Dreams

I awakened this morning in a really good mood, music playing in my head from my dreams. That made me wonder - When all of you dream, do you dream in color? Do you hear music? Do you remember your dreams?

Dreams - almost all of us have them, and those who do not are often
traumatized by their lack of ability to dream. 

I dream in color, I hear music, and I remember my dreams. What I don't do is dream of people that I know. It is very rare for me to have a dream that has anyone I know featured in it. I could probably count the number of times on my two hands, it's that rare. So I wonder about other people. I know my DH dreams about people he knows very often. When I don't act the way he thinks I should have in one of his dreams, I hear complaints about it the next day. Such a silly boy! So chime in here and let me know your thoughts. Color? Music? People you know?

I had my eggs scrambled (Egg Beaters because I'm trying to be good
about my cholesterol), but breakfast was quite similar to this. Nom nom. 

Sunday was a nice, lazy day for me which was needed. We went out to breakfast, then a bit later went to the art supply store. I was VERY good and didn't buy anything because I didn't need anything and DH only bought a set of paint brushes for watercolors, so he was pretty good also. We then proceeded to Barnes & Noble and Michael's.

We ended up with two different Mucha calendars because we both love
his artwork. Calendars are inexpensive art and both of us love art. 

At Barnes we looked at many things, but ended up with one magazine and several calendars for next year. I'm bringing my Dragons calendar over to the shop with me this morning. The Dragons by Ciruelo calendar is the official store calendar. That's the one where we keep track of vacation dates and workshop dates. It's also so pretty to look at - LOL.

A new toy for less than $20 that will solve a major dilemma for this
year's Solstice cards. I couldn't be happier. 

At Michael's I wanted some spray adhesive. I had a 50% off coupon and I'm working on my solstice cards. I wasn't happy with some of my experimentation for my cards, so I thought spray adhesive, although a bit messy, might be the answer. While looking at the selection, though, I saw several different Xyron machines. I remembered hearing about how great these were for adhesive application and one of the smaller ones was the perfect width for my project and it was only $25. With my coupon, that would make it less expensive than the spray and far more functional. SCORE! I happily walked out of Michael's a short time later, Xyron in my hand, and I will be working with it later this morning. Just call me HAPPY!

One of the things I was looking at while at Barnes was several
books about Steampunk including this one. I really want to make
some Steampunk items. I think it's a novelty that has settled into
some excellent work and a good, solid genre. I think it's time
to play in this sandbox. I've got plenty of bronze and copper...

After we returned home I did some work on the laptop to get ready for this year's NaNoWriMo. I want to put all of my writings - years one and two - together into a single unit before I begin year three on "Face in the Window". I'm not 100% sure how best to do that, since year one was written in WriteWay and year two in Scrivener, but I emailed Tech Service at Scrivener for advise. It's not a rush, I still have a bit of time, but I want to make absolutely sure I don't lose the first part of the book into cyberspace. That would totally freak me out.

DH and I are major "Inspector Lewis" fans and are in seventh heaven
with the start of Season 7 here in the US. It's only three episodes, but I'll
love each one and buy them on DVD as soon as I can to add to our collection. 

So today the Bead Stops Hop continues, I'm putting adhesive onto components for my Solstice cards, I'm listening to great Rock music, and I'm ready to fact the week head-on. The Broncos won their game on Sunday, "Inspector Lewis" season 7 started last night, and all is well with the world - LOL. Here's hoping you have a wonderful Monday.

Steampunk? Why Not?

While catching up on my emails this morning I happened across the cute critter I'm featuring below. He's the inspiration for today's romp through creative speculation. This wonderful guinea pig is dressed in a custom-made steampunk harness with wings. The perfect accent for his trip to the nearest guinea pig con and get-together. I had to laugh, and then I had to follow the thread to see where it might lead me. So here we go on a journey through steampunk.

Is he not adorable? The artist does custom orders because each
one needs to fit your fuzzy little critter exactly. Too cute! 

Steampunk is a mix of Victorian English-styled clothing blended with industrial overtones and mechanisms based on steam power instead of other power sources such as gasoline or solar. The style has been around for quite a few years now and has planted some deep roots. I feel like wandering through the possibilities for new costumes with all of you today.

Steampunk fashion is based on leatherwork with gears and
brass accents. My friends and I fell in love with belt-carried
tea sets, a new item at one leather purveyor at Renaissance
Fest this year. Each delicate china cup and saucer was accompanied
by a lace serviette and hung from the belt so as to be easily
accessible for 4:00 o'clock tea time.  

Many outfits feature goggles. Goggles, made from leather and brass
 (or sometimes plastic - not a good material choice) are worn on the head,
around the hat, or even actually over the eyes. Why wear goggles? All I
can think of is protection from industrial waste and air pollution. The
more important question is "What can you see through them?" To
paraphrase Howard Carter, "I can see wonderful things."  

The gears and enhancements to the lenses of each unique set of goggles allow the user to see in different ways - through dimensions, into the molecular level, beneath the surface, telescoped or microscoped. A good set of goggles can be key to an effective steampunk presentation.

Steampunk bandolier pouches are often worn across the chest or
as belts. They often have tools attached - tweezers, sewing thread,
flares, or medicine bottles, and they feature a variety of pouches.
Essentially, the steampunk bandolier is the Victorian equivalent
of Batman's utility belt. 

Here is an especially nice leather corset with the
bottom rings acting as a type of bandolier for the
pouch and bottle that are hanging loose. 

Of course, steampunk is a grand opportunity to work with leather and make something really customized and unique. Take a look at these examples of some amazing and beautiful leatherwork.

This really fabulous pouch carries the clockwork gears motif
into the leather. The back has a strap where a belt can be passed
through and the top fastens with a back snap, allowing the front
design to be unsullied. Very nice! 

I love the embellished interleaved gears stamped into this leather
top hat. The decorative lacing at the top is a nice addition as well. 

Are you a reporter in the world of steampunk? This pouch may be
for you. This is a journalist's pouch with paper and pencil along with
a lower pouch featuring a plasma disc. This is made to hang down
from a belt. 

Here's a small steampunk belt box featuring a turn
latch (I sell these and love them) and a wonderful
octopus (or Cthulu) below. Yeah! I want! 

And finally, because I'm getting closer to making myself a set of grieves, here's a steampunk take on a pair with brass, leather, and a wonderful pocket watch.

This grieve, or bracer, features a brass top, some embellished
tubing, a leather body and a chained and pouched pocket watch. A very
nice design. 

So there you have it. New outfit ideas and some wonderful examples to build from. Have a wonderful Tuesday and dream on!