An Assistant’s Introduction

Guest Blog by our assistant Kara

Let me begin, just this once, by stating the obvious. I have an awesome job. In fact, I think I have several, so I feel very fortunate. I am a firm believer in doing what you love first and then finding a way to make it profitable, even if it means living on bags of steamed broccoli every now and then in order to pay for an incredible experience (yes, I have done this, and yes, it was worth it). So, enter Frenzy. I met K and M entirely by chance in the summer of 2010 when, fed up with the lack of respectable, “non-shady” modeling opportunities in Ohio, I replied to an ad on Craigslist for what sounded like an amazing job. In all honesty, it seemed too good to be true. I was hired to be a promotional model for Nick Valentino, author of the steampunk adventure novel Thomas Riley. He sounded professional and generous, not at all like your typical Craigslist employer, and he mentioned that I would be able to borrow a steampunk costume from his friends at Frenzy Universe. He sent me a link to the Frenzy website, and I immediately bookmarked it. I couldn’t wait to meet the owners of the shop! I remember being very nervous when I arrived at Origins Gaming Convention on the first day of my “gig” . I was afraid that the Frenzygals wouldn’t like me. I was worried that I wouldn’t be steampunk enough. I didn’t know a lot about the genre other than what a lifetime of interest in historical fashion and science fiction (plus a few years working at the Renaissance Festival) had taught me. What I did know was that I loved Frenzy’s designs, and I felt right at home amidst the polite Origins crowd.

I came to be an employee of Frenzy Universe on a whim, one rainy day several months after the convention ended. For my day job, I’m a professional musician (I can practically hear all of you artists and musicians laughing at that statement!) and a writer. Needless to say, I have many part-time ventures, as some months can be rather slow. In the autumn of 2010, I was starting to stock up on the bags of broccoli in anticipation of a “sparse” financial season. Deciding that I had nothing to lose, I sent K and M an e-mail asking whether or not they might ever need some extra help in any area of their business. I tried to make myself sound useful by explaining my background as a columnist and a copy writer, but I mostly ended up writing a plea for them to help me channel my love of fashion and history. I fully expected them to decline, actually. I was shocked when I received a prompt response saying that they were very interested and would like to discuss details with me. I started daydreaming about having enough money to buy proper meals and historically accurate Georgian panniers!

Being succinct has never been one of my strong points, so I’ll skip ahead. Anyway, here I am today, with my Georgian panniers, celebrating a year of working for the lovely Frenzy ladies.  It’s a bit strange to think that I’ve known K and M for such a short period of time, as they seem like lifelong friends! They aren’t paying me to say any of this, by the way, although they do occasionally tempt me with candy and delicious wine (not to mention the incredible clothing and accessories). One of the most important things about my job with Frenzy is the inspiration I receive to be creative. K and M inspire me to create rather than just consume. They encourage me to try new things without worrying about failure, often when I have no idea what I’m doing (making medals, bending copper, handling very hot tools, dyeing clothing, distressing fabric panels, the list goes on and on). When I leave each day to return to Columbus, I spend the hour-long drive entirely occupied by the ideas swimming around in my brain, antsy to get home so I can start working on them.  In the span of my life, I haven’t made as many things by hand as I have in just the past year of working at Frenzy Universe. My late grandmother, a fabulous seamstress with boundless creativity, would hopefully be proud to know that I received my first sewing machine as an early birthday gift this past summer, and along with it, inherited her favourite sewing scissors. I have Frenzy to thank for encouraging that interest.

Coming up next”¦ my typical day at the Frenzy studio! I’ll give you a hint”¦ there is never a “typical” day!

NOTE FROM THE FRENZYGALS: Check out Kara’s band LONE RAVEN… they are great! (And we weren’t paid to say that… really.)

