Steampunk Barbie

Debbie's theme is "Steampunk Floral Fantasy."  Normally, I would jump at a theme like this--the metal and hardware that is Steampunk are elements that always appeal to me.  Yet, I was stumped for the longest time about what I would do in Debbie's book.  At first, I thought I would do a sort of pop-up mechanism, but it just wasn't coming together for me.

When I hit a block like that, I usually have to abandon the work that I've done thus far and go back to the drawing board--square one.  I began by going to my stash of embellishments and started to pull out everything "steampunk."  There were chains and gears watch parts and all sorts of gadgets, but then I saw the Barbie dress!  It was pink and had a corseted bodice.  There was gold trim on the laces and the skirt was tulle.  It was a fairy dress, no, a prom dress!  Best of all, I knew I could alter it and make it into Steampunk fashion.

I found some dark brown lace and created an overlay for the skirt from it  Then it needed a touch of metal, so I added the chain.  The dress fit nicely in the center of the book, so I used leather-like black paper and die-cut flowers in metallic shades to create this background.  Funny how just a single item can lead to the creation of an entire spread.  All it took was the dress.  I call it Steampunk Prom or Steampunk Barbie!