Yes, YOU Can!!

 

Hello Steampunk friends, and happy February! 

So glad to be here today and sharing my steampunk inspiration with you. I am so inspired by the amazing makes you share with us each month at SASPC! Keep it up!

When I started working, my plan for this month's project was completely different than what evolved. Sometimes, in the midst of working, events are occurring around us, and the day I was working on this, the Women's Marches were taking place in the USA. This beautiful image just called out to me to use her, and when I found the metal plate with the words YES YOU CAN, I was deep into this. I love the combination of sea goddess, woman, and steampunk...wonder what she is thinking about.

 I am a huge fan of the Stamperia papers, and they make such a great jumping off point. I always find ideas spilling out when I pull them out!

YES YOU CAN

It all started with a simple wood panel.

I added some strips of patterned papers. (Stamperia)

Now comes the fun part of building up the layers, and blues are brown look so good together. The brown marks are just laying down my brush. 

A bit of stenciling with black paint...

I mixed these colors together, and used the edge of key card to make random vertical lines. 

Meanwhile, as that dried, I cut out the image and adhered it to a piece of cardboard mailing envelope, to give it a sturdy base. 

Back to the panel...I mixed a bit of glitter dust into the white and made odd marks with a stick. Once that dried, I decided to outline them in black. 

Time to make this beautiful woman look like she has an encaustic layer on top. I used the amazing Vintage Beeswax embossing powder, and did two layers. 

Boozybear chipboard in a fishnet styl fits right in with the sea theme. Chunky Rust gives a nice patina. 

This little pink tidy tray helps me keep the embossing powder in one place. (well, mostly)

Media I used, starting with the Grey chalky gesso. 

I added a thick layer of the DecoArt Crackle to areas of the board and let it dry overnight. Then, I rubbed in some burnt sienna, and wiped it back, so it would bring out the cracks. 

Final board background...

I wanted the female image to pop up from the base, so adhered layers of cardboard to lift her. 

Put everything together, and when I saw this metal word element, it felt right. 

I really love the path my muse took me down with this!

I hope you've enjoyed my inspiration for this month, and will join us with your own creation. May the cogs and gears of your imagination help you create! 

Many, many thanks to our awesome sponsors, DecoArt and Boozybear Chipboard, for sponsoring our challenge each month!! 

Have a fabulous February!! Maura