July 10

Amigurimi Coraline

“I have no plans to love you,” said Coraline. “No matter what. You can’t make me love you.”
— Neil Gaiman (Coraline)

Crochet Coraline doll - amigurumi patternThat may be what Coraline said to “the other mother”, but you won’t be able to say it to this adorable amigurimi by Ravelry poster, Sharon Rose, aka Homemade Obsessions.

I love her little yellow boots, her key necklace, and the drapey blue hair, and of course the button eyes are perfect. (Even though, I have to admit, they creep me out a little bit.)

The blog post includes the pattern, and stepped-out photos for attaching the pieces and hair.

Also be sure to check out Sharon’s patterns for Wybie and the Ghost Girl.

In case you haven’t heard about Coraline, it’s a fantasy/horror novella by British author Neil Gaiman, published in 2002. There was a graphic novel adaptation, published in 2008, and illustrated by P. Craig Russell. The stop-motion animated film was directed by Henry Selick, and was nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Feature in 2009. [Historical facts per Wikipedia]

Now, unrelated to Coraline, but related to Neil Gaiman…have you seen the footage of the Minnesota Public Radio interview with Neil Gaiman, where they call Mythbuster’s Adam Savage and he does a short singing stint in the voice of Gollum?  According to theonering.net, it “contains so many different brands of geekery it might shut down the internet.” You simply must see.

LINKS OF INTEREST:

http://homemadeobsessions.blogspot.com/2011/06/ghost-child-doll-inspired-by-coraline.html
Category: Books, Comics, Craft, Geek, Movies, Toys | 1 Comment on Amigurimi Coraline
June 28

An Evening with Neil Gaiman

Sketch of Neil Gaiman and Adam SavageLast night, I had the extraordinary pleasure of attending “An Evening with Neil Gaiman,” in Berkeley, CA.

Not only was the audience graced with the company of the author himself, but the surprise addition of Mythbusters host Adam Savage as moderator made the night even more extraordinary.

Though the initial focus of the program was the 10th anniversary of American Gods, the conversation meandered through topics ranging from the pitfalls of publishing to Neil’s unabashed fanboy love for Dr. Who.

The night held a beautiful congruence of numerous energies, from the deliciously geeky to the downright mystical (hearing Neil read a passage from American Gods in a historic church made my scalp tingle).

If you ever have the chance to hear Mr. Gaiman speak, do yourself a favor and go. Between his dry sense of humor, his amazing storytelling abilities, and his easygoing manner, he’s remarkably fun to listen to.

Neil Gaiman quote letterpressIn honor this wonderful night, I found this simple, yet lovely letterpress print of a Neil Gaiman quote. It’s available from Fate Hope Destiny Luck Machine, an Etsy shop “operated by a circus artist and printmaker out of Portland, OR.” How friggin’ cool is that?

These may not be Neil’s exact words from last night, but the quote definitely captures the spirit.

[Sketch via Neil Gaiman’s WhoSay.]

 

Category: Books, Craft, Geek, Myths & Urban Legends | 2 Comments on An Evening with Neil Gaiman
May 15

Two Announcements

Greetings Geek Crafters:

We’ve got two things going on here at Geek Crafts headquarters:

1. The first winner we picked to get a copy of Susan Beal’s World of Geekcraft never contacted us with their address, so we had to pick another winner. That winner is…

Craftasaurusrex!

Craftasaurusrex, please email your name and mailing address to geekcrafts@gmail.com by midnight ET on Thursday, May 19th and we’ll put your copy of World of Geekcraft in the mail right away.

2. What do you do when your graphic / web designer and her kids catch the bubonic plague? Why, you postpone your super awesome contest one more week. Enjoy our regularly scheduled programming and on Monday the 23rd, we’ll unveil our new logo and the super awesome contest. Trust me, it’ll be worth the wait!

    Have fun talking around the water cooler about the awesome Neil Gaiman-directed Doctor Who episode in the morning!
    Shayne

    Category: Craft, Geek | 1 Comment on Two Announcements
    April 21

    If Coraline Were Real Polymer Doll

    real-coraline

    I’ve been hoping to find a really good Coraline craft for awhile (of course, I wasn’t really looking that hard). Let’s face it, Coraline in 3-D, Coraline by Neil Gaiman, Coraline directed by Henry Sellick (the same guy who did Nightmare Before Christmas), I can’t think of anything about Coraline that doesn’t scream “I belong on Geek Crafts!”. And now, thanks to huggiepeelow posting this amazing If Coraline Were Real Polymer Doll, Coraline is on Geek Crafts, the world is right, and I finally have an excuse to write about Neil Gaiman. How wonderful!

    Category: Books, Craft, Geek, Girly, Movies, Toys | 3 Comments on If Coraline Were Real Polymer Doll