February 7

Tutorial Tuesday: Aperture Science Office Bonanza!

This picture does not do this epic project any justice!

The Internet better be all over this soon! Hear that Pinterest?! I want to see Aperture Labs living rooms, kitchens and nurseries before Easter!

Telnets.org give you a whole bucket of tutorials to get you started on your Portal office project:

via Sprite Stitch

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February 7

Joker Perler Art

Joker Perler ArtMy son is very much into Batman right now, and whenever he takes an interest in something geeky, I do my best to encourage it.  Right now I am raising him on a solid diet of 1960’s, Adam West era Batman. While he isn’t quite old enough to watch the new Christopher Nolan Batman movies, I certainly am.  So what happens when you search for Batman on Etsy?

YOUR MIND EXPLODES!  THAT’S WHAT!

This Joker Perler Art by mikeandemma on Etsy is amazing.  I can’t even comprehend the amount of time and effort that goes into making something like this.  It is simply amazing.

February 7

A S’Minchin of Miraculous Matilda

Matilda is one of the quintessential geek kid’s books; the story of a nerd girl who uses her brain to bring a pinch of justice to the world is bound to resonate with swots of all ages. A couple of years ago I managed to get myself to Stratford ‘pon Avon to see the RSC’s christmas musical version of the book and was completely blown away by it – one of those performances that remind me why I work in theatre. Anyway, since then the production has transferred to the West End, won a load of awards and caused a considerable dent in my finances from ticket purchasing.

Laura, or LollyPolly as she is known over at the Minchin fan forums (the music for Matilda was written by our very own rock nerd Tim, who of course did a fantastic job with Dahl’s dark comedy), made this brilliant cushion commemorating the show’s opening song – which echoes the prologue to the book in that we get to hear about how miraculous all the children except Matilda are. It’s a fantastic example of how effective even simple embroidery can be if the colours, fabric and design are well chosen. With any luck Laura will now have caught the needlework bug and will go on dazzling us with her work in future.

Matilda the musical official site

Angry (Feet) – Tim Minchin’s fan forum

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February 6

Everything Alice Book Review, Craft and Giveaway!

***Update! We have a winner! bunnysmommy!! Congrats!***

When I heard that there was an Alice book to review I jumped at the chance, and begged. I have loved everything Alice (how fitting!) my whole life.Everything Alice: The Wonderland Book of Makes & Bakes by Hannah Read-Baldrey and Christine Leech is a truly beautiful book. Even if you aren’t crafty but love Alice, this would still be a good book to own as the pictures and projects are stunning.I actually made two projects from Everything Alice to show you. The first one is so simple, even a non crafter can do it. No, really. It’s called Dress Me Alice and White Rabbit. This project is so simple, that you can even cheat a little, which I totally did. They say to copy the pictures and then glue them onto thin cardboard. I simply copied them onto white cardstock and cut out the middle man. The downside to this is that you really have to bend the spine to get the book to lay flat enough to copy it without shadows and stuff on the sides.



Paper dolls but even more fabulous!

I also made the Cheshire Cat handwarmer. I sewed it by hand and you can tell I am by no means a seamstress. It was fun to make though so that really is all that matters. I’m going to actually keep mine in the freezer for headaches.

The Cheshire Cat is my favourite character in the books so that project was a no-brainer. Now, for a chance to win your very own copy of this book let me know in the comments who your favourite Alice character is. One winner will be chosen at random on Feb. 13.

February 6

Poppet of Power

Lanikins and I are united by tragic stories of loss in our respective childhoods.  She lost her She-Ra to a bratty brother attack and rightfully gives him a hard time about this crime to this very day.

I mourned an entire She-Ra family of action figures (good guys and bad guys!) that was accidentally thrown away. I stored the crew in a plastic bag with their “wedding” regalia.  I “designed” these bridal party gowns using multicolored Kleenex and my grandmother mistook the heaps of colored facial tissue for trash.  The Crystal Castle, once buzzing with activity, stood empty and hollow. My wails of sadness were likely heard all the way in Eternia.

So nearly 30 years later, it warms my heart to see Lani passing along the joys of She-Ra to a new generation of powerful young princesses with the lessons learned: I have no doubt this She-Ra will not fall pray to bratty brothers, nor will she need to suffer the indignities of a Kleenex wedding dress. This particular plushie was made as an exchange with Padfoot, and it was destined for Padfoot’s daughter.  Lani does the cutting and sewing for all of her plushies sans pattern, because she is  a plushie making goddess. Most of her plushies are not for use as children’s toys, but she rose to this particular challenge by making a beautiful doll that is built to last. Just like the good ol’ Princess of Power herself.

As part of her process, she did watch a lot of She-Ra on Netflix, which sounds really fun. She is currently working on some Dr. Who’s (10 & 11) so I’m guessing she’s suffering through those Neflix marathons. What a trooper ;-)

Category: Craft, Geek, Girly, Toys, TV | Comments Off on Poppet of Power