The folks over at Fandom in Stitches have outdone themselves with this free Wonder Woman paper piecing pattern. Though, this 10″ pieced and embroidered quilt block is not for the faint of heart. If you’ve never done paper piecing before, I’d start with something much simpler (like one of their patterns labeled beginner/advanced beginner–the Black Widow one looks like a good block to start with.).
Chellum, a member of Crafster from Ottawa, recently posted this little cross stitch pattern of our favorite public television painter,Bob Ross. Bob Ross was an American painter, art instructor, and television host. He was best known as the creator and host of “The Joy of Painting,” an instructional television program that aired from 1983 to 1994 on PBS in the United States, and also aired in Canada, Mexico and Europe. Ross was well known for the catchphrases he used while painting such as “happy little trees.”
Chellum bought the pattern from Hug Sandwich, of Salt Lake City, on Etsy, for just $5.
Hug Sandwich has a variety of pop culture patterns available, and does custom cross stitch patterns as well.
But for the broke cross stitcher out there, check out Free Cross Stitch Patterns. The site has an index of free printable cross stitch patterns.
Got a Star Wars fan on your gift list? Check out these cool DIY Star Wars wall art canvases by Kimbo at A Girl and a Glue Gun!
Her tutorial walks you through her process, from painting the background of the canvas, to where she found her spaceship clipart, to creating a galaxy and explosions. Cool effects!
This would be easy enough to adapt to any space-based fandom (any Trekkies or Browncoats on your list?).
What holiday gift crafting is on your to-do list? Share with us in the comments below!
Links of Interest:
Yes, that image above is PAPER. Artist Rogan Brown specializes in paper sculptures that explore (in his words) “patterns and motifs in the natural world.” And you must check out his portfolio, because the pieces are incredibly intricate, detailed, and breathtakingly beautiful. You can see up-close, detailed photos of the above piece on Makezine.com (where I found the image above), but definitely check out his portfolio to get a sense of the breadth of this artist’s work too. I can hardly believe it’s paper. What do you think about the unusual medium and subject matter? Let us know in the comments!
With all the interest in unique manicures these days, I love seeking out ways to add geek flair to my nails. So does Jacki at Adventures in Acetone. She has put together a variety of geek manicure tutorials, from the Battlestar Galactica-inspired Starbuck’s mandala seen above, to cute aliens, to multiple Doctor Who-inspired themes, to a cool galaxy.
Each tutorial walks you step by step through the process, with detailed photos and a list of specific nail polish brands and colors.
Have you tried out any geek manicures? We’d love to see your results! Share a link in the comments below!
Links of Interest:
With Thanksgiving soon here, I thought I’d take to Etsy to look for some fun holiday-themed jewelry with everyone.
First up, this cute pair of pumpkin pie stud earrings. They are made by Zebranas in Haarlem, The Netherlands, and sell for $12.04 per pair. Made out of Fimo silver plating, the earrings are 20 mm x 8 mm.
Next up are these Butterball turkey earrings, perfect for the hostess with the mostess! This offering comes from Rubiotomus in southern California. They are made of surgical steel kidney ear wires, polymer clay and silver plated french hook ear wires, and sell for $16 per pair. The turkey itself measures 3/4″ long.
But if you get earrings, don’t you really need a nice ring to go with them? GiraffesKiss of Torquay, England might have the ring you need then: a roast turkey ring, with cranberries, carrots and peas. Made of polymer clay, this ring comes shipped in a tiny roasting pan, for the finishing touch.
But if funny clay food jewelry just isn’t your thing, then this necklace might be more up your alley: a Thanksgiving pumpkin snowglobe on a chain from Priyasha from Santa Cruz, CA. This adorable and sparkly pumpkin snowglobe necklace is filled with a tiny blown glass pumpkin and gorgeous glitter fall leaves in beautiful autumn colors. The glass snowglobe pendant includes a 20″ gold plated chain with a large lobster claw clasp for quick fastening/unfastening, and it’s available for just $27.
