Black Cat Carnival - Part III

On to the last item I created for my Black Cat Carnival. If you missed reading the first two posts, here are direct links:

Black Cat Carnival - Part I

Black Cat Carnival - Part II

This is the largest piece in my Carnival - a Swing Carousel. I really didn't know I was going to create it until I spotted this at Goodwill one day:

I took the pic after removing the glass and cardboard from each photo frame

I thought that if I could only get those frames off without damaging it too much, this spinning photo frame display would be the perfect start to my carousel. So I slapped down a whole $3 and took a chance. Much to my delight, the frames actually snapped right off when I bent them back and forth a few times - awesome!

Without the frames to hold them apart, both sets of five spokes slid down on top of each other. I asked hubby to do his magic, and he was able to saw the top knob off perfectly (I had hoped it was just screwed on, but no such luck). I slid the spokes off, glued a stopper near the top of the central post, glued both sets of spokes together and viola, they spun in unison - 10 spokes ready for swings!

Goodwill came through again when I picked up this M&M's candy tin for a whole 50 cents. The perfect shape, I simply used my silver tape to cover the top.

Silver brads were cut down and glued to represent rivets. Some glittered swirl brads were also added to decorate the top.

The decorative black edge was created from cardstock using a Martha Stewart punch. Silver brads and chain finished it off. I glued a clock gear under the knob and attached it to the top with E6000 glue. On the underside of this part, I glued a large nut so when it was placed over the center pole, it rotates independent of the spokes.

Making the swings was purely a hit-and-miss adventure... I thought I could fit 10 swings in, one on each spoke. So what did I do? Yep. I made ten seats. I punched out twenty "arms" (again, a Martha Stewart punch, folded in half to double it up). I counted out 80 rivets - 8 per seat to secure the chains. I designed the seats and cut out 10 of each, scoring and punching the backs for a decorative touch. I counted out 60 jump rings to attach the chains to the chairs and the spokes.

A production line was created at every step...  brads were painted and inked. Thirty gears were chosen to decorate the back of each swing and some needed to be painted and inked in black and silver. Pieces were lined up for assembly. I even made ten padded seats for each one... a piece of cardboard covered with fiberfill and cloth, glued together and two brads poked through for an upholstered look.

And then as I hung the first two swings it finally occurred to me...

It was way too cramped and I could only use half of them! Aw Crap!

Oh well, I placed the swings on every other spoke and added some lanterns onto the others.

Filigreed bead caps were glued to the spoke ends to finish them off.

Then I had to decide what the heck to do with the base. I had visions of either covering the three "legs" with cloth, or cardboard... but then I simply cut two pieces of chipboard in half circles, covered them with the silver foil tape, used my piercing tool to create pilot holes and inserted black brads for rivets. I used my Cuttlebug and Spellbinders die to create the center design around the pole. I also used the bottom half of the black cardstock decor I placed on the top for a fence of sorts around the base. I also finished off the edge of the base with more silver chain, just like the top.

Three black cats (okay they weren't black before I painted them and added Gold Stickles for eyes that glow when photographed) stand guard on the base. Oh and I added a pair of wings to the center pole too... matching it up with the Steampunk Airship.

That was a fun transformation!

So I guess that's it for now... until I figure out what to add next.

Well, at least I have five seats ready and waiting. :P