Steampunk Gun Tutorial

This week I wanted to share with you an easy and very inexpensive way to make a Steampunk Gun. 

First gather your supplies:

A medium size squirt gun - I got BRIGHT ORANGE one at Wal-Mart for under $2

Spray Paints - Black,and Metallic paints - I used gold and silver.

If you did the steampunk goggle tutorial you should have plenty of spray paint left over.

Hot Glue Gun, Hot glue sticks or a strong glue like E6000

Scissors

Embellishments - Gather what you have! I used a pair of $1 earrings, a small plastic tube, some metal brads and a small gear, and some wire ribbon.

Paint Brushes

Acrylic paint in metallic tones and black. 

That is all I used but you can make this as elaborate as you want.

TOTAL COST FOR MY STEAMPUNK GUN - under $10

Now to start:

1. Take your squirt gun and in a well ventilated area spray paint a base of black. Let dry and repeat process for 2 coats.  

2. Once base coat is dry add a few more coats of metallic spray paint, alternating colors. I first sprayed gold, then silver. Let dry.

3. Lightly sand the gun and then add more layers of paint. Repeat this process until you are happy with the patina. *I spray painted the small black plastic tube embellishments  with the same process as the gun*

4. Gather your embellishments

5. Start gluing, using either the glue gun or the E6000, embellishments to the gun. I started by adding a few medal brad tops(BTW, It is easy to remove the brad prongs and just use the tops.)  to points on the gun where I thought they looked like they could realistically belong. I then added a metallic wire ribbon that I cut in half to the "seam" of the gun.

6. Now to make the "scope". I took the $1 store earring apart and just used the inner filigree pattern. Paint with spray paint if needed. Glue this filigree circle to the painted small black plastic tube. This creates a UNIQUE "scope" for your gun.

7. After the "scope" is dry attach it to the top of the gun with glue. I used E6000 with a touch of hot glue to help stabilize it.

8. Using the metallic and black acrylic paints add finishing touches and depth to the gun.

9. I almost stopped there but felt the gun needed something else..... so I added a small gear at the tip of the barrel.

10. ENJOY!!!

I hope you enjoy creating your own version of this gun. It is a great beginners Steampunk project for a low cost. 

You can also find tutorials, and articles by me @ Skyward Gears.com (There is a link at the top of the blog.

If you want to order a custom steampunk piece please contact me @ 

www.facebook.com/aBeesCreations

or 

www.etsy.com/shop/aBeesCreations

Bad Day Project: Pirate Ship Hair Comb

Tonight I was having a bad day, you know the kind where nothing seems to go right and drama gets thrown at you like....................................................................................... a Frisbee at a dog park.

 What did you think I was going to say.

 (we are a PG blog folks.)

So what do I do when I am having that sort of day?

 I create!

I decide to make a large "leather" Pirate Ship Hair Comb.

HOW DID I DO THAT YOU ASK..... 

Okay you probably didn't ask but I have to pretend someone out there is talking back to me while I type, so bare with me. Here is what I did.

I took a pleather belt, similar to this one.

  I bought mine at a discount jewelry and accessory store for $3.

Carefully tore it apart by separating each piece.

 Then I reattached the grommets.

I backed it with black felt to hide any imperfections that occurred while I was deconstructing the belt. Next I added a comb, finishing the comb with the same black felt.

Then finished off the piece with a pirate ship, this was a pendant from a dollar store necklace. THRIFTY !!! 

After about 2 hours of work, mind you frustrated work which tends to be a bit faster in my case, and you have a new hair accessory! This one cost about $6 in material plus the 2 hours in time. Not too bad, huh?

Here is what mine looks like.

 I didn't take more photos of the actual process, but like I said it was bad mood work and I never think about photos at times like that. Sorry.

This is what I do when I am having a bad day. What do you do?

Steampunk Goggle Tutorial: Easy Level

Steampunk Google Tutorial #1: Easy Level by AJ

First gather your tools and supplies.

1 pair of inexpensive swim goggles.

 I got mine at our local dollar type store for, you guessed it, a whole dollar.

Metallic colored spray paint. 

Your choice in colors. I use a silver and a gold to enhance the style and give the goggles a layered aged look.

Ribbon or leather cording

I used a metallic colored ribbon with metal threads. 

(If you use the leather cording you may have to sew it onto the plastic so a needle and thread will be added.)

Hot glue gun and glue sticks.

Wire, Nuts, Gears, and such to use as embellishment.

Total cost of supplies should be $7 to $15. Of course that depends on the embellishments you use. I had the spray paint on hand so I didn't have to purchase any for this project.

Directions:

1. Take the goggles apart by pushing the lenses out and removing the head strap.

2. Spray paint the frames with your choice of metallic spray paint.

BE SURE YOU ARE OUTSIDE OR IN A WELL VENTILATED AREA.

I layered two colors, gold and silver to get a aged look.

3. Pick whether you want to use leather material or cording or ribbon. I chose a metallic ribbon because I wanted to keep this simple and didn't really want to sew today. 

If you chose to use leather or leather cording you will need a thick need and thread that matches the color of your leather. You will then hand stitch the leather to the suction area of the lenses.

But like I said I didn't feel like sewing today so I opted for ribbon. I chose a ribbon with metallic threads. 

4. Using a hot glue gun attach the ribbon to the suction area of the lenses. Be Careful not to get glue on the actually lenses, especially if you want to actually see out of these. 

Make sure to fold over the ribbon and finish the inside as well as the outside.

5. After the paint is dry and the suction area is covered in the material, pop the lenses back into the frame.

6. Reattach the head strap to finish reassembling the goggles.

Now you could finish here.

 

But that is NOT much fun now is it?

7. So now for the FUN part! Embellishments!!

I chose gears, a washer, a nut, and some copper colored ribbon wire.  Wrap the wire around your embellishments and through the side strap slits. wrap wire tightly and in a pattern you like. 

Finish up with some hot glue to stabilize the embellishments if needed.

Now if you want you can spray the head  strap and ribbon. Just be careful to tape the lens to keep visibility intact.

Hope you enjoyed my first tutorial. 

Happy Fabricating!

~AJ of aBeesCreations

If you would like to purchase custom made steampunk goggles or other accessories please contact me. 

You can find my Art and Accessories for sale online at

www.etsy.com/shop/aBeesCreations

or 

www.cafepress.com/aBeesCreations