The Curious Case Of The Time Travelling Cat – Steampunk Blog Hop

Hello everyone,

Today I have this cool steampunk cat to share with you all.  If you are visiting as part of the Steampunk Blog Hop today, hi and welcome and I hope you are enjoying hopping along to visit everyone’s projects.  Don’t forget to leave a comment to be in with a chance of winning a prize from one of our awesome sponsors.  There are 15 photos in this post showing the step by step, but if that is too much for you, feel free to hop to the end of the post by clicking here.  However I’d love it if you were able to squeeze reading this post into your busy day, so let’s get started!

Inspiration

My inspiration came from two things, one being all of these teabag tags I’ve been collecting since last year because they are shiny gold and I love tea.

The second thing that inspired me was this papier mache cat that I bought a couple of years ago and the poor thing has been sitting on top of a bookcase ever since because one of the kitties seems to really like the taste of papier mache.

Yes, she has been chewing on it which is why I had to stick it on the top of the bookcase – for protection!

Overview of Process

So in order to protect my papier mache cat from the tiny teeth of marauding kitties, I covered it in black gesso.  She was less impressed with the favour of that!  It was then time to start the decoupage with the teabag tags.

I started at the bottom of the front of the cat since that’s the most important part to get right, and the most looked at.

It really didn’t take very long to cover the entire cat.  Did I count the number of tags I used?  Maybe 🙂

Putting the cat away to dry, I started work on the hat.  I used an old amazon box and made quite a tall top hat for the kitty to wear.

Once I was happy with all the pieces being the right size, I glued it all together and left it to dry.

Just had to test it out on the kitty to make sure it fit on his head and didn’t fall off!

I might have to make one of these hats for myself, but I will need a much bigger amazon box lol.

I was too busy making stuff to stop and take photos of it all but here’s a catch up:
Hat – painted black, purple organza ribbon and black velvet ribbon added,
Goggles (on hat) – made from ring pulls and elastic (fully removable)

Glassicals (cross between glasses and spectacles) – metal cogs, jewellery wire, metallic cardstock (fully removable)

Neckwear – black velvet ribbon and tie pin made from cogs, jewellery wire, metal cat charm

And here he is, the Time Travelling Cat ready to jump to another place in time.

Thoughts

I read a lot of Sci-Fi, especially steampunk fiction and so I decided my cat would be a time traveller who travelled back and forth from the past and into alternate versions of history.  (He is a talking cat of course) His gold armour is there to protect him from the harsh conditions associated with time travel, and he wears special glasses that allows him to see into other dimensions.  His hat, goggles and neckwear are there to help him blend in with the locals in the time periods he visits.

Thanks for making it all the way to the end. Let me know what you think in the comments and enjoy the rest of the hop!

Challenges

SanDee & Amelie’s Steampunk Challenge – Anything Steampunk/Industrial – steampunk
Creative Artiste – Challenge #61
More Mixed Media Challenge – AG with Optional Purple – purple ribbon on his hat!

Project Recipe

Papier Mache cat (or make your own)
Matt Medium
Black gesso
Fluid acrylic – Burnt Sienna, Carbon Black
Satin varnish
From stash:  amazon box, black velvet ribbon, purple organza ribbon, jewellery wire, cat charm, green metallic card scraps, teabag tags, ring pulls, elastic

I started something new for April and continuing:

Since we are all stuck inside and can’t leave the house, I thought I would try and do two things:
1. use this time to finish any unfinished projects
2. use as much recycled materials as possible (I do this a lot anyway) but also not to buy new stuff!
So, with that in mind, I will note the above on any posts, if applicable.
UNFINISHED PROJECT – YES since I bought the cat two years ago and never got around to doing it since it had to be hidden from kitties!
RECYCLED MATERIALS – YES – amazon box, ribbons, jewellery wire, cat charm, card scraps, teabag tags, ring pulls, elastic.  No new products used, no new products purchased

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Steampunk Blog Hop Participants

If everything goes according to plan you should have arrived here from Jane Austin and now the next person on the hop is Shwetha’s Art. In case of any problems, check out the full list below.  Please visit everyone on the list and comment on their amazing steampunk creations!

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Steampunk Blog Hop Sponsors

*To have a chance of winning one of the 16 coveted prizes, leave a comment on this post, along with your email address or social media contact (IG, FB, etc) and what country you’re from, from now through Monday, 22 June.
*Sixteen winners will be picked randomly from all comments left from all of the artist’s participating!
*The winners will be contacted via email/social media so it’s important you leave your address/social media contact!

Good luck and enjoy the hop!

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Oh BTW, if you love steampunk . . .

There’s a new Steampunk Challenge Blog launching on 1st September.  Click the image below to go there and follow…