This post is mostly a targeted plea…

…to my husband regarding Christmas presents. Trev, seriously, I must have one of these. I can’t think of a more thoughtful gift for a stylish bibliophile (oh wait, there is one more, I’ll get it it next week.)

Karen H has an Etsy shop called Novel Creations with tons of great-looking purses made of book covers. I spent a bit of time pondering whether one should go for their hands-down very favorite book, or the one that looks best and goes with your wardrobe best. I think this cover of To Kill a Mockingbird might do both. I’m also pretty in love with the vintage Dracula one. I don’t know… I want most of these….

Ms. H. will assemble these with your choice of fastener and handles.

Bitty Brain Slug Barrettes

I know we’ve seen crocheted brain slugs on Geek Crafts before, but this one from Knitnut by JL is the cutest yet! Not only is it itty-bitty (and therefore adorable), it’s a hair clip, so you never have to worry about you losing your parasitic accessory.

Cute couple, thoughtful & talented wife, no hyperbole

I’ve been meaning to post this one for a while. A wonderful crafter and lady I am proud to call a friend, Lisa Muccigrosso, cross-stitched a panel from one of her  husband’s favorite online comics. It is called Hyperbole and a Half. It makes me laugh alot ;-)

I don’t recall if this was a special occasion gift or just kind of a “yeah that’s right, you’ve got an awesome wife who cross-stitches hilarious panels from a geeky corner of the internet for ya” kind of thing. Either way, I’m bad at straight-up buying presents for my husband, never mind  custom crafting one, so I’m pretty envious of Lisa’s skills here.

Killer Candy tutorial

Kryptonite Candy

OK, so this candy isn’t really “killer” – unless you’re Superman. It looks pretty cool, right? I love how it appears to glow, even in normal light.

I also love that the process is also a bit of a science experiment, because you use vitamin B2, which apparently has fluorescent properties.

A Star Purse for Every Occasion

If only I had my sewing machine in my possession (I lent it to a friend) and a place to set it up, I might have given this a shot! See, deciding to work with my hair (it’s pink), I opted for a pink-hair-friendly Halloween costume and am currently sitting in my office dressed as Ramona Flowers. I went the easy route and bought a pre-made star purse, but how awesome would it have been if I’d bought this pattern and made my own bag with a star I could swap out in any color? That woulda been pretty sweet….

If I’m up to it in the future (or you want to give it a shot prior to next Halloween or any impending cons or costume parties), you can pick up the pattern from Haley’s Wonderful Distractions.

Oh, and happy Halloween!

No Lie, This Cake is a Nightmare

Perfect for Halloween this week, perhaps you’d like to whip up a Nightmare Before Christmas cake to enjoy. All it takes is some super-major cake ninja painting skills – surely you have those up your sleeve just, right?

I like how she includes all the different steps for creating and painting the fondant – I always wondered how the bakeries did that! I had no idea cake painting pens were a thing!

(P.S. Did you see what I did with the title of this post? “The Cake is a Lie” refers to what video game?)