The Big Restock

Dearest Em,

You were right, its quite exhausting setting up a half-way decent gift shop, knowing what to include, what to price things at and how to display them. Hopefully I'm getting the hang of it.

This is a little something I put together from the bits left over when the Prof broke all those watches apart for me. The back plates were so pretty, but I wasn't sure what to do with them. Then, one day when I was sitting looking at them, I noticed that there were two sorts and that I had three of one and two of the other. "Excellent!" I thought, I know what to do with them now. And so this necklace was born and christened "Back to Black".


And then I got to work on those lovely little tiles we found in that delightful emporium in Derbyshire. They're very unsual and absolutely perfect for the sort of things I like to make. Although they were a little tricky to put together; I kept buying headpins to attach the crystals, but all the ones I got were incredibly tough to use and I ended up with very sore hands. I think I'll stick to having little loops everywhere - its much less painful on the fingers. These are also in the gift shop, as "Black Tile"

Full of industry, I cracked on with another pair. These are lovely flat glass beads, with grids printed all over them. The grids change colour depending on what direction the light hits them, so you never quite know what they'll look like. I added a silver cog from the watches and a pale green crystal that matched one of the colours in the grid and "Off the Grid" was completed.

These ones are faboo, but actually quite simple in a lot of ways. I got the blue frames when visiting the Queen of Canada, from the wonderfully named TANK fire + metal in the Distillery District. As you can imagine, we didn't tell the Brownie that we were going there, although I'm sure he wouldn't have enjoyed it. Much. It does have a very good brewery. Anyway, the earrings: they're called "Hard to Resist".

I bet you can guess who I was thinking about when I made these earrings? Yes, that's right, our dear Miss Rothschild. The pretty little pink roses reminded me very much of our favourite clockwork girl. I do hope she isn't working too hard on her magnum opus. Even clockwork girls need time to play and have enjoy a little tea and cake. These "Pink Rose" earrings are also in the gift shop.

So, as you can see, full of busy, and now its time to get the laundry done. Snorty's boiler should be about warm enough now and he says he likes doing the washing as it means he can snort bubbles out of his trunk. He's a funny steam elephant.

All our love,

Fuschia

Lava and Lumpies

Dear Miss Muse,

Its been a while since I sent the butterflies with salutations, so I thought it was high time I made ammends. I know you like unusual things and shiny things, so I got the Boxed Brownie to make some watercolours for your perusal.

This one I have named after something he drawled in his rather odd southern accent; he claims that he said it was luverly, but I thought he said "lava-ly" (and was attempting to be funny, seeing as the bead is made from cooled lava). He was a bit sniffy at first, but soon perked up when I told him what a great name it was for the pendant.

One of the other things I've been working with is some more of those old glass fuses I have. I put some liquid Fimo in one and baked it to see what colour it would come out; although not completely successful, it should be usable for what I want to do, but it will need a syringe to get it in tidily. I sort of got it everywhere as it dribbled out from under the fuse cap. Mind you, that was my fault as it was a fuse I'd previously baked to try and melt the glue holding the end cap on. Obviously it did melt it a bit, in all the wrong places. Ah well, c'est la vie!

I have this lovely purple wire, and I know you're a bit partial to purple, so I wrapped the fuses in it and dangled some crystals and some little silver lumpies (sorry, Snorty says I have to call them elephants or you won't know what I'm talking about) and voila! They're rather sweet, but in the gift shop they go.

Snorty says to tell the little Master that he's looking forward to giving him rides when he's big enough to hang on to the howdah. I have set the Prof the task of making a special safety harness, although I can't quite work out whether its for Snorty or the bairn...

All my love,

F.

Full Circuit

Good morning, Mrs Foggy

Or is it evening? All these time differences make me wish that some of the clocks and watches we have lying around the Circus actually worked! Still, it would be a terrible shame to break them open for all the pretty things inside if they were actually doing something useful like telling the time.

I have been investigating some strange apparatus that the Prof brought back from his travels. I believe they are called quartz watches, which made me think that they might be nice and glisteny, like the stones (well, once they've been polished; quartz can be a little dull until its been well and truly buffed). Sadly, this has proven not to be the case, but the do have interesting innards, once you get past this strange material called plastic.


