Adventures With Power Tools

M posted photos on her Facebook page of her boyfriend doing household chores such as scrubbing the tub and doing dishes and our friend Matt asked “Where are the photos of girls with power tools?”

In building our circus we had cause to use lots of different power tools – jigsaws, circular saws, miter saws, power drills (with multiple different bits and drivers) – and hand tools.

When all was said and done, K had made no less than (and most likely significantly more than) a dozen trips to the hardware store for pieces/parts and one very important trip to purchase our new power drill after three other drills failed to be up to the challenge of drilling the bolt holes in the wheel of death and the Candy Apples sign. Needless to say, she is in love with our new drill as it makes it so much easier and faster to complete her projects.

We put our tools through the ringer when we work and demand that they rise to the challenge. No pink handled tools with half the power of the “men’s” version for us! Refurbishing the vintage ferris wheel seat alone broke two drill bits and bent a third!

Our Day at the Circus

It’s no secret we love circuses, so when Ringling Bros. & Barnum & Bailey’s Fully Loaded show came to Cleveland, OH we just had to go. K remembers going to a circus when she was about 7 or 8, M doesn’t remember this, so this was basically like going to our very first circus. We were giddy with excitement from the day the tickets arrived in the mail it became “real.”

Of course we decided to dress up. Seriously, would you have imagined otherwise? It was hard to pick which outfits to wear as we have been working on several circus looks all year for different conventions and events. We decided to err on the side of “least obnoxious to our fellow show-goers” with M in her colorful skirt (which she modified the morning of the show to include a sequined bodice) and K’s Ringmaster outfit (which we modified to turn the puff pants into a skirt the night before the show).

We were ready to go about an hour and half before we needed to leave. Guess we were just too excited! The 45 minute drive to the venue was almost interminable. Standing in line waiting to get in to the all-access pre-show was borderline torture. We found our seats and made a beeline for the wardrobe rack containing retired costumes and K found herself a lovely Ringmaster jacket that weighed about 20 lbs!

Temporary tattoos, autographs from high-wire artists, the smell of elephant firmly in our nostrils and we were hooked. We were practically vibrating in our seats with excitement when the house lights went down and the band began to play. We oohed and ahhed at the opening number and all the glittery costumes and coveted just about everything we saw paraded before our eyes.

Jugglers, clowns, aerialists, acrobats, high-wires, it just kept coming and we were dizzied by the spectacle of it. We were as delighted as children and terrified as adults. M hid behind her hand a few times, exclaimed in surprise despite herself and squeezed K’s hand in non-verbal support amidst the various acts. K went green with jealousy when the elephant and big cat trainer exclaimed he had “the best job in the world” as he paraded around the ring astride an elephant named Rosie.

We were dropped from the highest heights of excitement to the deepest depths of despair when the curtain went down and the house lights came up and we were ushered out of the great space. But we found that excitement  waiting for us as we replayed every moment over and over again on the walk to the car, during the drive home, and into the wee hours of the night as we glowed with a renewed energy and love for that which we call “the circus”.

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

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!

Circus-a-Day Project Recap of Week 14

Day 92 and 93

K started Saturday with the idea of prepping some brass for etching, but didn’t have the proper chemicals for etching, so all I did was the stamping. Some turned out better than others… On Sunday, I decided to finish those dratted Fortune Cookie charms, so I could work on the Fortune Teller necklace I’ve been planning for what seems like months. While I was at it, I made a new one from a fortune I found on Saturday while cleaning and I soldered some of the letter charms I’ve had lying around for years. I started with circusy letters, and I have loads more to make, but after about 3 hours of soldering, I decided I needed a break!

M worked on the hair fascinator base she had rescued after the original had been damaged during our recent convention. I removed the veiling and flower, added the black and white striped trim, covered the top with red sequins and added two gold leaves. Still trying to decide what to use as the focal. I am considering making a flower out of some old zippers. Then on Sunday I woke up with the idea to do some sillhouette art and chose to work on my quilling skills. The curly-qs and harlequins were fun to make and they just lent themselves to making a jester/clown. I am really liking how it turned out and may make several more characters along the same theme!

Day 94

So, K started her art project this morning around 11am. But because I am so disorganizationally organized, I couldn’t find the right materials to finish the project. So, seven hours later, I finally found the beading wire and crimp tubes I was looking for and was able to make the necklace in under an hour. We found the cameo in an antique store in Kansas, and the beads are Swarovski crystal and Jablonex cathedral beads. The magnetic clasp has been part of my hoard for about 10 years.

M continued her quilling experiments with a Ringmaster face including top hat, monocle, curly moustache, and bow tie! I made the hat but then when gluing it together glued the brim on upside down – GRRR! The moustache is uneven because I used two separate pieces instead of one piece folded in the middle as I started out trying to make a profile silhouette, but it wasn’t turning out well so I switched to a face-on creation. I am not very proud of this one, but I made it… so it counts.

