trying out the different colors on his pallet and playing with the water and brushes.



In this post is also my second attempt at my "Crazy Cricket" painting. I like how the shading on the big mushroom house came out, but the background blue just isn't as vivid as my first attempt. In this picture the cricket is actually playing his guitar.

What the heck is Steampunk?

(Mod computer case that looks like it came out of the 1800's by Jake Von Slatt)

Recently I have become interested in "steampunk". What is "steampunk" you ask? Well, it's a sub genre of fantasy from the 1980's where steam power was used in the 18th and 19th century. It's a combination of modern technology and Victorian design. It's the way some people wish the past was. What if the world was powered by steam in modern times? It is inspired by things like Disney's "2000 Leagues Under the Sea," and TV shows like "Wild Wild West" and "Firefly."




This is Captin Nemo's quarters inside his ship, the Nautilus.


The Nautilus:


Followers of "Steampunk" like the idea of making new things out of old. One of the leaders of this movement is Jake Von Slatt, who made his bus into a steampunk camper. It is complete with a homemade gas lamp over the dining room table and custom woodworking and staircase banister inside:

Watch video about bus camper

Watch video of Jake Von Slatt introduction to "steampunk".

There are many fantasy books involved in this genre, and those include: "Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters," "The Eyre Affair," "The Coral Thief," and "The Affinity Bridge." These are but a few of the items on the top of my reading list right now.

On the video game front, there is the new, "Epic Mickey" which is a game played in a Dystopian Disneyword and the concept art is eye popping.


I especially love the zombie goofie:



Here you can see the Mickey ears and Epcot Center sphere:



What a fun movement! This is an example of a steampunk Victorian bustle dress. Now all it needs is some goggles, a parasol, and telescope.




Example of a steampunk couple in full over the top costume at an event:



If you have a chance, visit D. L. White's blog because she has a really nice post written there "of clockworks, cosets and iron horses". I highly recommend reading her blog. She is a fantastic writer.

The Crazy Cricket: water color

Yesterday I had a bit of fun creating my first attempt at a water color illustration. This was for my "Crazy Cricket" poem I wrote for my son Gavin. I actually like how this first painting turned out. I am hopeful to try some more water color paints soon enough. I hope to frame my painting and then either cross stitch or do some calligraphy for the poem that goes along with it and hang the two together. Gavin was most impressed with the "mushroom house" when I showed him the painting and told him the poem of the crazy cricket again.

Pirate Boy

I had a little fun today making a scrapblog entry for my three year old. We took the little guy to Long John Silver's and had so much fun playing with the paper pirate hat, I couldn't help but take a few pictures of his adorable personality.

Do something creative today.

Each day would be more beautiful and fulfilling, if we each did something creative and good.

Today I did a word-play project using Wordle. First you make a list and write down a lot of words that can be used to describe yourself. Then randomize it, verticle, horizontal and in various order, font and colors. It was quite fun to make and turned out nice.

I think I'll start carrying a notebook with me to jot down my ideas and thoughts. Sometimes I think of things on the spot and if I don't write them down, then I forget them later.

Tim Burton's "Wonderland" and message from Raven.

I am happy to say I talked to an old friend today, who wanted to tell me about Tim Burton's new "Alice in Wonderland" film. Raven was quite excited. You have to understand, she isn't from this time or this place. She had been lost in the "Forest of Forgetfulness" for quite some time now and I am always nervous when she arrives. I am never certain if I should listen to her spinning out a tale or not. I have heard stories of those who got lost in her web? It's disconcerting to say the least, but if I didn't listen then I wouldn't get to hear the story, so there are times when you have to be brave. Raven had also told me Luna, her sister, had gone to spin the tale for D. L. White as well. You can read about her experience here at D.L. White's blog.

So here it was, 11:00 pm and I heard a noise on my screen porch. I thought it might be the wind at first, but I came to realize it was a quiet knocking. I wondered who was on my porch so late at night. Whoever they were I was glad didn't wake up my sleeping Chihuahua brood. So I snuck out of bed and made my way in the dark to the glass door. I turned on the dim porch light. Even though I had not seen Raven in so long, she looked exactly the same to me. Dress as dark as midnight blue, hair as black as obsidian and her raven perched quietly on her shoulder, looking at me with its intelligent, spooky eyes. I opened the door just a crack.

"What are you doing here?" I asked Raven, trying not to sound scared. She only smiled and motioned I should sit. I opened the door and went out to the porch to sit with her, and I could tell she was excited to discuss some news.

"I have brought you something" and she handed me a large envelope, made with some kind of old crinkled, weathered looking paper. This could be a scary thing I considered, but then she spoke slowly and softly, her voice almost musical. "There is a man, who makes moving picture; I think you call them films. His name is Burton and he has found a portal to our world. These are some of the pictures he has taken and my sister and I just knew we had to tell you and D. L. White about them right away. We know how you both so love anything to do with our world. Thank goodness Carroll had written about things long ago or you two might never have found us in the forest."

I slowly opened the old envelope which crackled as I peered inside. There were eight large and very beautiful pictures. I took out each one carefully. They were pictures of their world, seen through this Burton's lenses. "Fantastic" I replied. "I have to share this with my friends." All Raven said, was, "I hope you do." And then she left as quiet as she came, her raven cawed as if in farewell. "Until the next time." it seemed to say, or maybe that was, "nevermore," but I couldn't tell for sure.

I am posting the pictures here to share with you all. The first one is at the beginning of this post. The other two are below. I hope you are as excited about this film as I am now. Thanks to Raven for sharing them with us. Also, there are more pictures posted from Luna on D.L. White's blog at "Storm in A Tea Cup."