Sunday, September 21, 2014

Steampunk Therapy

Hello! I am so glad to be back to my blog and creating once again!  I've been in a bit of a funk lately. Too many things keeping me busy and no time to create can make a girl grumpy!  I am so glad that it is my turn to share at Anything But a Card.  Gave me a good excuse to bypass laundry and cleaning since I 'had' to make something!

Our challenge this month is Steampunk and those of you who know me well, know that this is quite out of my comfort zone.  I had never made anything Steampunky before joining this team, but the ladies at ABAC are so supportive and encourage everyone to grow, so I can happily say this is my second Steampunk creation.  I still struggle with getting what I want in my head transferred to paper, but it is a lot of fun and a good excuse to buy new things or dig through your treasures for something that will work.

I honestly had NO clue what this was going to be when I started.  I'm still not sure I know exactly what it is, but it was a lot of fun to play!  All I can tell you it is an ATC that features some industrial flower- like things growing in an imperfect garden!


I started with a piece of watercolor paper since I wasn't sure how inky it would get and I wanted it to be sturdy with the metal that was sure to appear on a steampunk piece.  I used the dots mask and a stipple brush to apply so saffron,  crumb cake, and soft suede inks.  Then I added the background stamp Backgrounds Rule in soft suede.  I was sure I had some images or embellishments that would work, but couldn't come up with anything that I liked together. I had this cog image in my head at this point and had zero 'gears' stuff to use.  I improvised with the spoked wheel of a bicycle stamp.  When I finished stamping a row of them, they looked more like flowers than cogs... That got my muse going! Flowers aren't very industrial-unless they have metal centers and copper stems! I also came across a left-over die cut flower and colored it with a copper sharpie and stippled soft suede ink over it to dull it down a bit.  An old button and some metal brads gave the flowers just the right touch of punk, and the copper sharpie made some nice little stems too.  I thought the Tim Holtz tag was the perfect mantra for this piece.  Not everyone can make flowers from bicycle wheels...

I hope you have been inspired to step out of your comfort zone or at the very least, find a new way to use your stamps!  I also hope you will join us at Anything But a Card this month!  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Project Recipe: watercolor paper, Inks-so saffron, crumb cake, soft suede, early espresso, Stamps-backgrounds rule, bicycle from Paper Pumpkin kit, metal brads, crochet trim, TH metal tag, button from antique/collectable shop, copper Sharpie

7 comments:

  1. WOW! Margaret, your bicycle spoke flowers are absolutely stunning!!! I would have never thought of something like that but I love the look! Steampunk and sensational!!!
    Lynn

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  2. Love your steampunky flowers. That stamp was inspirational. Cheers, Di

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  3. I likey very much Margaret! That funk creeps up slowly but certainly hits with a force doesn't it! I hope you have swept it away! Nothing like a bit of creative to make the whole world seem OK!

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  4. Good Golly Miss Molly...I'm blown away. LOL..little fuzzy flower pun there...
    But seriously...for this not being your 'thing' I'm gonna say that you might want to re-think that. You did an INCREDIBLE job with theme. The ruler in the background made my heart go pitter patter, but then using part of bike stamp, pure genius! It's artists like you that make the rest of us think outside the box. Your card is FANTASTIC! Absolutely love your steampunk creation. :)
    Big hugs to you SIB,
    Sib2

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  5. Margaret - love your "garden" with all your gears growing!!!! Sew creative as an ATC card!!!!
    Thrilled to be part of this talented group!!!
    Much hugs, love, and friendship
    Lynne, aka Her Craftiness

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  6. Oh my gosh Margaret, it may be out of your comfort zone but it's totally fabulous. I love your ATC!!!
    I've been burning the candle at both ends myself and not a lot of crafty/blog time lately. The "heavy duty" cleaning bug bit me and I have to strike while the iron is hot. KWIM? lol Hope you and your family are doing well. xx

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