Wednesday, December 31, 2008

More Christmas stuff

Alright everyone, another post about Christmas crafts and the like. Here's another present I got from my sister:
So cute! The inside is made with recycled bags from target, and it is seriously really big inside. You can fit a ton of groceries in there. Here's a shot of the back:
Ha ha, cute!

And here's a present we made for my boyfriend's mom:
I know, I know, you probably can't tell who it is, but he's supposed to be Bon Jovi. See? He has a loaded six string.
Yeah, it's a revolved on the back of the guitar. I know, it's really weird and nerdy, but apparently she loved it and my boyfriend thought it was hilarious so there you go.

Anyway, that's it for Christmas presents! Have a safe New Year's everyone!

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Christmas Haul, part 1!

Well, Christmas is over. I hope everyone had a great holiday! I thought I'd post some holiday swag here, started with our newest dude--one I didn't have anything to do with (except the crochet body part). It was a Christmas gift from my boyfriend. Behold!
Like I said, I've been playing Assassin's Creed a lot and so my boyfriend made me this little dude to commemorate that. He's so cute! I think he probably has the most weapons out of any dude we've ever made.

He has four throwing knives, a sword, a hidden dagger and a blade on his back. And the hidden dagger is actually hidden! Like, you can move it up and down and hide it under Altair's arm guards.
I don't know how many of you have played Assassin's Creed (it's well worth the $15 I picked it up for, so if anyone out there has a 360 and doesn't have it it's a great game) but Altair always hides in a group of scholars. This dude has more knives on his person than any scholar I've ever seen, and yet no one ever gives him crap for it.

Anyway, this is just one of the really cool things I got for Christmas--I'll also be posting some (hopefully really cool) stuff that I made for other people, so stay tuned! Leave a comment if you got something adorably geeky for a present this holiday season!

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

More Lego Awesomeness

Alright, so a while back some crazy person made a Star Wars lego scene with underground trains and x-wings and the like. Now, someone went ahead and made a lego scene of the Hoth battle--and it's pretty cool too.
How cool is that? It must be so huge! I can't even imagine having this much patience to finish something this massive. Oh yeah, and a crapton of disposable income. Look how detailed it is!

It's Luke in the bacta tank! And Leia is behind him, and the medical droid is watching over everything. Isn't that crazy? Han is also walking somewhere around this place, and Chewie is working on the Falcon somewhere too. Look for them yourself!

Anyway, I have lots of stuff to post, but it has to wait until after Christmas as most of the stuff is Christmas gifts. We have a couple of new dudes done too, but again, they'll have to wait for a few days. Have a merry Christmas everyone!

via Geekologie

Friday, December 19, 2008

This was a triumph

Yay! Today was my birthday. I went to the zoo and we got to see four baby lions acting very cute and playing around. I also got Mirror's Edge, which has been very frustrating and very addictive so far. I also got some other very nice presents, but they're not geeky so I won't bother you guys with them. And of course, cake. I'm not lying! Cake. Wanna see what my wonderful sister made for me?

Ha ha, isn't it awesome? I just started giggling as soon as she brought it out. I feel like such a nerd though. It was very tasty and I also feel like I accomplished something special and mentally challenging! Yay Portal. Stay tuned! Real post coming soon, I swear.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Felt is awesome

I love felt. You don't have to hem it and it doesn't fray or anything. And people make really cool stuff out of it! We make all of our clothes for our dudes out of it. But some people, more talented people, are able to make cute little stuffies out of it. Here are just a couple that I absolutely adored.
A little dragon! And he's totally poseable. I love his little head, with the little horns. This one is made by Craftster user Id, and there are a ton more pictures here. I really hope that a pattern is made available for this little dude, because even though my fingers would probably explode while trying to sew something this tiny, I would totally try and make him.

My new favorite word (even though I'm wary of most portmanteaus) is feltidermy. How cute is this little guy? But it's so creepy at the same time! I'm pretty sure this trend was started by girlsavage over at etsy, who has made some amazing little feltidermy creatures. I love little Nessie here, but she's also made unicorns, narwhals and jackalopes and I'm pretty sure I saw a t-rex over there too. Awesome! And for some holiday cheer, here's a last picture:
Hi Rudolph!