Evil Plans of the Frenzygals Revealed in Honor of Villain Week

In looking for Villain-esque things to share this week in keeping with our theme, M came across an Evil Plan Generator that has you choose 14 different words/phrases based on different themes and then weaves them together for you into a mad lib of sorts. K wondered why she wouldn’t just use the plan she had already developed but went along with the game anyway. M decided she needed help as Evil is not her default setting, just one of the stages of transformation she sometimes goes through on her way to resolving problems. Our assistant, Kara, wanted to play too and we think hers turned out pretty well.

If you want to create your own plan you can do so by clicking HERE and following the link. Or you can just make one up drawing from your personal experiences and desires for world domination. Your choice.

For inspiration we are including the results M, K, and our assistant got using the generator…

M’s Plan

Your objective is simple: Soul Accumulation

Your motive is a little bit more complex: Love (Yes, it works)

Stage One: To begin your plan, you must first Kidnap a Scientist. This will cause the world to sit up and take notice, stunned by your arrival. Who is this Threat to our Children? Where did they come from? And why do they look so good in a Robotic Exoskeleton?

Stage Two: Next, you will Seize control of the Moon (ooh, tides!). This will cause countless hordes of Robot Warriors to flock to you, begging to do your every bidding. Your name will become synonymous with Fuzzy bunnies, as lesser men whisper your name in terror.

Stage Three: Finally, you will Unleash your Needlessly Big Weather Machine, bringing about Something That’s Really Metal. This will all be done from a Warehouse, an excellent choice if we might say. These three deeds will herald the end, and the citizens of this planet will have no choice but to elect you their new god.

Demon Shimmer’s Plan (This is our assistant’s Evil Mermaid Name)

Your objective is simple: World Domination

Your motive is a little bit more complex: So another race can take over

Stage One: To begin your plan, you must first Seduce a Pope. This will cause the world to sit up and take notice, stunned by your arrival. Who is this Threat to our Children? Where did they come from? And why do they look so good in Classic Black?

Stage Two: Next, you will Steal the Internet. This will cause countless hordes of Animal Minions (rats, birds, etc.) to flock to you, begging to do your every bidding. Your name will become synonymous with Insanity, as lesser men whisper your name in terror.

Stage Three: Finally, you will Activate your Plague of Doom, bringing about Nightmares for every Man, Woman and Child. This will all be done from a Floating Fortress, an excellent choice if we might say. These three deeds will herald the end, and the citizens of this planet will have no choice but to elect you their new god.

Bloody Grace Flint’s Plan – K has chosen to use her Pirate Name.

Your objective is simple: Widespread Misery

Your motive is a little bit more complex: Power

Stage One: To begin your plan, you must first Expose a Scientist. This will cause the world to sit up and take notice, stunned by your arrival. Who is this Unholy Menace? Where did they come from? And why do they look so good as a Dark Gunslinger?

Stage Two: Next, you will Destroy the Grand Canyon. This will cause countless hordes of the Undead to flock to you, begging to do your every bidding. Your name will become synonymous with Slaughter, as lesser men whisper your name in terror.

Stage Three: Finally, you will Unleash your Armies of Destruction, bringing about the End of All Things. This will all be done from an Amusement Park, an excellent choice if we might say. These three deeds will herald the end, and the citizens of this planet will have no choice but to elect you their new god.

It was a fun way to waste some time this afternoon and led to us discussing truly evil plans and how we would actually attempt to take over the world. It became pretty clear that M is not really diabolical enough for the job, but K is well-suited for World Domination and as long as M stays on her good side everything should work out okay.

Share YOUR results here in the comments!

How to Be a Villain – the Frenzy Universe Way

It isn’t easy being evil. Really, who has the time to stay up to date on all the latest technology? And the field of competitors is constantly growing!

While we may not know from personal experience, we’ve read lots of books, seen lots of movies, and generally just like the villains better than the heroes most of the time. So, here is our list of traits we think make a great villain… or at least make us chuckle our evil chuckles and twirl our imaginary devilish mustaches.

