Saturday Steam 3/24/12: More Sparklies!

It may sound like a contradiction when I say I like my steampunk either covered in rust and rivets or blinding me with sparkly gems, but to quote the Dowager Countess, "I'm a woman. I can be as contrary as I choose."

Now, on to the sparklies!

Spotted by Julia S.; Seahorse Earrings, $36 (but already sold! Boo!) by Hedgerow Rose

I realize these have no gears or cogs or watch bits on them, but they still have a Victorian vibe with those large gems. And I could totally see Captain Nemo giving them to a lady friend. But mostly I just reeeeally love seahorses.

Ok, here's something more on the gears-and-rivets side:

"Wind Up My Heart" $145 by Lost Wax

The little hatch opens! And the heart is filled with a wind spring and gears! Ack! SO COOL.

Another design from the same company:

"Mechanical Heart," $145

I'm really digging that copper patina with the tiny brass rivets; it's perfect for adding a little steam to your casual everyday wear. I think I'd rock this with a white tank top and jeans. And a leather corset.

(Just kidding.)
(It's WAY to hot for leather right now.)
One last piece from Lost Wax, because I could only narrow my favorites down to three:

"Heart Flight," $60

Rivets and keyholes and winged hearts, oh my!

Last month "Nararabbit" (if that's her real name) designed this custom gear ring for her husband for Valentine's day:

That's the CAD design on the left, and the actual ring on the right, which was made with rose gold. Pretty sweet, right? Here's a close-up:

You can get all the specs and more details on the thread here. (And thx to Abbey for the link!)

Jyl A. found a reproduction Victorian locket that is surprisingly cool:

Rotating Locket Trio Necklace, $29
It has three separate lockets! And it rotates!
I'd say the "nifty gizmo" factor alone is worth about thirty bucks, amirite?

Amanda U. sent me a link to Red Peacock Designs, which has lots of nice watch movement jewelry like this:

Owl Watch Movement Necklace, $48

But they also do some neat things with vintage wristwatch cases:

Nightime at the Fairy House, $38

(Not their steamiest design, obviously, but omigosh so cute!)

Three Muses, $38

I recently snagged a few small wristwatches for $2 each from an antique fair to try something like this. I'd love to fill them with resin and tiny charms or gems or even watch gears, like Red Peacock does, but I think I'd hang them sideways to take advantage of the watch band brackets already there.

Anyway, the moral is: never throw away your old watches!

This next one isn't exactly steampunk. So sue me. :)

His and her anniversary pendants - together they form a heart!

I just love the shiny copper and silver together, and that stylized wing design is fabulous.

Made by DeviantArt member kry1, who has a jewelry store here. (Sadly these aren't available, though, since this was a commission piece.)

I think this next one is my favorite of everything in today's post:

Hot Air Balloon Earrings, $20 at ElainaLouiseStudios
(More colors at her store, & thx to Liz S. for the link!)

Glass hot air balloon earrings! Aren't they AMAZING?! Whimsical and steamy and fun and elegant all at the same time.

Plus, the same shop has these:

Orange and Copper, $14

Mmmm, steamy orange goodness.

She also has a hot air balloon necklace for the sad people like me who don't have pierced ears. [sad face] Although those orange earrings are so awesome I'm tempted to get them anyway and convert them to clip-ons. If only I could find copper clip-on bases...

Well, that's it for today, 'punkers! As always, if you spot a steamy sparkly somewhere, please, send me the link!


[UPDATE: Lisa from Elaina Louise Studios just e-mailed to tell me she can convert almost any of her earrings to clip-ons! She uses these fabulous bases:

They're screw-back, which I've found to be the most comfortable option, and the added spring clip is just genius. Huzzah! My bank account is in so much trouble right now.