So I've been really busy playing Assassin's Creed. It's pretty repetitive, but I love running across the rooftops and throwing my knives at guards when they yell at me. Also, I like riding the horses around, except everyone always attacks me when I'm on my horse! Jerks. Anyway, only 11 more days until X-mas! Watch out for Robot Santa. Stay tuned!

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

I love Joss Whedon

Hey guys, remember when I wrote how Crochet Me was trying to get an interview with Joss Whedon because he mentioned, in passing, "Where's our write-up in Crocheting Monthly?" Well they freaking did it! They got an interview with Joss Whedon! I can't believe it. You can read the whole article here. And here's the woman who made it happen! Look what she's holding!
Awww, hi Jayne!

Here's a really cute quote by Joss Whedon from the article:
"You know, anything that inspires people to make their own little version of something be it puppety, be it crafty, be it a high school production of lip syncing, whatever it is, it's the best kind of review you could ever get for any works. It's just cool. I always want things to become plush."

Bah! It's so cute. I can't believe he actually did an interview! That's so cool. He even talks about the Jayne hat and it's significance. It's a really great interview. I know I'm totally gushing and incoherent, but I'm really excited about it.

And for those of you who don't know (like me, 5 minutes ago) Dr. Horrible goes on sale next Friday, December 19. My birthday! Yay! Anyway, it sounds like they are going to include some really great features, so I think it's going to be a definite buy.

So no more news for now! I hope everyone is having a great December, getting ready for Christmas and the like. Stay tuned for more dudes soon!

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Hold on to your butts

I love Jurassic Park. It's seriously one of my most favorite movies ever. That being said, I found some really cute dinosaur related things around the internet! Not to many Jurassic Park related things, though. Come on, people! Get working on that sexy Alan Grant doll! Come on, you know he was awesome (in the first movie, at least, I believe I've effectively blocked out any memories of the other movies). Anyway, on to the cute!

So pretty! At first I thought it was a loch ness monster, (which is also awesome) but it turns out it's a elasamasaurus. Which, if there is a loch ness monster, is probably this little dude who survived the meteor crash/climate change/Raptor Jesus debacle. Very cute, but a little pricey for me.

This second entry is an awesome dinosaur play mat made by Craftster user hollyrh. It would be a great Christmas present for a young kid (or any older, nerdy people you might know), especially since there are some instructions over at Craftster. The play mat can be rolled up around the volcano and be carried around really easily. So much fun!


Here's another really cute necklace, this time a little more affordable. Actually, the whole shop is really cute, it's definitely worth taking a look at. I'm not really sure what kind of dinosaur it is supposed to be, but it looks like a stegosaurus and they are awesome so it's okay.

Yeah. No idea.

Anyway, hope you guys enjoy! Share in the dinosaur love. On another note, I swear we'll finally get our other dude finished soon, you guys will seriously love him. Stay tuned!


Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Hold on to your nuts

Do you think that Christmas is too commercialized? Do you wish that you could get something that embraces the holiday spirit, yet allows you to escape the shallow consumerism of our society?

Yeah, me neither. I want these. They are awesome. They are available at Hammacher Schlemmer as a set. I wish they sold them separately though! I'm sure you can guess which one is my favorite.

Artoo!! So cute. Sometime I feel bad that Lucas and Co is pimping out artoo so much (I'm looking at you, soy sauce container) but at the same time I like seeing all of these nerdy applications to real world products. So conflicted!

Hope everyone is having fun getting ready for the holidays! Stay tuned for more geeky goodness!

via Geekologie.

Friday, November 28, 2008

This is NOT Bantha Poodo

That's right everyone, Thanksgiving is over and it's time to think about Christmas presents. I am trying to make everyone handmade gifts this year. Unfortunately, I can't post any of them here because the recipients read this blog, so after Christmas I'll be able to show everyone what I've been working on. For now though, I wanted to show everyone this really cute Bantha that you can make for the Star Wars lover in your family! I think he would be a great gift for anyone, actually, because he is pretty cute.

There are instructions on how to make this little guy over at the Star Wars blog in case any of you want to try and make one yourself. I think his little button eyes are really cute. Now that I think about it, Star Wars creatures (excepting Ewoks, of course) aren't really that cute. I mean, would you want a plush dianoga? Or a plush mynock? Okay, those might be kind of awesome. You can make anything cute if you make the eyes big enough. Anyway, let me know if anyone tries this! Stay tuned for more holiday ideas!

