Geek – Page 232 – Geek Crafts

4th Doctor Minimalist Painting

Doctor Who has been a favorite of mine since I was just a wee little geek. Tom Baker was the 4th Doctor in the series, but he was my first and has continued to be my favorite as the series has progressed. His iconic scarf and hat have always defined for me the way that the Doctor should look.

This Minimalist painting by Etsian geekasms perfectly captures the 4th doctor in all his splendor. Minimalist paintings are something I am finding very interesting right now, and have been spreading around the interwebs like wild fire. Since I am spending a week in Jolly ol’ London, England, I thought I would share my love of Doctor Who with all of you.

Michael Parsons, who runs geekasms on Etsy, has done a whole slew of Minimalist Paintings and is selling prints on Etsy. Some of my favorites include his Tardis and Weeping Angel prints. Each print is signed and limited to 25 copies, so you better get them while you can.

Go get the Print!

Visit geekasms on Etsy

Need More Dr. Who? Geekcrafts has you covered!

Baby Bender Amigurumi

Precocious little scamps, aren’t they? These Baby Benders were made by Loefferst (one commissioned by a friend, the other to keep for herself). “Taken straight out of the episode “Lethal Inspection” these lovable little Benders come complete with Mexican beer”. Those beer bottles are life size! These have to be my favorite Futurama amigurumi ever! They took 30 hours, so they’re both full of that emotion I understand is called love.

Book Review: Makoto’s Cross-Stitch Super Collection

Makoto’s Cross-Stitch Super Collection by Makoto Oozu is, as it says on the cover, very cool! and not lame! Originally two books published in Japan (Hop, Stitch, Jump! and My Stitch Book), this is an awesome compendium of tiny, geeky patterns and projects to stitch. It’s got robots, dinosaurs, monsters, aliens, insects, sea creatures, travel, and electronics to choose from.

I love the way the book is organized. Part 1 shows you all of the designs stitched in full color. Part 2 is full of an interesting variety of projects with everything from shirts to pillows to an amazing pegboard wall panel (who needs Aida?). Part 3 goes over cross-stitch materials and tools, basic stitches, and detailed instructions for all of the projects.

As much as I would love to make the pegboard wall panel, I don’t have room for that in my house (seriously, I need to make room for this!), so I went small and stitched on a Moleskine notebook cover.

To get the holes in the right place, I was going to draw lines with a pencil, but the book had great advice–photocopy the pattern from the book and use that as a guide for punching the holes. I opted to use my Japanese screw punch with the smallest tip instead of a book awl and decided to go with the purple pterodactyl. I punched the holes and started stitching.

Since the design is so small, I was able to use threads from my loose stash and stitched with two strands. I think that the next time I stitch on a notebook, I’ll use more strands, but I’m still very happy with how my dinosaur came out.

These designs are so quick to stitch up–I think the pterodactyl took me 15 minutes–these notebooks would make great last-minute gifts.

Rad news! I’ve got one copy of Makoto’s Cross-Stitch Super Collection to give away. Leave a comment telling me your favorite dinosaur and why by Friday, June 24th at midnight ET and I’ll pick a winner at random. Respond to another reader’s comment and get an extra entry (limit one, please). [Edit – midnight ET. I can only stay up so late :)]

+1 of Awesome Towel

My friend Ruth Suehle (who contributed the Drive-In Messenger Bag, the LilyPad Arduino Cake, and an essay on costuming to World of Geekcraft) just came to visit Portland for the first time this week, and brought me an epic gift! She machine-embroidered a hand towel for me with a design from Urban Threads that pairs a d20 with the caption +1 of Awesome. I just love it so much.

Tutorial Tuesday: Polymer Clay Superman Keyring

I know we’ve HAD father’s day already (and if you’re a father, grandfather, godfather, father-to-be, stepfather or any other variation on the theme I hope you had a lovely Sunday) but if you’re not gift-giving until next week, or if you want to make next year’s fathers day gift WELL ahead of time, I’ve got a tutorial for you.

Craftster user and youtuber MeiIris made her Dad an adorable polymer clay Superman keyring/key-chain, and her video tutorial is just downright sparkly and beautiful.

Breakfast is Power Placemat

From Link’s bottled milk to Mario’s mushrooms, video game heroes have long depended on tasty foods to gain their powers and heal their wounds.

You may not be able to shoot fireballs out of your eyes after your own breakfast, but you’ll definitely feel like a champ with this Breakfast is Power placemat from Petek Design.

If you’d rather the design as a reminder to your little heroes (or not so little heroes) on the importance of fueling up, you can also order it as a poster for your geeky kitchen.