Steampunk 'Inspired' Costume

This is an ‘inspired’ look, I am not saying it’s exactly ‘Steam Punk’ because I know there are a lot of devoted people out there that would probably cringe looking at my attempt, hehehe I was just having fun getting the ‘look’ on a budget. Things to keep in mind are leather, lace, goggles, gadgetry, chains, clocks, keys, weaponry, victorian, industrial, ripped stockings, boots, bustles, jackets, corsets, nuts and bolts, belts .... once you start looking around it's amazing what you can come up with! :)

Goggles and Hat:


What you need:
Glue - I use 'PVA Wood Glue' for this kind of stuff because it's really strong and dries quick and it's non-toxic.
2 x toilet rolls (inserts)
Paint
Scissors
Decorative pieces eg. nuts, bolts, chains, clock faces etc
Old CD Case
Plastic rims from bottles or similar
Hat

Directions:

By using two toilet roll tubes or something similar you can make your own imitation steam punk goggles quite easily.

From the first roll simply cut out the shape you want for the base of your eye goggle, do this twice, once for each eye.

From the second roll cut off about ¾” and then cut down each side, the reason you cut it down the side is so that it can fit over the top of the inner goggle eye bases you cut out first.  Glue a small piece of cardboard in the slit to fill it in, allow to dry.

From an old cd case, carefully cut two circles to fit the outer goggle.  Place the outer goggle over the inner goggle eye bases and glue.  Glue the cd lenses to the outer goggles.

Find a plastic rim for your goggles, I used the leftover caps threads from cordial bottles for mine and they fit perfectly.  Paint them your desired colour. 

Paint the inner goggle eye bases and the outer goggles in the colours you want, try and contrast them a bit.  Once dry, you can attatch the plastic rims.  Allow to dry.

Now you can add all your bits and pieces to give it that ‘steam punk look.

I found a ‘halloween’ hat at spotlight, it was $4.99 less 25%.  I peeled of the skeleton badge that was on the front and painted it brown, leaving a band of black to suit the look I was going for.

Once I was happy with the hat I then attached the goggles to the top with glue.

Find some sort of strapping, remember, these are going to go on a hat so it doesn’t have to ‘work’ as a real set of goggles, I just used some faux suede fabric from an old skirt.  If you want to use them on your face, you may want to use some elastic at the back so they fit snuggly.

Add more bits and pieces until you're your happy with the look.

Outfit:

My old favourite ‘tulle’ skirt that’s done many of my looks 

Old brown skirt tucked up at the side and pinned, I tied an old compass where there was a hole in the skirt

Fishnet stockings

Grey/Brown combat style boots

White shirt

Jacket I bought years ago and really didn’t like but it works with this look

Crochet doily dyed brown placed on shoulder for effect and draped with faux suede strips of fabric and black lace

Elasticated belt – vintage

Glovelet made from faux suede fabric

Gun – Sam’s Warehouse - $2.00
Lantern - Garage Sale
Belt (army style) placed across body
Necklace - Diva
Necklace - Thrifted
Bracelets - Solid Rose and thrifted

I had so much fun putting this look together and was surprised when I started looking around how much I could use to get the right effect. I think the overall look came in under $10.00

You can see my makeup tutorial for this look HERE

Making a Mask - Fantasy Valentine

I was invited to a Masquerade Party last week, it was short notice so I decided to make a mask (with some help from my mumma) and go as a Flower, ha ha.

Directions:

1. Firstly buy a cheap papier mache mask from a $1/2 store and find some pretty papers that you want to rip up and cover the mask in, just use a regular craft glue for this.

2. Once this is done and dry, trim excess paper away from edges and fold small amount to the back, making small cuts all the way around to help keep things smooth, remember to do around the eyes as well. Coat the mask with a layer of glue to give it a 'softened' look and let it dry. Find a pretty braid or ribbon and glue around the mask leaving some hanging down on the side where you want the main decoration to be and then add some nice large looped ribbons here for interest.

3. Find some pretty decorations, I used ribbon, an old broken flower that was stuck to my door, an odd earing with dangly bits, some braid just look around for odd bits and pieces (ask friends who may have some too, broken jewelry works well).

4. My mum has lots of craft supplies so I raided her stash for a crochet butterfly and some sparkly bits, hehe :) These were glued to the side for the smaller decorations, along with some ribbon which I looped and some of the larger petals from the flower which I glued underneath the mask (peeking out). Be sure to poke through the hole for the elastic too.

5. I then went around the outside of the eyes with a lovely vintage gold glitter glue and added some more ribbons to the side of the mask where the larger flower was glued. I broke the earing up and attached it to a stip of ribbon and then glued along the bottom of the mask on one side with a hot glue gun.

6. Some smaller flowers were then added to the other side to balance the mask out and a bit more glitter glue lightly placed on the large petals. I layered 2 or 3 small flowers to give more dimension and interest.

*******

There are so many things you can do to a mask, remember to make sure you can see through the eyeholes properly before decorating your mask because some masks have eyes that are set wide apart and you can't see properly. If this happens you may have to cut the inner corner of the eyeholes a bit more for a better fit, yes, I had to do this myself when I was half way through so we live and learn :) .... hahahaha

Hope you find this helpful