1. A Sense of Injustice and the Unfairness of it All – Go with us on this one, when you look at most villains they usually have a point. A good reason for your villainy is always preferential as it makes recruiting underlings much easier. Evil for evil’s sake works for some people, but most of us need MOTIVATION to feed our monomania.
2. Persistence – bringing your plans for world domination to fruition often requires you to be ruthless and steadfast in your course of action. Dedication to one’s cause is absolutely necessary. If you give up too easily, well, you weren’t really serious then, were you?
3. Patience – As a villain you will most likely have limited access to object of your intense dislike and may have years to stew over the injustice done to you by said object. You can use that time to hone your evil skills and plans for revenge, to recruit henchmen and train them to fear you, and to develop a truly twisted and unexpected reveal of your tactics and motivations. Patience is a virtue, and even evil geniuses can be virtuous at times.
4. Scientific Training – Have you ever noticed how many villains are doctors? Dr. Doom, Dr. Evil, Dr. Horrible, Dr. Seuss … okay, so maybe not that last one. A familiarity with the principles of chemistry, physics, and biology are quite beneficial to anyone desiring to wreak havoc or cause mass hysteria. Knowledge IS Power after all and supervillains crave power.
5. A Sense of Humor – We mustn’t forget the importance of being witty and sarcastic in the face of opposition. It throws them off and makes them think they can talk you down because you can’t be really serious if you are cracking jokes. But you know the truth. Besides, the bad guys often have the BEST comebacks, don’t they?
6. Henchmen – No woman (or man) is an island, and as the Big Boss you shouldn’t have to get your hands dirty. Therefore, you need underlings to do your bidding. Whether you recruit with fear, a compelling dogma, or simply a monetary arrangement, you will need to have people you can control and trust. You can call them what you like – thugs, henchmen, underlings, minions – but peeps you can trust (or at least pay/bribe/blackmail) are necessary.
7. Facial Hair – We aren’t sure why, but people always look more evil with impressive facial hair. In fact, some particular versions of the mustache have been named after famous real-life villains. It could be that it hides your face. It could be that it gives you something to twirl when making your evil plans. While not essential, a spectacular ‘stache or well-arched eyebrows can truly assist with the whole “looking the part” thing.
8. An Evil Laugh – This is absolutely essential. The bigger, louder, and more maniacal, the better. If you can master starting small and growing the laugh until it fills a room, then you are well on your way. Of course, it also makes it easier for everyone around you to know for sure when you are being diabolical, which enhances your evilness.
9. A Pet – Cats and reptiles seem to be the most common choices, which are fitting as cats are inherently evil and reptiles can be scary, but you could make just about anything work. It gives you a “sidekick” without having to have tenderness towards another human being, which could be exploited to foil your evil plans.
10. A Secret Lair – Having a base of operations gives you a place to hold meetings with other villains to build evil alliances, somewhere to store your equipment and scheme your schemes. It doesn’t have to be an elaborate underground tunnel system, or a chateau in the mountains (although how cool would that be!), but you should at least have your own place. Living above the garage or in your parents’ basement doesn’t really cut it.

There are lots of little nuances and intricacies to creating your supervillain alter-ego that we haven’t even begun to investigate here. We hope this gives you at least a good foundation on which to build a truly evil empire.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

Book Review 11/10 (Yes! I loved it that much!)

I have been meaning to read this book for ages, or ever since I first saw a copy of it propped up at a Barnes & Noble store about 4 years ago. It just kept getting pushed down the list as more boring, pressing, business-relevant information came to light. When I was planning what to take on my vacation to read, this book was grabbed first and I’m so glad it was!

The book is started in a kind of Quentin Tarantino-esque manner by giving you a glimpse at the pivotal plot point first and then taking you into the story and building back up to that climax. Ms. Gruen expertly transports you from the present life of the aged Jacob in an assisted living center back in time through his personal reverie to his intoxicating life as a First of May in a Depression Era traveling circus.

You see the drastic difference between the vigorous young man he once was and the ailing elderly man in his 90s he has become. You get lost in the telling of his past, and so you feel the same jerking the old Jacob feels when pulled back into his life in the home. I wanted to curl up inside his memories and ignore the harsh realities of aging, just as he did.

The descriptions of the circus and the rough lives of the performers and laborers behind the great shows are dead on and you can tell the author did a lot of research and approached the subject with respect and a need to “get it right.” A true behind-the-scenes look at circus life is rare, especially the darker side of the spectacles.

My heart soared, raced, and broke with the rollercoaster telling of lust, romance, jealousy, rage, and triumph. I devoured the book in an afternoon. As I often do when reading a truly excellent book, I started to get anxious and distraught as the number of pages to the back cover began to dwindle and I realized I would soon have to leave this wonderful world. I was honestly surprised when the climactic moment arrived and the plot twist was revealed.

Ms. Gruen made the gritty, beautiful world dance with her words, and left me craving more. I also now want to learn Polish and adopt a retired circus elephant, but I think instead I will have to rent the movie version and see if they did justice to the brilliance of the carefully, lovingly crafted written version that has taken my dreams hostage.

- M of the frenzygals

Let’s All Go to the Library!

In recent years we have become aware of an alarming number of communities in need of launching crusades to save their local library from budget cuts and community disinterest.

Raised in a family of 5 children where there wasn’t much money left over for recreation, we relied heavily on the local library for entertainment, enrichment, and access to information that was otherwise out of reach to us in a rural community.

Many happy hours were spent wandering the stacks picking up tomes with interesting titles or lovely cover art. We found many friends on those shelves with whom we are still intimately acquainted today.

The librarians were kind and often made fantastic recommendations based on our reading history and opened new worlds to us by simply pointing us to the card catalog and teaching us how to use it. Vital research skills were learned in our local library as well as ways of organizing and classifying the “stuff” in our lives.

Both K and I worked our way through college working at libraries and were grateful for the money garnered by shelving endless carts of books. We practically memorized the Dewey Decimal system and still find that knowledge useful today when researching topics of interest. We rely on the local library to get us technique books for projects and to entertain with movies and CDs we can borrow. The local library is actually how M managed to get caught up on LOST when she found herself sucked in halfway through the 3rd season.

If you haven’t been to a library recently, please visit one soon. Renew your library card or sign up for one. (M actually has 5 library cards from different cities in which she has lived. Take advantage of this amazing resource in your neighborhood and encourage others to do the same. They are worth saving and deserve our patronage.

- M of the frenzygals

Cowboys & Aliens* – A Movie Review

We decided to blow off work one evening (meaning we left work at 6:45 instead of staying until midnight) to go see Cowboys & Aliens. We first heard about this movie at the Victorian Ladies’ Sewing Circle we hosted at SteamCon II in Seattle in November 2010. It was a joke at the time and all in attendance had a good time speculating on what the movie would hold for us and whether it would be entertaining or not. The general consensus was that with James Bond (Daniel Craig), Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) AND aliens, it would definitely entertain.

Having never read the comic book, we had no real idea what to expect. The movie poster alone was encouraging – yes we also judge books by their covers – as it reminded us of a good old-fashioned Western poster. We armed ourselves with summer movie must-haves, a large popcorn with double butter and a drink, found our seats 1/3rd of the way to the front and got comfortable.

The movie started in typical Western fashion with a man in the wilds alone being suddenly confronted with a posse of bandits thinking they had found easy prey. That’s when a hybrid of Jason Bourne & Frank Martin takes over Daniel Craig and we get the start of the action and learn our lone stranger is kind of a badass. He soon turns into the stereotypical new guy in town who stands up to the powers that be without guessing the consequences. We looked forward to meeting the big boss, but were honestly disappointed by Harrison Ford’s portrayal of the big bad business man who runs the town. The descriptions levied by the other characters left us hoping he would be tough as nails and a lot grittier than we’ve seen Ford in recent films, but alas, he was more crotchety old geezer and less ruthless money man.

While K’s beau may never forgive us for saying this, Olivia Wilde was disappointing and her acting was flat. She basically served as a way too convenient plot device. The aliens were cool when they showed up zipping through the skies torching everything in their paths and grabbing victims left and right, but once we got a look at them they were stereotypical at best.

