Airship Crimson Steamers

Norman's Medieval Fair & OU Nightly video!

Final exams are ending this week bringing a great spring semester to a close! In addition to the fabulous leather goggles class featured in our March blog, ACS made the student cable & YouTube channel and relished steampunk craftsmen from across the U.S. featured at Norman's Med Fair.  We've been busy this spring!

Probably the largest outdoor fair in the state of Oklahoma, April's Med Fair brought handmade items from New Mexico, California, and Minnesota in addition to local artisans.  The event is strategically planned on OU's Mom's Weekend.  

My favorite item at the fair was a straw top hat, as seen on this lovely vendor.  Her partner wore a black one, also made of straw.  How smart!  They are stylish, not sweaty, and of course, fun to decorate.  Sadly, no one at the fair was selling a straw top hat, though.  There were many other hats made of leather, felt, etc.  Lovely corsets were a-plenty!  Hope you enjoy the photos! FIREFLY ALERT: <3 'I aim to misbehave!' <3 pin!

The weekend of Med Fair the south side of campus also hosted baseball games and gymnastics finals, in addition to the OKC Bridal Show at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History.  It was the place to pick up new steampunk accessories, listen to great music and enjoy strawberries Newport! Don't miss this event in 2014! http://www.medievalfair.org/

We're on YouTube!

Steampunk bubble gun by Cordelia Moon Tea of OctopodiCon!

Crimson Steamers member Nate Pipkin, President Shai Fenwick, and I literally bumped into OU student news reporters at the theater department's costume sale.  The reporters hadn't heard of 'steampunk' and asked for a video shoot!  Shai and I met them at Goodwill at 9am Saturday, then brought them over for DYI time.  Current Sooner, Leslie Keller-Kenton, and OU alums met for a quick cos-play!  Hope you enjoy our 15 seconds of fame!
Steampunk: Old World Meets Technology

Published on Feb 22, 2013

Two different time periods are brought together in this new trend called steampunk.

Mixing old world fashion with technology and science fiction touches, steampunk is a unique style that is catching on quickly. Especially because of how easy it is to put together the look. Leah [Keller-Kenton] McGaha, a recent OU graduate, says that "you can find most of what you need raiding your own closet, raiding a friend's closet, visiting a thrift store or visiting a hardware shop, or even going to a large chain store."

Members love transforming pieces of clothing into costumes for this fun and unique style. Find a local steampunk group, figure out a character and costume, and you could be the newest member in this growing trend.

We are looking forward to SOONERCON & hanging out with Tim Powers in late June!  SOONERCON is June 28th to 30th - here's a link for more information.  http://www.soonercon.com/


More soon!
Dalynda Marie

You might be a nerd if...

Home decor only a fan will appreciate.

I'm sharing a couple real pictures from our little house in Norman, Oklahoma.  We like to have friends over & it is always fun to see the fan-friends smirk when they notice our hidden fandom.  The images are significant in science fiction, diesel punk, etc.  I'll give you a few clues to see if you geek-squeak, like Mrs. PerkyShai does at most things shiny. [8:{

First is the easy one to get your warmed up...  Here is a tapestry; the scene is Lake Como in Italy.  Got it?

CLUE:
This is the spot where a doomed couple first kissed.  [Hum, maybe this is a good reason to move it out of my bedroom? Sigh!]

Did you guess it yet? Need another hint? The couple were secretly married in this spot.  At this point, the groom had a mechanical hand! Yep, this is not really Italy, it is Naboo! Queen/Senator Amidala's lake house patio!  She married Anakin Skywalker here!  Good job!  Was it too easy?

Okay, this one is tougher because it is from a new 2012 fandom.  Good luck!

My new favorite piece of art in the house is from Nepal.  My wonderful little brother visited this beautiful country and hiked in the Himalayas.  As a gift, he brought us a painting from the monks.  These are called Buddhist thangka paintings.  This becoming blue figure features fire & babies heads!

Is this familiar? CLUE: My daughter's favorite monk lives on in this diesel punk anime...

This deity is also the face of Ginormous Madman one of the organizations behind the awarding-winning show Legend of Korra, who according to their Wikipedia page, "is strongly influenced by Japanese animation, has been a critical and commercial success. It obtained the highest audience total for an animated series in the U.S. in 2012, and it was praised by reviewers for its high production values and for addressing difficult sociopolitical issues such as social unrest and terrorism. It was initially conceived as a miniseries of 12 episodes, but it is now set to run for 52 episodes separated into four "books," each of which tells a separate story." We are eagerly awaiting the second season which was originally slated to begin in March of this year.