In some of my earlier experiments, I extracted the little copper coils (called solenoids) by use of some teeny-tiny screwdrivers and a bit of pixie determination, thinking at some point that I would use them as dangly connectors in earrings. In two of the watches, however, the solenoids refused to be parted from the little circuit boards (which I have already used on their own in some other earrings I've been making).


After a bit of a ponder, I decided to wire a crystal into the gap between the coil and the board, so making it into a "Full Circuit" (hence the name). They are quite simple, but very chic and shiny. They remind me of a period that Miss Emilly calls Art Deco, although I think I shall describe them as electropunk (as there are no cogs, I can hardly call them steampunk now, can I?).

I look forward to hearing what adventures you and your good husband have been having, but please try not to feed the butterflies too much ice wine when they deliver this letter. I know they're rather fond of it, but they were pretty tipsy after their last visit to your Northern shores (and its bad enough having to deal with a drunken Boxed Brownie).

Love,

F.

The Path to Your Heart

Dearest Em,

As promised, I've been a busy Pixie, making things and experimenting. And, following your advice, I'll be popping my creations up in the gift shop in the Etsy Big Top.

I've called these ones "Path to Your Heart", because they're made from the printed circuit boards from some broken quartz watches we got from the other Rummage Man a few weeks ago. And a circuit is a path, and there are hearts on there, so it seemed like the right name for them!

I added the green Swarovski crystals because there's green on the printed circuits, and gold wire and black hearts so that it all toned together nice and harmoniously. There'll never be another pair of earrings quite like these, as I'll never have circuit boards exactly like these ever again.

All in all, I'm quite proud of them and I think they'd make a smashing addition to any steam/electropunk lady's jewellery box, even if I do say so myself!

Right, time to tidy up the display cabinet ready for the next set of new arrivals. Be good, and give our love to Mr Woppit.

Love

F.

Con-fusing!

Dear Mr Weil,

I was ever so excited when my parcel arrived from you the other day. You know how much I enjoy experimenting, so I was thrilled to acquire Miss Lisa Pavelka's UV resin and those smashing syringes from Mr Polymer Clay-Pit. With Miss Beauty Perfection's glow in the dark purple nail powder also safely in my crafter's kit, I felt certain I could proceed apace with my plans.

A while ago, Miss Emilly gave me some charming little light bulb things (modelled along the lines of those by Mr Joseph Swann, not the thieving Edison) from Miss Lynne at the Altered Element. Sadly, I put them somewhere very safe indeed (although I suspect Snorty may have half-inched them for his own nefarious purposes), so I have purchased some more.

My idea is this: to make some charming earrings that look attractive during the day, but then glow in the dark. There are two potential ways I can do this and I am investigating both. The first involves making my own small beads from glow in the dark Fimo, forming them into the glowing element of the bulb. This should be straightforward enough, so I'm not practising this. The beads were made by wrapping the clay around a thin copper wire, sectioning off small donuts and baking them on the wire.

The other way of doing this requires some practice, and this is where your goods and the nail powders come in. I drilled into some old glass fuses, one at both ends and one only at the top. The one that had been drilled at both ends had a coil of silver wire glued onto it's base to plug the whole after the rest of the wire had been pushed through the top hole (so I could make a hanging loop).

I then attempted to mix the nail powder and the resin in the syringe, which was a bit of a disaster. Never having worked with the resin before, I was unsure how long it would take to cure in daylight and was rather hurried in my actions. I have now confirmed that it takes ages to set unless you have a UV light, so next time I will work at a more leisurely pace. Once mixed (sort of) I syringed the mixture into the fuses, then popped them on the window sill to set. That took three days, so I shall acquire a UV light to make it all happen just a little bit faster.

The nail powder is beautiful, as it also contains purple sparklies, but I just didn't add enough. Also, with the resin taking days to set, the powder settled out, congregating in the base of the fuse (although interestingly, the glitter remained suspended). Slightly disappointingly, it doesn't glow purple in the dark either, but a ghostly lime green. Its a bit tricky to see as the Boxed Brownie complained bitterly at being forced to work in the dark (and there's just not enough powder, as I mentioned before), but I'm sure you get the idea.

