Shopping for our Steampunk Costumes.

I hope you have enjoyed my Steampunk posts.  I wanted to share with you the op-shop buys we made for our costumes.

When the boys friend asked them to join him in participating in the first Steamfesta we jumped at the chance as Steampunk is something we have always wanted to give Steampunk a go.

Our 2 families went on a initial op-shop tour together to find items that would suit a Steampunk Costume for each family member wanting to participate.  On that tour we found a couple of items but we still had a lot we needed so I spent my op-shopping over the next few weeks looking for items and over the course of a month I found E a vest, a lovely blue shirt for C and for myself a skirt, blouse, tank top to go under my blouse and a lovely black shawl.

For shoes C was ok as he had a pair that would suit but E and myself needed some suitable shoes so we went to Rivers during a big sale and scored boots that would suit our costumes for $17, that were comfortable and supportive. 
E's serve a double purpose as they are perfect for the Ezra Bridger cosplay he is working on, it is always great when a item can serve multiple costumes as well as every day wear.

Other purchases were supplies to decorate my Hat, safety googles to turn into Steampunk Goggles, cogs and gears on ebay as I didn't have enough, various trims for decorating the various projects we would be creating including my Handbag, supplies to try making Spats and last minute I would buy some Sunglasses to alter.

The boys also altered Nerf guns we had in our Nerf stash to enhance their costumes.

I love this gorgeous photo Paul Aurisch Photography took of the boys and I.
I just wish I wasn't slumping but pain levels were high which makes my propreconception much worse.









Here I am with my friend Ruth (I am the one wearing the shawl), isn't her costume amazing?

I am really happy with how the boys and my costumes turned out and my budget is happy too.
 
If you want to get into costuming but worry about the cost just remember Cosplay and Steampunk don't have to be expensive and depending on the requirements of a particular costume you may even be able to select some pieces that you can wear as everyday clothing.
So go check out those op-shops for items to start a costume with.  It's a lot of fun and is a great family hobby.

Steampunk Spats - Helmar Creative Team

The night before Steamfesta I decided I would try making Steampunk Spats from some brown leather type vinyl fabric I had as my boots were black and my Bag was brown.
If you would like to see the other projects the boys and I made for Steamfesta then check out my Steampunk Googles and Sunglasses post, Steampunk Handbag post and Steampunk Hat post

To create my spats I made a pattern from my shoe following the instructions on Spats pattern making in this tutorial but as my sewing machine was not available I decided to use Helmar Fabric Glue to make my Spats instead of sewing them, except for the under boot strap and button which I hand sewed onto my finished Spats.

I wound up cutting my pattern so the part that had to be joined together was at the front, in future I think I will do the front on the fold so I close it up at the back.
To close the front I glued 1 side down to itself and then glued it on top of the other one using Helmar Fabric Glue and positioning it so it looked like a nice clean seam.








I used Helmar 450 Quick Dry Adhesive to adhere some gorgeous gold trim and some metal cogs and gears to my spats, to give them that Steampunk Feel.

Lessons learned from making my fur boot covers for my Cheshire Cat Cosplay I wanted to make some straps that went under the shoe to hold the spat in place.
I just used some random scraps and glued the edges down with Helmar Fabric Glue to get a nice look to them.

I then hand sewed them on to my spat, cut a slit as a bottom hole and then sewed a cool button to my spat from my op-shop button stash.
How cool do they look?

Steampunk Mini Hat - Helmar Creative Team

Today I have another Steampunk prop for my costume I wore to Steampfesta, today I am sharing how I made my little top hat.
I started by making a tube from 3mm foam, I took a A4 sheet of foam and cut one end off at 4 inches.  Upon completion I feel this is too high so if you are making it try 3inches.  I used some washi to hold my tube together while the Helmar Foam Glue dried, that way I could work on other parts while it dried.

So while it was drying I started work on cutting my base and top.  I really should have used my Silhouette as my hands were so wobbly but it was not accessible at the time. 
For my bottom I cut a circle and then marked my tube in the middle, I then cut triangles in the inner circle and glued them inside my tube, I mixed my glues up and used 450 Quick Dry Adhesive to glue my bottom in, but that's ok, it worked.

