Geek Crafts » Girly

Ms. Pac-Man 5th Birthday Awesomeness

susan — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 07:00:26 +0000

Ok, I LOVED the party with a homemade Ms. Pac-Man birthday cake surrounded by power pellet + ghost cupcakes Stephanie Kaloi posted about this week on Offbeat Mama! Awesome.

Ms. Pac-Man Birthday Cake
Stephanie’s Crimson + Clover Photography site

Poppet of Power

MarjeeC — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 07:00:17 +0000

She-Ra: Princess of Power

Lanikins and I are united by tragic stories of loss in our respective childhoods. She lost her She-Ra to a bratty brother attack and rightfully gives him a hard time about this crime to this very day.

I mourned an entire She-Ra family of action figures (good guys and bad guys!) that was accidentally thrown away. I stored the crew in a plastic bag with their “wedding” regalia. I “designed” these bridal party gowns using multicolored Kleenex and my grandmother mistook the heaps of colored facial tissue for trash. The Crystal Castle, once buzzing with activity, stood empty and hollow. My wails of sadness were likely heard all the way in Eternia.

So nearly 30 years later, it warms my heart to see Lani passing along the joys of She-Ra to a new generation of powerful young princesses with the lessons learned: I have no doubt this She-Ra will not fall pray to bratty brothers, nor will she need to suffer the indignities of a Kleenex wedding dress. This particular plushie was made as an exchange with Padfoot, and it was destined for Padfoot’s daughter. Lani does the cutting and sewing for all of her plushies sans pattern, because she is a plushie making goddess. Most of her plushies are not for use as children’s toys, but she rose to this particular challenge by making a beautiful doll that is built to last. Just like the good ol’ Princess of Power herself.

As part of her process, she did watch a lot of She-Ra on Netflix, which sounds really fun. She is currently working on some Dr. Who’s (10 & 11) so I’m guessing she’s suffering through those Neflix marathons. What a trooper ;-)

Friday Roundup: My Bloody Valentine

kaitlenjay — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:15:16 +0000

As you might have realized, Valentine’s Day is fast approaching. Perhaps you are planning on celebrating with that certain someone…or perhaps you’re ignoring the event entirely (it’s okay, it’s a sham holiday largely designed to promote the sale of greeting cards). Either way, you might want to get a gift, either for said certain someone or for yourself (because this is the fun part of being an adult—you get to buy yourself things). So why not take the standard Valentine’s trope of jewelry and skew it just a little bit? See how good your Valentine’s sense of humor really is.

Roses are red…and so is blood. So, if you and/or your beloved are fans of any of those vampire shows out there (whatever, I only count Buffy), the Twilight movies (Bah! Vampires don’t sparkle), or have an overall appreciation for general guts ‘n’ gore, consider some of these options. (Note: There are plenty of vial-of-faux-blood necklaces out there, but I’m choosing to ignore them. I just don’t find them that compelling. If that’s your thing, trust me—you can find them in spades. You don’t need my help.)

So La Fille du Consul’s Tour de Cou Sanglant necklace was my original inspiration for the post. Saw it years ago, couldn’t figure out how to actually purchase one, so I wound up making two (one for myself, one for a friend) on my own. ‘Twas a snap. I made a wire armature, surrounded it with clay, baked it, painted it, painted it again, glossed it, stitched on ribbon ties. Et voilà! The hardest part was waiting for the paint to dry between coats. Wish I could post a picture of my handmade version, but my necklace is currently packed up with the rest of my belongings and being intercontinentally shipped.

Since I first stumbled across that delightfully bloody, drippy necklace, I’ve found numerous iterations of the same idea. Here’s Trashglam’s acrylic version and Art for a Home’s basic Blood Drip Necklace and Extra-Bloody Necklace. VonErickson’s Laboratory features entire sections of the shop devoted to dripping necklaces and bracelets and gruesome gash necklaces.

If you prefer something a little less overtly gory and more elaborately Victorian, how about Fable & Fury’s Vampire Blood Drip Statement Necklace? It’s made of red powder-coated stainless steel and it’s fabulously ornate.

Oh, and if beading is more up your alley, don’t worry—you have plenty of options there, too. First up is Weirdly Cute’s Slasher Victim Necklace, followed by House of D’s Axolotl Gill/Blood Drop Necklace.

For those who want something subtle yet suggestive (Is it supposed to look like blood? Is it not? Intriguing….), here are two excellent options: QuirkyOak’s Gothic Choker Necklace and Lily Lady Blue’s True Blood Siam Red Lariat.

My favorite entry in the relatively subtle category is Weirdly Cute’s Vampire Victim Necklace, which properly conveys that freshly-bitten look.

Finally, we have a rather unusual ring to add to the list of bloody beautiful jewelry: Jane D’Arensbourg’s Drops of Blood Glass Knuckle Duster. I’m not gonna lie—in the already unconventional genre of blood-themed jewelry, that’s still a pretty unexpected piece. But, again, it’s also pretty fantastic. So buy it for yourself, give it to your Valentine…just don’t use it to propose.

Hey look! It’s Yeti and Friends!

MarjeeC — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 07:00:58 +0000

Yeti & Friends Trophy heads

I’m interrupting my previously scheduled post because I found the Etsy shop of Yeti and Friends. Who are Yeti and Friends, you ask? Why it is a fellow who makes yetis (and presumably his friends) into trophy heads. It seems a bit sad and macabre and not at all becoming of a vegetarian such as myself to endorse trophy heads, but these heads seem pretty happy about being decapitated and mounted. I mean, look at this pretty little girl depicted (and decapitated wakka wakka) here. Pure bliss on that furry little maw. So to each their own, ya know?

