So I've gotten into the whole chains and beads thing, and I've had this broken pendant for ages. My best friend Pam used to be really goth but she brightened up - though she still likes gothic inspired things. And she loves turquoise. Thus this necklace. It's a Christmas present - sh!

The chains are all recycled. In fact the only new things are the dyed jaspar accent beads, and the bead caps.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/lydialikesrandomness/4048903874/sizes/o/

Sorry the photo quality is so bad - all I have right now is a camera phone!

First of all, the design is awesome. can't wait to see completed pix! secondly, I like the fascinator/minihat idea, with feathers arching backward parallel to the mohawk. I also like the idea of a veil kind of sneaking sideways over the mohawk (i love the look of intricate hairstyles under tulle.) And definitely some gears in there.

So is this a cut mohawk or just an inside out french braid? (great idea. I'd tease the strands before braiding to make it poufier.)

Please post a picture of yourself that day!

You've inspired me to start using up my bloated stash of ribbons, lace and rick rack!

Lol. When I saw the first pic I thought it's what you made with the stuff...I don't see a gaudy component, I see a big, striking pendant!

i just love the look of freshly organized jewelry bits...oh the possibilities!

So I went to BCB (best crafting buddy) Eliea's house last June and she got me started on my first (and probably only) poppet. She had this great gold embroidered fabric and I envisioned a lioness. A steampunk lioness.
We dremmeled and painted the eyes, put them in beautifully with felt liners patterned after actual lion photos, made the hair wefts, sewed her up, did everything just so, and she came out looking like...a mouse. Wide doe eyes, wimpy little nose and mouth. Oh, and big pointy goblin ears. I wish I had a picture. It was terrible.

I was so devastated I hid her, naked, on a shelf for a year. She laid there sadly, until one day two weeks ago I woke up with an idea for cosmetic surgery. The ears were reshaped and repositioned, the forehead and bridge of nose taken in to bring her eyes together like a true carnivore, the nose enlarged and the pathetic little mouth unstitched.

When I was finished, she arose, triumphant and wild...Cleo!  She demanded clothing, enraged at the indignity of a year in the buff. With her lush Homespun hair and exotic eyes, she defied the steampunk vision I originally had, speaking instead of a free spirited, perhaps a north African, sort of bedoin vibe. Surprised but pleased, I got to work.

This is her in her first outfit, finished today. Nothing fancy, but she isn't one for a lot of frills. Or shoes, for that matter.


Last night I took Cleo to a friend's house. This friend had an old box full of vintage doll clothing that happened to fit pretty well. We had a great fun dress up session and photo shoot, Cleo snarling the whole time.

"Am I supposed to like this?"


"No. Please no. Take it off NOW."


She's much more comfortable in her own clothes now.

Two Wild Cats


The moral of the story is...a Poppet's inner beauty can't be hidden forever, nor can you predict how she will turn out in the end. Thanks Eliea for the beautiful fabric and for getting me started!

woot woot!

 I just got hooked on Girl Genius last night...already into the 5th volume...not even normally a webcomics kind of girl...

A few links for you:

This photographer is incredible. http://www.flickr.com/photos/8965562@N02/sets/72157600370148979/

Awesome steampunk fashion flickr group: http://www.flickr.com/groups/651961@N20/

The NY Times article: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/08/fashion/08PUNK.html?pagewanted=all

(this post is also a bump in hopes that more craftsters will share their steampunk inspirations...)

Hello! It's my first post in like a year! (I've been stalking you guys tho, especially the poppet threads...)

Just popped in to take my bows for Akanke's new outfit. Thank you everyone, thank you.         Funny, it came out a lot glitzier than i had in mind...the design sketch was much...beastlier. Ah well, maybe she's the jungle's fashion princess...


I'm working on my very own poppet, she shall be a lioness! Thanks Eli for the stuff and getting me started! I got her hair half sewed on then somebody told me she looked more like an elf than a lioness, due to the odd angle of the ears. So now I'm undoing all that hair and resewing the ears. *sigh* ...I'm such a perfectionist...

ooh oooh I wanna do this one! I have been craving a pretty apron and
i would never get around to making it just for myself. A swap is just the motivation I need!

any chance the time frame can include sometime outside of the middle weeks of January? because I doubt I will be able to participate in a swap while I am out of the country.

yay I can't wait!

I think it is a good idea.   

I feel really silly. Am I the only one who read the subject line and thought a toiletbag was either a bag that was shaped like a toilet or (even stranger) a bag for carrying a toilet?  LOL

Now I get it. a toiletries bag. Like for carrying his brush, comb and razor. 

It's a really nice looking bag and a great pattern. Thanks for sharing it!