Shopping list in hand, I bravely set forth on my quest. I found pretty much everything that I wanted to start off with.

My design will have 3 major influences to it. Firstly would be Steampunk of course. After some intense studying of Steampunk culture, fashion and function I think I’m getting it. I’d like to say that I have an eye for fashion, so that’s what I focused on. Heavily Victorian influence (unless it’s Dieselpunk, which is also really awesome) so there’s top hats, floral, bustles, corsets, cuffs and other things good. There’s one classic fashion piece for Steampunk though: Gears. Gears on hats, gears on goggles, gears on iPods, gears on everything that will sit still. I don’t think that’s what makes Steampunk so steamily delicious though. One cannot simple glue some clock parts on something and call is Steampunk, at least that is my opinion. I believe, I know, that Steampunk fashion has more to it than cogs and pressurized hot water vapor. I hope, even though I am a novice, to capture that.

Second is my love: Art Nouveau. I’ve been enchanted ever since high school. Being a ‘nature’ person, it made sense, as Art Nouveau was strongly influenced by the natural flow of things. The transition between Victorian and Nouveau is…well, rather natural! The two styles should not only be able to be mixed, but actually add to each other.

Third, last, and probably less prevalent is the classic cathedral style radio. My father restores old radios, and I love the way this one looks. If you look at it, it’s not that different from the natural lines of Art Nouveau.
Sorry for the lecture! I’m just very excited after shopping for parts

• Hours: 2 = 7 Total
• Cash: 40.11 (so far, not including the frame yet)

The laptop in question – Dell Latitude 810
Dimensions - 1.7 inches thick, 14.2 inches wide, and 10.3 inches deep. 7.1 lbs

It was time to dig in, so I decided to start simply. I popped off the keys to the keyboard and Oh, the humanity.
Hair from my roommate's chuweenie, random fuzz, dust, and residue from the coke I spilled on it freshman year...it was not pretty. I did, however, figure out the mechanics of the keyboard. My idea was to make it a traditional typewriter-type thing with circle keys. The 'spring' to the keys are actually square, which may pose a problem...later.

After the horrors I endured, I decided to venture out and seek out parts to my Dellcinea. My first stop was good ol' Ben Franks. Our local craft-mart, it offers a meager selection of almost everything crafty. I went in there searching for brass sheeting mainly, but I wandered around and found the framing section. After a surprisingly brief explanation, the attendant knew what I was talking about and came up with a rough estimate for the ornate frame that I wanted. Around $170. Way more than I wanted to spend on something I'd still have to cut away from. I would have to find something different. Wood parts still an issue, I wandered around and found 2in x 12in brass sheets. I would have preferred to cut the brass frame out of a single, uninterrupted sheet, but hey, it's less than $2! I didn't buy anything, but I've made note.

With some wind on my sails, I went treasure hunting. My goal was some decorative hinges, maybe some claw feet like Datamancer's masterpiece, and after some searching I managed to find more than that! Little feet, brass linking, ornate borders abound! This was a treasure! It was enough sturdy for tissue boxes (or whatever fit into it), but easy enough to dismantle. What luck!

• Hours: 2 (hunting!) = 5 total
• Cost : $10 (sweet box, yo)
  

For college, my generous parents forked out $2,590 for a brand new laptop. The year was 2005, and said machine is a Dell Latitude 810, a laptop that was touted to be the ‘latest, greatest technologies in a large desktop-replacement notebook’ (PCmag.com). It was bulky, heavy, and would not go down without a fight. Through 2-20 page essays, all-nighters, and even playing DJ at parties, this laptop served me well for 4 years…and then crashed epically. Luckily, a new motherboard was covered under my 4 year warranty. So with practically a brand new computer, I graduated. As a biology major, almost Spanish minor, I leapt into the real world and managed to get a job with a salary and in my field. What luck, I had money! I couldn’t really ask for anything more in ‘these economic times’, but I went out and bought myself a graduation present. The year was 2009, the machine: A sleek Toshiba Satellite E105-S1802. Ol’ Latitude was left to the wayside, perfectly capable just not as bright, light and pretty.

That’s when I found something very interesting. I stumbled upon a contraption crafted by Datamancer: a steampunk laptop. Fully functional and compellingly beautiful, I was floored. I’d heard about steampunk, mainly through belly dance (of all references), but had no real interest other than admiration. Now I was inspired, and coincidently, had a functioning and pretty much expendable laptop. What luck!

Ok, ok, that’s the flowery back-story. The real part of it is, I have a project. I have no real handy-work background to speak of and no worth-mentioning knowledge of electronics, so how the hell am I going to pull this off? That’s what this log is for, and for viewers at home to follow…follow my kooky adventure. I’ve scoured the internet for references, tutorials, parts, ideas, anything I could sit still on long enough to read before searching for more. After days of thinking about it, I’m ready to officially start. This account of foolishness will, I hope, inspire those of us who may not be the best when it comes to tools I will be keeping account of my progress through pictures, and random ramblings…plus this list at the bottom of each entry. Handy huh?

• Hours: 3 (parts planning, x more dreaming)
• Out: $0