Did you ever wonder what the Doctor’s closet might look like?

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SheepBlue, a craftster from Ann Arbor, MI, decided to craft up a tiny version of the Doctor’s very own closet.

She repurposed a simple wood box from Michael’s, and gave it an uneven Tardis blue staining. In the closet, SheepBlue included a spare spare key, emergency party bananas, a copy of Summer Falls and An Angel’s Kiss, *gasp* TWO Weeping Angel children (how did they get there! Don’t blink!), River Song’s party heels, a tropical umbrella (you never know when you’re going to need festively bright umbrella), a portrait of River Song, Vincent’s hat, the Doctor’s fez, an extra Christmas tree decoration, an extra psychic paper book, a copy of the Don’t Blink tapes on disc, oh, and a sword. Because the Doctor might need a sword someday…for some reason…

Be sure to take a look through the posting over at Craftster to see everything included in the Doctor’s closet.

Make a Steampunk Crown from a Burger King Crown

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Wait a minute.  That’s a Burger King crown! Not a steampunk crown!

No worries, people.  Tyson Vick, a costume designer and photographer, has got the coolest tutorial on making that cheesy Burger King Crown into one spectacular steampunk work of wearable art.  Just take a look at the final piece!

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How gorgeous is that!? And he’s got step-by-step photos to show you just how he did it!  While you’re tooling around this tutorial, be sure to check out his other posts detailing the making of his upcoming book, A Steampunk Guide to Hunting Monsters.

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DIY Comic Book Collage Silhouettes

Comic book silhouette collage by The Nifty Nerd

With so many great TV shows and movies out, there’s a lot of attention on comic books these days. It’s always nice to go back to the source material for the full backstory. While you’ve got your comics out, you might want to use some of the extras for this cool collage project, brought to us by Jessica from The Nifty Nerd.

Jessica has kindly put together a Nerdy Craft Tutorial on how she created her striking silhouette collages to adorn her hallway, including cutouts from Spiderman, plus a really cool Rohan horse banner crafted from Fellowship of the Ring book pages – you won’t want to miss that!

She also talked about other cutout backgrounds, like the Hogwarts houses, or Game of Thrones family crests. What fandom would you like to collage? I have a TARDIS in mind, from Doctor Who comic book pages…

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The Ultimate in “Archer” Cosplays

Can you have two “ultimates” for any one category? I mean, shouldn’t one be better than the other? Isn’t that the point of being the ultimate? Well today, we’re breaking the rules! So everyone, go grab your tactleneck sweater and let’s go to the Danger Zone!

First up, this unknown “Archer” stand-along cosplayer.

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All I can say is WOW, and maybe, if you’re going to do this good of a job as a cosplayer, make sure you get your name out there! Sterling Archer, codename Duchess.

Next up, the group from International Secret Intelligence Service, as seen on FX.

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This Archer cosplay brings the show to life with Krieger’s Virtual Girlfriend, Dr. Krieger, Archer and Cheryl. It’s great that Krieger’s Virtual Girlfriend is the only one who looks real when in the show she’s the only one who’s not real.

Huggable Monster Dolls for Kids in Need

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A Monster to Love is this great online shop where, for every cute little monster doll you buy, Sam, Ben, and their dad Ray, donate a monster doll to a kid in need.  They partner up with children’s hospitals and even the World Relief Refugee program out of Atlanta.

I ran across their awesome work about a year ago on Craftsy, including a pattern to make your own monsters to donate to local kids in need, or send off to Ray and his boys in Colorado so they can donate the cuddly little monsters to kids in need.

Interested? Here’s the A Monster to Love PDF Pattern and Instructions.  Ray and his boys take donations year round, and you can send them one monster, or one hundred. It’s up to you!

I try to organize a Monster Making Party at least once or twice a year–they’re fun, and pretty easy to do.  Here’s how:

1. I buy a couple yards of fun colored fleece fabric when it’s on sale (usually in the summer).  You can get quite a lot of monsters out of a yard of fleece, or even half a yard. Just be sure to shop when it’s on sale! Along with fabric, I’ll pick up a box of stuffing when it’s on sale too (or with a coupon).  One box can last a long while and stuff a lot of monsters (probably around 30).  I’ll also purchase Safety Eyes for the dolls, which can be attached before sewing, and don’t require any sewing knowledge to install.  I purchased my Safety Eyes here, but there are tons of vendors and craft stores out there that sell them.  The 18mm sized ones are what I used, and I liked to mix and match colors too. 15 pairs of eyes cost about $15.  You can also use buttons for the eyes, but make sure they are SEWN on really well.  If the eyes are not sewn on securely, Ray and his boys can’t use them.  Do not glue on eyes.  Ray and his boys can’t use the monster dolls if the eyes have only been glued on (hello choking hazards!).

All in all, I spent about $40 on supplies for making the monsters, but I did it over the course of a couple of months.

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Angie brought her own sewing machine and helped build a couple monsters. That’s my mom in the background stitching away madly.

 

2. I set up a FB event and ask folks to bring their own sewing machines if they’ve got them, but I also tell folks that there’s plenty of other ways to help too: attaching eyes, stuffing, cuddle testing, and hand stitching are great ways to get even the most novice of crafters involved in a Monster Making Party.   Along with the fabric, stuffing, and safety eyes, I also bring along thread, scissors, and hand sewing needles for people to use.  If you’re worried about materials cost, you can always ask people to pitch in a couple bucks to help out.

3. I cut out at least some monsters before the party so there are dolls ready to be sewn.  I also set up stations for people to work at installing eyes, stuffing the monsters, and hand sewing the monsters closed after stuffing, and even cutting out more monsters if necessary.

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Here, my friend Chrystal is stuffing a monster.

 

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Eunice is hand sewing the monster closed.

4. We have music playing, and I ask folks to help out with some food (like chips and dip, cupcakes, and frosty beverages).  And I invite folks to come when they can and stay as long as they’d like to.  It’s a fun way to spend an afternoon or evening.

5. I’ve found three hours to be a great length of time for a Monster Making Party.  You can get a lot done, have time to chat, and still steal a cupcake too.  Once the party’s over, you’ll want to box up your magnificent creations and mail them off to A Monster to Love! Their address is on the last page of the PDF.

All our Monsters boxed up and ready to go!
All our Monsters boxed up and ready to go!

If you have your own Monster Making Party, be sure to take pictures and share!!!

 

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