March 5

Skels and her Geeky Bead Weaving

I love Red DwarfHey there, geek-crafters. My name is Skels and I’m thrilled to introduce myself as another new writer.

I’m British, but currently living in Sydney, Australia. What makes me geeky? It could be my love of SciFi TV and movies, or my crafty habits as a self-proclaimed “tinkerer”. Or perhaps it’s the months and months of my life that I have invested in various MMOs over the years (sup, EU Argent Dawn WoW?!), or it could be that I’m currently studying for a degree in Natural Sciences in my spare time, you know, just for fun.

My all time favourite TV show is Red Dwarf, favourite game is Simon the Sorcerer, favourite movie is Twister and favourite colour is yellow. I like beading, drawing, photography, piano playing, baking, and jewelry making. I’m also a keen amateur astronomer; my most beloved posession is my 6″ Meade telescope.

I’ve been a fan of Geek Crafts for a while now, ever since discovering how to make pixel art keyrings and things out of teeny tiny seed beads. The great thing about pixel art is that it is so easy to reproduce with loads of different crafts – quilts, cross-stitch, bead weaving, pearler beads, even Lego. And who doesn’t love a little 8-bit nostalgia?!

8-bit Bead Weaving by Skels

If you want to find out more about bead weaving there are some really clear tutorials over at BeadItBabe.com. I used the square stitch for my designs, working with 3 mm seed beads and black waxed beading thread. And if you want some geeky designs to follow or inspire you feel free to check out my selection of keyrings and earrings: Click here to see the 8-bit beading set on Flickr.

Until next Tues, stay nerdy! And if you like, follow @Skels on Twitter. Cheers!

May 4

Handmade Geekcrafts Contest this week!

My hometown weekly, the Portland Mercury, is sponsoring a new handmade geekcraft project contest (with a nice shoutout to geekcrafts.com, thank you very much!) over at their site this week – email in a photo of your favorite handmade project extraordinaire, and you could win a copy of World of Geekcraft, a POW! ZAP! Magnets kit, and lots of glory. The deadline is Friday, May 6, and all the details are in the post.

Jacob Schraer says:

Like Mr. Miyagi, the projects within will help you take your unassuming fingers, made nimble from countless hours at the keyboard, and apply their surprising skills to sewing, cutting, and gluing.

Susan was kind enough to provide us with a complimentary copy of the book and a craft kit for the Blogtowner who can come up with the best homemade Geekcraft.

Please provide us with a picture of your craft, preferably with a copy of a current newspaper prominently displayed next to it, and email it to arts@portlandmercury.com with GEEKCRAFT CONTEST in the subject line. Your creations will then be judged based on skill, radness, and overall geek cred.

I would love it if a Geekcrafts.com reader snags the prize! My deepest thanks to everyone who’s had kind words for the book and Shayne’s, Renee’s, and my contributions. Can’t wait to see some killer geekcraft project entries!

PS: Don’t forget to enter the Geekcrafts.com book giveaway this week if you’d like a double chance to win a copy of the book, too…

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