Faux Metal Steampunk Tag Tutorial

Hey, lovely Bombshells!  Cheryl here with a tutorial for you!  We're going to make a faux metal steampunk tag today using a few meager materials.

Start by eating your favorite cereal.  When the box is empty, cut that cardboard up and make something cool with it.  Whom I kidding.  I couldn't wait to empty the box, so I have a naked bag of anonymous cereal in my cupboard now.  The square piece is actually thicker because I pulled it off the back of a sketch pad.  No cardboard is safe in my house.    

We'll need a couple of cool dies (I used TH's Tag and Bookplate, and Gadget Gears) , a handful of basic tools to do some burnishing, and the star of the show, a roll of aluminum foil tape.  I found it at my local hardware store.  

First, I cut out the gears using the thicker piece of cardboard 

Next, I glued them securely to the cardboard from the cereal box.

Then, I cut off strips of the aluminum foil tape and adhered them to the cardboard right over my gear dies.

I made sure to cover all of the gears with the tape.  

I burnished the tape to the cardboard using the eraser head on a mechanical pencil and a stylus.  The shape of the gears is really starting to show now.  

Next, I used a small wire brush type tool and dulled the surface of my tape by making small circles on the raised gears.  I could have used my sanding block, but I packed it in with supplies for an upcoming class and was too lazy to dig it out.  Sad, isn't it?

I die cut the foiled piece of cardboard and came up with this really cool tag.  

I refined the shapes of the gears with a slim paper stump to polish the edges a bit.  I'm thinking I'll add some alcohol inks later on to this to give it some color.   A few other embellishments and this will be ready to make its debut.  Pretty simple.   A variation on this is to cover the cardboard with the tape and die cut different faux metal shapes.   Wouldn't some cool faux metal hearts with gears be fun?  There are all sorts of possibilities!    

Have you entered the challenges this month?  We have lots of ways to win some Bombshell goodness!  Join the sketch going on right now by clicking here.  Kathi creates the sketch each month and she has something spectacular waiting for you!  Also, we have an Anything Goes challenge that lets you be the boss!  Yes, that's right!  You chose the theme and create whatever you want.  You don't even have to use Bombshell Stamps to enter.  This month only, we're allowing entries for the Anything Goes challenge using whatever images you want.  Of coarse, if you are our randomly selected winner and you did use a Bombshell image as your focal point on your creation, then your winnings increase dramatically.  Visit this link to read the details.   Don't you want to win some free stamps?  Then get your butt over there and enter!  Somebody has to win ;D  

Ciao, lovelies!