Day 95

M kept up with the quilling theme she has been adopting this week. I was working in bad lighting so didn’t notice I had grabbed off white paper for his legs until I saw it in the photograph. Oh well, sometimes things like that happen. I particularly like his blue tutu!

K’s contribution was several sets of cufflinks, all made from buttons we found on our way back from Tucson. The two sets of lion cufflinks are fit for any Victorian lion tamer, and the red ones read “Victory & Glory”.

Day 96

K started the day by finishing four of her Winged Vial Necklaces, filled with lots of tiny gears and sparkly Swarovski crystals. Then, Kara helped M make lots of bustle skirts (photos TK tomorrow), and K masqueraded as the crazy, moustachioed, and armless freak. We had to make an emergency run to Hobby Lobby in search of trims/ribbon for M to finish the bustle skirts and decided to use some of their home decor items to create the word “CIRQUE”. M is counting it as her circus because everything else she was working on didn’t get finished.

Day 97

We were VERY productive today! M made this glorious brocade bustle skirt with velvet ribbon waistband and contrasting trim. Don’t you just love it! K started work on a thigh-garter holster for one of the many mini cap guns we discovered at antique stores on a recent outing. The holster is mocked up using paper brads instead of rivets so we can work out the details. Then, we’ll be embellishing the ruffly garter idea to include leather, buckles, and filigrees! More fun to come!

Day 98

K’s been working on preparing for the Oklahoma Steampunk Expo, and part of that involves preparing jewelry displays. Well, I got tired of looking at the old, ugly, off-center cuff link displays we made last year. So, I decided to remake them, all pretty-like. I think they turned out pretty sweet looking!

M took an existing hair clip that was just the black and white feathers and added a lace flower she made from some scraps and some heart shaped rhinestone beads. I used the beads to make a little flower, sewed it to the lace flower, then sewed the flower onto the feather fascinator. I was tempted to use glue for time’s sake, but I loathe using glue when a more permanent and less messy option is available.

Circus-a-Day Project Recap of Week 13

Day 85

We ARE the circus most of the time, and today we show it on the outside. We LOVE our circus costumes, even though most people look at us like we are crazy when we wear them. But we are certain this is how Steampunk Circus Folk dress. CERTAIN OF IT!

Day 86

Another day where we get to be the circus, We met the amazing and wonderful Mythica von Griffyn who was just itching to paint us up so on Sunday of AnomalyCon we let her! Look at the incredible work she did to match the themes of our outfits! It was kind of cool to sit still for that long and let someone else make us beautiful! Ooh, and the paint had cocoa butter in it so it smelled wonderful and moisturized our skin at the same time!

Day 87

We were all set to the visit the C.W. Parker Carousel (a must-see according to the highway billboards) for our circus today, but by the time we got to Abilene, KS and found the carousel (signage was virtually non-existent and the map we got from the Visitor’s Center was all sorts of wrong) it was closed, so we humbly submit this photo of a Carousel Bank that K found at an antique store we stopped at along the way. It turns and you put the money in a slot in the top and could see it inside behind the horses. That is kind of cool.

Day 88

We made a stop in Missouri at an interesting Flea Market/Antique Store to break up the drive home and found a plethora of circus goodness! (as well as some super creepy clown stuff!) Here is a small taste of the three-ring wonders we stumbled upon! We just LOVE antique stores full of weird cast-offs!

Day 89

Home again, home again, jiggity jig. We unloaded the van, unpacked, re-inventoried the warehouse, and did some fiddly organizing and prep for the next trip, then remembered we needed to make circuses! K’s collection of Clockwork Circus Denizens is awesome! We especially love the monkey and the Evil Kanieval stunt jumper. M worked on a hat band decoration using some bright orange feathers, some sparkle tulle and an old brassy clock key. It looks pretty awesome once it is on the hat, but kind of lame all by its little lonesome.

Day 90

We joined forces today and worked on a piece that will end up in production in the VERY near future (we’re talking next week, people!). K was a force for creativity today by opening M’s closet of fabric and pulling stuff out. M tried to ignore her, but just couldn’t let her go on unsupervised. We are very territorial over our respective spaces and supplies. So, we discussed the different fabrics and what they would be best used for and K got to cutting out patterns M had created so we could see if they would work. The end result is this lovely tie-around bustle skirt in a sheer and shiny striped silky fabric that is just gorgeous to look at, divine to touch, and has amazing draping and swishy-ness. Yes, swishy-ness IS a word (that M totally made up).

Day 91

K’s circus today is a conglomeration of many partial pieces. I was cutting out fabric for more of those great bustle skirts M will make next week, and I decided to make jewelry focals. I’m testing some new glues/epoxies, so I may have to fix some of these tomorrow, but I think they’re looking pretty snazzy! I used brass and silver plated filigrees, vintage chandelier glass, rivolis, foil cabochons, and resin roses.