Monday, November 24, 2008

Cuteness Deteced in the Delta Quadrant. Engage!

Don't worry guys, Janeway didn't mess with the timeline again. Hey, remember that time Paris and Janeway broke the warp barrier and then turned into giant lizards and mated? Yeah, that was gross. Anyway, I just wanted to show everyone these adorably cute little guys that I found on ravelry made by user Nimoe.

Aren't they just adorable?! You know, Voyager never gets enough love. I mean, everyone loves the original Star Trek, even those corny old ones (whoops, ignore my contribution to that) and the one with that bald guy or whatever. But Voyager is where it's at! CURSE YOU SPIKE NETWORK for not playing it everyday anymore. CURSE YOU!! NO ONE WANTS TO WATCH 260239082 EPISODES OF CSI OR UNSOLVED MYSTERIES!!!! BRING BACK VOYAGER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ahem. Want some more pictures? Okay.
Ha ha, she even has her little facial ridges and crazy hair. Wonderful.

Alright, I'll admit I'm not the biggest Neelix fan. He was really annoying and the only reason he was even barely tolerable was because of his man-crush (Vulcan-crush?) on Tuvok and that one episode where they "merged together" (wink wink) and formed Tuvix. That being said, I think he is captured perfectly here. That yarn for his body? Incredible. His facial hair? Spot on. In yarn form he is tolerable and adorable and--dare I say?--cute.
The Doctor! Yay, he's my favorite. I really like the way his hair is done, too, it's great and probably much easier to do than the way I do my hair. I like how serious he is.
And finally Janeway, complete with doofy hair. Her hair really was bad for the first couple of seasons but I think this little amigurumi captures it perfectly.

Anyway, I hope you guys like this little crew. I LOVE them, and I think they're adorable. Except for Harry. I hate Harry and he plays the clarinet like a jerk. And he's a wuss. I wish they would have killed him in that one episode where they did kill him but there was a paralell crew and they took the parallel Harry to bring back to the Voyager that survived. That was dumb, Janeway.

OKAY! Make sure you check out Nimoe's website, she has some adorable animal patterns for free and some other really cute anime characters. Stay tuned for more projects coming soon!

Saturday, November 22, 2008

A Pirate's Life for Me

Well, I've been working really hard on a new pattern! Introducing my new pirate pattern!

This pattern is 34 pages (yikes!) because I had to make pictures for everything. There are about 10 pictures on just how to make the gun. It's actually pretty complicated, but for those of you out there who want their own pirate I'm sure it's something you can deal with. Plus I like pictures, I think it makes it way easier to follow than written instructions.

Like my other patterns, it has a regular pattern that you use as a guideline for the fabric, and it also has a paper pattern for those people who crochet but don't sew. It's just felt sewing though, it's pretty easy to work with, so I suggest that anyone who is apprehensive about sewing try it out with felt because it's very nice to work with.

Anyway, if anyone is interested, the pirate pattern is up for sale at my etsy shop! I hope you guys like, it took a lot of time to write and is kind of like a small book. Stay tuned for more patterns coming up soon! I think my next pattern might be a space princess/space rebel pattern, but I'm not sure yet. Thanks for looking!

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

God of Cute

So here's one of our new dudes! Hint: he has nothing to do with the kitty. I told you we were really close to finishing him! (I know, I usually overestimate how fast we work, but this time it's actually true). Presenting:
It's Kratos! He was a custom order, and even though we said we'd stop doing those he sounded way to cool to pass up. I made him with silver yarn and then his little tattoos were painted on. He does look kind of innocent, huh? It's his eyes. They're too clear and big and black, they haven't seen enough death. Or something. He certainly has the weapons for a lot of carnage.
And his little chains can unwrap from his arms. The blades can come off the chains too, if you're into that. I also stitched a tiny scar on his right eye, but you can barely see it. He even has a secret item.
Bah! He killed Medusa! The perspective on this shot makes it look like her head is huge, but it's not really that big. I think the little snakes are really cute, they're just a chain stitch that I twisted into a little curly lock of evil.

Anyway, it was so much fun making little Kratos. I think he can be bloodthirsty and adorable at the same time. I hope you guys like him! Stay tuned for the kitty-related dude, coming soon.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Wow. Just wow.