But I'm not disheartened! I have some Fimo liquid polymer clay to experiment and I'm not done with the resin yet. Once I refine the technique on the fuses to my satisfaction, I shall progress on to my bulbs. Once I have done that, I shall write again and let you see the finished results!

Please give my best wishes to Mrs Weil,

Yours faithfully,

Mrs Begonia.

Titfers

Dearest Em,

I know that sometimes it takes me a while to get round to things, but you know that hat workshop of Sparkly Jem's you encouraged me to go on after I admired your cracking cranial adornment? Well, I went and only eight months later, I've actually finished the hat!



Rather natty, eh? The fabric was printed by the lovely Spoonflower, on the Colonial side of the Pond. They hail from an area famous for their cutlery inspired foliage, which I believe the company is named after (and so much prettier than the other local herbage, the Prickly Sporkmoss). The cog is from my stash, the ribbon from some other random shopping trip where I grabbed far too many pretty things with no idea of what I'd end up doing with them (although I believe making medal ribbons was on my mind at the time), and the wooden butterfly from a traipse along the Queen of Canada's excellent street of beading emporia. Its lined with a very delicate duck-egg shade of silk and I'm rather pleased with it. Now all I need to do is remember to take my hair-pins with me next time I wear it...

Needless to say, I'm rather proud of it. Doesn't it look chic? Unusual for this Pixie, I know, but every girl needs to have her glam moments, don't you think?

Must dash! Be good (or at least, don't get caught)

Love

F.

Lost and Found

Dear Mrs Foggy,

Blimey, its been a while, hasn't it? I don't know where the time went since your nuptials. It was very good of your Boxed Brownie to send us his little paintings over the aether, although our Brownie is now sulking and has eaten several daguerrotypes in protest (including the one of Mr Mesmer's cravat pin). I have confiscated his gin in retaliation and attempted to convince him that his images will be much more in focus without it. Funnily enough, he won't believe me.

To prove I did do some creative stuff in between then and now, these are some earrings I made for a Canadian friend of ours. She's a very talented jewellery maker herself and over the years we have whiled away many a happy hour in the bead shops along the street the Queen of Canada has designated specially for that purpose. I found the lovely little crystal butterflies on a shopping trip with Miss Emilly, and the little silver hearts. The main challenge was finding some nice posts that weren't for pierced ears. All in all, I think they worked quite well.

And then there was something for Terry; she likes purple and again, she's a very talented jewellery maker (its always a bit nerve-racking making something for other designers, but we all have our own unique style and no-one's sent anything back yet!). Its very simple, just another of those lovely circley bits the Prof found in the circus basement when dismantling the old Babbage Engines.

Last, but by no means least, this necklace was for Miss Emilly, to go with the earrings that I made for her when I was 'sperimenting last summer. I made the ribbons a bit long, but seeing as she's rather handy in that department, she soon sorted that out to her satisfaction.

Life at the Circus since then has somewhat got in the way of making pretty things, but now its the off-season I'm hoping to get the sketch book out again (and the power tools). I even dutifully sorted out the big pile of stuff I'd accrued over the last year, so I pretty much know where everything is and even what I have! Except for the little light bulb things that Miss Emilly gave me; I've no idea where they are. I suspect the Brownie, but he's denying everything and its not as if Snorty would know what to do with them.

Best be off, I think I can hear George chasing the Prof around the workshop. He's a good lion, most of the time, but he does get bored easily and I don't fancy having to give him another bath if he gets in amongst the dye vats again (although he did rather suit that shade of purple).

Please give our love to your wonderful hublet, and ta-ta for now!

F.

'Tis the Season...

Dear Teedles,

You might have been thinking that its been awfully quiet on the Pixie front. Well, you wouldn't have been wrong. Its been terribly hectic both at Pixie School and the Circus, and then there's the sideline I have to take care of at this time of year, if you know what I mean (big fat man, white beard, seriously in need of a new outfit, needs to stop drinkinng all that fizzy brown stuff).

