This is a post from June of 2012. It's one of my favorites. Hope everyone has a great holiday.
As an artist I get so bored with the same old stuff you see
in the stores. Computer cases are made of leather, or faux leather. They are
black or brown and show absolutely no sense of whimsy or fun.
So, what would you do about that? Well, I decided to get
krazy. Yep, I made my own, with a
Steampunk theme, of course.
I started with a wood artist’s box that I have had for a
very long time. It has gone through a variety of paint finishes and for a while
I had an ink drawing of a dragon on the lid.
The box was covered in black acrylic paint first. Then I cut
out pieces of mat board and began gluing them on with Golden Matte Medium.
Since I had painted the wood with acrylic paint, the matte medium created a
nice bond between the paper of the mat board 
Black acrylic paint was used on the mat board and some of
the gears to give it a more industrial look, then metallic copper was sponged
on to give a mottled look. I used some metallic blue and metallic violet in a
few places for variety. The copper paint
over the black gives a very cohesive feel to the piece.
Lots of gears, washers, and metal pieces were added. And the
‘rivets’, those are large sequins that were glued on, painted black and then
painted with gold. The gold paint over the black made them look like brass. I
also used polymer clay to make a variety of large and small gears.
The whole thing was given a coat of glossy ModPodge once all
the gluing and painting was done. The ModPodge sealed the work and gave it a
wonderful shine. It brings out the variations in color that was created with
all the sponge painting. It also reflects light off of the edges of the pieces
to create darks and lights, drawing your eye to different areas.
The handle is a dog collar. I was going to use jewelry
chain, but at a yard sale found the collar instead. It is perfect. Heavy copper wire holds it to the box.
On the inside I cut out a portion of the dividers, covered
them with polyester quilt batting and then with canvas. Once done the canvas decorated
with Steampunk designs using Sharpie permanent markers. I didn’t want the
inside to be boring. The exposed wood inside was painted black and copper, then
decoupaged with fun scrapbook paper that has a map theme.
Straps to secure the laptop were made with canvas and Velcro.
They are held in with small pieces of wood and screws that come in from the
outside. The screws look like they are part of the piece and don’t look out of
place.
Several things must be considered in a project like this:
The box will sit upright on the hinged edge when stored and
on the bottom when being opened. Those two edges must be designed so that there
is no wobble and that the gears and embellishments cannot be knocked off.
The lid, or top, can have more pieces and can have some
sticking out. But everything must be put on so it will not get knocked off in
every day use.
For me, the paint scheme had to flow from one side to
another. Continuity was important. The blue and violet spots on the sides
flowed over onto the top and bottom, or to the other sides. The edges of the
mat board were cut so they matched up with the ones on the sides they were next
to.
The handle had to be put on so that it would hold the weight
and not fail when carrying the case.
Securing the wire inside was one of my biggest challenges.
I also made a security strap out of canvas and buckles to
keep the case from opening when traveling. The strap was painted with the
copper and black paints to match the rest of the box. Textile medium was added
to the paints to keep them soft.
I hope you enjoyed this project as much as I did.
Til next time, make a mess and have fun doing it. Terri
Product Note: Acrylic medium and ModPodge are available in
both matte and glossy formulas. They are available at Michael’s, Hobby Lobby,
Joann’s, and your local craft store.
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