Steam Punk Quilt Top

Today's post is a fun quilt top that I made in late October.  I found steam punk image fabric and designed the remainder of the quilt around these nice pieces with themes of time and travel.

I was attending the Governor's Water Conference and took my sewing machine, so I would have something to do in the evenings.  When I travel without Dennis I miss him, so quilting is something I can do while I am alone.

This fun quilt is just a top thus far, and can be made up with any solid or print backing in Standard, Queen or King for $400.00 complete.  It can be custom quilted with names, initials, secret messages and the like, in any color(s) of thread.

Tribute to Robert Frost

Tribute to Robert Frost

I spent many hours on this gorgeous steampunk mirror frame.  It started out as a tacky junk store find, all tired and icky.  But I gave it a new perspective, new paint, and encrusted it with a wealth of interesting texture bits-- copper enamel beads and keys, stamped brass and... yes, a reptile eye.  It is a masculine piece.  The bottom part is a mirror, but I happened to angle it to capture some chandalier danglies and lace curtains that were just hanging in the background.  The more you look at it, the more you see.

The Steampunk Desk Accessory

Steampunk Desktop Card & Letter Organizer

I love to find old abandoned wooden things in the thrift stores with good sturdy bones, so I can give new life to something that might otherwise have gone unappreciated.  When I found this neat old letter and business card holder, how could I resist punking it all up with femo beads and watch parts, twisted wire and copper edging?  This lil sweetie is shown featuring my business card which says on one side, "Make Bad Problems Go Away."  (I am an attorney).  This desk piece will be available at my Island Retreat etsy store in a few days.  If you'd like to visit there, click on one of the pictures under the Island Retreat Widget and you'll be swhisked away to my lil store.

Steampunk Desk Organizer

Mardi Gras Picture Frame

Steampunk Train

Steampunk Train

When my kids were little, I was a big Dr. Who fan, mostly because my son was The World's Biggest Dr. Who fan.  Today, he can still tell ya what actor played Dr. Who in sequential order.  So, couple that with Douglas Adams and Hitchiker's Guide the Galaxy, Metropolis, Dark City, Boys from Brazil, Mad Max and Tank Girl---- who wouldn't be fascinated by trains and steampunk.  Heck, I even bought an espresso machine so I could produce hydrogen in my own kitchen.

So, I found this dinky sad broken little train in the junk store, and recycled it into a thing of art.  This steampunk train is about 11 inches long and has a cargo area for Things.  A 1980 RCA TV transistor circuitboard fits perfectly over 4/5ths of the top, if you wanted to use it for ink pens but only had 5 ink pens.  And as I was remaking it, I wondered if  Thomas the Tank Engine looked like this when he grew up.  This little assemblage will be available via Oklahoma Food Cooperative.  Check it out at http://www.oklahomafood.coop/ .

Funky Little Photo Creche

Funky Little Photo Creche

Today (Friday) it is storming, so for some reason this blog is refusing to justify left.  See this delightful little creche?  It is made from a gold thing and a little crate (about CD size) that I got at a thrift store.  I love recycling found objects, especially rusty metal things crushed by cars.  This one, though, is not made with a lot of crushed metal.  It does have a couple of steampunk swirls on top.  I thought it would be nice for those tiny 2 by 3 inch photo frames.  It has some cool femo clay beads that I made, which look like eyes and a heart.  It has feathers and stuff, too.  This piece would be ideal for a girl's room or your darling one who is going off to college.  It is available for purchase via Oklahoma Food Cooperative.  Coolest of all, I love to do custom pieces reflecting the personality of the person that I'm making the creche for.  If you are a girley girl and want girley stuff, then I'm your girl.  If you need a Father's Day tribute to your supergreat man, I can make art for guys... which is kinda hard to find.  Want to commemmorate the birth of a new child?  The celebration of Grannyhood?  A special thank you thinkpiece?  Reach me if you'd like an affordable and fun custom assemblage.

A Little Steampunk Bird House

Here's a sweet little birdhouse, in my steampunk style.  To me, birdhouses are symbolic 'nests' like homes or comfy spots.  And I love birds.  We got our first hummingbird nipping at the hanging basket this week, and strong winds on Friday may have blown the little fellow up North.  This birdhouse is an art piece that is listed for sale at Oklahoma Food Cooperative.

The Fisherman's Thought

The Fisherman's Thought

While there is time before Father's Day, I've been thinking about what men think about.  I can ask Friedrick at any time, "What song are you singing in your head?"  And he'll come back with an instant answer.  It might be Seven Bridges Road, Amy, Beautiful Tonight, Rock and Roll Heart, St. James Infirmary, Faded Memory, or just about anything.  When you open your mind to a little mental picture of going fishing, do you see a lunker trout rise up out of the misty water to take your hand-tied fly?

I have the coolest Brother-In-Law.  He's the guy who saved the Air Force hundreds of thousands of dollars by coming up with a better way to de-ice the wings of airplanes.  That was when he was a chemist.  Now he's a CPA.  Maybe I relate to him because he's kinda like me... a nerd about many things, with a curious mind and (perhaps unlike me..) the knowledge to 'go there.'

For him, tax season is like a marathon race.  By April 16th, he's overworked and ready for about a week of healing at fishing camp on Lake Tenkiller or someplace else.  So, knowing that he hasn't been playing the scenario of a big lunker trout nearly often enough these days, I made him this little window into a thought about trout fishing.  And pheasants.  It is made of 1/8 inch pine with copper trim, Bombay mahogany finish and lots of little tinkering parts from watches or something.  It is about eight inches tall at the arch, and just a tad smaller between the windows than a business card. 

I would love to do a custom piece for you to give for a Father's Day present.  Email me ( ktibbits@lrec.org ) if you have a special guy who'd like a window expressing his favorite things--- sports or nascar, guitars or fighting roosters, his family and favorite book, or just something extremely avante garde and wierd.  Heck, I can come up with the ideas if you're at a loss for something really kampy and cool.

Steampunk Time Travelling Machine

Steampunk Time Travelling Machine

Habitat for Humanity hosts an annual bird house auction to raise money for building homes. The bird houses are decorated by area artists.  This year my donation is this fun Steampunk Time Travelling Machine, created from radio gauges and watch parts with glass tiles and brass or copper other bits.  It is edged in copper flashing.  My collaborator for this project was Gene Carter, who helped me drill and set the gauges.  If one were to go about creating a time travelling machine, what would be the essential parts?  Plenty of dials so as to calibrate the dates and measure the travel, plus interesting-looking whirlygigs that could move fast.  There are few moving parts to this little endeavour, but it does look strangely wonderfully gadgety.  It will be available at the Habitat auction in May in Tahlequah, Oklahoma.  If you'd like to make an offer on purchasing it, call me at 918 797 5016 and I will relay your bid to the auction coordinators.