An extra-mad tea party

I apologize for the sudden quiet here - due to family issues I had to fly out east unexpectedly on the 26th, the day we were supposed to host the Mad Tea Party.

On the positive side, the tea party is still on.  It'll just be slightly delayed.  And while I wish we could have joined everyone on the appointed day, I'm hoping it's still in the spirit of the whole event to have the Mad Tea Party on a very merry Unmad Tea Party day.

Thank you for your patience!

Craftsman Wood Screens

I want these hanging in my dining room.  You know, once we HAVE a dining room.  Or even a permanent place to live.  One day.  But back on the screens, I love their clean, simple optimism as a background for the slightly more complex steampunk element of the room.  A juxtaposition of the victorian-influenced science of the day and the new thoughts that were just emerging.  

Home & Studio wood screen from craftmanstouch.com

Luxfer columns wood screen

Hollywood Inspiration

It's summer, school is out, and it's far too hot to go outside when the sun's out.  So I've been catching up on roughly a decade of missed television shows.  These things happen when you're a terminal student.

Right now I'm loving Fringe, especially the great shots of Dr. Bishop's lab and, in later episodes his and Peter's very craftsman style house.  Such great eye candy.  And the actual situations, characters, and plots aren't bad either!

The WB has been very nice in putting blocks of episodes up on their website.  Right now they're showing the first ten or so episodes and will soon rotate those out and put up the next ten.  And so on.  Enjoy!  And make sure to watch the second season musical episode "Brown Betty" where the steampunk craftsman style really gets to go a little crazy.

The lab

Peter and Walter investigating - look at that window in the background.  Gorgeous.  And the wall sconces, and the wood ...

Unfortunately I can't find a picture of the Bishops' house but it alone is worth watching the show for.  Gorgeous craftsman details all over.  And, again, the show is good too, so it makes for an enjoyable way to burn some time during these lazy summer days.

Craftsman Inspiration

For your viewing pleasure, The Gamble House

The Gamble House in Pasadena, California, was designed and built for David and Mary Gamble in 1908 by Charles and Henry Green.  It's a National Historic Landmark, an excellent example of the California Craftsman design, and a gorgeous place to spend an afternoon.  Enjoy!

(all photos curtesy of their site)

The dining room window.  While not quite the same, you can incorporate the same idea into a room using stained plexiglass/regular glass, framing, and lighting.  A fantastic way to incorporate mood lighting.  Hm, must look into how to do this ...

The guest bedroom.  Look how simple it all is without looking plain or undecorated.  A slight tint of color to the walls, perfectly placed light fixtures, a single vase, and that gorgeous wood trim and window frame to make a calm, fulfilling room.

My weakness for beautiful craftsman style lights continues.

Penny Buttons

What a fantastic idea - Jen over at EPBOT (and the more famous and day-brightening Cake Wrecks) has a tutorial on how to create lovely domed buttons out of pennies.  Such a neat idea.

Link!

Steampunk victorian fabric find

I deliberately avoid Spoonflower because I'm a seamstress with a weakness for cute cottons and they have them by the boltfull.  It's just safer for us all if I don't know what I'm missing.  However I did get lured over today and look what they have --

Steampaper

Steampunked victorian wall paper!  Love!  And it reminds me, in a round-about way, of the wallpaper in Disney's Haunted Mansion (any of them) which at first looks all innocently like normal victorian fare and then, on closer inspection, has creeptastic faces.  Only instead of faces, here you get cogs and dials.  A good trade out for one's living room, I would guess.

For those of a more nautical bent, here's an octopus design for you -

 

Steamed Cameo

And this --

Clockwork Octopus

Am I the only one who looks at that and sees hearts?  Yes?  Just me?  Ok then.

And that's just the first designs that caught my eye.  They have a whole category of steampunk, along with some fabulous vintage fabrics that I'm working hard to resist.  See, this is why I avoid Spoonflower - too much good stuff!

Virtual madness

What fun!  Vanessa at A Fanciful Twist is hosting a virtual Mad Tea Party and all are invited.  What a great excuse for a mid-summer party!

For info on hosting your own Mad Tea Party check out Vanessa's post here.

A fanciful twist on Apothecary Jars

While usually I like using apothecary jars for everyday items - q-tips, spices, paperclips - there's certainly room for some fun, mad-scientist jar decorations.

Vanessa, of A Fanciful Twist, has some fantastic ideas as well as some free jar labels in her halloween post from last year.  Troll ears, mermaid hair, and butterfly kisses are all collected by her and would look fantastic on a shelf alongside a terrarium and lab equipment.  I love the possibilities.