This should have been soooo easy

Ah steampunk, what a theme.  it must have been the gods smiling down on me to select such a challenge in this weeks Simon Say Stamp and Show. I mean what more justification can you have for purchasing some of the latest PaperArtsy hotpicks?

Well yes the gods may have been smiling but it was that manic ha ha we are going to take your inspiration away and now let's see how you get on (I'm sort of thinking Greek legend kind of scenario ethereal , white togas and lightening bolts - you know what I mean).  On my goodness - what a challenge it was.

It's taken me all week and it's nearly gone in the bin twice, but this morning I rolled up my sleeves and decided I would crack it.  

To be honest I'm not sure I did - what do you think?

Frame - painted in a dark navy paint and then a lightish grey with some pearl glaze mixed in over the top of some crackle glaze.  Waited for it to dry and then sanded back to distress.  A cogs stamp from Paper Artsy in black stazon all over and finally some walnut stain and distress ink on the edges.

Middle - this is where it got painful.  I first started off with some grey metal embossed in a cogs folder, die cut a clock face and distressed and this was going to go over the top with this gentleman and these birds on top. as you can see only the gentleman and birds remained!

So this morning I started again, glued a page from an old book onto some card, covered with some Antique Linen and Crushed Olive distress stain and then some picket fence. Added various background stamps of Paper Artsy splodges, coffee stains and clocks.

Using a piece of Tim paper I inked with brushed corduroy stain , sprinkled on some walnut stain distress powder, flicked and rubbed of some of it and then heated.  

Once it was cool, gave it another rub over and added some dried marigold stain on top of that.  Ran it through the cogs die, added some bits of ideology and glued everything down with my glue gun.

I'm not sure it's what I was trying to achieve and I'm not sure it's really steampunk, I think it needs much more metal and sprockets and springs to give it more of a  "clanky victorian look" and I think I wanted to make something 3D that suggested movement like a lady dancing in a jewel box (am I talking gibberish - do tell me and I'll stop).

Right that's it I've spent far too long agonising over it  - time to move on to the next challenge: is it going to rain again today and what do I wear to the rugby?

hugs

jo

xx