I glued my top into my tube with Helmar Foam Glue and then started covering my hat with some lovely velvet.
I used the Helmar Foam Glue to adhere the fabric to the foam and the Helmar Fabric Glue to adhere fabric to fabric.
As I had cut my fabric with pinking sheers to reduce fraying I turned my edge piece in and glued it to itself with Helmar Fabric Glue.

Now to pretty up the top.
I cut a circle of cereal box cardboard and covered it in the velvet fabric and then adhered it to the top of my hat with Helmar Fabric Glue.

To pretty up my base first I cut a ring of velvet to go over the top and then I cut a circle of cereal box cardboard and covered it with velvet.  I wound up covering my hat hole but that is ok as I am adding a headband to the base to help it fit on my head.

Now it was time to decorate my hat.  As so often is the case when I embellish a project my mistakes informed where things would go, I used my embellishments to hide glue I had gotten in the wrong spot and crooked bits of my hat top.
I adhered some gold trim to my hat rim edge with Helmar Fabric Glue to hide the seam between my foam base and cardboard base.





I grabbed out a selection of flowers, feathers, lace and cogs & gears to work with and used Helmar Fabric Glue to adhere the black lace and lace feather and 450 Quick Dry Adhesive to adhere the black feather, flowers and metal pieces.

I was happy with how my decorations looked now I just needed to add a headband so I could wear it.

 I love how my hat turned out.

Steampunk Goggles and Sunglasses - Helmar Creative Team

Today I am sharing with you the Steampunk Googles and Sunglasses the boys and I made for Steamfesta.
As the boys and I were working on our projects at the same time I don't have photos of everything but I wanted to share with you how we made some big goggles with safety glasses from Bunnings and Pringles Cans and then some photos and details about E's toilet roll goggles and my quickly made Sunglasses.
We focused on the boys Goggles first as they were both volunteering at a promotional event and needed at least a pair of Goggles each so we searched Google Images for ideas, watched and read some tutorials and then just played with our collections of bits and pieces and Helmar Glues until we had projects we were happy with.  My Sunglasses would wind up being a last minute thing 2 days before the event as C was having a creative block with his Goggles so we decided I would take over finishing them and he would do Sunglasses but the Goggles didn't suit my costume so once finished and he loved the Goggles we switched.  This has been a creative journey and I wanted to explain how we would up where we did.
First we grabbed together our supplies.  We weren't sure what we would use but having it all out ready was important.
Helmar 450 Quick Dry Adhesive
Helmar Premium Craft Glue
Helmar Gemstone Glue
Helmar Fabric Glue
Paint
Gesso
Watch parts
Cogs and Gears
Pringles cans
Safety Glasses
Toilet Roll
Cutting Mat
Craft Knife
Picture Frame Hanging bits
Brads
Trim
Yogurt Pouch lids
Medication bottles
Physiotherapy/Yoga tubing.

For the Safety Goggles/Pringles Can Steampunk Goggles we cut down the Pringles cans and used the tops.
C adhered them to the Safety Goggles with Helmar 450 Quick Dry Adhesive.

Once the glue was dry C gave the Safety Goggles and Pringles cans a coat of gesso followed by Black paint and then he added metallic paints over these, at first just using a brush and then rubbing with his fingers as this got better results.
And this is when C got stuck, he wanted his Goggles to have certain aspects that created a creative block for him so they sat waiting to be finished for a few weeks until 3 days before the event I asked if I could take over finishing them and instead he Steampunk some metal framed Sunglasses by adding watch parts to them.
Photos are limited of this next stage as I needed both hands and couldn't use my camera while doing them, but I will talk you through how I did it.
I started by adding some grey trim like the brown trim I used on my Steampunk Handbag that I had rubbed gold paint on, adhereing it around the Goggles where the Pringles Cans meet the Safety Goggles to hide the seam I used Helmar 450 Quick Dry Adhesive to adhere this to my Goggles.
I then added cogs and gears in the bridge of the nose section using Helmar 450 Quick Dry Adhesive to add some cogs and gears to this area, starting with a wood veneer one I had painted to bring it up to the level of the trim.

