Steampunk Crafts

I started this little thing called a Craft Exchange, back in December of 2012. Every 4 months, we hand-make crafts inspired by a different theme, and send them to all the other members, and then proceed to nerd out over techniques, tools, supplies, what went right, what went wrong. It’s loads of maker fun that feeds our creative side. We recently had our ELEVENTH exchange – and the theme was my favorite yet: STEAMPUNK.

Here’s part of our party table to kick-off CRAFTMAS where we exchange our projects. 🙂

I featured my project of antiqued bottles in a previous post. (You can see the full DIY for steampunk antique bottles here.) This is a close up of one of my favorites. Yes, that’s a skull, likely from a skunk.

Check out these completely AH-MAZING projects from our group:

Kayte started out making hardware bookends, but they magically turned into this awesome light. Here it is on:

And off.

We all gasped a little when we saw these shadow-box like clocks that Sabrina made. She created them using the Tim Holtz Idea-Ology Assemblage Clocks and personalized each one for us.

My heart may have fluttered a little when I saw it had a typewriter in it. <3

Donna is a whiz with her embroidery machine and created a custom cog monogram towel for each of the ladies in her group. Love.

Dawn left us guessing with how she made these cardboard letters look rusted. Turns out she used several layers of paint and pressed cinnamon into it while it was wet. Seriously, cinnamon! She said it didn’t take very much either. I’m going back to this technique, you can bet on it!

Sevi surprised us all with this ingenious and on-trend decorative orbs made from embroidery hoops. These would be so fun grouped together with different sizes.

Debbie made these beautiful textured collage boxes. She created the textures using templates and some kind of paste. The photo doesn’t do them justice!

Here’s a closer look.

Vanessa found these beautiful blue bottles at Goodwill and created a custom apothocary label for them. She also made personalized these journals with hardware finds. She did a much neater job than I would have attaching the hardware! You can’t even see any glue!

Meranda crafted us these stunners. I’m not sure what she officially calls them, but I think it’s the tree of life with a gorgeous aqua stone artfully placed. I’m in awe of how she created these with wire.

This sweet bud vase started out as a lightbulb, but after a few smashed bulbs (and glass everywhere), Anna decided to NOT make it hard on herself, lol! This is a lightbulb vessel with a cool copper napkin ring attached with E6000 to the bottom for support. Each had a gerber daisy in it. Now I keep it on my bathroom vanity with a fresh flower in it.

Sarah sort of has a reputation for locally sourcing all of her projects (like when she tapped her own trees for maple syrup, or grew her own blackberries for jam…insert eye roll here — in a good way). These beautiful necklaces were in keeping with her past achievements. All made with found sea glass!

Dorie made a kaleidoscope! I couldn’t get a good photo of the light through it, but instead of colored chips, she used clock parts. It all started with a cardboard mailing tube. How freaking cool is that?!

These gorgeous boxes did not photograph well, but I got really close to the top to show you. The effect and the feel is of alligator but it’s actually EGG SHELLS! Molly totally threw us for a loop with this technique. She hand placed and glued all the pieces to the top.

We’re all a little envious of Sharon’s kiln, but when she makes glass coasters this gorgeous and gives them to us, we’re just happy that we are friends, lol! She made a cog templates and somehow made these beautiful metallic coasters.

And then she used the templates and paint to customize a wooden box to put them in. (I spy more of Tim Holtz epherma here.) This is a close up.

Here’s a view from the side.

When I announced the theme for the projects, I expected (and welcomed) a lot of jewelry so I was happy to receive this fun pin from Angela. As you can see, it’s filled with hardware treasures, but the tray is actually a plastic cap that she sanded, painted and aged.  Love its industrial vibe.

Katie made these fashionable lace bracelets — but everyone wanted to wear them as a choker instead! Either way, awesome.

Paula made detailed textured mosaic wall art. I could stare at this for hours and probably see something new every few minutes. Very grungy good and I’m digging the dragon theme. (GOT anyone?)

These ladies are incredible — clearly. I continually energized by their creativity and commitment to this crazy idea I had to hold each other accountable for making maker-time a priority. I feel incredibly blessed to have this group of women who share a love for making and always inspiring me to try new things!

Our next theme is, “Holidays around the world.” I can’t wait to see what they come up with next!