Jewelry for Band Geeks

Clarinet key earrings-140848-BOA by Hangups in KC

Any Band Geeks out there? My husband played trumpet in his high school marching band, and continued as a member of the University of Wisconsin Marching Band. Now my daughter is following suit, playing his horn in her school marching band. Over the past 20+ years, I have attended and cheered at many a band performance, and developed a definite soft spot for those musical type geeks.

So I am pleased to toot the horn (couldn’t resist the pun) of a local Kansas City duo who is making some pretty cool things out of retired band instruments. Hangups in KC has created the Band of Angels Retired Instrument Jewelry Collection, crafting unique handmade items such as clarinet key earrings (pictured above), guitar string bracelets, and a necklace from repurposed violin wood.

These ladies are passionate about their craft and their commitment to using repurposed materials. I love their brand vision and message, and that they are giving new life to retired band instruments in a unique way. And bonus –  they give 30% of every sale from the collection to Band of Angels, a non-profit that collects used music instruments and makes them available to kids in need so they can join band and orchestra programs. Nurturing future generations of band geeks is something I can get behind!

For Christmas, I gave my daughter one of Hangups’ ornaments made from a retired trumpet mouthpiece. She thought it was pretty cool, then when she heard it helped other kids get started in band, it became an even more meaningful keepsake. Band mom win!

Trumpet ornament by Hangups in KC

Are you a Band Geek? What instrument did/do you play?

Tutorial: Stargate Glyph Recycled Foam Stamp

Wasn’t Stargate fantastic?! I watched a couple of old SG:1 episodes recently, and suddenly got the urge to do something crafty involving the gate glyphs. I had a rummage in my drawer of hoarded crap, and found some of that really smooth protective foam that comes with some electronics. You know the stuff that has a really fine grain and is probably not recyclable?! Well that’s the kind of stuff I keep hold of just for occasions like this!

DIY Stargate Stamp

How-to: Continue reading Tutorial: Stargate Glyph Recycled Foam Stamp

Don’t Mess with the Dragon!

One of my favorite fantasy creatures, the dragon, gets such a bad rap. So they burn villages, eat fair maidens and have magical powers, does that them bad? For centuries, knights have attacked them with lances, magicians have cast a myriad of spells, and random people with pitchforks have attacked the dragon’s lair. I think that if I was constantly harassed by human kind, I would be cranky too.  Maybe our Society’s perspective is all wrong.  Maybe the Dragon just wants some understanding!  To quote the Most Knowledgeable Hagrid, “They’re seriously misunderstood Dragons.” We should all keep our minds open to the good that Dragons can do.

For example, how about a dragon made out of recyclable materials!

This is a sculpture was created by~toge over on DeviantArt using only plastic kitchen utensils and hot glue.  It proves that they can be just as concerned about our environment as we are.  We need more positive press about dragons so that our society no longer discriminates against these reptiles! Remember, dragons want love and respect too!

Plasticdragon by ~toge-NYC on deviantART.

GeekCraft roundup: GIR!

My daughter is very into “Gir” these days – the sidekick from the Invader Zim cartoon. She’s hoping to pull together a Gir costume for Halloween. So in researching various DIY options, I pulled together this roundup of Gir crafts.

BehindtheSofa created her own Gir cross-stitch pattern, and stitched it onto a black hoodie.

Gir cross-stitch by BehindtheSofa

When I was a kid, I used to love Shrinky Dinks, so these Dog Gir/Robot Gir earrings by Lynn Aquaheart caught my eye.

Gir earrings

Continue reading GeekCraft roundup: GIR!

11 Awesome Dr. Who Themed Crafts

Dr. Who is a new and an old classic, kinda like Battlestar Galactica. It has a loyal following of thousands and thousands of fans. So is it surprising that some of these fans have made crafts to honor their favorite TV show? I think not. Here you will find some of the various Dr. who crafts we were able to find on the interwebz. Enjoy the geeky craftiness…


Tardis Cake

Dr. Who Tardis Cake

CraftZine posted this Tardis cake from Craftster user Umbrolly earlier this week. This inspired me to look for all these great Dr. Who crafts.

Continue reading 11 Awesome Dr. Who Themed Crafts