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DIY Roundup: Victorian Christmas

I don't know about you, but I personally like to spend my Christmases frolicking around in poofy dresses pretending that I'm in Victorian London--well, I do that pretty much all year, but its particularly atmospheric when there's snow and Christmas trees and shiny stuff everywhere.

But there's more, of course, to the Neo-Victorian/Steampunk lifestyle than frolicking around in fancy clothes, as much fun as that is. Here are a few tutorials for a Victorian Christmas that Mister Dickens himself would geek out over.

1. Christmas Crackers
The Christmas cracker--an iconic symbol of the English Christmas. And it's surprisingly easy to make. Sadly, the bits that make it pop are tricky to find in U.S. stores, although I've found a few suppliers online. Also, they aren't magical like the ones in Harry Potter. Damn. Still pretty cool, though.





2. Make Your Own Wreath!
With the steampunk philosophy of DIYing everything that can be DIYed, why not try making your own Christmas wreath? If you've got a pine tree to trim a couple branches off of, it's easier than it sounds!











3. Light Bulb Snow Globes
A simple tutorial for making snow globes from light bulb ornaments. With a little creativity, this could be made into something mind-blowingly steampunk.













4. Hot Air Balloon Ornaments
Hot Air Balloons--the vehicle of choice for many an explorer! They also make lovely ornaments for your tree. This one's a bit more complex, but totally awesome.












5. Terrarium Ornaments
What better home decor for the scientifically-minded Victorian than a terrarium? (I mean, besides a complete size dino fossil, but those are a bit tricky to find.) Now, wouldn't that terrarium look lovely on your tree? Of course it would. Here's an easy tutorial.

Suspicious Disguise No. 1: The Gray Ghost

Need to hide your identity while demanding candy from the neighbors? Nothing could be more classic for Halloween than the visage of a tragic ghost bride. Here's a DIY costume idea that looks more elaborate than it is. A simple project with a distinct Victorian Gothic mood.

A Walk Through London

Just a few pics taken during my walk from Westminster to the Globe Theater!

Tower Bridge!

Below Tower Bridge

I don't know what this place is, but I found it across from the Themes, and I like it. 

And it has a cool fountain.

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A recreation of the ship formerly belonging to Sir Francis Drake.

An Afternoon of Time Travel! Blists Hill Victorian Town

First, I must apologize profusely for the long delay between posts; I was very busy for the last bit of my travel, and then was unfortunate enough to catch a dreadful illness on one of those awful heavier-than-air flying machines. I promise to chronicle the rest of my journey in reasonable time, and then we will get back to regular scheduled DIY tutorials and other such blogging.

So for those of you who may not remember my post on Iron Bridge Gorge, I remind you that the region was the jumping-off-point for the Industrial Revolution. And they built a fantastic outdoor museum to commemorate it! *cue geek-out*

Alrighty, picture spamming time:

This contraption here is to control a mine lift!

Inside an iron-working plant.

This is also the filming location for the show Victorian Pharmacy, which I blogged about ages ago. As if I wasn't already geeking out enough.

THE ORIGIN OF INDUSTRY! Iron Bridge Gorge

It's no big secret that we steampunks have something of a love-hate relationship with the Industrial Revolution.On one hand, it brought a whimpering end to the heyday of art and craftsmanship and forced millions of people into wage slavery, but on the other hand... gears! And other shiny things!

Love it or hate it, the Iron Bridge Gorge is where it all started out. With the right combination of coal and iron ore resources, and some guy who had the idea to work iron with coal instead of wood, the industrial age began with this big bridge here:

Pretty isn't it? Ah, lovely old days, when designers actually bothered with ornament instead of just cost.
Speaking of the past, tomorrow's post is Blists Hill Victorian Town, the massive and epic outdoor museum built to accompany the industrial history of this place!

I'm in England!

At long last, my pilgrimage to the birthplace of steampunk and the Industrial Revolution has begun! I arrived in Winchester yesterday afternoon bedraggled, jet-lagged, and just about falling over in exhaustion.

Doesn't it look like an airship should to come floating out the top?

My journey began with a joyous escape sorrowful goodbye as I graduated high school. Nothing much out of the ordinary about that event, although the venue, I think is somewhat worthy of mention.
Miller Park is a massive building in a neo-industrial style with such fancy details as a retractable roof. Sounds like a perfect airship hangar, no? Sorry, but it's actually just a pretty normal-looking stadium that houses a pretty mediocre baseball team, so it only gets a mention here.

After all, I had places to be, so I walked out looking a bit like this:

Anyway, onto the interesting crap: GOING TO ENGLAND!!!1!1!
(Proceeded by that excruciating butt-marathon known as eight hours on a plane.) At the least the airport in Madrid where I had a layover looked pretty cool. I can't get any pictures of that up right now, but I will, I promise. In fact, if I forget, reach through the internets, slap me, and remind me to add them.

L's childhood home. Sadly, fictional.

But I do have pictures of Winchester! You see, my love of this town goes even before I knew what steampunk was, all the way back into the Anime Phase. And during that phase, my favorite anime character was the super-awesome and exceedingly cute detective L. And his hometown was Winchester. Bad news, I didn't see any of my favorite characters walking around town, but I did find plenty of other awesomeness. Without further ado, the gallery!

A few pictures of mainly the cathedral and High Street:

Keep an eye out for updates; I've got more pictures, but it's tricky to get them all sorted out on the go.