January 10

Ceramic E.T. Planter

E.T. ceramic planterWe know E.T.’s alien chums were interstellar botanists, and that the little cutie can revive dead plants… now that’s the kind of garden assistance I need.

This ceramic ET planter was made from a vintage mould by Terra Bella Pottery on Etsy, and is (clearly) adorable. The detail in the casting is really crisp, and the glaze brings out his expression perfectly.  I love the idea of giving him all sorts of different flowery hair-dos…

Admittedly, January isn’t a great time for gardening (at least not here in the UK), but you could always use him to display cut flowers, or grow house-plants, before moving him outside in the spring.

ET Planter

Terra Bella Pottey on Etsy

 

Category: Craft, Movies, Sci-Fi | Comments Off on Ceramic E.T. Planter
January 6

Friday Roundup: Crafts With a Bite

Hello, all! It’s time for the Friday Roundup!

As part of this week’s post, I have a confession to make: I really enjoy reading what I call “stupid vampire novels.” The good ones are more in the “urban fantasy” genre, but a lot of them, to be honest, are best characterized as “paranormal romance.” (Let’s step back a minute and reflect on the fact that that’s a whole genre unto itself. Right? I know.) I’ve read all but one of the Sookie Stackhouse books (and watched a season or two of True Blood), all of the Anita Blake books, all of the Kitty Norville books (yeah, she’s a werewolf, but it counts), and, yes, that other series that I’ll leave unnamed. That other series could be its own roundup, I’m sure. This isn’t that roundup, though.

As much as I’d love to share some Kitty Norville crafts, there aren’t any (or, if there are, they are well hidden from Google)! I was shocked! We’ll all have to band together, as a Geek Crafts community, and remedy that. ;)

Happily, though, there’s a wealth of Sookie and Anita Blake craftery out there, and I’m here to bring you some of my favorites from Etsy.

First up, these very fun Sookie Stackhouse book cover earrings, by maryfaithpeace. It sounds like she puts a lot of work into these—there’s even “page ridge detail”! You can mix-and-match or buy two alike! I love it!

Next, a charm bracelet, admittedly based more on True Blood than on the books, by Creative Accessories. (Who, by the way, has a coupon code up right now—and offers a plethora of geeky jewelry. Nice!)

Here’s one for any ladies wanting to do some easy cosplay: a Merlotte’s waitress t-shirt, by Scarlett Fabric (also sporting a coupon code!). A couple of red marker dots and this shirt makes an easy Halloween/convention/costume party getup!

If you’re really into the costume, you might want to add another element: scent. Mannaia Frangrances has you covered, with “Bon Temps,” which she describes as “A dark, distinctively southern scent for the vampire, fairy, or fangbanger with taste. Includes notes of magnolia, sweet iced tea, wisteria, bougainvillea, and a good dose of peach.” I’m … kind of intrigued. It sounds nice.

The next one, I admit, I hesitated before deciding to post. I’m a little tired of the “Keep Calm and Carry On” thing—it’s a fun historical reference, but, for the time being, it’s probably been played out. I think. Then again, I laughed when I saw this pendant by Red Hot Kitten, and I would totally wear something like it. So maybe there’s a bit of play left in that meme.

Now, on to Anita Blake. Perhaps because she doesn’t have a TV show or a movie, there are fewer Blake-themed crafts out there. But she has a comic (there goes that paycheck), so crafters do have some imagery to work with. Here’s a card holder (ooh, a library card!) with an image straight from the comic, by Japip:

A different print from the comic appears on these earrings, by WenSi Shop. The guns dangling from the photos of Anita make it much easier to identify her, I think. ;)

Alternately, she could look more like the Anita Blake in this print by Tara Fortin—which I love, by the way:

And, finally, to leave you with something just a bit macabre, here is a necklace by Bottled Up Creations, featuring a “hand sculpted human heart” in a bottle, with a note saying “My heart belongs to Jean Claude ♥ [signed] Anita Blake.” This one kind of creeps me out. It probably wouldn’t be everyday wear for me. But Halloween? Oh yes. I would totally rock this necklace on Halloween!