As a parent, I can highly recommend the Korra first season; strong female characters, excellent steam or diesel punk animation, and the writers included political parallels to the 'Patriot Act' hidden in a story about equality and freedom.

I hope you have hidden fandom in your home; if you'd like to share, please comment below with links to your images and treasures.

Kindest regards,
Dalynda Marie
 
References:

Lake Como & Star Wars:
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Lake_Como

Buddist Thangka paintings:
http://www.buddhanet.net/thangkas.htm

Ginormous Madman of Nickelodeon:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Legend_of_Korra

Join us at OctopodiCon Nov. 1st in Norman, OK for a goggles DYI make it and take it class just like this one!

Photos from Goggles Class @ Tandy Leather in OKC for Airship Crimson Steamers from the University of Oklahoma!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/AirshipCrimsonSteamers/

Anomaly Con 2013 - Denver, CO

photos by Dalynda Marie

Mini Top Hats!

Kudos and all credit to Cordelia MoonTea & Bev Hale!

I'm sharing a pattern for mini top hats which I was given at an OctopodiCon Tea!  This pattern is easy to use, as we did at the local library with people of all ages. This pattern is made to use 3 ounce plastic cups and also there is a version for 9 ounce light weight plastic cups.  We used felt in various patterns from a local hobby store, but lots of materials would work, if you want to improvise.

In fact the library tea was so much fun, my daughter and I adapted it to up-cycle the little medicine cups I'd kept in the cupboard left over from tussin and other meds.  We spray painted them and used old holiday wrapping or construction paper to make tree ornaments for our steampunk holiday.

 

Hope to see peeps at Anomaly Con this weekend and also at OctopodiCon in Norman, OK Nov. 1st!

Steampunk Wedding 

Anomaly Con: Sunday, March 31st @ 2pm

We are preparing for a trip to Denver for Anomaly Con! We hope you can join our presentation of photos and information about steampunk wedding artisans who use your family history to create a celebration to cherish in the future!

DIY crafts include mini-top hat favors and metal boutonnieres.  If you can't join us, then read on for the highlights!

Eclectic weddings are individual, distinctive, and often a singular moment for the bride to the focus of the fanfare, especially if she’s starring in a steampunk wedding!  This dress is a show-stopper, created by seamstress Lisa Sauter as photographed and shared here with permission from Ian Danziger.  [Their links are below.]

Why the peacock? Here's a little history...
 
Peacock feathers are exotic and reminiscent of some Victorian society’s love of things ‘Oriental’.  According to enthusiasts peacocks are native to southern Asia and Malaysia. Peafowl were extensively raised by the Romans and in medieval Europe, explains Laurie M. Johnson, editor of Gamebird.com. This look can be found today in current artisans.

These colorful birds were “kept for centuries by people first in China and then in Europe and America. The Phoenicians brought the peacock to Egypt more than three thousand years ago. Historical records indicate that Solomon kept several peacock species, among other pheasants, with the India Blue being his favorite peacock.”  History is fascinating, but on with the wedding planning...

Reaching back in history to the Victorian era is simple with handmade fingerless lace gloves made by Seamstess by the Sea's Tracey Audrey from California.  She can't join us for Anomaly Con, but she's sending samples for a raffle! I bought this pair & love them!  Did you know most people have different sized hands; one is often a little smaller than the other. Tracey has a very useful size chart on her sight and makes all her gloves individually for just this reason!

 

One last teaser, our discussion in Denver will try to incorporate science and technology, steampunk standards, into the perfect steampunk wedding.  Check out this perfect example of upcycling items into fabulous center pieces for the wedding reception.  Imagine giving the groomsmen some time and space to invent!  This photo is just one of the table toppers from our featured brides party.  Also not the little light bulbs for seating cards!

I hope you've enjoyed this mini-con session!  Stay tuned for photos after the event!

Kindest regards,
Dalynda Marie
 

LINKS:

Seamstress who created the dress, Lisa Sauter:

https://www.facebook.com/WirSindDieRoboter

Seamstess who creates the lace gloves featured here:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/SeamstressbytheSea

 

Photographer, Ian Danziger:

www.ibd-designs.com/

Peacock historical information, Laurie M. Johnson

http://www.gamebird.com/peacock.html

 

Pinterest Board:

http://pinterest.com/dalyndamarie/steampunk-peacock/

Etsy Treasury:

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/MTQ5ODEzMjl8MjcyMTM3MDQ3OQ/steampunk-wedding-in-gorgeous-peacock?ref=pr_treasury