Steampunk Thanksgiving Centerpiece: Steampunkin

I love Thanksgiving. I prepare a lavish feast every year and may or may not have been known to glitter pumpkins and squashes for my centerpiece. 

This year I decided to go with something a little different. Another thing I love is all things Steampunk. So I decided to combine the two and make what I call a Steampunkin centerpiece.

According to the Wikipedia:

Steampunk is a sub-genre  of science fiction  that typically features steam-powered machinery,especially in a setting inspired by industrialized Western civilization during the 19th century. Steampunk also refers to any of the artistic styles, clothing fashions, or subcultures, that have developed from the aesthetics of steampunk fiction, Victorian-era fiction, art nouveau  design, and films from the mid-20th century. Various modern utilitarian objects have been modded by individual artisans into a pseudo-Victorian mechanical "steampunk" style, and a number of visual and musical artists have been described as steampunk.

I assume you all already know about Thanksgiving. So here's what I did this year.  It all started with a trip to hobby lobby where I picked up two ceramic pumpkins, assorted gears, keys and locks, brass and black paint and some super glue.

To begin with, I painted pumpkins with metallic brass paint.

  

It's a small step that makes a big difference in the finished product.

 

Then it was time to open the gears and keys.

 

This is going to be fun.

  

 

In my mind, my pretend pumpkin machine has to work logically. So the first thing I did was install a key to wind it up on the stem using Super Glue.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Then it was time to add the gears. I put a few drops of glue on the gear.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Then I positioned it on the face of the pumpkin. It attached instantly.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I added a second key to the gear.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I placed the gears and wheels together, trying to keep some logical pattern in the way they might work together.
 

 
Then I repeated the process on the second pumpkin.

 
I was happy with my steampunkinks, but I still wanted a little something more. I decided to make a lighted centerpiece. This required sending my husband out in search of a piece of wood. He purchased a 3" x 1/2" by 24" piece of wood which makes up the base. I painted it with the black paint and then giving it a coat of brass paint.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 






After letting dry for about 15 minutes, I got back on the embellishing bandwagon. I started with some nifty keyholes.

Then I added some gears along the side.

I laid it all out according to my idea of how a pumpkin powered light fixture might work.

Thanksgiving votives purchased long ago at Wal-Mart provide the light. I must say, I like it.

Here it is with light.

I think it all looks pretty sharp.

Happy Thanksgiving!