A lot of the plot was contrived and laugh out loud ridiculous, but it did actually make us laugh out loud and so wins some points because of it. We enjoyed watching Daniel Craig (excuse us, but he IS rather beautiful to look at) and we like movies that are anachronistic. It definitely falls into the Popcorn Flick category, which isn’t a bad thing in our book. It was an enjoyable way to spend an evening but we probably won’t rush out and add it to our DVD collection when it becomes available.

*Cowboys & Aliens (2011, DreamWorks Pictures) directed by Jon Favreau.

For the Love of Math    (by M of the frenzygals)

I have lately been rather down on math in general as a result of having to do so much accounting and tax paperwork. (Much to the chagrin of several of my Engineer friends.) However, a recent trip to the Akron Art Museum with a friend has caused me to have a change of heart and I can now see the beauty and perfection that math can create.

Escher's Verbum

While I was peripherally familiar with some of M.C. Escher’s work, it wasn’t until I walked into the exhibit hall that I was really confronted with the variety of his skills and the complexities of his dedication to his art. It was my first real experience with tessellations and fractals (and the proper terminology for them) and I must confess I was a bit overwhelmed and awed by his mastery of other complex mathematical concepts as well. I had heard of Mobius strips and forced perspectives, and have had the crystalline structures of nature explained to me by K in her excited geologist’s tone, but I had not been prepared for the seemingly simplistic yet obviously laborious portrayal of their existence evidenced in Escher’s lifelong pursuit of understanding. Also the breadth of his mediums of choice was impressive. Until that day I had absolutely no idea the amount of steps and work involved in creating a lithograph. (Not to mention I didn’t really know what a lithograph really was.)

It was a surprisingly intimate experience to be able to see the evolution of the artist and his skills through the

Escher's Horsemen

display of art he created throughout his life. You could really see the increase in his mastery of the different forms and structures he chose as his subjects as he grew older. His unwavering determination to show the world to us from a new perspective through the marriage of math and art was inspiring. The exhibit was well done with plaques that provided Escher’s own words about his work and the concepts he struggled with. His enthusiasm for what some consider to be “lesser” art forms – illustration and animation – struck a chord with me as I often feel people get told what is art and what is not instead of deciding it for themselves.

Escher's Other World

My favorite part of the exhibit was the feeling with which I left the gallery. I left with a sense that everything comes from and feeds into everything else ad infinitum. Describing and experiencing the universe through math can be rewarding, creative, and surprising. I love having my eyes opened to new possibilities. It is always refreshing in an exceedingly jaded world to discover new things that re-excite you to the mundane wonders surrounding us every day.

I will leave you with a lovely quote I had to write down from one of the plaques:

Escher's Magic Mirror

“If we are going to construct a universe then let it not be some vague abstraction but rather a concrete image of recognizable objects.”

For some great information on the Math of Escher visit this website: http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/lessons/middle/tessell.htm

Circus-a-Day Project Recap of Week 17

Days 113-114 (K) Fortune Teller Necklaces Continued… & (M) 3D Quilling and Dye Experiments

K here. I’ve been working for four days on this series of necklaces. I started months ago by making the soldered charms, and I finished the fourth one tonight. Those of you who make jewelry will understand how obsessed I was with making sure they all hung properly and carried the theme. Each one contains one fortune and a color theme, from pink for love to green for money. I definitely think these will impart good fortune to their eventual wearers!

Also, I’ve learned that I am very stingy. It was hard for me to part with so many different supplies, especially the unique pieces, such as the old cash-register key in the green necklace, the lucky penny in the purple necklace, and the voodoo dolly in the pink one. But I am learning and getting better at letting go of my hoard!

M has been looking for creative ways to expand her quilling skills and hit upon some examples of 3D quilling. I decided to try my hand at it by making a flowerpot and free standing flower. It took quite some time to quill the flower pot and lots of glue to coat it to keep its shape. I used a toothpick covered with green paper as the stem and glued the flower to the top. The flowerpot turned out a bit lopsided so it didn’t want to stay on its own very well. Better luck next time.

