So we’re in the run-up to the Second Annual Steampunk
Cruise, and while I have pretty much everything I had last year (the goggles
keep self-destructing – I need to repair/replace the loupe yet again), I would
like to make things pop a little more. One advantage of hanging around with a
group of people that included two professional costumers and at least 4 members
of established Steampunk interest groups is that you get inspired to step up
your own game.
Last year’s top hat decorations were a hit – small glass
vials (empty), with a spray of gears on wires, a cephalopod medallion in the
front, and blinking LED lights. This year, I want to fill the vials (colored
salt, most likely, and possibly some tonic water in case of black light) and
move that array over to my new bowler, while upgrading the decorations on the
topper. I have more blinky lights on order, two USB squirming tentacles, a
battery pack with dual USB output, a bunch of Sugru putty, and some
octopus-patterned ribbon from Fancy Tiger. Muahahahahaha…
I’ve also managed to incorporate my chainmail hobby into my
Steampunk – I picked up a graduated Byzantine chain kit in copper that makes a
lovely necklace for B., and a brass experimentation kit that has resulted in a
nifty Double Albert watch chain that I’m using for a matchbox and pipe tool
instead, as a sort of chatelaine for a pipe smoker.
Next up, leatherworking…
