Inspiration File: Steampunk Christmas Ornaments!

To wile away my craft-deficient hours on the book tour, I spent a lot of time researching and brainstorming all the ways one might steampunk out some holiday ornaments. There's not a whole lot out there by way of inspiration, but I've put together the best of what I did find.

First, a nice touch of gears and brass on a traditional ornament:

$19.95 from Lala Dangerous


Next, a filigree wrapped vacuum tube!

$15 from Mad Scientists Designs


These are the ones I was most sorely tempted to buy:

$21 for all 3 by Designs by Friston

I think I actually swooned over that orange hot air balloon. DO WANT.


This set of gear ornaments by Dreamful Designs has since sold out, but it remains the only set of gear ornaments I've been able to find online:

They're also made of leather, which means they have a good side and rougher, "bad" side.

Frankly, I'm amazed no one out there is manufacturing large brass gear ornaments! I thought steampunk had gone mainstream enough to warrant it, but sadly, that doesn't seem to be the case. Maybe next year?

Of course, since we're not willing to wait, John and I are in the process of making our own gear ornaments. More on that in my next ornament post, though.

Moving on, I managed to find these beauties by way of Hawksmoor's Bazaar, which has a lovely post on all kinds of holiday steampunkery.

Those snowflakes are each made with clock hands. Aren't they gorgeous? They're available in white, brass, and black, and - the best part - are only $5 each over at Antickquities. I love how it's an oh-so-subtle steampunk touch - and also how each design is different!

I happened to mention on the Epbot Facebook page my quest for steamy ornaments, and the next thing I knew, I had some of you lovely readers bringing me handmade beauties like this:

This is a clear craft ornament filled with a clock spring, gems, a tiny locket, gears, beads, and even a smashed penny or two. The tiny silver beads clinging to the "glass" (it's actually plastic) roll around like a snowglobe, revealing all the treasures inside as you turn it.

Here's another angle:

This is the handiwork of readers Heather & Elizabeth. Thanks again, ladies!

Oh, and the ornament isn't a traditional ball; it's flattened and relatively thin, as you can kind of see from the second photo. I'd love to find some myself for craft-ventures, but so far, no dice. Anyone know where I can buy them?

[Edit: looks like these are available at Michaels and maybe Hobby Lobby. Thanks, everyone!]

Reader J. G. went so far as to mail me a few Victorian- style ornaments, so I had them waiting for me when I got home. Here's my favorite:

Hit the pic to see the big version; the texture and detail is stunning.

And finally, hold on to your top hats, because Sharyn made me the Ultimate Steampunk Pine Cone of Craftiness:

Every bit of it is hand made and designed.

Just look at this detail:

The top hanger has a wire sphere with a gem inside:

And one more beauty shot, since you can tell I was having too much fun with my photo cube:

Preeeeetty.

I have more ornaments to share with you, so stay tuned for all the bits and pieces John and I are modifying and making.

'Til then, though, here are a few lists I came up with on the tour to help me shop and search and craft to get my steampunk tree theme off the ground. I ended up using elements from all of the lists, but you can be as specialized as you like.

Mad Scientist Steampunk:

Glass test tubes (fill with wire, colored water/oil, glitter, etc.)
Copper wiring/tubes, twisted into simple shapes
Metallic/copper Cyberlox for garland
Small clear glass bottles, mirrors, monocles, lenses
Vintage bubble lights
Tree topper options: Plasma ball, goggles, more copper wire, antique brass microscope


Aviator Steampunk

Rope knot ornaments (research sailor's knots)
Hot air balloons & dirigibles
Birds: hawks & owls
Mini brass telescopes (available as a necklace on Ebay)
Thick cotton rope garland
Globes, maps, & atlases
Astrolabes
Other brass nautical equipment
Topper ideas: globe, astrolabe, model dirigible


Deep Sea Diver / 20,000 Leagues/ BioShock

Miniature divers helmets (available as a necklace on Ebay & Etsy)
Any and all nautical items mentioned above
Bosuns whistle
Octopodes! :D
Tentacles, seahorses, exotic fish
Coral
Lots of clear/iridescent glass ornaments (to look like bubbles)
Topper ideas: Diver's helmet (lit from inside?)


Stylized Steampunk (Generic - useful in all genres)

Pocket watches
Clock parts, hands, gears
Antique keys
Brass wings
Typewriter keys
Goggles


Victorian influence - mix with any/all steampunk genres

Velvets, satins, furs, & corset lacing
Lace, netting
Feathers
Rich colors (purples, burgundies, bottle greens, and other jewel tones)
Top hats & fascinators
Crystals and other sparkly gems
Topper idea: Top hat with feathers/googles

The most important thing to remember when decorating with a steampunk theme? It doesn't have to be all brown. Don't be afraid to use lots of rich color - the Victorians weren't! Besides, who wants a drab Christmas tree? Pour on brilliant jewel tones, and your home will be that much warmer for it - and I guarantee it will look just as steamy.

