Riding a Steampunk Carousel

    I have always loved carousels ever since I was little and didn't have people yelling at me to get off and let the children have a turn...Who says adults can't go to carousels and ride while screaming that they are a princess...Annnywhoo
So I made my own carousel horse and due to my love of all things steampunky, I put a fun little twist to the traditional carousel ride. :)
It's all about dat base so that's what I started with, take several small wood circles, glue them together and drill a hole through the center. ( I got my husband to help with that part because I can't be trusted with power-tools.:P ) Then paint your base, I used white and gold.

 Now for the main part. Sculpt a rough shape of your horse; I usually sculpt the body and limbs separate. After you finish the details on the face you then attach the limbs to the body with wire.

Then you can sculpt any more details to the piece. I usually sculpt pieces that stand freely but this sculpture was a little more challenging because I had to sculpt each part while it had a large wire through the center of it. Made it very difficult to put down, and figuring out how to bake my horse was another chore entirely.

Time to add the steampunky accessories! Using clay and metal jewelry and watch pieces I bring my steampunk carousel horse to life.

All Done! Despite the size of this sculpture, he almost looks like he could carry children around and around until they got sick. FUN!!! :D

I am super happy with how this piece came out, I would love to make a few more steampunk carousel animals but I am not sure if I will be able to with the up coming Dragon Con Art Show I will be attending in September.
Keep checking out my Blog and FaceBook page to see what all I will be working on as the show approaches. :)

Thanks for reading.
~Caralyn

Check out this Crocodile Smile

Spent a few days in Florida last month and it got me in the mood to make an Alligator Steampunk Myxie Pal.

I usually start with sculpting the head on my animal pals and just form a rough shape of the animal's body.

 Then you can start to add the details and smooth out the torso shape.

Then comes the limbs, I sculpt each individually and attach it using craft wire frames. 

Once the body is finished, details such as scales and teeth can be added to the piece. 

Gears, Craft wire and metal jewelry pieces are added to give the animal a Steampunky feel. Then the piece is baked and the remaining details are painted on. And your Steampunk Alligator is done. :)

That's one good lookin Gator. :)

For my available handcrafted polymer clay sculptures, check out my Etsy store. 

Thanks for reading,

~Caralyn

Steampunk Cuties

That time again when I crank out new Steampunk Dragon Pals. My last few shows/conventions cleaned out my inventory on these lovable little critters, so I've been working on some brand new little darlings. :)
Here's what I've gotten done, I may work on new Steampunk animal pals for a bit but don't you worry, I'm not done with the fan favorites just yet. :)
Oh and by the way, I was accepted into the Dragon Con Art Show in September again this year so I will be sure to make plenty of these little guys before then. :)

Love the metal butterfly wings on this one. 

Really fun colors on this little guy, the gold and the dark gray make such a nice contrast. 

This little one is my favorite so far....don't tell the others ;P

I have posted most of these guys on my Etsy store, check out the link for my available pieces. :)

Thanks for reading!

~Caralyn

Whisper to a Hummingbird

I just finished a piece I have been working on for a friend. Her mother-in-law loves Hummingbirds so she wanted me to make something special for her for Mother's day.
I wanted the Hummingbird to appear like it was flying while drinking from flowers, not an easy task but I had an idea of how it would work. I started by making the flowers for the base.

Azaleas are a good pretty Flower to sculpt. 

After all the flowers were sculpted, I attached them to a wood base using glue and craft wire. Then I sculpted small polymer clay decorations to the corners of the wood base.

Just add a small message and painted details and the base is ready for the next step.

Sculpting the little Hummingbird was the most fun, I sculpted the sweet little body and wings separate and then attached them with liquid clay and craft wire.

I sculpted the little bird with a wire going through the length of his body and out the tip of his beak, to help attach him to the flowers. Then details were painted and the little guy was ready to add to the base.

ALL FINISHED! 

I really enjoyed working on this piece, and my friend was very pleased with how it turned out.

For commissions/custom orders contact me through my Etsy store.

Thanks for ready!
~Caralyn

See you later Steampunk Expo

Steampunk Expo went really well, several of my little steampunk pals found new homes and my husband's books were quite popular. It's a young Con but it was very well organized and successful for us, We will definitely try to be vendors at it again next year :)

So many talented awesome people at the show, I came home with all kinds of treasures. Here is just a small sampling of the sooooo many purchases I made over the weekend :P

Dryad Tea made the awesome tentacle mug and super delicious chai tea that I couldn't wait to get home to try. This lady is the funnest person you will ever meet, if you are a tea lover you HAVE to check out her stuff. http://dryadtea.com/

My super fun candles were courtesy of a sweet young artist I had the pleasure of meeting at this show, such beautiful intricate work.
https://www.patreon.com/jennyfranklinartist?ty=h

And for the heavier drinkers out there make your own special brews with these fun flavors at http://www.leloupgaroualchemy.com/

There were many more talented people at the show, I have high hopes for this little convention, make sure to check it out next year. :) 

Thanks for reading!
~Caralyn

Steampunk Expo is this Weekend!

  Tagging and packing all my new pieces and getting everything ready for Steampunk Expo this Friday through Sunday at the Chattanooga ChooChoo in TN. I've never been to this show before so I'm excited to see what it's all about. I'm hoping for lots of intricate steampunk costumes. :) 

I have several new pocket watches that I have been working on this week, I am hoping the cosplayers will like my newest pieces.






Cthulhu can't be contained in just any pocket watch.



and of course my little Steampunk Pals are excited to be there,



my cutethulhus will be there ready to charm the attendees,

and we can't forget about the Dragon Pals...who could? :)



So if you are there this weekend don't forget to stop on by and say hi to my little guys. :)

Thanks for reading.

~Caralyn