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January 18

Upcycle Old Comics Into Cool Jewelry

ModPodge_bracelet

I got some great free comic books over the last year, and now that I’ve read them, I don’t have a burning desire to keep them.  But I hate to just throw them away.  I mean, the artwork is cool. So I turned to Pinterest for ideas on what to do with old comics, and ran across this great tutorial by Shala on Don’t Eat the Paste. You can make your own stylish, one-of-a-kind bracelet using old comics, Mod Podge, and a bracelet blank.  Shana’s got step-by-step instructions along with pictures that make creating this jewelry masterpiece a snap. Isn’t Mod Podge glorious? I’ve seen great examples of using comics on furniture, shoes, and even coasters.

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November 15

Geek Girl Brunch + Comic Book Ornaments

Geek Girl Brunch

I don’t think I’ve yet shared the awesomeness that is Geek Girl Brunch. I discovered it via the Female Geek Bloggers G+ Community, and was immediately intrigued. Ladies getting together to share brunch, drinks, and geek-talk? Sign me up!

The group started in New York City, with its own meetups. They had so much fun together that they decided to roll out chapters, not only across the U.S but worldwide! Sensing I had found my geek tribe, I signed up to be notified about news of the Kansas City chapter. I got an email a few months later notifying me that chapters were forming, and would I like to be an officer to help launch the KC chapter? Because I love my hometown and want to nurture its geek culture, I said yes!

We had our first brunch in July – an informal meetup at the Cheesecake Factory, followed by Star Wars Day at Barnes & Noble. In September we gathered at the Renaissance Festival and strolled the grounds together. Other chapters have enjoyed a wide variety of themes, from a Zombie Crawl to a Xena-themed yoga session to a Pixel Perfect ode to video games.

Next week is KC’s third event, with a “Let’s Get Crafty” theme. My co-leader, another brunchette, and I are each leading a geek-craft. My craft is comic book ornaments, as seen in the examples below. I figured it was an easy introduction to decoupage, but infinitely customizable to whatever comic brunchettes might favor, along with whatever ornament base they might choose.

Comic Book Ornaments by Angie Pedersen

Basic instructions:

  1. Select ornaments in shapes that will showcase an identifiable amount of comic art, in shapes that should be easy to cut out.
  2. Page through your comics for images that will fit your ornament. TIP: If the image you want is too big, you can scan it and resize to fit your ornament. That’s what I did for the Dr. Horrible cube above.
  3. Place the ornament on top of the comic page and trace around it. Cut out with scissors.
  4. Brush Mod Podge (I used matte, but glossy would also work) on the ornament and position the comic cut out on top. Smooth out any wrinkles (a brayer helps here).
  5. Brush a coat of Mod Podge over the surface of the comic image to seal.
  6. Optional: embellish the edges of the ornament with decorative washi tape (see Buffy example above) or acrylic paint (see TARDIS example above). For the Dr. Horrible cube, I colored the top of it with a bronze metallic Sharpie (top not shown).

I hope you will check out Geek Girl Brunch and join in on the fun! If you’re in the KC area, stop by and say hi!

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November 1

Harry Potter craft: Magical textbook skirt

Harry Potter textbook skirt by Marissa Fischer

I don’t know about you, but this time of year makes me want to pull on snuggly socks, bury myself beneath a cozy blanket (hand-crocheted, of course!), and dive into a good book. Or perhaps dive into a sewing project inspired by a good book – Harry Potter, to be specific.

Marissa over at Raegun Ramblings has posted a tutorial for just such a project: the Hogwarts Textbook Skirt. Her write-up includes a 20-minute a-line knit skirt tutorial (including “super-easy hemming knits trick”), which you can then embellish with your choice of Hogwarts-required reading. I love her furry Monster Book of Monsters with googly eyes! I also love that you could easily add textbook embellishments to a ready-made skirt for an even quicker project.

What textbooks would include on your skirt? Let us know in the comments below!

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October 4

Star Wars Reads Day

Star Wars Reads Day banner

Did you know that this Saturday, 10/10, is Star Wars Reads Day? According to StarWars.com:

On October 10, 2015, bookstores, libraries, and retailers will participate in the fourth annual installment of the global event, featuring signings, parties, and more. Last year, events took place all over the world, and this year Star WarsReads Day is expected to grow even bigger as fans gear up for the theatrical release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens in December. Participants in the events and festivities include: Disney-Lucasfilm Press, Marvel, Abrams, Chronicle, Del Rey, DK, Quirk Books, Scholastic, Workman, Egmont, Studio Fun, Phoenix International Publishing, and many more.

There is a Facebook Page for event info and downloadable printables and activities are available on StarWars.com. Book publisher DK offers ideas for hosting your own Star Wars Reads event (see also their Star Wars Reads Pinterest inspiration board).

In celebration of all things Star Wars, I also wanted to share with you a cool resource I stumbled across called Star Wars in the Classroom. Thomas Riddle and Wes Dodgens have created a website for educators and fans that provides resources for teaching and learning, integrating the Star Wars saga into a variety of content areas, such as history, mythology, Shakespeare, and robotics. There is a wealth of information and resources to help you in planning your next Star Wars event!

Star Wars in the Classroom

Had you heard of Star Wars Reads Day? How will you participate? Have you ever incorporated pop culture into a learning environment? Let us know in the comments below!

 

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July 26

DIY Geek Wedding: Comic Book Bouquet

Comic book wedding bouquet by Amber Lackey

Talk about sisterly love! For her sister’s wedding recently, Amber Lackey of Sissy La-La created unique bouquets using comic book pages.

She cut each comic book page down to two 4×4″ squares and folded them into petals, using five squares to make each flower. The bride’s bouquet featured more than 300 petals and measured about 12-1/2″ across. It took about 150 pages and 14 hours to make. She went on to make two more bouquets.

three comic book wedding bouquets by Amber Lackey

Amber also created a garter using Marvel fabric:

Marvel fabric garter by Amber Lackey

Did you have any geek elements in your wedding, or have you seen some fun references in weddings you’ve attended? Please share in the comments!

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July 24

American McGee’s Alice Etsy Treasury

American McGees Alice treasury

Alice in Wonderland has always been one of my favourite books and films, and American McGee’s Alice Madness Returns is one of my favourite games. It is beautifully twisted and the artwork is gorgeous. The story takes the originally premise and continues it from a completely different point of view. Here are some of my favourite etsy crafts based on the game.

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