A few of our past vampire-themed craft posts:

January 5

Ducks!

I may or may not have mentioned this before, but I’m a bit of a bird-nerd. I live with two cockatiels and a parakeet, and my current favorite thing is planning how I will go about raising ducks in my yard. My city recently made it legal to raise small poultry in residential areas, my neighbor used to have chickens, and my husband bought me a book on raising ducks for Christmas—tacit approval of this duck plan!

In celebration—and because I can’t keep my mind off ducks for long—I thought I’d share something awesome I just recently found on Etsy: the duck band as wedding ring.

Here are two examples (and their respective Etsy shops, tinahdee and bddesigns):

I really like the rings that my sweetie and I ended up with, but part of me wishes we’d seen these before the wedding. Such a fun idea, right?

(If you’re not a bird-nerd and want to know why this is funny at all, the US Geological Survey has a pretty great page about bird bands that I would encourage you to check out!)

Category: Geek, Science | Comments Off on Ducks!
January 3

Chewing Your Ear Off

Chewing Your Ear OffMaybe your boss is a real nag; maybe you like it when your other half nibbles on your earlobe, but I absolutely guarantee that neither of them have anything on these Piranha Plant earrings – they’ll really bite your ear off.

The carnivorous baddie has gotta be one of the most recognisable gamer-geek icons, having been in use since Super Mario Bros first hit the shops in 1985, so the earrings have a cool retro sort of vibe, announcing to the world your NES roots.

I’m always impressed by anyone who can sculpt, especially on such a teeny tiny scale, and these little monsters are so well made that you’d never guess they were hand crafted from polymer clay.

Creator Liz is obviously a real Nintendo gal, her Etsy shop LizGlizz is packed with Mario, Pokémon & Zelda paraphernalia and well worth checking out. Her shop is pretty low on stock at the moment, following the Christmas rush, but she’s crafting as I type, so I suggest you get bookmarking to be first in line once they’re back in store.

Youch! Piranha Plant Earrings

LizGlizz Etsy Store

December 18

Star Wars Winter Warmer Hats

Knit Princess Leia Bun Hat,The weather outside is frightful but Star Wars hats are so delightful… Okay, so it doesn’t really have the same ring to it as the famous Christmas carol but they really are super cool. Anyone worth their salt will know there is a pretty big day coming up in the calender, one which we will all celebrate. Yup, the release of the Star Wars MMO Star Wars The Old Republic on December 20th. Most of us can wave goodbye to seeing our loved ones over the Christmas period but whilst he’s deciding to go Empire or Republic you can at least get some peace and quiet to craft.

This amazing hat is hand knitted by Etsy seller LittleBirdLucy. The knitted Princess Leia Bun Hat is available in Black or Brown and is available in Toddler, 4-6 years, teen and adult sizes. Yup we can all look this awesome, and just think how warm your ears would be!

 

Leia and Storm TrooperLisa (LittleBirdLucy) also makes an awwwwhhhhhh-dorable little Yoda hat available in sizes newborn to adult.

Category: Craft, Games, Geek, Girly, Movies, Sci-Fi | Comments Off on Star Wars Winter Warmer Hats
December 18

What a crazy random happenstance!

If you have these on your wall, what does it say to people who walk into your house?

“I have a PHD in horribleness.”
“You’re driving a spork into your leg.”
“I don’t go to the gym, I’m just naturally like this.”

somekindofrobot on Etsy has made these beautiful canvas paintings of your favorite Dr. Horrible characters. They’re definitely unique and will certainly liven up the place when Dr. Horrible gives you the keys to a shiny new Australia. 

Also in her shop you’ll find a Boba Fett canvas painting, Ghostbusters painting, and even a GLaDOS painting.

Category: Comics, Craft, Geek, TV | Comments Off on What a crazy random happenstance!