The Dusty Attic Blog: Wild and Free Steampunk Hot Air Balloon - Joanne Bain

Hello!!

Joanne here with you today to share my altered world globe which was purchased from Kmart a while ago with an idea in mind and with the help of some Dusty Attic chippy and imagination my Steampunk Hot Air Balloon come to life.

So this is what it looked like before...

It was pretty and basic and I thought it needed to be altered and made more beautiful.

'Wild and Free'

'Steampunk Hot Air Balloon'

Doesn't look like a world globe any longer right?

I have used the large and small cog clusters from the Cog Cluster set as the base for the pattern on the balloon. I love to play around with the chipboard to see what other ways it can be used besides being left flat.

The cog clusters were wet and while wet I molded them around the globe. When the chipboard is wet you need to work carefully so it doesn't fall apart, but the time it takes to do it I think it is worth it, you create projects that are a little different.

For added dimension I added more single cogs to the top of the cog clusters. I used chipboard chain to create the balloon sections. One of the wings from the Wing #3 set was used to create the balloon mohawk and a small cog cluster was trimmed to fit between.

Because the chipboard is quite thick I have used proper metal screws on parts of the balloon. The entire balloon once all glue was dry was given a really good coat of black gesso. Once the gesso was dry I went about colouring with Finnabair waxes.

The balloon net was made from cotton thread and tied around the cogs to make it fit. I created some cute little sandbags from some white material that I had to make the balloon look a little more real.

I added chain and some extra bling to create added interest to the balloon. The more you look at the balloon the more you will see.

The balloon basket was created with both of the Industrial Scrolls from the Industrial Scrolls set. Once again extra cogs and screws were added to the outside. To create the floor I molded a wide piece of chipboard sheet to fit the curves of the scrolls.