I am in the process of redecorating my spare room in a Steampunk theme, and no bedroom would be complete without a Lamp.  So here is my version of a steampunk lamp with an added feature of a mixed media makeover. These lamps are made using galvanized or brass pipes and fitting and you can be as creative as you like with the design. 

Instead of just having a plain lamp I wanted mine to include a clock which I was hoping would look like a steampunk gauge. The lamp was finished off with black gesso and highlighted with copper metallic wax paste.  My style of mixed media is to add lots of detail so each time you look at the piece you will see something new.  I recently repurposed some stiletto shoes into ring holders and a book into a jewellery box if you are looking for new mixed media project ideas.

How to Make a Mixed Media Steampunk Lamp

Materials needed

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The pipes I used in this project are not a standard length because they were leftovers I recycled.  I will round up the sizes to the standard lengths you can buy, for this project I used all 3/4 inch fittings. Not all the parts I used were required, some I added just because I had them.

• 1 x Floor flange
• 2 x nipples
• 1 x T-piece
• 3 x elbow
• 1 x socket reducing
• 3 x 100 mm pipe
• 1 x 150 mm pipe
• 1 x socket hex
• Lamp fitting
• wood
• Nuts and bolts for stand
• clock mechanism

Create your design

Once you have a general idea on the design you want, you can start putting the pipes together.  I took mine apart a few times before I was happy with the design.  At this stage, I did not glue the pipes together because I knew it would be an issue getting the electrical wire through all the bends in the pipes. Once assembled you can paint the pipes any colour you like, I chose black because it looks better with the copper colour wax paste I would be using.

Making the clock

Not being able to find a clock the size I wanted, I made my own using recycled materials. I used a plastic container with a screw-on. lid. The diameter of the container was 90 mm and I cut it to 50 mm using a craft knife.

To smooth off the shape edges, I heated up my sandwich toaster and melted the edges on the hot plate.  Very technically method I know. You are keeping the part of the container with the lid, this will hide the clock mechanism.

You can use any fabric you like to cover the clock.  I used faux brown leather and glued it around the outside of the container and the lid.

I ran out of leather so I had to patch mine up, but this will be hidden by the mixed media makeover. Next, cut a cardboard circle slightly small than the diameter of your container.  Make a hole in the centre and push the clock mechanism through the hole and secure in the front.

To get the image of the clock you can either download one and glue it to the cardboard or if you have a Cricut vinyl cutter you can make a vinyl decal.

Decorate the clock

To give the effect of studs on the leather you can use half pearls or split peas as I did in this project.  The gold trim was a broken necklace I got from a thrift store. All the embellishments were glued in place using the ultimate glue showed above or turbo tacky glue.

If you are going to be doing a mixed media makeover a thrift store is a fantastic place to find cheap jewellery for embellishments. For some added texture you can line the inside of the clock with some burlap fabric. I know this looks really tacky now but it will get better I promise.

Decorating the lamp

I really love mixed media but I don’t like the high price tag that comes with buying the embellishments. If you are going to buy all the branded products your projects will work out very expensive.  So you have to be thrifty, go to your local thrift store and ask for any cheap broken jewellery.  They collect it for me and let me know when they have a bag ready and I pay a few dollars as a contribution.  I buy all my charms, studs and gears in bulk from China or Amazon, and the rest are bits and bobs I found around my house and workshop.

I am no expert on mixed media, but I like to add my embellishments randomly and I like to try and cover most of the surface.  To me, it makes your project more interesting when you have lots of detail. I have taken some close up images so you can see what items I used.  I used black hot glue to add most of the embellishments and as you can see you don’t need to be perfect.  Any mess will be covered with the paint later.

Close up of the detail.  Your project will look more interesting is your layer some of the charms.

The clear charms you can see in some of the images I made using silicone moulds and resin.  These work great for a project like this because you can heat them up and bend them around the surface.

Links to products used

Here are a few links for some of the embellishments that I used. I bought a bulk pack of each one and use them in all my projects.

• Steampunk Charms
• Craft Charms
• Decorative buttons
• Bead chain
• Decorative studs
• Peacock beads
• Filigree charms
• Hinges
• Clock mechanism

If you see something you like and can’t make out what it is, send me a message and I will help you out with a link to the product.

In the image below you can see how the black hot glue has been applied and it looks very messy.  It really does not matter I will show you further down how it adds to the charm.

Paint all the embellishments

Once you have added all the decoration you can now paint them all in whatever colour you like, I used black gesso again.  When you paint make sure to cover all the surfaces and nooks and crannies.

Add the metallic copper wax paste

Dip the top of your finger in the wax and wipe it over all the raised surfaces, try not to cover in all the black as you see in the image below.  This will make the embellishments stand out more. You don’t need to be perfect doing this either.

Once you have added the copper wax to all the embellishments, you will need a soft brush to blend the wax into some of the black areas.  I like to use makeup brushes to do this. Dip the tip into the wax, you only need a tiny amount, then swirl the wax in small circles. This is only a very light colour.

Seal the colours

The wax will need about 12 hours to dry, then seal the lamp with 2 coats of clear acrylic spray.  This will make the colours pop and prevent fading over time.

Wire up the lamp

To get the wires through all the pipes you will have to take the lamp apart at the elbows.  This is the light fitting I used only because it fit into the last fitting nicely and because they are simple to connect.

Once connected you can start adding epoxy glue to the fittings and put the lamp back together.

Making the base

Cut a wood circle or any shape you want for the base, the diameter for mine was 130 mm. Paint the wood black and highlight it with the wax and seal as you did with the lamp.

Put a nut on each bolt and position it so you have enough thread coming through the top for the second nut.  Drill holes for the floor flange and secure with nuts and bolts.  Touch up the nuts and bolts with paint and highlight them with the copper wax.

These are your legs to lift the base so the wire can come out the bottom.

Put the clock together and glue it in place with the epoxy glue. The back of the clock can unscrew when the battery needs to be changed in the future.

Completed lamp

I have added some close-ups of the detail which is lost in the photos.

If you love the lamp but don’t want to make your own, we have got you covered.  Here are some designs you can buy.

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