Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Theme Thursday - Masculine


I was so happy when I saw that the theme for the Thursday challenge was masculine - I'll take any chance to show off the pieces I made using the new SteamPunk stamps from Artistic Outpost!

The base of this hanging is made from a wood cigar box lid. It was new, but I wanted a vintage look so I sanded and burned it and inked it up a bit. Most everything else is just bits and pieces of wire, metal, found objects, etc.

One my favorite things about this piece is how I used my tiny attacher (baby stapler) from Tim Holtz. I was trying to figure out how I was going to get all these....what's the word...fussy, hard-to-stick...funky, floppy elements. How was I going to adhere them to the wood?? I whipped out that baby stapler and - presto! It punched right through the wood and clamped everything down quite neatly. When it came time to attach my handle (from Navel Jelly, very cool!) I tore off a couple piece of cloth measuring tape and again - baby stapler saved the day. I love that thing! Tip - if you want your staples to have a vintage look vs. shiny, rub them down with some black and brown Stazon before you load them into the stapler.


One more cool thing - see the brown fabric-y stuff under the stamped image? It's a paper towel that's been dyed using diluted acrylic paint. It's a technique I found in Ruth Rae's book. It looks almost like leather. Love that idea!

Make sure you check out the post below for more great masculine Steampunk-y goodness. There is also a ton of great artwork using these stamps in the Artistic Outpost gallery.

35 comments:

  1. what a gorgeous piece of art!

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  2. Love those new stamps and what you have done with them!!

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  3. I love the art you're doing with this set. It makes me want to visit the new hardware store Bob's been raving about.

    Cyndi

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  4. Shelley, I just love the way you have use the collected pieces...well done

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  5. OMG I´ve missed the right words.
    Stunning steampunk creation. Perfect.

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  6. You outdid yourself on this one GF!! and never would have thought to use the tiny stapler, Great tips from the pro! Thanks for the heads up on Theme Thursday.

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  7. Love your creation and love steampunk! Those stamps looks wonderful - wonder when they are available in Finland...

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  8. I love this!!! You have put together a mishmash of elements and come up with an outstanding piece of steampunk goodness.

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  9. Another outstanding piece, Shelly! Love what you created. You are such an amazing artist and very inspirational too:) Can't wait to see what you come up with next!

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  10. Fab steampunking! Gorgeous!

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  11. Wonderful piece! I'm really lovin' the steampunk! Love how you used old fuses, very cool.

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  12. Oh my goodness! This is an amazing multi-media piece. And I can't believe that's a paper towel. Gotta try that.

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  13. fabulous piece, love the stamps,can't wait to get my hands on them!

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  14. A beautiful creation and thanks for the link to a new resource site!

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  15. WOW...wow and er WoW.. just found your blog from lindas blogroll, the pic caught my eye, and now seeing it properly i know why.. its absolutly stunning, i'm just gtting into collage and fabric so this is right up my street... think you'll be going on my blogroll too :)
    hugs minxy

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  16. Wowwww, this rocks! I love all those bits and pieces. Great work.

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  17. Hello Shelley, thanks for all your nice comments on my blog. Love your steampunk piece and thats a good idea with the paper towel..what I like about the steampunk trend is that you can use anything and you dont have to spend a fortune..I am constantly looking on the pavement for stuff!!!

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  18. Shelly this is really amazing! I love everything about it! BRAVO! - Kris

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  19. Shelly, your samples for Artistic Outpost are absolutely fabulous!!

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  20. What a great project, Shelly! Just awesome. I love it!
    I really like the little box on the AO Gallery, too! Way cool!

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  21. Stunning piece of art. This actually looks as though it is from another era - incredibly authentic. Lynne M x

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  22. this is stunning...I feel lucky to have seen it IRL...the wit and creativity that has gone into each aspect is gorgeous.

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  23. Such a fantastic piece, looks really great.

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  24. Shelly this is awesome! I just ordered this sheet! Can't wait to get it, should be fun to play with!

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  25. You just ROCK GF, this is an amazing piece and thanks for all the tips!

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  26. Wowza ... Love the paper towel technique and the way you attached the handle is fabulous ... thanks for providing so much detail about your creative process, I appreciate it.

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  27. What an amazing piece. Love everything about it - the colors, the composition, the texture... And paper towel??? I never would have guessed that!

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  28. That is amazing! I love the colors and all the little extra's really make the overall piece!
    Hugs, Pat Smith

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  29. Pam Austin (pamicat)March 31, 2010 at 11:30 PM

    one word is all I can think of: OUTRAGEOUS!

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  30. Fantastic piece, Shelly! So I have to think about the stapler ...

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  31. Shelly this is fab! Love the do-dads that you added, the leathered paper towel (who'd thunk...), the wire and of course Tim's Tiny attacher.... Oh love the part of the drawer pull that you used then the number ribbon to attach it.... Lots of inspiration here!!!

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Thanks so much for taking the time to share your thoughts. I appreciate your comments so much!