May 2

Spruce Up with a Hobbit Door Wreath

Hobbit Door Wreath from Set to Stunning

Now that nicer weather is more predictably ensconced, you might be in spring cleaning mode. Or maybe you’re past that, into “this place needs some sprucing up” mode. How about a nice new door wreath…with a touch of geek? Scruffy over at Set to Stunning has just the project tutorial for you – a Hobbit door wreath!

I like that she “added oomf” to her acorns with glitter and Mod Podge, and that this wreath was originally intended as holiday decor, but now is a year-round essential.

I also love that by creating the wreath, you’ll “be the envy of those you don’t know half as well as you would like, and those you like half as well as they deserve.”

Links of Interest:

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November 8

One Party to Rule Them All

Lord OfThe Rings Sauron pinata from Blossomingjoy

Isn’t this pinata stunning? It’s almost like Sauron is right in the room <shudder>. It literally made my jaw drop when I saw it, so I knew I had to share it here.

When Melody at Blossomingjoy.com hosted a Lord of the Rings themed party for her son, she pulled out all the stops. Party-goers attended in costume, there was a mega-brownie Mount Doom, the jaw-dropping Eye of Sauron pinata, handmade party favors, rice krispie lembas bread, and a Hobbit version of a Toastmasters 60-second speech exercise. Whew! What a party! And lucky for us, she wrote up all sorts of great details and how-to’s in her blog post.

Have you been to any geek-themed parties? What’s your favorite theme, or one you want to host in the near future? Sound off in the comments below!

Links of Interest

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April 19

DIY Comic Book Collage Silhouettes

Comic book silhouette collage by The Nifty Nerd

With so many great TV shows and movies out, there’s a lot of attention on comic books these days. It’s always nice to go back to the source material for the full backstory. While you’ve got your comics out, you might want to use some of the extras for this cool collage project, brought to us by Jessica from The Nifty Nerd.

Jessica has kindly put together a Nerdy Craft Tutorial on how she created her striking silhouette collages to adorn her hallway, including cutouts from Spiderman, plus a really cool Rohan horse banner crafted from Fellowship of the Ring book pages – you won’t want to miss that!

She also talked about other cutout backgrounds, like the Hogwarts houses, or Game of Thrones family crests. What fandom would you like to collage? I have a TARDIS in mind, from Doctor Who comic book pages…

Links of Interest:

 

 

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December 28

Hobbit Craft: Sting Plush

Sting plush by Choly Knight

A group of 15 of us descended upon a local dine-and-watch movie theater last weekend for the latest (and last) installment of the Hobbit movie trilogy. Definitely epic eye candy – I mean, Legolas dashing up that crumbling tower?  Forget about it!

Bilbo’s trusty blade Sting made an appearance in the film, and served him well. If you would like a decidedly less pointy version with a high cute factor to brandish about, check out Choly Knight’s plushie pattern.

I agree with Choly about what makes this project unique: “the real kicker is the bit of satin stitching I did in glow-in-the-dark thread to simulate Sting’s ability to glow blue when orcs are near.” She says the glow-in-the-dark effect makes it great for pillow fights – which makes me want to make it even more, just to test out!

Have you seen the Battle of the Five Armies yet? What did you think? We did enjoy it, but my husband didn’t think the story merited three full movies.

 

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September 12

Pattern: The Gates of Moria

Speak friend and enter. *Mellon, to be specific. The gates of Moria only show this entry way in moonlight and starlight.  Natalia  Moreva of Kulabra designs has designed these mittens that make me want to rethink my mitten ban (everything falls to the floor if I wear mittens). But these call to the Tolkien geek in me.

Moria_Moreva

So why not buy a copy of the pattern, and get knitting, and have a new pair of mittens for when the last Hobbit movie comes out?

 

 

 

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January 8

Hobbit Headwear

Hello All! I hope everyone had a great holiday, and that you’re fairly recovered from all the family and excitement by now. A large part of my holidays was seeing the Hobbit with other geeky friends, which inspires this post about headwear from the Hobbit movies!

Bofur, the optimistic toymaking dwarf, brother to Bombur and cousin to Bifur, can be recognized in Peter Jackson’s films by his distinctive hat and jovial personality. Luckily for all you Bofur fans,  Smree has posted a great crochet pattern that even has the same upturned brim and earflaps! Using a skein of brown yarn and gray yarn, along with an H and I hook, I think she captured its essence perfectly!

Bofur's Hat

Of course, one of the most memorable characters from the Hobbit films is the Elvenking of the Mirkwood elves (and Legolas’ father), Thranduil. Not only does he have impeccable cheekbones (curse you and your inhuman beauty, Lee Pace!), he carries off an incredible crown of branches and leaves that mark him as the elven ruler. Katy R. over at Deviantart has created a beautiful replica of this crown out of wire, DAS (an air-hardening clay), resin and a few coats of paint. You can see her photo tutorial here.

Thranduil's Crown

Hopefully, these projects have inspired you to go see the Hobbit movies (if you haven’t yet), and to made your own stylish hats for everyday wear!

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