M was working on a little hair fascinator, but sliced her hand with the X-Acto knife and so decided to take a break. She went out to dinner in Cleveland with a friend and ended up at an awesome store that sold lots of odds and ends from her childhood where she found three truly awesome children’s books about the circus: Circus Carnivore, The Circus is Coming!, and Sawdust and Spangles: The Amazing Life of W.C. Coup. These books are full of interesting art and actual historical facts about some truly amazing circus-obsessed people from the past. In other words, kindred spirits!

Circus-a-Day Project Recap of Week 12

Day 78: Custom Bracelet (K) & Quilled Elephant (M)

Saturday’s circus for K was a custom order bracelet for our friend Kyla Kahn, who we met at Wild Wild West Con. I stamped the center piece, engraved the letters o the brass discs, and assembled the piece to put in the mail to Kyla.

M worked on her quilling skills and made an elephant. Using eight different quilled pieces of paper and lots of white glue, I formed the body, head, trunk (two pieces), ear, tail and legs. He is only about 3 inches long from trunk to tail.

Day 79: Decoupaged Hand (K) & Quilled Gears (M)

For Sunday, K decoupaged a papier mache hand we purchased at a craft store. M wanted a hand for display in the booth, and this one looked a bit like the one our website homepage, so I got out the decoupage glue and lots of tiny ephemera images, including miniaturized Barnum & Bailey posters, and got to gluing. It’s not perfect and has a couple of blank spots, but I ran out of prepared images, and considering it was the first time I decoupaged such an irregular shape, I’m pretty pleased with it!

M continued her quilling education and made three little gears. Each gear is a center circle with 6 “teeth” that were quilled as circles then formed into squares by pinching into shape by hand. The largest gear is only 1.5 inches in diameter. Working in miniature requires patience, as does the step by step process of building the object from individual quilled pieces. It is kind of zen-inducing and I hope to make more art in the future as I get better and more consistent in my coiling abilities.

Day 80: Food Circus Animal (M)

M played with her food tonight and made this animal prior to eating her dinner. I was trying to use up a bunch of odds and ends in the fridge before heading out on the road again so I made a hodge podge dinner of green beans (steamed, of course!), garlic bread, chicken tenders stuffed with chipotle cheddar cheese and garlic and wrapped in bacon. I then used the items to form my animal. I have no idea what animal it is. Oh, yeah, and it has raspberry ears!

Day 81: Mutant Siamease Strawberry (M)

M is again using her food as the circus. Today at lunch I was sharing strawberries with a friend when we came across the circus freak of the fruit world! These strawberries looked like Siamese twins and so we threw up a backdrop and took their promotional photo. Probably should have saved it for a while, but it looked so tasty that we ate it. I guess it is probably a good thing I do not run the circus!

Day 82: Circus Neck Ruffle (M) & Cookie Cutters (K)

We spent most of the day packing for AnomalyCon, but at one point M had a few minutes and so whipped up this neck ruffle with some ribbon and trim she had laying around. It was pretty quick to sew up and I managed to have lace that matched the ribbon perfectly. It closes at the back with a single large hook and eye fastener. I like how the ribbon ends splay out around the neckline like octopus tentacles. Ooh, that gives me another idea!!

K worked on more cookie cutters for stock, but was seriously hindered by the zombie cat bite on her right hand (her dominant hand, of course, and right by her thumb). K’s cat was diagnosed with liver disease and given a death sentence by the vet, but K refused to give up and Xena was feeling much better at her vet appointment this morning and showed her feisty side by biting K repeatedly as the vet tried to take her temperature. We are keeping an eye on the wound and hopefully K will be just fine and back to her productive self soon enough!

Day 83: Magic Marker Line of Infection Spread Deterrence

We drove from Ohio to Kansas City today on our way to AnomalyCon in Denver. K was bitten by her cat the day before in the midst of our packing. K was a real trooper and took it all in stride, until the wound and surrounding area started getting red, swollen and hot to the touch! We are counting the fact that we created the amazing Magic Marker Line of Infection Spread Deterrence as our circus. K decided the signs of the Feline Zombie Virus could no longer be ignored and we marked the edge of the swelling to keep an eye on it until we could get to an Urgent Care Center and get her some antibiotics. By the time we settled in for the night, we were exhausted and K was far too sore on her right hand so we decided to get some sleep.

