December 28

Hobbit Craft: Sting Plush

Sting plush by Choly Knight

A group of 15 of us descended upon a local dine-and-watch movie theater last weekend for the latest (and last) installment of the Hobbit movie trilogy. Definitely epic eye candy – I mean, Legolas dashing up that crumbling tower?  Forget about it!

Bilbo’s trusty blade Sting made an appearance in the film, and served him well. If you would like a decidedly less pointy version with a high cute factor to brandish about, check out Choly Knight’s plushie pattern.

I agree with Choly about what makes this project unique: “the real kicker is the bit of satin stitching I did in glow-in-the-dark thread to simulate Sting’s ability to glow blue when orcs are near.” She says the glow-in-the-dark effect makes it great for pillow fights – which makes me want to make it even more, just to test out!

Have you seen the Battle of the Five Armies yet? What did you think? We did enjoy it, but my husband didn’t think the story merited three full movies.

 

Links of Interest:

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December 27

Star Wars BB-8 Ornament

bb8

Just one little Christmas craft before the ornaments and decorations are put away: BB-8, the rolling volleyball-like droid from the upcoming, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” Here it is, in all it’s Styrofoam ball and glitter glory. Looks cute, but I know in our house with a new cat, this wouldn’t have made it through the first night of being on the tree.

It was posted about two weeks before Christmas to Imgur, by someone who made it for their first homemade Christmas decoration exchange. There wasn’t any information available as to whether or not the maker actually made an extra one for him/herself to keep.

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December 22

Wrapping Up with Geeky DIY Gift Wrap Ideas

StarWarsWrappingPaperDIY

 

Let’s pretend you’ve got all your shopping done for Christmas.  Now what? If you’re like me (well, if you’re like me you don’t have any shopping done, but like I said, let’s pretend) if you’re like me, you suck at wrapping gifts.  Even if your wrapped gifts end up looking like a two-year-old went crazy with a roll of scotch tape, the paper itself can look really cool, and you can make it yourself!  What’s even better is that these wrapping paper ideas work for year round, not just the holidays.

If the force is strong with this one present, then you should try Rebecca’s Star Wars silhouette gift tags and wrap idea from her blog Older and Wiser. All you need is a printer, scissors, and a glue stick.

 

OwlPostFreePrintableWrappingPaper

 

If you’re pressed for time, the Harry Potter fans in your life will get a kick out of this free printable owl post gift wrap paper.  Just download and print it out on some craft paper.  You can thank Chiara from Celeste Fritatta for this one.

 

ColorMeWrappingPaperDIY

This one is my favorite, and it’s so easy.  All you need are some crayons and a piece of decorative wash tape and you’ve got interactive wrapping paper.  Rachel on Lines Across has got even more super easy and fun interactive gift wrap ideas like this one you should definitely check out.

More Links of Interest

 

 

 

 

 

 

December 21

Get Your Last-Minute Geek On with Christmas Printables

Happy Who-lidays TARDIS Christmas card by Natalie Shaw at Doodlecraft

The countdown to Christmas is down to single digits now – are you ready? I still have some wrapping to do, so of course I turned to the Internets for some ideas. And they did not disappoint. Here are several options for adding some geek flair to your gift wrapping.

First up is a series of Doctor Who-inspired printable holiday cards (like the one pictured above) by Natalie Shaw at Doodlecraft. (You may remember her Doctor Who Holiday Countdown I recently linked to.) Well, she has even more Doctor Who craft ideas up her sleeve! She created A2 card size (1/4 of a sheet) images featuring Daleks, Judoon, Weeping Angels, the Silence, and Cybermen. Hey, even villains celebrate holidays!

Minecraft gift tags by Ellie Petrov

Next up, Ellie Petrov designed some Minecraft gift tags and graciously shared them. She offers a PDF of Minecraft Santa tags, and one of Minecraft snowmen.

Doctor Who printable gift tags from Being Geek Chic

Liz over at Being Geek Chic also has some Doctor Who-inspired printable wrapping options – both gift tags and wrapping paper.

Have you found any other geeky wrapping options? How are you planning to add geek flair to your holidays?

Links of Interest:

December 20

A Custom Repaint of a “Big Bang Theory” Sheldon Cooper Doll

custom_repaint_big_bang_theory_sheldon_cooper_doll_by_noeling-d81rtjg

Noel Cruz is an artist of several mediums, but his work with repainting regular dolls into mini masterpieces might be his most stunning work ever! Noel describes repainting a new form of pop art, wherein the doll’s face is treated like a three dimensional canvas, with the added challenge of painting within a very small area and an even greater challenge of recreating a real person’s likeness. Since dolls are basically miniature pieces, brush strokes and shading have to be very controlled and precise.

With his work on the Sheldon Cooper doll, he started with the formerly Tonner’s 17-inch San Diego Comic Con 2014 exclusive Sheldon Cooper doll, trimmed his hair, removed all the paint from the face, and started repainting it, spending a good amount of time to create the illusion of contouring. Once Sheldon’s mini me was finished, Noel put him on eBay, where he sold in October 2014, for $535.

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December 17

The Vanilla Studio – Dinosaur Menorahs

It’s time for Hanukkah! And what says Hanukkah more than a metallic painted toy dinosaur?

Lisa Pierce of The Vanilla Studio makes hand crafted menorahs from plastic prehistoric animal toys.

Menorasaurus Rex
Menorasaur

In silver or gold tone, these menorahs are fancy, shiny, and downright fun. Lisa also offers candle holders for your year-round lighting needs. And, according to Lisa’s Etsy profile, it sounds like more exciting projects are underway.

We created The Vanilla Studio years ago as an empty container to hold our creative dreams and endeavors. It’s currently a home for a menagerie of hand-crafted animal menorahs. Stay tuned to see what else we put in the box!

Other fun menorah links:

Hand Carved Sea Monster Menorah by aerosquirrel

Wooden Puzzle Menorah for Kids by Yair Emanuel Judaica

Industrial Pipe Menorah by Jonah’s Pipeworks

Dragon’s Wing Menorah by HL Sculpture