Tidbits

Steampunk Birthday

Posted by Anne Yorks on Tuesday, May 25, 2010

A few weeks ago my mom commissioned me to create a special set of cookies for a close friend of the family's birthday. I have known this friend just about my entire life. We were neighbors growing up in a small farming town in Pennsylvania called Kempton. She had the best Barbies.

After much discussion, my mom and I decided that a Steampunk themed gift would be perfect for our friend. But neither of us really understood what Steampunk actually was. So I jumped online and found a ton of pictures, blogs, and websites that explained it. Well, sort of explained it.

Here is wikipedia's definition:

Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction and speculative fiction, frequently featuring elements of fantasy, that came into prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. The term denotes works set in an era or world where steam power is still widely used — usually the 19th century, and often Victorian eraEngland — but with prominent elements of either science fiction or fantasy, such as fictional technological inventions like those found in the works of H. G. Wells and Jules Verne, or real technological developments like the computer occurring at an earlier date. 

Here are a few pictures that I found on the Steampunk World Fair Facebook page.

A guitar...


A grandfather clock...


A computer...


A few Steampunk costumes...



I think It's kind of cool and crazy. These people feel about Steampunk the way I feel about cookies - a little obsessed.

I don't know that I still completely get it. But I did understand it's a mix of Victorian past and techy future - and there are a ton of gears, goggles, and thing-a-ma-jigs.

So after much thought and I can up with these cookies...


The first cookie I designed was a corseted Victorian gown with gear detail.


close up of the gears. 


I also made a birthday cake....


But these punky little robots decided to deconstruct the cake. 

They have a thing for the candles.



This guy was my favorite.

Our friend was so happy to get her cookies. I was happy that she was happy. I really enjoyed planning them out and making them. 

In other cookie news, I'm wrapping up my Father's Day cookie collections. I hope to have pictures by Friday. I am very excited about both collections. I think they are a great way to celebrate Dads!

Until then, have a sweet day!

Anne

PS...Did I mention the birds in the nest on our deck finally hatched? Yep, yesterday! They are a little funny looking, so I'll wait a few days to post pics. But I'm so excited. Expect a 'Name that Bird' contest this week. There will be a prize. Wooooo!

Ok, bye for real this time. Later.