Do-It-Yourself: Steampunk Accent

It is amazing the stuff you can use to give a room a Steampunk vibe. So far I have concentrated on the Victorian side of Steampunk, and now I will show you an easy tutorial on how to add a large Steampunk accent.

Because with Steampunk, you have to have presence!!

You will need:

• PVC pipe, 4 inch wide, 5 feet long
• PVC 4 inch coupling
• PVC 4 inch 90* elbow
• Rust-Oleum Universal Hammered in Copper
•  Two corks
• Sharpie™ marker
• E-6000

Set up the pieces of PVC on a tarp in a well-ventilated area.

Once you wipe them clean of dirt and dust, apply a thin streak of E-6000 to the inside of the coupling and the elbow, and connect the pieces. Allow them to set for about 30 minutes. Once stable, lay the connected piece with the elbow facing down, and let dry a bit longer. While that dries, take your spray paint and shake vigorously for at least one minute.

I wish I were….

Next, begin spraying the PVC in an even, thin coat.

Let dry for about 30 minutes between each coat. The PVC took roughly three thin coats, and the effect is very pretty.

Here is a closeup of the effect:

Honestly, I could have done another coat, but I was A) tired, 3) hungry, and ix) hot. So, three coats was deemed plenty good.

Now for the funny part. Take a couple of corks from wine, not champagne, or any evenly sized corks. Cut them into roughly six pieces each, then color with a Sharpie™, like so:

Don’t worry if they aren’t perfect. That’s the beauty of Steampunk! Once you have recovered from the fumes, glue the cork bits onto the PVC joints, to resemble rivets.

Make sure you space them evenly. Also, you don’t have to glue any on the underside which won’t be seen, unless you are a perfectionist. In that case, use three corks.

And, TA DA!!!!!!!

This is taller than I am, but very light. It will be adhered to the wall with sticky stuff instead of glue, since I don’t want to damage the wall. Once it is stuck to the wall, I shall fashion a gasket to hide the seam, which y’all will see on The Big Reveal©.

Until then, please pray that Eldest is done with her room so that y’all will see the reveal before 2016 😉