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January 24

A Selection of Timey Wimey Gifty Goodness

tardis bookshelf

Even though Christmas is over, there’s been a glut of really cool Doctor Who-inspired gifts all over the internet. They’re too cool to pass up, so here’s a quick rundown of some of the best ones I’ve seen. First up, the homemade TARDIS bookshelf. There’s an entire photo album online at Imgur, showing details like the hidden compartments. It was built by the poster’s boyfriend for Christmas.

Next up, a TARDIS quilt, also courtesy of Imgur!

TARDIS quilt

If you check out the online album of this, you’ll see the poster, jgcox00’s new timey “wifey” (seewhutidid there? har har har, made myself laugh), even took the time to outline weeping angels in the TARDIS window stitching!

Last up, the same poster even got an understated TARDIS duffle bag.

tardis duffle

On the outside, it looks like a very nice blue patchwork duffle. However, start looking inside the pockets and inside the bag, and everything is lined with a different kind of Doctor Who fabric, with some very nice detail work.

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November 2

Marvel craft: DIY LED Tesseract

Tesseract tutorial by Venessa Baez

Did you know that in geometry, a tesseract, also called an 8-cell or regular octachoron or cubic prism, is the four-dimensional analog of the cube? According to Wolfram MathWorld, in Madeleine L’Engle’s novel, A Wrinkle in Time, the characters in the story travel through time and space using tesseracts. According to Google, Tesseract is also probably the most accurate open source OCR engine available.

Of course, in the Marvel universe, there is yet another use of a Tesseract – as an Infinity Stone, one of the most powerful artifacts in the universe. It can open rifts in space, which ties in nicely with Madeleine L’Engle’s use of it. While Odin keeps watch over the Tesseract in Asgard, you can create your own replica based on this quick project by Venessa Baez (complete with 3-1/2 minute video). With an acrylic photo cube, a few swipes of paint, some LED garden lights, and waxed paper, you can have a great geeky decor item for your desk or bookshelf.

If you could open a rift in time and space, where would you go? And would you make the “Vwoop, vwoop!” sound effect like a TARDIS?

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October 19

Scott Pilgrim craft: Ramona Flowers hammer

Ramona Flowers hammer by Mia Moore

At the cons I have attended, I see a ton of creative cosplay (people dressed up in costumes representing characters from books, movies, TV, manga, etc.). I can pretty safely guarantee I’ll see a variety of fandoms represented – almost always Star Trek, Star Wars, and Doctor Who. I always enjoy seeing other characters, however, and recognizing their references. Makes me feel a little self-righteous in my geekhood.

That’s why I was tickled to recently find this tutorial on a Ramona Flowers cosplay, from the graphic novel series, video game and movie, Scott Pilgrim. We have enjoyed watching the movie several times at our house, and my daughter has read the books. Mia did a great job breaking down the steps to creating the iconic hammer in her tutorial, right down to the bell on the end of the handle – great attention to detail! She also gives tips on how she was able to travel by plane with the hammer!

Be sure to check out other examples of Mia’s cosplay wizardry – such as Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones, Fiona from Adventure Time, and Female Engineer from Team Fortress 2.

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October 4

A Crocheted Cosplay

barda

I love a good crochet project as much as the next geek, and gaylefrancis just took it up a notch, with her crocheted Big Barda costume.

Gaylefrancis said with the exception of the hexagons, she didn’t use any patterns. The legs, torso, and gauntlets are crocodile stitch. The cape is triple crochet. The rest of it is half-double. The megarod is single crochet with bubble stitch on the top and the buttons were stitched on separately.

For those of you not in the know, Big Barda is a fictional comic book superheroine appearing in books published by DC Comics. She first appeared in Mister Miracle #4 (October 1971), and was created by Jack Kirby.

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July 16

Superhero Comic Book Magnets

In nearly all flea markets, you can find a stash of comic books. What to do with them after reading them? You can make magnets! Amanda over on Crafts by Amanda has written a great post that gives you a tutorial on making them!

Comic Book Magnets

 

After you’ve made your plethora of magnets for yourself and friends and gifts, she has a link to learn how to make comic book coasters!

So the next time you’re at a flea market, hunt down those comics, and let the fun begin. Amanda also has 2 craft books, be sure to check them out!

 

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July 6

Dresden Craft: Shield Bracelet

Dresden shield bracelet by Susan Vriens

As an early Father’s Day gift this year, I took my dad to an author Q&A session with Jim Butcher, author of The Dresden Files series of books about Chicago’s first (and only) wizard private investigator. I prepared for the session by listening to a couple of the books (they’re narrated by James Marsters, who plays Spike on the “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” TV series), and really enjoyed them.

Butcher has a distinct voice in the books which also really came through at his author event – the Q&A session was very entertaining. About 500 people showed up, and the questions were quite varied. He talked a bit about his own background in martial arts, and how that played into Det. Karrin Murphy practicing aikido in the books. He also talked about his writing process, how he uses strong outlines, and never feels like he backs Dresden into irretrievable corners, because that’s the opportunity to do something really creative and interesting. Based on the three books I’ve listened to, I’d say he’s succeeded at that!

I saw only a couple of cosplayers at the author event – one woman (not sure who she was dressed as – it wasn’t Det. Murphy) and one pretty spot-on Dresden. If you’re looking to cosplay as Dresden, you might be interested in this shield bracelet project (pictured above) by SilverMoon Dragon. I love the layered look with the cloth strips, chain and coins. She also made an awesome crochet “Bob” from the Dresden Files – be sure to check out her other Dresden crafts on her blog.

Have you read the Dresden books? They’d make a great addition to your geeky to-read list!

Links of Interest:

 

 

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