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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October 3

Minion Halloween Costume

minion costume

It’s almost Halloween! Have you been working on your costume? Spartygw over at Imgur has been, and this year, for Halloween (and for DragonCon 15), he’s going to be a minion!

If you’re thinking about making a Minion costume for yourself, Spartygw’s Imgur post reads like a nice tutorial to walk you through the process.

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September 28

To Boldly Live Where No One Has Lived Before . . . . errr sort of . . .

StarTrekHouse

Live in the Bay Area of Texas? Have an extra $1,265,000 laying around? Then I’ve got the house for you! It features this insanely cool (or perhaps just insane) entertainment suite styled after Star Trek. Not only does it feature a projection screen, but it also has its own dormitory (with futuristic bunks), bathroom, kitchen, and dining area.  And that’s only a small(ish) piece of this 6,389 square foot house. It also hosts a music themed loft-style bedroom along with a medieval style bedroom.  The house is perfect for Klingons,   rock stars, and princesses alike.

I ran across this Star Trek themed home reading Our Nerd Home’s latest post, but you can find the Houston Chronicle’s listing here, along with all the pictures–and it’s definitely worth a look.  This house . . . there are no words. What do you think? Are you ready to move in?

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September 27

Pay the yarn price for these Game of Thrones pillows

Game of Thrones crochet pillows by ICrochetThings

One of favorite crafts is crochet – when watching my geeky favorites, my hands are rarely idle. I can also knit, but I’m much faster at crochet. I have taught myself Tunisian crochet, which looks a lot like knitting, but have so far only made a pet mat. So I was intrigued when I saw these Game of Thrones Tunisian crochet pillows by icrochetthings.

Her pillow example features the Stark direwolf sigil on one side, and the Lannister lion sigil on the other. She also provides charts for the other house sigils, so you can customize to your favorite. She also commented that she plans to crochet all of them and make one big blanket. What a lovely gift that would make for a GoT fan!

Have you tried Tunisian crochet? Which houses would you represent in pillow form? Let us know in the comments below!

 

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September 26

Crocheted Hobbes Scarf

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Jillianjiggs posted on Imgur, this crocheted pelt-like scarf of everyone’s favorite comic strip tiger, Hobbes! Because as she puts it, what better way to fight off a Canadian winter with a friend?

But luckily for anyone that doesn’t have a scarf, Jillianjiggs owns LoopTeeLoops, an Etsy shop based out of Ontario. If you can’t figure out the pattern for Hobbes here by studying the picture, you can buy her pattern for just $9.

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September 21

Join the Zompocalypse by Making Your Own Zombie Plushie!

ZombiePlushie

I just spent the weekend selling my handmade goodies at TopCon, a small pop-culture convention in Topeka, KS. One of the guests, Mike Mundy, was a zombie on The Walking Dead, so there was a lot of zombies hanging around this weekend.  All those undead inspired me to share this great tutorial on making your own zombie plushie on the blog Heidi Boyd.  This tutorial offers more inspiration than actual techniques, but if you’re familiar with basic hand sewing skills, you’ll have no problem making your little Zombie Plushie friend to hunt down brains with.  You could even mix it up a bit and use different colored fleece, felt scraps, and embroidery floss.  The tutorial offers up a great, basic starting point for your imagination to take over.  Be sure to share your adventures in zombie making with us!

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