M also spent some time tea staining petticoats and hand dyeing some other items we have in our stock that weren’t moving in their original plain white state. They turned out not quite as expected from the dye colors, but I learned a lot about dying things and that you should always use at least double the dye, leave the item in the dye at least twice as long as suggested, and you must use the salt recommended and apparently vinegar as well. Still learning how to do this, so hopefully we will have some better color in the future.

Day 115 & 116 (M) BedTime JimJams & Badge Ribbons

M has been working on these jimjams for over a year and finally got the buttonholes sewn for the drawstrings thanks to her new sewing machine and was able to finish the waistbands thanks to her lovely serger. Then using a bodkin (seriously one of the best and simplest inventions ever) she threaded the velvet ribbon drawstrings. Using the ribbon printer we bought last year I was able to make custom tags for the jimjams with all the legally required info such as fiber content and washing instructions. They look so legit! While I had the ribbon printer up, I learned to change the foils and printed up some custom badge ribbons to hand out at conventions. K helped by coming up with some clever sayings and keeping me on task as we were trying to get the van loaded to leave for San Antonio and I have a tendency to get sidetracked and waste time.

Day 117

Our first day of driving for the trip to San Antonio and AetherFest. We drove through some rain (again) and the silver lining of it this time were the gorgeous cotton candy clouds we witnessed at sunset. It may not be very Steampunky but cotton candy and circuses go hand in hand so we are totally counting this!

Day 118 The Peanut Shoppe

We made a stop on our way to San Antonio at The Peanut Shoppe after seeing the billboards for miles. It looked like a 70s throwback from the rainbow signage and we knew it would have to be good. Endless supplies of sugary treats, nutty goodness, and real beef jerkey did not disappoint! We bought atub of peanut brittle to share around at the convention, some beef jerkey, and some jalapeno brittle which K brought home to her beau. They also had quite the supply of sour ball candies and gummi bears! Just what we like!

Day 119 Circus Pretzels

Our circus for today was provided by our friend Jed. We met via our Facebook page when he started posting his amazing creations and we were instant fangirls. When he found out we were gonna be in his part of the country we made plans to meet up. M was surprised when a man who looked suspiciously like Abraham Lincoln walked up to her and extended his hand in greeting as if he knew her… then she read his name tag and realized he did know her, after a fashion. Well, being the awesome fella he is, he brought us pastel pretzels for our sweet cravings and our circus! Yaay, for friends!!

Circus-a-Day Project Recap of Week 16

Days 106-108

Saturday (Day 106) was spent at Oklahoma Steampunk Expo – M posed with the stiltwalker outside our booth. Sunday – we have no photos, but we are totally counting the dance we did when the convention hall closed and we were able to pack up. Monday (Day108) we drove from Oklahoma City back to Mount Vernon, 16 hours in the van. We made a brief pitstop to see the World’s Largest Rocking Chair and were sufficiently underwhelmed by the experience. Now that we are home again, hopefully we will be able to offer you better options.

Day 109

So, Monday, we picked up a couple more Denizens: Thor and Blueberry! Tuesday, we ran out of time to make our circus, so at 11:55, Robin gave us 5 minutes to make a drawing using our left hands and without picking the pen up off the paper. And huzzah! (M would like you all to know that her drawing included an alien riding a unicycle and a stiltwalker with a balloon. In case you were wondering…)

Day 110

Today, we had ice cream cupcakes to celebrate Frenzy’s birthday! K started the day early, repairing an old chandelier we were having hung in the stairwell to the third-floor ballroom. K ended the day creating multiple versions of a necklace she designed earlier this year.

M started on a crochet project, but fell asleep as she had put on her snuggly flannel pajamas and taken some cold medication prior to starting. She woke up when she poked herself with the crochet hook and put it down for the night to get some rest. Stay tuned for the finished project!!