I'll leave you with these vintage hot air balloon ornaments I tried (and failed) to buy on Ebay:

Can you can see these fitting in with a steampunk tree?

Ok, I know it's a stretch, but I was totally willing to try. They're just so stinkin' cheerful, you know?


So tell me, guys, what did I miss on my inspiration lists? Let me know in the comments!

DIY Upgrade For Your Christmas Tree!

This year I got it into my head that I wanted a more natural looking, flocked Christmas tree. (Translation: fake snow on it. And maybe some pine cones.) Here's an example I found online:

This 7.5 foot tree costs over $400. Yee-OUCH.

So I started watching all the sales, and John and I hit every store we could think of, but all the artificial trees were either too tall (we like 6.5 foot trees), too expensive, or out of stock. Plus, the fake snow was always so flaky; bump it, and the powdery stuff goes everywhere!

Finally, I started thinking how we could reuse our burnt-out pre-lit tree from last year. It's a nice enough tree that we've had a few years, but half the light strands wired into it blew out, way beyond repair.

In the end, we went from this:
(minus the pine cones; I forgot to take a proper "before" pic)

To this!

Here's how we did it:

First, John spent a night painstakingly cutting off all of the pre-wired light strands. By the time he was done our living room carpet was littered with hundreds of plastic tie-clips - yikes!

Next I started researching fake snow kits. They exist, but start around $40 - too rich for my blood. Canned spray snow (which we dutifully purchased and tested) looks like chalky white spray paint; there's no texture or body to it, and it gets all over you if you brush up against it.

There are recipes online for mixing Elmer's glue with shaving cream, or Ivory soap flakes with glue, etc, but I didn't have those items on hand and I was convinced there had to be an easier way.

We finally decided to test slightly watered down lightweight drywall Spackle. (The lightweight part is very important - don't try this with heavy weight!)

Mixed up, it looks like this:

Using a stiff bristled chip brush, I did a test batch on a piece of garland:

Not bad! And once it dried it was nice and hard; no powdery residue, no shower of flakes.

Next John and I did some serious research into the flammability of this stuff - I don't want anyone burning their house down because of one of my tutorials! John even went so far as to take the garland outside and set it on fire. Which smelled so, so bad.

Bottom line: yes, it will burn (as will your artificial Christmas tree, if put in a direct flame) but no more so than anything else. Obviously it's not flame-retardant, but I'm comfortable saying your Christmas lights won't make the stuff ignite. (We also looked up the MSDS, the Material Safety Data Sheets, and found nothing to indicate any increased flammability. Expert opinions are still welcome, though!)

Now, before I could flock the tree I needed to attach my pine cones. Surprisingly, pine cones are really hard to find in stores! We found crushed potpourri-soaked ones, and a few small ones in floral sprigs, but that was it. Urg.

Finally we found an entire pine cone wreath at JoAnne's on sale down from $40 to $12. Even better, each of the 40+ pine cones already had a floral wire secured to the bottom. SOLD!

John disassembled the wreath and added more floral wire to each cone so I could attach them to the tree branches:

Then I attached them randomly around the tree:

Next came the fun part:

Painting the tree!

If you try this, don't be afraid to use a really heavy hand with your Spackle. The more clumpy it is, the better it looks! Concentrate the heavy clumps with a stippling motion on surface areas where snow would naturally fall, and then brush the branches around it to give them a lighter dusting of Spackle. If you're like me, you'll find yourself going back to add more and more with each pass as you see how nice it looks.

In fact, in the end I think our tree turned out WAY better than any flocked tree I've seen:

Also, to add a little sparkle, I stopped every five minutes or so and sprinkled white iridescent glitter all over the wet Spackle. It's a subtle glimmer - and ohmygosh so messy - but I think well worth it. Since the Spackle dries with a matte finish, the glitter adds a bit of shine.

To be honest, John and I were completely gobsmacked this came out as well as it did - and how easy it was to do! (Although I wouldn't let John do any of the painting. That was all me. :D)

And here she is again, in all her snowy glory:

I'm getting a total Narnia vibe. And I love it.

(Also notice Tonks down there rolling in all the excess glitter. Greeeeeaaat.)

I used two tiny batches of Spackle to do the entire 6.5 foot tree, and it took me maybe an hour. Since we already had the Spackle in the garage, the only expense was the $12 pine cones - and we got to salvage something destined for the trash! Now that's my kind of craft project.

This is only the beginning, though: this is going to be our steampunked Christmas tree, so we have much, MUCH more in store for it. And I am so excited. Stay tuned!

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* Want to see how my tree looks after being stored in the garage for a year? Updated pics here!

Then come see ALL of my craft projects on one page, right here!