Are you ready for a little “Steampunk?”

Did my title of this post grab your attention? It was supposed to! I didn’t make anything Steampunk, but my sister in PA did…and boy are they adorable.
First of all, maybe I better explain just a tiny bit what Steampunk is… or maybe I have such smart readers, you already know!

According to Wikipedia “Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction or science fantasy that incorporates technology and aesthetic designs inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery.”

According to Urban Dictionary they say “Steampunk is a subgenre of speculative fiction, usually set in an anachronistic Victorian or quasi-Victorian alternate history setting. It could be described by the slogan “What the past would look like if the future had happened sooner.” It includes fiction with science fiction, fantasy or horror themes.”

If you go to Pinterest and type in Steampunk, (and you should…) you’ll get a variety of things that are all considered Steampunk. If I had to describe it in plain ole’ English, I’d say it’s a style of decorating something that uses things like metal watch parts, gears, keys, clocks, leather, goggles, buckles, and much much more. It’s sort of weird looking but appealing and very eye catching at the same time.

I said all that to introduce you to something SUPER creative that my sister did. She was asked to decorate 20 birdhouses for John Deere. She was provided the wooden birdhouses and they all have John Deere license plates for the roofs. They were going to be given away to the dealers in her area. 3 other ladies decorated 20 each too.

My sister thought and thought and decided against the “ordinary” and “expected” kind of birdhouse. She decided to do hers all in Steampunk fashion. And boy did she knock it out of the park. She rounded up knobs, and cans, and insulators, and wires, and spark plugs and rulers and all sorts of other things you may recognize and decorated hers in the most unbelievable way. (Just between you and me…hers were the first to get picked!!)

It was a lot of work and she said it required her hubby to help with getting some of the things added to the houses, but I hope you’ll enjoy what she did…

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Now wasn’t that fun and interesting? Did you recognize lots of things used to decorate them?

See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne

21 thoughts on “Are you ready for a little “Steampunk?””

  1. “What the past would look like if the future had happened sooner.” That’s great.
    Where did Cindy get all the odds and ends that went on the birdhouses? I hope she’ll send pictures of some of the others as well.
    These are splendid. It looks as if her house has a sewing room and a machine workshop. People must love going there to see what’s changed. I especially liked the second to last picture demonstrating “decorating with a John Deere steampunk birdhouse.”

    1. Cindy Ellicott

      Thanks Marilyn, I think I have a phone photo glimpse of 18 of the 20 bird houses shown. I kept thinking I was going to do a proper photo shoot of each one but this was done before Christmas in my basement over a period of a few weeks and the Christmas party came before I knew it and all the bird houses were gone. I had the houses for a few weeks and didn’t have a clue how I was going to embellish them and to be honest was dreading the task. Then I had the idea to “junk” them up or “steampunk” them…. sort of?. I started looking through junk drawers and boxes of hoarded treasures of my husbands stash and started finding all kinds of goodies. I also started looking at antique shops and junk stores for little bits of things. It’s not really my style of decor but the longer I worked on them the more I got into it. I really enjoyed finding just the right piece for the right spot. It took a lot of junk to do all 4 sides of the bird houses so I kept a folding table set up with stuff all over it for inspiration and it really became fun. I showed them to Jeanne and she thought her ladies would enjoy them so here they are…. On her doll blog, thank you for the kind words☺️.

      1. Cindy,
        Thanks for filling in all the “in between” stuff I left out! I love looking at them…
        So happy to share them with the world… at least “my little world!”
        Love you, Me

    2. HI Marilyn,
      I see Cindy answered most of your questions below your comment… Isn’t she good?
      Blessings, Jeanne

      1. My goddaughter Bella wanted to be steampunk for Halloween, so Bella, her mother, and I all worked on it. I’m sending the link to her. I don’t suppose she thought of a steampunk birdhouse.
        Cindy is wonderful and so is her basement. Her husband is probably happy because he can go treasure hunting and she can’t say a word, though what she’d probably say is, “Honey, look at this. Don’t you think we need one?”

  2. Totally amazing and inventive! I can certainly see them being chosen first. Also it’s important to leave birdhouses unpainted, especially inside as the paint can be toxic to the birds. Every one is a little piece of art in itself. I hope you’ll put “Birdhouses” in the “Click on Any Tag” section of your site so I can find them easily to show my family when they come visit. It would be great to make one with my grandson as I have a kit to build a birdhouse on hand, believe it or not. Looks like a trip to the car junkyard was productive. Thanks, Cindy.

    1. HI Susette,
      I checked it out and if you go to the right side bar and type in birdhouses or bird houses (separated words) in the Green Search box (just above the Tags section) this post will come up.
      What a fun project for your grandson to do… since you already have the birdhouse kit! Sounds like a plan to me! I think Cindy hit every little junk shop and thrift store in town to find all her goodies… besides her basement first! :o)
      Thanks Susette,
      Blessings, Jeanne

  3. What a great creative mind your sister has! Yes, yes, yes…I recognize alot from her birdhouses…we live very close to John Deere headquarters AND on a farm, so…there is much there that is closely associated with my past and today. How very fun of you to share that. Congrats to your sister (and husband) on their creative efforts!