Day 111

M finished her crochet project from last night during our product photo shoot today with Main Vine Studio. It turned out much bigger than she expected and so the buttons will need to be moved. It is also supposed to have a second ruffle and a mate, but that will happen later. Hey, I made something, and I am still standing upright, so today is a win so far.

K worked on Fortune Teller themed necklaces that she has been thinking about making for a while now. Today’s is themed “Your future is what you make it, so make it a good one. I started months ago by making the soldered charms. Those of you who make jewelry will understand how obsessed I was with making sure it hung properly and carried the theme. It contains one fortune and a color theme. I definitely think it will impart good fortune to its eventual wearer!

Day 112

M finally got her camera to speak to her new computer and now they are sharing files like old friends! Here is my Circus for Good Friday: a quilled Dancing Horse. I wanted to work on my quilling skills some more and decided to go way outside my skill level and make up my own complex pattern. I probably should have taken photos of the rejected versions as I went along. They weren’t pretty. This one isn’t great either, but I guess I am probably my own worst critic.

K continued her Necklaces of Fortune today with the theme “You will receive a compliment from a stranger.” I used a soldered charm I made using an actual fortune I received when we were in Seattle last year, then added a bunch of other awesome unique pieces from my stash. It is so hard to part with these little treasures, but the end result was totally worth it!

Circus-a-Day Project Recap of Week 15

Day 99

It was a late submission for today, but this necklace took K forever! I had to make all the individual links, then make sure that the asymmetrical chains were of equal lengths so that the necklace would hang properly. Isn’t that big brass tiger awesome?!?

M worked on her quilling technique and is totally dissatisfied with the results. I will need to work more creatively to make things look better, but I did learn some new tricks for using circles to create new shapes and negative spaces.

Day 100

For our 100th day of the circus project, K decided to experiment with dangerous acids! I etched brass using a muriatic acid/hydrogen peroxide solution, which we then neutralized by using a full 2-pounds of baking soda. Some of the etching took really well (butterfly, eye, some of the writing), but some did not. I learned a lot, including that my inner scientist squirreled away some pretty cool skills and facts that I can recall at a moment’s notice! And if you’re going to etch metal this way, do a lot at once, so you don’t waste your materials … but if I was going to screw it up, I didn’t want to ruin a big batch of brass! These aren’t quite done. Next up: oxidize with liver of sulfur, buff and seal, and finally, incorporate into the intended applications…

M got the idea to crochet a tentacle necklace when she made the ribbon neck ruffle a week ago. It didn’t turn out quite as I expected, but it is a good base for future iterations. The tentacles definitely need to be longer and fatter and I think they could probably use some mini suckers to make them look more tentacle-like.

Days 101-103

We’ve made so much stuff in the last couple days and we prepped for Oklahoma Steampunk Expo, we’re not even sure which days each project is really aligned with. But we made a lot of stuff! And you still haven’t seen a third of the awesome bustle skirts M cranked out in the last week! K decoupaged an old partial mannequin to better display our pettipants. She used the directions that came with the glass syringes we sell as they are in Czech and Russian and we couldn’t use them for anything else. She also made a sun catcher in honor of her kitty Xena who we sent off to kitty heaven this week. Everything seemed like it was taking forever, especially the dye projects M was working on, but the petticoats turned out awesome with the tea stain.

Day 104

Nothing really, except getting up early and getting set up for Oklahoma Steampunk Expo, which was a feat of strength and mind over matter as we drove 16 hours in the car yesterday, through tornadoes, and got very little sleep last night. None of these are acceptable excuses for our lack of creation, but our booth looks pretty flippin’ sweet so we are counting it as today’s circus as it IS our traveling side show!

Day 105

Today we met the original Ronald McDonald – he has the coolest circus tattoos and grew up as a carnie working on Ferris Wheels! We got our photos with him as our circus… We also met the cutest, most amazing girl ever – Vaudevie from Hellblinki! She plays the accordian and recently spent time with the Ringling Brothers band! She is going to give M info on how to learn to play her accordian. Some days we really LOVE our jobs!