Releasing Some More "Bottled" Up Creativity

Just got back from a haunting weekend trip to Jefferson, Texas where we attending the Steampunk Paranormal hybrid convention called "Nightmare Machine" organized by the Steampunk Illumination Society. Before we left for this exhausting weekend, I managed to make a few new things for my outfit. One was this monocle made from an aluminum bottle of an energy drink (Venom).



I polished off the paint with some steel wool and cut down the bottle, which is really thick. Much thicker than your ordinary can.



I cut out the opening in the cap and used some brown plastic from a root beer bottle for the lens. I cut the lense so that it stays in when you screw the lid on the bottle. So, you could change out the lenses to match an outfit, I suppose.



Then, I added the leather strap with a can tab buckle.



I used a short piece of aluminum wire on the buck and the ring to the side of the buckle that hold the strap down. These work really well.



The leather was all scraps from my man's leather hat making. He wastes a LOT. I'm going to have to get after him for that. But, I can't complain too much, cuz I always seem to find uses for it. :)



Pretty fast and easy project. I wore it briefly while we were at the event. I must confess, I'm not used to wearing things over my eyes. I don't even like sunglasses on my face. And, this piece really messes with your depth perception. But, darn it! I looked good. hehe :D



Although it was a bit warm in Jefferson, we managed to have a good time invading the town for the weekend. The locals were very friendly, gracious, and exceptionally curious. We got to answer many questions about what we were up to. BTW, although there are many nice B&Bs in and around Jefferson, we decided we wanted to camp and brought our yurt out to the local RV Park. It was more than we hoped for. The site that "Diamond Don", the RV park owner picked for us was beautiful. We had a nice view of the river. And, Don was really great. He made sure we weren't wanting for anything during our stay. Great hospitality.



I also managed to make some more tabistry for the trip. I made a top hat for the silent auction with a pair of "beer goggles" I discuss more on my tabistry blog (tabistry.blogspot.com). Hope you've enjoyed taking a looksee. I'll be back again after I've rested.