So here are some of the stocking fillers he's had me making this year.

First off is this lovely red and silver pair. The fuse caps came off these ones, so it was really easy to stuff 'em full of beads. I really like these ones; very festive.

And then I real problems getting the fuse caps off any of the other ones, so I had to think outside the fuse. Quite literally, actually. Hmmm, lovely purple swirly beady things. That's two seperate pieces of wire there, one going up through the middle, the other twirling round the outside.

So, thinks me, what am I to do now? Each pair has to be different and I can't get the caps off. Trying to twist them off with pliers makes them go tinkle-crack-smash and heating them in Snorty's firebox just makes the glue go brown (you can't get them out of the oven quick enough to get the caps off while the glue is still molten).

I had some very pretty turquoise wire and I thought, let's do a variation of the beady one, just with wire. And instead of a loop on the bottom, lets have a pretty swirl ('cos its a bugger getting those loops to sit right underneath).

Right, one more pair to go. I got my lovely drill out again, only this time I got one of the bigger bits and drilled a stonking great hole in one end of the fuse.

The advantage of that is that I can cram the little beads up through the hole. The disadvantage of that is that there's this big hole in the bottom. I did think about sticking a big bead over the hole, but trying to handle that with very quickly drying glue would be sure to end up with Pixie fingers stuck in there as well. So I thought the swirl would make a very agreeable alternative. The beads are iridescent, so it sparkles very nicely in the light.

There have been other things I've been working on, but they're super-special secret still (until after the big man has been out on his rounds. And I don't mean the Prof; he's currently helping the Elves. He looks really cute in green, especially with that hat and the stripy stockings).

Ah, my new crystals have arrived. Best get back to the other two pairs of earrings.

Have an excellent festive season

Lots of love, Fuschia

Coppers and Computers

Dearest Emilly,

I do hope your polar trip is progressing well. The post-butterflies have complained a bit about the cold up there, but they think that the coloured lights are very pretty, like the shimmer in their wings in fact.

We had a bit of a party in your absence and while the Prof was pootling about preparing the moonshine and the nibbles, I thought I'd better make some more things for the little gift-shop.

First up is this little item, or "Green Machine" as we've decided to call it. I know you know a bit about the future and these strange things called computers. I believe that some of our current compatriots call them Difference Engines. I haven't had the heart to tell them that the ones I've seen in the future aren't steam-powered. Still, if you take a nice big hammer to them, there are some very pretty things inside. It would be fun even if there weren't pretty things inside; you know me and hammers!

The Prof says this piece is called a hard disc reader head. I know it doesn't look like a head or like it can read, but I thought the ribbons and the little beads made it much more presentable to the library types, particularly Sir JJ and Miss Homewood (and I don't think it would be interested in Sir JJ's secret stash of very nice whisky, unlike some of his other readers. Hic!)

Anyway, its available here: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=33224817

And then there's this one: Time Flies. Not all of the bits of clock we got from the Rummage Man were in tip-top condition; even though I felt a bit sorry for this watch-face as its seen better days, I still think its very pretty. Its such a lovely colour under that enamel; maybe true beauty does lie within?

The shiny circular piece the Prof assures me is a hard disc spindle thing. No idea what one of them does, but its got some very useful holes in it for putting ribbons through. And the little dragonfly liked it so much when he came to see what I was doing, he asked if he could stay.

Its available here: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=33225023

Some of the other reader heads that we recovered from more old computers the Prof found in a wonderful yellow boaty called, I believe, in the local parlance a "skip", weren't as pretty as the one above. In fact, the only pretty thing in them was the copper coily; not only is it a very pleasing shape, there's a class of butterflies called Coppers, or Lycaenae.

Well, if there's butterflies involved (however tenuously) you know I'm your Pixie! So I snapped them out of their ugly surrounds, polished them up and added some pretty Chinesey beads and a few cogs for good measure.

