Be Present - A Steampunk Art Doll and a Contest!!!

***I have THREE new posts up today! Please don't miss out on the other two! Scroll down for more, or if you came directly to this one, click on the banner to be brought to the main blog page where you can scroll down! Thanks for reading!***

Okay, so when was the last time you saw a doll on this blog? It's been TOO LONG, I can tell you that! The good news is that is going to change today, my friends, because I have a really fun Steampunk Art Doll to share with you! This is honestly one of my favorite pieces of all time. It's right up there with the Mad Hatter I created many moons ago!

This piece started with the Elevated Shrine Kit by Coffee Break Designs Available at Retro Cafe Art. I covered it with Tim Holtz Tissue Tape and then went to town!


Be Present

The title of this piece comes much from the state of mind I was in while creating it. I had such an amazing, calm focus as I chose which bits would be used and where they would be placed. Everything was intentional. I was present.



For the curious minds out there, the arms are spark plugs and the head is a thermostat. The plugs are from my Mini (Yes, I changed them myself, thank you very much!) and the thermostat is from The Hubbums' Mini. (I let him change that one. Just say'n. HA!) The image in the background is from the Steampunk Parts collage sheet and there are a couple of Tim Holtz spinners in there along with a light bulb (which I had to replace before I could use - it didn't work, but we had to go to the store with it to figure out the right one to buy, so it led to my lamp finally working correctly, too! YAY!).



I used foil leafing over Tombow Mono Multi to add the metallic texture to the Coffee Break Designs Steampunk Gears. Finally, I added some rusty bits to the base. I collect these when I go on walks. I love stuff that has naturally rusted!



Now...I mentioned something about a contest, right? Well, the good news is you DO NOT have to make a doll! HA! But, you do have to make something that is totally your style with one of the amazing Shrine Kits over at Retro Cafe Art!

The prizes are AWESOME! I can't even begin to encourage you enough to head on over and pick up a shrine kit to enter this contest. I would be SO THRILLED to see your work!!!! Here are the rules:

The Rules:
1. Create up to 3 pieces of art using any Coffee Break Design Shrine Kit (any of the kits in this category count, even the shelf shrines and tiny shrine charms - it doesn't matter where you purchased the kit, or how long ago it was!) and send us your photos. You can have 1, 2 or 3 entries. The art can be whatever you wish. A stand alone shrine, a shrine as part of another piece, jewelry, etc. Just as long as each piece has at least one of the products in the Shrine Kit category!

2. Email your photos to retrocafeart@gmail.com subject: Shrine Kit Contest. Please do a separate photo for each entry. Files between 200 -300 KB preferred. I will post these photos on our Facebook page in a special album as they are received. Please include your full name in your email. Again, we only need photos, not the actual art!

3. Deadline is September 2nd. This will give you 6 weeks to get your shrine photos to us!

4. We love our International customers and you are welcome to play!

The Prizes:
1. $200 in gift certificates will be awarded - our biggest contest yet! Two winners, which will be selected using a random number generator will each win a $50 gift certificate to Retro Café Art Gallery! I’ll be using the photos in the Facebook album to create the number system.

2. A THIRD and FOURTH winner will also win a $50 gift certificate to Retro Café Art Gallery. Christopher, the unbiased judge, will pick his top 5 favorites which will be posted to this blog. Then YOU will vote for your favorite by leaving a comment! The top 2 will win the certificates.

3. ALL players will receive 2 special digital collage sheets just for playing, so everyone WINS!

4. There must be at least 6 entries for the contest to take place. In the event that there aren't enough entries, all contestants will be given a prize!

Spread the Word and get a Gift:
1. If you would like to help spread the word about our contest, you will get our brand new Beautiful Roses Digital Collage Sheet free as a Thank you! One sheet per person, though you are welcome to post in multiple places with great appreciation.

2. Post about this contest on your blog, Facebook, website, etc. and link back to THIS post. Email me at retrocafeart@gmail.com and show me where you have posted, and I will email you your digital collage sheet! So even if you don’t play, you can still win! Feel free to use the button above, though it’s not required.

Yeah...so basically, you get to make an awesome project that you get to keep. It gets posted online for others to see, AND you could win some serious spending money!!! Fun? Totally. Wicked crazy fun, actually...so you totally need to enter! *Promise???*

I am also entering mine in the Gingersnaps Spicy Supply Challenge!

Well, that's all for this one, but don't forget to check out my other two posts for today! It's a busy busy day on Just Jingle!

Jingle Out!