Skeleton, Cabinet, Suitcase, Clock, and Car
Periodically, I go on these hunts or binges on eBay looking for a bulk listing of whatever the perfect item of the moment is. I’ve found lots with a bunch of non-working watches, leatherworking tools and acrylic eyes, among other things. I don’t always win the auctions because I actually limit my max bid to what I think is a valid price (for instance, I can get leather stamps from Tandy at a great price, wholesale, so I won’t buy them if they cost more on eBay with shipping). But some things are harder to find locally for a “reasonable” price to a scavenger–I need to make sure that I’m not paying so much for a piece that it’s unreasonable to include the price of it in my pricing formula for the book or doll that I’m making.
Fleamarket Finds: Padlock Trio
Where does one go to find all the little (and big) goodies out there for making a steampunk or altered art anything? Truth is, you can find them all over the place–you probably have some things lying around your house (or garage) that would work. But after you’ve scavenged your property and started a collection of junk…er…precious vintage items for use in your art, what then? Where do you go to build a collection of gears, brass bits, copper parts, levers, keys, crystal and glass lenses, and what have you for making a steampunk masterpiece?
Some Needlefelting Resources
I figured that after seeing the stunning bit of needlefelting I shared yesterday (was it a dog? a horse? a sheep?!), everyone would be chomping at the bit (maybe it was a horse…) to try some needlefelting for themselves. Just think, in no time at all you could be doing some wonderful needlefelted pieces like this (from Julie Blanchette):
Actually, I suspect it took a lot more than “no time at all” for the artist the reach that skill level but you could, at least, be able to make a sheep-horse in no time at all (it’s not quite finished yet, just give me a little more time).