They're next to the candyfloss at: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=33225252

There is one other piece of jewellery that I've made, but this one has sort of already been commissioned (along with three more pairs). At a different point in the future I found these natty little glass tubes. They had a rather boring wire in them, but I managed to pull the caps off a few and soon remedied that. I've called them "Blown a Fuse", although the Prof looked at me really archly when I did and muttered something about "more like a gasket...". Do you think I should have words with him, Em? Or was he making another odd Circus-type joke, do you think? (For odd, please read not funny)

I await your answer as to whether or not Snorty and I should take him in hand. Give my love to Mr Worthers

Fuschia

Spring has Sprung

Dear Miss Elytis,

You'll be pleased to know that I've been keeping out of mischief by making sparkly things. These ones are called "Spring has Sprung".

Um, they don't actually have springs in them though, but "Spring has Cogged" doesn't quite work.

Anyway, they're for sale from the little gift shop on the way out of the Big Top - here http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=32365336

Yes, I know that's shameless self promotion, but shy bairns get nowt, as they say.

Time for a nice cup of tea!

Lots of love
Fuschia

Star Potential

Morning Teedles,

Its been a bit hectic over the last few weeks as we've had some work experience Pixies and Circus folk in the Big Top. Spot the Tiger wasn't very happy, but Fred the Lion took to most of them and not like last time. Not that we like to talk about that (I still say it was his own fault; we did mention about the whole mime thing, but you know young people, they always know best. Its the stripy tops that do it).

But, I have been busy, as you can see. I was playing about with the design I did for Miss Emilly and came up with these. They're called Star Potential, because Mr Merlin said that the slotty things could also be called potentiometers. The lady who trains Pixies (I think I told you about her) decided she liked these ones too, and she's bought them as a little present to cheer up her friend. I like the thought of that; after all, Pixies are supposed to spread a little magic as they go.

Be good,
Love
F.

Flutterby Blue

Dear Miss Jameson,

You know how partial Pixies are to butterflies, so I thought it was about time I incorporated them into some swishy earrings. And I like blues and golds almost as much as I like fuschia pinks and purples, so overall I'm rather pleased with the results.

I've put them in the gift shop by the back door of the Big Top, in amongst the souvenir giraffes and cannons - here: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_2&listing_id=32364653

They're probably better for your teeth than toffee apples. Er, actually, no, they're probably not. We do do some nice carrot sticks, just don't tell Snorty we've been sharing his tea time treats!

Love,
F

Clockwork Heart

Dear Emilly,

Just a short note to let you see what else I've been up to lately. I bet you thought it was too quiet over here at the circus...

These are the earrings I made for the lady who trains Pixies. She has excellent taste in colours, even if I do say so myself. You know I like to give everything its proper name, so these have been christened "Clockwork Heart" and I'm happy to say that the lady was very pleased with them.

Better go, more letters to write! I look forward to our imminent shopping trip for sparkly things

Lots of love,
F.

Dingly Danglies

Dear T,

I'm glad to say that I've been at it again, this time with many sets of pliers. I've kept these ones a bit of a secret up 'til now, as the pink ones are a present for a certain red and black spotted aquaintance of ours (and you know how the post-imps can never be entirely trusted not to peek and gossip).

The blue and purple ones are mine for our outing to Lincoln. I found some more of those resistor thingies and they really are quite nifty for wiring things together. The dangly bit with the heart on is made of old watch parts, so the earrings are ever-so-slightly different. The nice lady who was training me to be a better Pixie liked them too: she's asked me to make her some!

The pink and green ones with the little stars are for you-know-who. The linky bit is something I think the Prof called a "variable resistor". Apparently you jam a tiny spanner into the slotty bit to make it more or less resitant. I think someone jamming a spanner into you would be guaranteed to make you more resistant, really, wouldn't you? Maybe this future gubbins has some sense after all; I remain to be convinced. The only problem with the stripy resistor bits is the colours they come in - I'd kill for a nice pink or purple one.

Anyway, must dash - I need to pack Snorty ready for the trip southwards. I have to dig out the smart howdah with the silk cushions and the nice tea set if i want to travel in a bit of luxury. Well, the Prof has to actually dig it out from the back of the outhouse; its far too large for me to do much with, but you know what I mean.

Be good,

love
Fuschia

Tinkering Along

Hello there, Terry!


