Steam Punk!

So what is SteamPunk you ask??????

Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction, alternate history, and speculative fiction that came into prominence during the 1980s and early 1990s.^[1] Specifically, steampunk involves an era or world where steam power is still widely used—usually the 19th century and often Victorian era Britain—that incorporates prominent elements of either science fiction or fantasy. Works of steampunk often feature anachronistic technology or futuristic innovations as Victorians may have envisioned them; in other words, based on a Victorian perspective on fashion, culture, architectural style, art, etc. This technology may include such fictional machines as those found in the works of H. G. Wells and Jules Verne.

This is a book created by my Local Round Robin. I came up with an idea to work on and finish an entire book in one month. A brand new Round Robin concept & experience for this group. Generally we all have our own books and pass books to each person each month. Then in 10 months you have a complete book. This time we did it a little different.

Since it was my idea we got to do my book first. I picked Steam Punk as my theme. All participants are thinking up their own themes. Some are interested in having a steam punk inspired book as well.

The idea for this book was a hand made book with removable pages. I used any type of cardboard I had in my recycling bin. Mostly cereal boxes, beer packs(as above) or Capri Sun boxes to create the book. I sanded off the logo, type, color, and print with a sanding block. I then gesso-ed the pages once they were cut to size. I then hole punched for my ring binding. Each page is a unique shape and has a unique edge. The F stands for front. So all the holes will line up in the end.

I then passed a page to each of the round robin participants and brought imagery, gears, embellishments and hardware to sift through. Each gal took what they wanted and used it as a jumping off point to start their pages. I thought this would be a nice way to a have a bit of cohesiveness in this book. We had one month to complete our page and at the following meeting my book was finished. We will complete 10 books over the next 10 months. Each participant thinking of their theme and book. Completing each one in one month. It is serendipitous (as this group always seems to be) that each of the pages color scheme flowed nicely into the next. Making it very easy to piece the book back together.

Here is the cover of the steam punk book. Layered with image and transparencies. I also used ribbon and frayed fabric to give it nice texture. There is a crow tag and some embellishments that dangle off the front. A black and orange heart, and the letter L out of a half sphere. The gears and pointed clock hands move to make it a little interactive.
Here is close up of the layers and gears on the front cover.
This is the back of the front cover. I used gear masks ( Tim Holtz) with a make up sponge. I sponged stayz-on over the mask and layered papers to give the page more movement. The images were a steam punk design that I reconstructed. I had the foil gear lace laying around and it added a bit of shimmer to this page. This is Carols front page. Black and white. Layered with image, stamps and metal. It works well following my page that was so dark.
This page is sprayed with shimmer spray to create the masked gears. The other ephemera was Steam punk designed. Carol added staples to the leg- boot to give the buckles more dimension.

This page was a small one. Measured only 4" x 4". Karen used sewing notions and an antique bra strap along the bottom in pink. Some images were steam punk designed others came from a sears catalog. Snaps, hook and eye closures give it some dimension and texture.
The backside of the little page is on the left. Showing the catalog page of the ladies in Summer Union Suits. The page on the right was produced by Carol M. I love the eye ball.
Such a lovely touch to put a person in the eye. I purchased the little metal gear pieces from Home depot. They come in a million sizes, shapes, and colors.
This is the full page with trimmed edges. I prepped the page with those edges so it would look more like a mechanical gear or something close. I like the edge giving you a preview of what is coming up next. I think the flying fish are fantastic!
This was the back side. This pink and brown stripe flowed nicely into Rhonda piece.
These pages are hand drawn by Rhonda. She virtually never layers collage as we all do. She is a very talented artist. These are balloons and blimps to go with the steam punk style.


This page was made by Amy. I like her color scheme. She also used antique sewing notions that she had from her mother and grandmother. This page flows nicely from the previous pink page into the moss green page. It was nice how this worked out.
This next page was done by Christy, it has a little pocket to put tags in. it adds nice dimension to the page. It's also fun to remove things from your pages and find little treasures tucked away.

I made the original page and cut outs on the edge. I used an exacto blade and eye-balled the shape Christy layered a moss green natural textured paper on top. Christy used images, sewing notions, doors, and tags on her page.

This brown page was made by Nancy. She is the queen of transfers. These are contact or packing tape transfers. The base of the page is natural color tissue paper. The transfers are layered on top to give the page nice depth.