Steampunk + Art Beads = Fun!

This weekend I will be attending The Steampunk World's Fair in Piscataway, NJ.  I went last year for the first time and had a blast.  One of the ways I met more people was by hosting a trinket swap.  Since everyone seemed to enjoy it, I am hosting it again this year.  Participants create wearable, steampunk-themed trinkets that we then swap with each other (full details are here).  It was a fun way to encourage people to get crafty, make new friends AND introduce people to art beads.

Last year I created porcelain gears that had clasps attached to them.  For this years swap, I went with stoneware keyhole charms.  They are in the greenware stage in the photo above.  Once they dried, I sponged them and bisque-fired them.

After the bisque firing, I stained each with an oxide and loaded them in to the kiln.  You can see them in the photo on the left at the bottom of the kiln.

And here they are after the firing!

To fulfill my swap requirement of them being wearable, I hung each from some ball chain necklaces that I purchased through MyElements.  Since ball chain can be easily cut with a pair of scissors, participants can decide how they would like to wear them (necklaces, keychains, etc...)

Of course, I had to go a step further and make cute packaging for each trinket.  I punched a hole in my Moo cards and slid them on to the chain.  Then I stamped mustaches on the envelopes and sealed each with washi tape.  I was having so much fun with my mustache stamps that I went ahead and stamped the bag I'll be carrying them in.  

I'm looking forward to Saturday and I can't wait to see what the other trinket swappers have created!

Happy Beading!

Diana P.

Suburban Girl Studio LLC