Anywhoddle, I had the pleasure of having a booth next to these guys at the Alternative Press Expo in San Francisco this past October (it’s like an even nerdier Comic-Con). Their booth was constantly packed, they brought tons of yetis and were completely sold out by the end. They were incredibly friendly and thoughtful booth neighbors and the products were very high-quality. Seriously Jim Henson-esque. Given the fact that I have the rare opportunity to share something I’ve actually be able to see first hand, I was excited to stumble across their shop on Etsy. Be sure to check out their diverse offerings of heads!

Yeti & Friends Trophy heads

Hope Your Day is Shiny, Valentine!

Angie — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 05:18:13 +0000

What’s Valentine’s Day without a little bling? Or, at least, something…shiny? As pinned by Kelsey Bennett, the TenthCrewMember over at FireflyFans posted some very shiny printable Firefly Valentines, so you can show some love to your favorite Browncoat.

But wait! There’s more! As in two more versions! I think the one from Jayne, thinking of his Valentine in his bunk, is my favorite.

Surely giving one of these Valentines will keep you from going to the Special Hell, right?

Links of Interest:

Surlyramics; Scents n’ Science

Noodle — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:15:14 +0000

I stayed up last night going through the Geekcraft archives. 224 pages, lots of coffee and a hugely increased level of nerd on my Pinterest later, and I am in shock (okay, there is a small chance it’s actually a caffeine overdose). There is no Surly Amy on Geekcraft.

This is a tragedy, and one I intend to rectify right now.

Surly-ramics started off with our gal Amy making necklaces for herself that proved to be so popular with her friends and colleagues that they would buy them right off her neck. She set up an Etsy store selling her jewellery, enlisted hubby Surly-Johnny for help crafting, and expanded her range to also include bangles, earrings and cuff-links.

Amy is a blogger over at the Mad Art Lab ran by Skepchic, so it’s to be expected that she finds inspiration in science and nature; you’ll find her shop packed with maths humour, scientific symbols and even the occasional Tardis for you Whovians. Her latest range is ‘Surly Scents’ – to which you can add drops of the essential oils that come with your purchase (or your own perfume if you prefer). When you wear them, your body heat warms the ceramic so that the smell dissipates around you.

Surly-Ramics donates to a number of animal charities, so if you purchase from them you get to feel beautiful on the inside as well as looking beautifully accessorised on the outside. Double whammy!

Now what are you hanging around here for? Go check out the amazingness:

Geek Chic embroidery pattern

susan — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 07:05:33 +0000

This Geek Chic machine embroidery pattern from Urban Threads is so charming – I love the cat’s eye glasses and subtle coding bits and pieces woven into the overall design! Thanks to my friend Ruth (stitcher and gifter of the +1 of Awesome towel) for spotting it and posting the link.

Geek Chic embroidery pattern from Urban Threads

Tutorial Tuesday: Wonder Woman Shoes!

geekysweetheart — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 21:00:51 +0000

via The Mary Sue

Lets face it, any red glittery shoes are going to be a winner in my book. But by following Being Geek Chic’s snazzy video tutorial, you too can turn your drab old flats into glittery Wonder Woman pumps that’ll have you doing jazzhands all the way to Comic Con.

Unicorn Poop Cookies

Angie — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 04:58:07 +0000

I tried to think of a clever title for this post, but really – why bother? They’re UNICORN. POOP. COOKIES. As soon as I saw them in a recent GeekChicDaily newsletter, I had to run right over here and share them. Then of course, I discovered teh Internets have already shared them just about everywhere, including i09, geekologie, GeeksAreSexy, The Mary Sue, and Laughing Squid. OK, so a scoop of geek-crafty news, this is not. A scoop of poop, however, it is. Sparkly, tasty poop.

Instructable-r KristyLynn put together a tutorial for creating your own steaming pile of unicorn poop…cookies, right in your own home. According to her, the “poop” is made of sugar cookies, rainbow dragees, rainbow star sprinkles, white sparkle gel, and rainbow disco dust, but I think we GeekCrafters know it’s really made of rainbows, Lucky Charms, and fairy dust. Or perhaps you have a more imaginative ingredients list?

Also, while you eat your “mythically delicious” baked goods, you might want to wear this Unicorn Poop t-shirt from NeatoShop:

Links of Interest:

Unicorn Poop tutorial on Instructables
Unicorn Poop tshirt at NeatoShop

Chewing Your Ear Off

Noodle — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 18:13:00 +0000

Maybe your boss is a real nag; maybe you like it when your other half nibbles on your earlobe, but I absolutely guarantee that neither of them have anything on these Piranha Plant earrings – they’ll really bite your ear off.

The carnivorous baddie has gotta be one of the most recognisable gamer-geek icons, having been in use since Super Mario Bros first hit the shops in 1985, so the earrings have a cool retro sort of vibe, announcing to the world your NES roots.

I’m always impressed by anyone who can sculpt, especially on such a teeny tiny scale, and these little monsters are so well made that you’d never guess they were hand crafted from polymer clay.

Creator Liz is obviously a real Nintendo gal, her Etsy shop LizGlizz is packed with Mario, Pokémon & Zelda paraphernalia and well worth checking out. Her shop is pretty low on stock at the moment, following the Christmas rush, but she’s crafting as I type, so I suggest you get bookmarking to be first in line once they’re back in store.

Youch! Piranha Plant Earrings

LizGlizz Etsy Store