    Take care.

    1. HI Becky,
      Oh, I’m so glad everyone enjoyed the birdhouses. I thought they were just too cute not to share! My sister is totally creative but this project really made her think outside the box. I think she did a fantastic job. I don’t know how the dealers picked…they were all so neat looking.
      Thanks Becky,
      I’m sure Cindy thanks you too!
      Blessings, Jeanne

  4. Wow…love those bird houses! So creative and fun. How could you ever pick a favorite!
    Thanks so much for sharing them with us.
    God Bless
    Marsha

    1. HI Marsha,
      How funny… I was just thinking of you yesterday, wondering if you were still selling your doll clothes. I went on Ebay and looked under “wiggs” for the first time in a really long time. I haven’t sewn for Nyssa in forever and was looking to see what was popular….still all that fantasy, lacy, sort of strange things that I’m not too familiar with. I popped into your Etsy shop and saw the sweetest dresses… You’re “normal” to me… I like them very much. I also saw a darling pair of jeans for Nyssa… very sweet!

      Yes, my sister is pretty creative, isn’t she? I’m glad you enjoyed them…
      Thanks Marsha,
      Blessings, Jeanne

  5. Where to start. I love the variety of birdie perches. Especially the spark plug. Pressure gages, keys, locks, etc. Such a great collection. I have a feeling I will be able to find a lot of the same in my parents garage. Had no idea what to do with the stuff. Now I know. I’m already thinking, an old dark room light would look great as a signal beacon up top. Perhaps one of my dad’s old HAM license plates for the roof. He liked birds too, so a perfect display for his old objects. I think however, that the creation will remain indoors. Love the display with the greenery, it’s great.

    1. I just finished making a list of items to gather after viewing the houses in detail. Funny, but one of the corks says in big letters Ledson. Ledson winery is not far from us. Small world.

    2. HI Joy,
      The spark plug perch was a favorite of mine too! Oh, I’m so glad you got some good ideas for a birdhouse for yourself… looking at Cindy’s pictures really gets your mind to churning, doesn’t it? I enjoyed looking at them too.
      When you get one done, you’ll have to show us…
      Blessings, Jeanne

  6. Creativity certainly runs in your family, Jeanne! Not only are your sister Cindy’s birdhouses exceptional examples of Steampunk, but I also see in one picture that she has managed to successfully incorporate the aesthetic into her decor — I love the display with the birdhouse elevated on the pedestal, softened by the greenery, and surrounded with the more traditional elements of miniature decoys, glass candlestick, grapevine wreath and gilded mirror. What a charming vignette that makes! I’ve noticed before that your sister has a real talent for creating interesting arrangements. Was she ever an interior designer? Kudos to Cindy for her fantastic “fantasy” birdhouses!

    1. Hi Anne,
      Yes, oh, Yes, my sister is certainly very creative…always has been. I trust her opinion on just about anything when it comes to decorating, painting, staging your house, vignettes, etc.

      No, Cindy wasn’t ever an interior designer…she just reads a lot and learns as she goes. She’s extremely talented when it comes to decorating. She is a self taught master of design!
      Thanks so much Anne,
      I’m hoping Cindy has seen all these comments from everyone. If not, I’ll tell her to read them.
      Thank you for your kind words, Anne,
      Blessings, Jeanne

  7. Wow, wow, wow! Cindy totally knocked them out of the box!! How very creative and inspirational each and every birdhouse is! It took me awhile to go through them all and find various odds and ends, and to see how she put it all together is really a treat!
    Cindy, you are the bomb!

    I love old fashioned keys, with their elegant “handles”! This could be a mental exercise to look through all the birdhouses and see how many different things you can find! Thank you Jeanne, for showcasing Cindy’s skills!

    1. I know, Linda… aren’t they all such fun things to look at? I just knew everyone would love them… whether it’s your style or not… it’s still fun to see how they were made.

      Oh, I love your phrase… “Cindy, you are the bomb!” She’ll love that! :o)

      It was MY pleasure to share these with everyone… I’m glad you all liked them!
      Blessings to you, Linda… aren’t you loving today’s weather?
      ~ Jeanne

  8. Those are amazing! Steampunk is so much fun and creativity runs in your family because your sister is just as talented as you are! And the way that she styled the pictures really shows off the birdhouses so well!

    I’m giving her a standing ovation. 🙂

    Happy Fourth to both of you!
    karianne

    1. Thank you KariAnne,
      I’ll be sure and tell my sister about the “standing ovation!” I’m sure she’ll be pleased… and yes, every inch of her 5’1″ frame exudes creativity!
      Thanks for chiming in,
      Blessings, Jeanne

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