Day 84: Kit Carson Carousel Visit – FAIL

We drove from Kansas City, KS to Denver, CO today and tried to stop and see the Kit Carson Carousel along the way. Apparently this carousel is something amazing and was a bit of a scandal at the time it was acquired by Kit Carson County Colorado in the 1920s leading to three county commissioners losing their seats in the election following the acquisition! Today it is a National Treasure and one of the only remaining complete wooden menagerie carousels in existence in the U.S. Unfortunately for us, it is only open from Memorial Day to Labor Day and around Christmas time. BUMMER! But we for sure want to make the trip out to see it in December all decked out for the holiday. Steampunk Meet-Up anyone? We picked up some information booklets and a DVD of the carousel instead and will dream about it for months to come!

Circus-a-Day Project Recap of Week 11

Day 71: Pressed Penny Circus (M) & “Steampunk Springs” Vision Board (K)

M was cleaning out her suitcase and gathered up her complete stash of pressed pennies collected along the route to Atlanta, Tucson, and home again. 32 new pennies to add to my collection! Looking at the shiny, lovely pile on my work table inspired me to use them to make a giraffe and lion. Transient art can be just as fulfilling as “permanent” pieces.

K’s beau has been bugging her since January to make her 2011 vision boards. So I made a collage that is a visual representation of my hopes and dreams for a hot springs property I’ve been dreaming of owning for 5 years. We’re calling it “Steampunk Springs.”

Day 72: Gas Mask Elephant (K) & Crochet Button Bracelet (M)

K was inspired by a bit of Diesel Punk today and drew a gas mask inspired elephant with industrial fan-like ears. Pencil on paper, simple and yet amazingly awesome!

M crocheted a bracelet of sparkly yarn and salvaged metal buttons. I’ve never crocheted buttons into something, usually I add them after the fact, so this was new for me. I got the spacing wrong on them so they look a bit lopsided, but they make a nice tinny jingle when they clank together. I had to leave the end tail still attached until I can get a buckle to attach as a closure.

Day 73: Steamy Necklaces (K) & Quilling Lessons (M)

K was in production mode today. I made several of my steamy glass bead and resin pendant necklaces. I make the chain one link at a time so it was a bit of a process to complete the stock for the website. I imagine there is a lot of tedious work done daily in the circus that no one ever sees.

M bought a beginning quilling kit and broke it out to try her hand at this paper coiling art. It is not intuitive for me, I know, how hard can coiling paper be, but I opted to just follow the instructions and learn to make some basic shapes. I will be learning more and will eventually make a Steampunk Circus Masterpiece (hehehe)!

Day 74: Cookie Cutter Mass Production (K) & Garter Suspenders(M)

K stayed in maker mode and cranked out some serious merchandise by making her custom copper cog and dirigible cookie cutters. The last time we left town I had to make some on the road and find a shipping center to fill web orders. This time I am gonna make enough to leave some behind so our intrepid assistant can fill the orders for us!

M had the idea to make these Garter Suspenders/Skirt Lifters for a long time and finally bought the suspender clips to make it a reality. I took two different kinds of ribbon I had that I thought were kind of circusy in their coloring and style. The suspender clips allow it to clip to your shorts and then your leggings to hold them up or allow you to clip up the hem of your skirts to show a little leg or your frilly bloomers!

Day 75: Costume Modding (M) & Gibson Girl Necklace (K)

M decided to finally finish modding some of her own costume pieces that she has been dreaming about for a while. Trading out buttons is one of the fastest and easiest ways to change the look of something. I found these little red lady buttons ages ago at JoAnn Fabric and loved them but didn’t know what to do with them. I thought the flowers on her hat looked kind of like gears so when I was upgrading my stripey circus bustle skirt I chose to use them and red ribbon to add some contrast to the black and white.

K made a mixed media Gibson Girl necklace using a mixture of odds and ends, vintage and store-bought chain, and very cool printed beads. The asymmetrical nature gives a bit grittier look than the Gibson Girl would usually be comfortable with, but it works well I think.

Day 76: SteamPatrick’s Day Bowler

After our long road run this evening in preparation for the Warrior Dash in June, we didn’t have much energy left, so we joined forces to work on a way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day the Steamy Way. We took a stock green velvet derby, added some odds and ends that K had lying around and M made the rainbow thread spool hat band. Then we dug out some coins K had been saving for future projects and made M get in touch with her inner leprechaun. She kinda freaked K out a bit!

Day 77: Reclaimed Canvas Bag Decoration

For today’s circus we took reclaimed canvas tote bags M made last year and decorated them with circus themes. M used stencils and fabric paint to add crowns and the word “CIRCUS” , then used iron-on flocking to create the word “clockwork” . Then, she added the tiger using an iron-on foil transfer. K blocked vertical lines by using packing tape, then used fabric spray paint to paint red stripes. This was a failure, as evidenced by the bleeding of the lines. It took a really long time to dry as well. Next time, we will honor K’s first instincts and use actual spray paint instead. Then, she splattered gold and black paint by flicking paint brushes, wrote the quote with a sharpie, and used iron-on flocking to add the ringmaster, gears, and stars. We will decorate the other sides of the bags for a future project.