Next I painted some Physio/Yoga tubing with some black paint and then with gold paint and figured out how I could attach it to my Goggles but poking one end into the bridge of the nose section so it was adhered both down to the Goggles and the gear and trim with Helmar 450 Quick Dry Adhesive.  I then worked out a pathway for this smallish piece and adhered that down with Helmar 450 Quick Dry Adhesive adding a Yogurt Pouch Lid I had painted with black paint and then rubbed gold and silver paint to on top of the tubing with a lot of Helmar 450 Quick Dry Adhesive.

I then added another tiny bit of the Physio/Yoga tubing as the Yogurt Pouch Lid needed something else under the other side and adhere it down where it looked like it should go.
I then hid imperfections with Cogs and Gears.
To finish off I painted my dry glue first in black and then adding metallic pain to make what what visible look like welds.

 While I was working on decorating the Goggles C worked on the Sunglasses.  They turned out so cute.
He used Helmar 450 Quick Dry Adhesive to adhere the watch parts to the bridge of the nose as he forgot the Helmar Gemstone Glue was on the table next to him.







And our third pair of Goggles are E's toilet paper roll Goggles which he made while C was making the base of his Safety Goggles/Pringles Can Steampunk Goggles.  I have only one photo from the creation process but I will talk you through it.
E cut the toilet rolls into the needed shape with the help of a adult and cut some strips to add rims around the Goggles and a piece for the bridge of the nose.
He adhered the rims and nose piece to his Goggles with Helmar Premium Craft Glue.
He painted his Goggles first with a base of black and then bronze, brass and silver.
He then added some picture hanging bits to the sides of his Goggles with brads and threaded some of the brown trim I used on my handbag through the picture hanging bits.  Adhering the Trim back on itself with Helmar Fabric Glue.

He then adhered various watch parts to his Goggles with Helmar 450 Quick Dry Adhesive.
They turned out so cute and look perfect on his hat.

Steampunk Handbag - Helmar Creative Team

Steampunk has been something the family and I wanted to give a go for a while and for many years I have been saying to my steampunk enthusiast friends that Maryborough Qld is a perfect location for a Steampunk event so when Steamfesta was announced naturally my family and I wanted to participate.


This is the first of several posts I will be sharing over the next couple of months detailing the items we made for our Steampunk costumes.  
I didn't get photos of everything as the boys and I were working on our projects at the same time, during any free time we had in the weeks leading up to the event.
Some photos taken on the day may reveal upcoming post content. 

I wanted to start by sharing my Steampunk Handbag with you.  I knew I was going to need a bag with me on the day and I had this lovely leather bag that had lots of awesome space inside that I had found in a op-shop last year which had broken strap attachments and I thought it would be a perfect way to fix it by turning it into a Steampunk Handbag as I could use my embellishments to hide the damage and repairs.


My first step was to cover the back of the magnet closure and the logo with cogs.  I felt this was the easiest way to start and to start getting the feeling that this would work.
I used Helmar 450 Quick Dry Adhesive to adhere my metal cogs and gears to my bag and to each other.

Now it was time to work out what to do about the broken top strap.
I decided to use a scrap of trim and some cogs and gears to reattach the strap and hide/blend it all in with cogs and gears.
I rubbed some gold paint with my finger over some brown trim to add some detail to it and then used Helmar 450 Quick Dry Adhesive to adhere my to attach the trim and my cogs & gears.

And now for the side.
The way the strap attachment had come completely off there was no way I could fix it in the timeframe and skill level I had so I chose to hide it.
I used Helmar 450 Quick Dry Adhesive to adhere some more of that brown trim and then some skinny gold trim over the entire section that the remaining piece was attached to.    Now there is no sign of how broken it was.

I looped some chain through the remaining side strap thing so that it looked like it had a purpose and call my project done.
I love how it turned out but when I have time I will add some other bits to it as I have had some more ideas since finishing the project but not had the time to implement them.  For now I have a functional bag that I can use at Steampunk events or even as a everyday handbag.