Steampunk Top Hat Tutorial

Good morning crafty friends, I have promised to do a quick tutorial on how I made this steampunk top hat

from this coffee tub

I have written most of the information on each photo, so don't miss any pic out, and then some in between, be warned it has lots of photos ☺️ so grab yourself a brew, get comfy and start scrolling and reading. 

Firstly I cut a circle larger than the base of the tub out of a sheet of thick card and glued it on the bottom. 

I used Das air drying clay, but any clay that can be used in a mould will do, e. g hearty paperclay, clay made from Powertex and stone art. You're going to coat it in Powertex so it will become quite durable. 

Once dry I brushed over the whole piece with Powertex pigments mixed with their varnish

To decorate I used more of KatySue design moulds, the distressed cogs and the rusty pipes mainly, these are from their new Industrial Steampunk range along with the metal sheet mould used to cover the hat. 

I moulded them and once dry I painted them to look rusty and old and added some Powertex pigments and guiding wax, then stuck them on, all round and on the lid too. 

I made the goggles by covering 2 circles I cut from a kitchen roll and covered them with clay moulded from the same metal sheet mould, I added acetate behind each cog then stuck on to kitchen roll circles. The middle piece and side straps are actually made with a hinge mould also by KatySue Designs. I then added a little clay key and a flourish on each lens. 

So there you have it a Steampunk Top Hat that not only looks good but is also useful for storage. Even better made from rubbish that we would normally throw away. 

Just call me a Womble ;)

Even though this is a tutorial I'd still like to enter it into some challenges, hope thats ok.

We love 2 create - Sept -2019 -anything goes

Sandee-and-amelie.steampunk - sept - anything steampunk

Mix it up challenge - Sept - anything goes + optional 3D

A bit more time to craft Sept -anything goes #99

Thanks for looking, I'd love to hear what you think, or if you have any questions, feel free to leave me a comment. 

Big hugs Sue xx

My first Powertex fairy house

Morning all,

Last week I  finally got round to having a go with my Powertex. Been wanting to try a fairy house for ages. Once its set for 3 weeks it will be weatherproof and able to go outside. 

 and couldn't resist covering the front and back of a notebook too.  

Challenges:

Sandee-and-amelie.blogspot challenge-steampunk-summer-special

Altered eclectics -Anything mixed media 

613 Avenue create challenge - Anything Goes/Optional Twist – Magical / Fantasy

Brown sugar challenge - Fairies and fantasy

Thanks for looking 

Hugs Sue xx

Mixed media canvas and a new family member

Good morning everyone, hope your all feeling well today. I can finally get to use my new kitchen, yay! all cupboards are now full, and there's just the floor and a bit of decorating left to do. That means I've got my dining room back and can sit at my table and play with some new crafty stash I got from Sincerely Yours paper craft show last weekend.

 But before I do, here's a quick catchup....

I've been doing lots of craft fairs and artisan markets over the past 12 months and been a very bad blogger ( I know, hangs head in shame), so I'm hoping to get on here more often this year and share some of my crafty makes.

I decided to try some mixed media crafting over the last few weeks and after looking at some amazing talent on here Gabrielle Pollacco, I was inspired to have a go.
Now I know this is nowhere near as good as hers, but I'm pleased with my first attempt. I am going to add some wording, but its near enough finished.

The mermaid body was made from Das air dry clay, but turned out to be quite brittle once dry, and the strands of hair kept falling off. I have used glue gel to try and glue them back on, not sure if it will last long, as long as I don't keep touching it, it seems to be ok. *Note to self - use different clay next time*

For the background I used a few stencils, some stamping and loads of glimmer paints and gilding wax, over all sorts of media, such as chipboard, cheesecloth, mesh tape, die cuts and modelling paste. I even made my own bit of netting out of string.

I finished off with jewels, pearls, metal charms and even more gilding wax.

It now has pride of place on my mantle, although it doesn't match my rooms decor (brown with red accents)
I may decide to put it back in my dining room ( as in photo) now that it has been cleared of all my kitchen paraphernalia.

Hope you like it, and maybe you'll be inspired to have a go yourself, its great fun.

Challenges entered;
Pan Pastel UK - Stencils
Simon says stamp Wednesday challenge  - Anything goes
Our Creative Corner  - Junk in your trunk (string, cheesecloth, bits of paper)
Imagination crafts challenge- always anything goes
Simon says stamp - Monday challenge -hint of clover (green)
Country view challenge - Anything goes

Before I go I would like to introduce the latest addition to our family
This is Kira (black and gold girl) who you've met before and our new boy Logan (black). We've had him for about 8 /9 months now.
 He'll be 1 at the end of March and he's already taller than Kira, who's coming up to 4, this year.
 Isn't he a beauty?