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.

Pinstriped Suit Revamped

This past weekend we decided to attend a ragtime ball with live music at the Son's of Herman Hall in Dallas. (Sorry some of the pics are so blurry. I used the timer.)



His outfit was a wee more work than mine. But, I figure he can rewear the parts for steampunk events, too.



I got the idea to remake an old pinstriped wool suit into some "plus fours" with matching vest and newsboy cap. It worked pretty well! Somehow I got the knickerbockers a bit short for my liking, but they turned out okay. Next time I must remember to "measure twice, cut once". The vest was made from the suit jacket. I used an existing vest as a pattern for this one, aligning it over the existing rather large suit pockets the best I could. I used the existing plastic buttons, that I eventually want to replace with metal ones. The jacket lining also included two pockets for a total of 5 pockets on this vest! Can't have too many pockets, can you? I mean how else is he going to hold all my stuff?! LOL!

From what I had left of the suit jacket and pant legs, I made him a matching newsboy cap. I did some poking around online for a free newsboy pattern. I took inspiration from a couple tutorials here and here. These were a bit big and full, I think. I changed it up to a six panel crown. It took a few mockups to get something I was happy with. I could still pick at it, but it was pretty easy to put together.



For my outfit, I kept it pretty simple. I just put together a 20's flapper-style inspired outfit with some pieces I had around. The dress was one I think I once wore to a wedding banquet years ago. The length was a bit short for the time period, so I added a black skirt under it. The arm warmers were cut from tights and the head band is just a piece of lace trim with an elastic hair band sewn to it. I poked the ostrich feather into a barrette in back, which kept it from moving around when we danced. And, of course, I rolled my stocking down as any daring flapper would do.



It was an enjoyable night that was well worth the effort. And, boy are my tootsies sore from dancing! Later!

A trip to Charlie's Chocolate Factory...

...and more secondhand clothing reworked into costume pieces.



Way back at the beginning of February, we attended a Willy Wonka themed Burlesque show with a live performance by none other than our local favorites, Marquis of Vaudeville. The event was called "Gadgets and Gobstoppers" And , yes, I'm pretty late in posting about this. Had a scrumdiddlyumptious time, though!

For the event, I wanted to dress my sweety in some new duds inspired by what Wonka might wear. We found a bright red jacket secondhand and some matching scraps of red velvet in my craft stash. I dyed them with purple dye to make it burgundy. Then, I added some cuffs and striped trim. We had a bit of velvet left to make a matching hatband for one of his leather top hat that he made. The cane was another bargain from our flea market. I knew he needed it when we saw it. So unique for a cane. Though, we did have to shorten it a few inches. Must have belonged to one tall dude, cuz' my man ain't short at 6+ feet tall!



I also refitted a huge striped vest for him using another better fitting vest as a guide. It was an XXL to start. And, I changed out the buttons with some red enameled brass ones I got off of another suit jacket. (This pic was stolen from a friends album on facebook who got a shot of the vest while we were all dancing.)



My outfit was selected from parts I've worn before with a few new accessories I've picked up. Only real crafty thing was that I added a metal embellishment to the hat he made me that I posted about before here. The feather was just poked in there and can be replaced to match whatever I wear. The corset/bodice is my tabistry one from awhile back posted here.

I'm having fun aging photos in Photoshop. Must thank The Graphics Fairy for the vintage photo frames. Such useful imagery over there. I have another costume set to post about from this past weekend. So don't go anywhere!