Finding Star Trek Crafts in the Weirdest Places

Full disclosure this weekend: somehow, I’ve ended up sick again, so I’ve been binge watching Star Trek fan films on You Tube. There’s a lot of interesting ones, and a few not so good ones, out there. And because I was in a Star Trek frame of mind for my entertainment, it carried over into my entry for today.

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First up, a “Live Long and Prosper” clock from…Wal-Mart!

Made from red oak, this clock stands 8.75″ tall and 6.75″ wide. It’s available for $46.89. Now, if that’s your mantra in life but you don’t have almost $50 available but you still need something for your home, the phrase, “Live long and prosper” is fairly dominant over in the home and living section of Etsy.

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Next up is your very own Galileo from the USS Enterprise, in necklace form.

Given that you’re celebrating you anniversary with your girlfriend or just that you finish modifying your retro class F shuttle-craft, and you need to treat yourself on this occasion or to accessorize your uniform. Whether you’re off duty or on, this Pennsylvania designer, “Paul Michael Design” beautifully crafted this shuttlecraft. It comes either in gold or silver, with a customizing of what type of gem stones to be “seated” inside the shuttle when it’s open up to see the interior.

The length of the pendant is least 22mm, and is available for $395. Paul Mitchell Design is located in Pittsburgh, PA.

Geek Girl Brunch + Comic Book Ornaments

Geek Girl Brunch

I don’t think I’ve yet shared the awesomeness that is Geek Girl Brunch. I discovered it via the Female Geek Bloggers G+ Community, and was immediately intrigued. Ladies getting together to share brunch, drinks, and geek-talk? Sign me up!

The group started in New York City, with its own meetups. They had so much fun together that they decided to roll out chapters, not only across the U.S but worldwide! Sensing I had found my geek tribe, I signed up to be notified about news of the Kansas City chapter. I got an email a few months later notifying me that chapters were forming, and would I like to be an officer to help launch the KC chapter? Because I love my hometown and want to nurture its geek culture, I said yes!

We had our first brunch in July – an informal meetup at the Cheesecake Factory, followed by Star Wars Day at Barnes & Noble. In September we gathered at the Renaissance Festival and strolled the grounds together. Other chapters have enjoyed a wide variety of themes, from a Zombie Crawl to a Xena-themed yoga session to a Pixel Perfect ode to video games.

Next week is KC’s third event, with a “Let’s Get Crafty” theme. My co-leader, another brunchette, and I are each leading a geek-craft. My craft is comic book ornaments, as seen in the examples below. I figured it was an easy introduction to decoupage, but infinitely customizable to whatever comic brunchettes might favor, along with whatever ornament base they might choose.

Comic Book Ornaments by Angie Pedersen

Basic instructions:

  1. Select ornaments in shapes that will showcase an identifiable amount of comic art, in shapes that should be easy to cut out.
  2. Page through your comics for images that will fit your ornament. TIP: If the image you want is too big, you can scan it and resize to fit your ornament. That’s what I did for the Dr. Horrible cube above.
  3. Place the ornament on top of the comic page and trace around it. Cut out with scissors.
  4. Brush Mod Podge (I used matte, but glossy would also work) on the ornament and position the comic cut out on top. Smooth out any wrinkles (a brayer helps here).
  5. Brush a coat of Mod Podge over the surface of the comic image to seal.
  6. Optional: embellish the edges of the ornament with decorative washi tape (see Buffy example above) or acrylic paint (see TARDIS example above). For the Dr. Horrible cube, I colored the top of it with a bronze metallic Sharpie (top not shown).

I hope you will check out Geek Girl Brunch and join in on the fun! If you’re in the KC area, stop by and say hi!

Links of Interest:

What To Do With All Those Candy Wrappers

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Now that Halloween is (sadly) over, instead of throwing out all those candy wrappers, why not horde them and make something spectacular? Natalie on Doodlecraft has got you covered with this excellent photo tutorial on making your own Candy Wrapper Woven Purse. So snap out of that sugar coma, gather up those empty candy wrappers, and get crafting!

More Links of Interest

One Party to Rule Them All

Lord OfThe Rings Sauron pinata from Blossomingjoy

Isn’t this pinata stunning? It’s almost like Sauron is right in the room <shudder>. It literally made my jaw drop when I saw it, so I knew I had to share it here.

When Melody at Blossomingjoy.com hosted a Lord of the Rings themed party for her son, she pulled out all the stops. Party-goers attended in costume, there was a mega-brownie Mount Doom, the jaw-dropping Eye of Sauron pinata, handmade party favors, rice krispie lembas bread, and a Hobbit version of a Toastmasters 60-second speech exercise. Whew! What a party! And lucky for us, she wrote up all sorts of great details and how-to’s in her blog post.

Have you been to any geek-themed parties? What’s your favorite theme, or one you want to host in the near future? Sound off in the comments below!

Links of Interest

Mom Makes American Boy Doll for 6-Year-Old Son

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When Gina DeMillo Wagner’s 6-year-old son began asking for an American Boy doll last year, she went to great lengths – at a low cost (less than $50!) – to give her boy the doll of his dreams. Currently, the company that makes the American Girl dolls does not make a boy version of the toy. The doll she started with is actually a Madame Alexander brand doll.

And it wasn’t just any doll he was after – Miles wanted one that looked just like him since his older sister had an American Girl doll that looked just like her.

Wagner was inspired to take on the DIY project after a friend jokingly suggested she “get a girl doll and give it a haircut.” One swift makeunder later (she gave the doll a haircut, used acetone to remove the doll’s lipstick and blush, and trimmed the eyelashes), and Miles had his perfect doll, which he decided to name Fred Jones, possibly better known as Freddy from Scooby Doo. His sister named her doll Daphne.

As for whether her crafty endeavor has inspired her to take on more DIY toy projects in the future, Wagner says, “I don’t have any specific plans right now, but I did download some sewing patterns for 18-inch dolls, so if we want to make Fred some new T-shirts, we might do that!”

Harry Potter craft: Magical textbook skirt

Harry Potter textbook skirt by Marissa Fischer

I don’t know about you, but this time of year makes me want to pull on snuggly socks, bury myself beneath a cozy blanket (hand-crocheted, of course!), and dive into a good book. Or perhaps dive into a sewing project inspired by a good book – Harry Potter, to be specific.

Marissa over at Raegun Ramblings has posted a tutorial for just such a project: the Hogwarts Textbook Skirt. Her write-up includes a 20-minute a-line knit skirt tutorial (including “super-easy hemming knits trick”), which you can then embellish with your choice of Hogwarts-required reading. I love her furry Monster Book of Monsters with googly eyes! I also love that you could easily add textbook embellishments to a ready-made skirt for an even quicker project.

What textbooks would include on your skirt? Let us know in the comments below!

Links of Interest: