January 25

Beautiful Balloons

In case you don’t know, Jen of Cake Wrecks fame has a newish blog, Epbot, which is devoted to a variety of things crafty/steampunk/sci fi/Disney. (Dunno where the woman finds the time to run both blogs, but she does it somehow!)

For Christmas 2011, Jen and her husband, John, opted for a steampunk tree, which was a multi-step process that involved making/customizing ornaments—gears, test tubes, snowflakes, all kinds of things. But my favorites are these fabulous mini hot air balloons, for which Jen has helpfully provided a thorough tutorial. I know the holidays are over, but given that most of us don’t have the apparently boundless energy of Jen and John, I thought it might be a good idea to start crafting now so we’re ready for next year….

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January 24

Surlyramics; Scents n’ Science

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:

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January 23

Soft spot for a troll softie

I spent many, many a year inhabiting the body of Roseblood, a troll mage, my wild World of Warcraft days. Trolls were a terrible choice, game-play wise. They had no compelling “race” bonus and their large feet meant that acquiring new footwear was meaningless, shoe-wise, since my feet were too big for the in-game shoe models. And what kind of fantasy world is that?  One in which you never, ever get to admire your cute new shoes?

Nevertheless, the troll life was for me: birthed among the red rocks of Durotar, swimming to exotic islands to fight the evil voodoo of rival troll tribes, gathering tiger fur, the rebellious tusks, the wild hair. Good times.

That love and dedication to the life of a troll comes across 125% in this troll plushie from twocheeseplease.  He is so sweet I’ll forgive him for being a hunter (my greatest PVP nemesis). Check out his cute little quiver! According to twocheeseplease, his eyes are hand painted and he is sporting yarn hair along with, “very manly tusks, a super soft minky body, and microfleece accessories.”

Manly and minky indeed!  As Roseblood would likely say, “”You’re the type I’d like to sink my teeth into!”See more of twocheeseplease’s amazing work:

Category: Craft, Geek, Myths & Urban Legends, Toys, Video Games | 1 Comment on Soft spot for a troll softie
January 22

A purse that is “Bigger on the Inside”

Forever ago, I ran across a picture of a Tardis Purse. I kind of fell in love with it, but couldn’t find a place that sold them.

A few weeks after finding the purse, I figured it couldn’t be THAT hard to make so I decided to make it myself. Of course I underestimated the difficulty, but it turned out fairly well, I had missed a couple of things that I really wanted to incorporate in it.

On New Year’s Weekend, I tried again. This time I tried a few different things, including a new pattern (that I had to alter so that it was a bit smaller than the original). When I came across a black cotton fabric with swirls, I knew it would work perfectly with my TARDIS blue fabric. I was very happy that this time I was able to have a thicker shoulder strap and many more pockets.

All in all I’m pretty proud of it. It measures 10″x10″x3″ and has 7 pockets, two on the inside with the black swirling fabric, three on the main outside one of which is the “Pull Here” sign on the actual TARDIS, and two pockets that are the windows on the flap. The only thing I’m missing is the “Police Public Call Box” at the top. On the inside of the flap I hand-stitched the phrase “It’s bigger on the inside”, which is exactly what every girl needs.

A purse that is bigger on the inside.

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January 22

Eyebot Minions

Eyebot army As soon as I saw these little guys, I feel in mini-robot love. Though probably not technically robots, I’m sure you’ll agree they’re quite lovable. Hand-crafted by self-proclaimed “wood butcher” Colin Johnson, these pieces are made of reclaimed cedar wood and dolls’ eyes. Would you have guessed they were made from wood?

They make me think of little Minions from Despicable Me, or even the little alien dudes from the Toy Story trilogy. What do they make you think of? How would you use or display them?

Eyebot army

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