February 4

Red Shirt Syndrome!

Being active myself in historical reenactment for many years, the colder months were often spent at the sewing machine prepping for the upcoming events throughout the year. The same can be said for people who love attending Cons. Their creativity and ingenuity forever astounds me!

Working roughly off of a pattern and adapting on the fly, graverobbergirl on Craftster has made a great version of the original Star Trek costume! Even the hair and accessories show her dedication and attention to detail that are sure to make her stand out in the Con Crowd.

What makes graverobbergirl’s costume extra special is that she has planned for the inevitable. She has a patch to sew onto her costume when she finally (and inescapably) gets hit by the phaser aimed for a commanding officer!

The Expendable Yeoman (2-in-1 Trekkie Costume) – CLOTHING.

Category: Craft, Geek, Sci-Fi, TV | Comments Off on Red Shirt Syndrome!
February 4

Called by Cthulhu

Called by Cthulhu

Usually, the words used to describe H. P. Lovecraft’s creature Cthulhu end to be in the range of ‘hideous’, ‘terrifying’, ‘gargantuan’. Somehow one never things of cute or cuddly. But it appears that Rebekah Clarke-Noonan, known as passiontiger on LiveJournal, has found a way to turn him into a cute and cuddly crocheted figure. Yes, you can find the free pattern for Cthulhu here designed by Rebekah and not that difficult to make. This three dimensional amigurumi is crocheted in the round using a 3.00 mm hook and knitting worsted. You might just find yourself crocheting up a family of Great Old Ones with this pattern.

February 3

Friday Roundup: My Bloody Valentine

As you might have realized, Valentine’s Day is fast approaching. Perhaps you are planning on celebrating with that certain someone…or perhaps you’re ignoring the event entirely (it’s okay, it’s a sham holiday largely designed to promote the sale of greeting cards). Either way, you might want to get a gift, either for said certain someone or for yourself (because this is the fun part of being an adult—you get to buy yourself things). So why not take the standard Valentine’s trope of jewelry and skew it just a little bit? See how good your Valentine’s sense of humor really is.

Roses are red…and so is blood. So, if you and/or your beloved are fans of any of those vampire shows out there (whatever, I only count Buffy), the Twilight movies (Bah! Vampires don’t sparkle), or have an overall appreciation for general guts ‘n’ gore, consider some of these options. (Note: There are plenty of vial-of-faux-blood necklaces out there, but I’m choosing to ignore them. I just don’t find them that compelling. If that’s your thing, trust me—you can find them in spades. You don’t need my help.)

So La Fille du Consul’s Tour de Cou Sanglant necklace was my original inspiration for the post. Saw it years ago, couldn’t figure out how to actually purchase one, so I wound up making two (one for myself, one for a friend) on my own. ‘Twas a snap. I made a wire armature, surrounded it with clay, baked it, painted it, painted it again, glossed it, stitched on ribbon ties. Et voilà! The hardest part was waiting for the paint to dry between coats. Wish I could post a picture of my handmade version, but my necklace is currently packed up with the rest of my belongings and being intercontinentally shipped.

Since I first stumbled across that delightfully bloody, drippy necklace, I’ve found numerous iterations of the same idea. Here’s Trashglam’s acrylic version and Art for a Home’s basic Blood Drip Necklace and Extra-Bloody Necklace. VonErickson’s Laboratory features entire sections of the shop devoted to dripping necklaces and bracelets and gruesome gash necklaces.

If you prefer something a little less overtly gory and more elaborately Victorian, how about Fable & Fury’s Vampire Blood Drip Statement Necklace? It’s made of red powder-coated stainless steel and it’s fabulously ornate.

Oh, and if beading is more up your alley, don’t worry—you have plenty of options there, too. First up is Weirdly Cute’s Slasher Victim Necklace, followed by House of D’s Axolotl Gill/Blood Drop Necklace.

For those who want something subtle yet suggestive (Is it supposed to look like blood? Is it not? Intriguing….), here are two excellent options: QuirkyOak’s Gothic Choker Necklace and Lily Lady Blue’s True Blood Siam Red Lariat.

My favorite entry in the relatively subtle category is Weirdly Cute’s Vampire Victim Necklace, which properly conveys that freshly-bitten look.

Finally, we have a rather unusual ring to add to the list of bloody beautiful jewelry: Jane D’Arensbourg’s Drops of Blood Glass Knuckle Duster. I’m not gonna lie—in the already unconventional genre of blood-themed jewelry, that’s still a pretty unexpected piece. But, again, it’s also pretty fantastic. So buy it for yourself, give it to your Valentine…just don’t use it to propose.