Tribal Steampunk

I recently entered a challenge on a forum I go to. The theme was Steampunk, and after a lot of deliberating and switching plans, I came up with this.


 

Now, I know it's not totally Steampunk, but it's definitely getting there. I couldn't help but add a bit of the faerie, tribal style I've been playing with.

In all, Tribal Steampunk took about 4-5 hours to make. That was the work alone - I can't bare to think about the design process. There were so many beads a textiles that I'd pick up and would match...others wouldn't, no matter how much I wanted them to. You know how it is.

For this necklace, I started with the tiny, copper book. I made the cover out of copper sheet and cut out 12 tiny pages from sketch book paper. I antiqued the pages with a tea patina, and bound it all with copper wire. On the front cover of the book, I added an old, Irish coin with a beautiful bird, a vintage Swarovski crystal, and a wire wrapped LED.

From the bottom of the book hangs my very first wirework key. I'm really pleased with how it came out. And for a bit of extra detail, I wrapped two faceted emeralds onto it.

Next, I added some repurposed green velvet, amethyst drops, and more copper wirework reminiscent of feathers to carry the bird theme. The focal area hangs from a piece of sea glass I found in the River Thames in London, England. The chain features vintage glass beads from Old Bicycle Shop, lampwork by Tan Grey, silk, and frayed, feathery fibers. The fabrics were dyed with tea to match the antiqued pages.

And the really cool thing? You can open the book - you can write in it.

I used an old brass clasp I recycled from a vintage necklace to close the book. Just an extra touch to keep your secret notes safe.