You know I said that I'd been tinkering away again? Well, here are the fruits of my labours thus far:

You've seen the little cabochon that I usually wear with my nice white posh going out and about blouse, haven't you? This is the pixiepunk replacement, made especially for the Convivial in Lincoln this coming weekend.


Its a terrible shame that you're on the wrong side of the Puddle; Emilly, Oolon and Mr Merlin will all be there. We shall try to grab daguerrotypes for your perusal.

The backplate is from a very noisy alarm clock - I think I told you about having to hide it under Snorty's straw to deaden the racket. Once I got the straw out of the little holes, it made quite a nice mount for everything. Some of the other bits are from the Clock Man's mechanism, some

from the Rummage Man, and a few resistors we borrowed from the future. And you can't beat a few crystals. Please assure Miss Elytis that they're quite safe and there won't be a repeat of that unfortunate exploding incident.

Not to be left out, I made the Prof a nice badge (he says its not manly to call it a brooch; honestly, men!). It was his design, but he was humming and harring about actually clagging the bits together, so I did it for him.

He's foregoing his usual choice of outfits, so there won't be any leopard skin (probably a good idea, as it might be just a little bit too carnival for polite society). Instead he's aiming for what I have jestingly called 'FlyPunk (I think he took some fashion tips from Cap'n Tightpants last time he popped over for tea). He says it looks like a marshall's badge and he's inordinately pleased with it. I believe the correct exclamation at this point is "Yipee-Kiyay!"?



And then there was the experiment: some of the old watches we got from the Rummage Man were in a "not quite sure what to do with" pile. Some were so exhausted, we put them out of their misery; others were so interesting I intend to use them as they are. And then there were the not quite had it, but not quite outstanding lot. I dug out a book from our extensive library (Circus folk need to be ready to turn their hand to anything) and made a wire bezel for one of them.

It was blinkin' hard work, let me tell you. That so called craft wire was really tough to bend to my whim, so it didn't come out quite how it was in the book. The back was supposed to be the front, if you see what I mean (hence the swirly thing), but I accidentally managed to put it in the right way up and I rather like the front being the front. I know its wonky, but that's me really, isn't it?

Oops, better go, I can smell burning. And that means either Snorty's run out of water or I've left the soldering iron on again.

Be good,

Love,

Fuschia

By George, I Think I've Got It!

Dearest Emilly,

I have to say, I think I might have pretty much cracked it.

I have enclosed a few quick daguerrotypes showing the fruits of today's labours. Its been a bit of a one of them, with some things working straight away and others proving to be a little trying, but thanks to the various samples I've made it wasn't anywhere near as tricksy as it could have been.

To the left, the overview: black acrylic felt with an overlay of Wireform that I blasted with some embossing powders to knock it back a bit. As you can see, free machine zig-zagging around the edges with metallic thread just gives it a little something extra that the unedged samples didn't have.


To the right, you can see the details a bit better. There's an old watch face, a cog from that wonderful mechanism we got from the nice Clock Man, a few resistors that the Prof dug up in the Circus' basement and some copper shim butterflies (nicely pinked up with another blast or two from the heat gun).


I must confess, I did resort to glue; I thought it would look a bit messy even for Pixies if I tried to couch everything down.

And I know that resistors are a tad post-modern for steampunk, but then again, that's not entirely what I'm doing...

To the left, you can see the tassle I made to finish it all off. There's three different sorts of variegated silk ribbon in there, with an old clock hand (from the Rummage Man's stall) wired onto it.

My wiring still needs a bit of practice, and getting the two bits to hang together was beginning to tax my patience, but it all came out alright in the end (at least for a first full attempt).

Now all I need to do is sort out the medals and some earrings and the brooch for my blouse (sort of like an alternative tie for Pixies) and do some more embroideries (I have a great idea for some applique work with some of the smaller bits from the teeny-weeny watches; oh yes, and finish the other ones I started) and do some felt-based cog-shaped brooches and... Well, you get the general idea, I'm sure :)

And thank you for the patches - they will cover up the hole in my blue skirt very nicely. Its amazing what damage a soldering iron will do if you leave it in the wrong place.

All my love,

Fuschia