I don’t think this project will be a big surprise to people who follow my blog.  Because I have been steampunk mad all this year, a steampunk Christmas tree was inevitable.   The idea came from a comment on one of my other steampunk projects.  A lady said it would be interesting to see what I come up with for Christmas and she was hoping it was a Christmas tree. I saw that as a challenge and after some thought this was what I came up with.

Steampunk is an acquired taste and you have to be a true fan to appreciate this Steampunk Christmas tree.  Keeping with the theme of my website, it was made from mainly recycled materials.  Once I had made the structure, I gave the whole Christmas tree a Steampunk themed mixed media makeover.

IBC Challenge

It also happens to be time for our next International Blogger Club (IBC) challenge.  And as luck would have it “Christmas” is this months theme. lol More about IBC at the end of this post.

How to make a Steampunk Christmas Tree

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Making the Steampunk gears

To make the gears, I used a regular cardboard box and used a homemade compass to draw different size circles. The biggest circle was 25 cm and I reduced each circle by 5 cm as they went up.

Using a craft knife you can cut out all the circles.

Next, find images of gears you want for your tree.  It is a good idea to try and keep the design simple. Print them off the size that you want and glue them to the surface of the cardboard. Again using a craft knife you can cut out the cardboard using the printed gear as a template.

Adding some texture

To try and disguise the fact that we are using cardboard I wanted to add some texture to the gears.  To do this I used some texture paste and various stencils.  Any design stencil will be suitable because this is only the basecoat.  Place your stencil over the cardboard and add some texture paste using a spatula.

You will get a better effect if you use a few different stencils on each gear.  Remove the stencil straight away and wash off any residue texture paste. Repeat this step for all your gears.

I was not paying attention when I cut out this gear and cut away the centre by mistake.  This will prevent the gear from attaching to the pole properly, so I had to add a base plate to fill the hole. The texture on this gear was created by covering the surface with texture paste, then pushing it down into some sand.

Adding the embellishments

Many of the items you need for this project can be found in your home.  A second-hand shop is a great place to find cheap beads and jewellery. You will also need a hot glue gun to attach all the heavy embellishments and craft glue for the rest.  My personal choice for craft glue is turbo tacky glue and The ultimate by crafters pick.

I have added some close up of the gears so you can see what I added.  There are too many items to name, but all very common and mostly junk.  If you see an item that you like and can’t work out what it is, leave me a message and I will get back to you.

If you are new to mixed media the idea is to layer the embellishments over the gears.  It is not important to be neat and tidy because the paint and wax will cover it all or make a feature of it.

The idea is to randomly cover the surface with different charms, textures and layers.

Paint the gears

Next, you use black gesso and paint everything black, make sure to cover under all the embellishments. To highlight the embellishments I used a metallic copper wax paste.

Dip the tip of your finger into the wax and rub the wax across all the raised surfaces first. The idea is not to paint all the black, you still want to see the two colours.

This image will show you how the texture made with the stencil add to the effect.  The photos do not do them justice.

Once you have coated all the raised surfaces you want to add a very light colour to the black on the base.  To do this I always use a soft makeup brush.  Very softly dip the tip in the wax and gently add a light colour as in the image below. You are still not trying to cover all the black.

You can see how all the messy hot glue around the studs add more character to the gears.

It is once you add the wax that you see the benefit of adding all the layers.

Building the stand

For the base, I used a thick scrap of wood from my workshop.  I found this plate also, but I have no idea what it is called or even what it is used for. But it fit the threaded pole I had at home. To attach it to the wood I drilled some holes in the metal for my bolts to go through.

Using your drill and a larger drill bit, turn the block upside down and drill into the hole to make it larger.  This is to countersink the nut so the stand will sit flat.

Next, make a hole in the centre of each gear for the threaded pole to go through.  You can use nuts to secure the gears at the top and bottom to keep them in place.

The threaded pole looked a bit boring so I used some plastic pipe to cover the pole.  I used a sharp knife to cut the pipe open and slipped it around the pole. It was painted and highlighted in the same way as the gears.

The wax will need at least 12 hours to cure then you can seal the tree with 2 coats of clear acrylic spray.  This will protect the wax from fading over time. This still looked a bit plain to me, so I made some Steampunk Christmas decorations.

Completed Steampunk Christmas Tree

More unique Christmas tree ideas

This wooden Christmas tree shelf can be used at Christmas to display all your Christmas decorations.  And after Christmas, it can be used as a normal shelf until the next special holiday.

If you are short on space this Christmas tree shelf could be your answer.  It can be put on a table or hung on the wall.

About IBC (International Bloggers Club)

If you follow my blog you will know I am part of IBC (International Bloggers Club) which is a group of talented bloggers from around the world. We have members from Spain, South Africa, Australia, the United States, and Canada. Each month we come together and create a project in a common theme.

If you missed last month’s “Halloween ” theme here is the link to my Halloween Flower arrangement. The contributions from my fellow bloggers for this months challenge are listed below, please feel free to jump over and give them some love.

Projects

1. Me Unique Creations By Anita
2. A Crafty Mix| Bottle light swappable art insert
3. Birdz of a feather|Christmas sleigh decor
4. Interior Frugalista|Scandinavian village scrap wood houses
5. Raggedy bits |Easy wooden farmhouse Christmas ornaments
6. Meegan Makes| Vintage style Christmas wreath

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