Jeez. It's been a really long time since I posted anything here. I've been really unmotivated to make anything, and I've been really uninspired by the stuff I've seen on the internet. It's just a slump I'm going through, but I'm starting to get itchy fingers again. We're working on two new dudes right now, and I think you guys will just die when you see them.

One is a custom order, which I know we said we weren't doing anymore, but it was just too cool to pass up. The other one is just for us. We're almost done with both of them, and they should be finished by the end of the week. Wanna know what they are? Too bad. Here's a teaser pic, though.
Alright, the fuzzy thing is supposed to be a kitty, don't make fun of him. It's my first attempt at needle felting, and I think he turned out really great considering that a) it was my first time and b) I was pretty much terrified I was going to poke some fingers off. Anyway, he's an accessory to the little dude we're making. No, it's not Alf. The thing in the back is a blade, part 1 of 2. They're pretty giant and very cool looking.

Anyway, sorry for abandoning you guys for so long, but I'm back, I swear! Stay tuned for the finished products later on this week.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

A team effort

Alrighty everyone! I've been tantalizing you with a hint of a new dude, and after much procrastinating he is finally done! I present to you:
A Team Fortress 2 Engineer! Okay, for those of you who don't have the Orange Box, I'll just fill you in. The engineer is this little dude here, who apparently does something very important with this little dispenser thingy. Alright, I admit it, I've never played TF2, mainly because I don't want to pay for a gold account on Xbox Live, and also because I'm scared of Xbox Live users. I do have the Orange Box though, so I'm half way there. Anyway--oh yeah, the dude.See, his little goggles come off too! And his little hat, of course. And he can hold his little wrench. I have to say, I'm most impressed with him, I think he turned out just perfect. Here's a closeup of the dispenser.

I think it's so cool! It's actually pretty big too, there's a lot of sculpey on that thing.

Anyway, if you want to see more pictures check out my flicker, as always. I'm not sure if we are really planning on anything big for our next project (DANGIT I still want to do Leonidas though), but I am working on a personal project that I'll probably post here later. Anyway, stay tuned!

Saturday, October 11, 2008

I'm not dead, I swear!

Hello everyone! I just wanted to update you--I'm not dead. Just lazy. Or maybe I should say I'm just uninspired. I'm just not as excited about our little dudes as I used to be, and my sculpey-maker boyfriend is even less so, which has been leading to some very unproductive weeks. So we have both decided that it was time to close our etsy shop. Now, this doesn't mean that we will stop making them altogether--we're just unable to create the volume that is needed to run a store.

Anyway, I'm hoping that this means that I can concentrate on making patterns for more characters (the Lord of the Rings and Star Wars patterns are still, and will continue to be, available), so if anyone has any suggestions, or really wants to know how we do something, please feel free to leave a comment and I'll see if I can't work something out.

So since we haven't been working on our dudes, wanna see what we have been working on? It's a little different and not our usual geeky fare, but I thought I'd see what everyone thinks about it.

Presenting: A portrait of Fernando de la Ronda, the Prince of Isla de los Estados. His marriage to Elizabeth of the Byrd family was arranged by Elizabeth's brother, King Arthur IV. The King arranged this marriage to establish a fishing treaty between the King penguins and the Macaroni penguins. Elizabeth detested this match, and historians believe that her dislike stemmed from multiple reasons, one being that the match was forced on her while she was in love with another penguin of her own species, while other historians argue that she could not respect or love a husband who was a good foot shorter than her. Fernando was oblivious to her dislike, however, and they had three children: Eduardo, Isabella and Fermina. Curiously, Isabella was born without the yellow feathers that Macaroni penguins are known for and that adorned the heads of her brother and sister, however, this was attributed to the fact that King and Macaroni penguin breeding genetics were not fully understood and not to any rumors that were circulating at the time about Elizabeth. Fernando lived a wholly oblivious and happy life with his family in his home town of Isla de los Estados.


Do you guys like? I think the portrait is just adorable. I made up a whole family tree for the rulers of Byrd, it's just a blast writing these little histories for everyone. Anyway, let me know what you guys think! And stay tuned, more stuff on the way!

Friday, September 26, 2008

Ohmygoshitssocoolicantstandit

Like the title says--oh my gosh it's so cool I can't stand it.

Click here! And now!

Don't worry everybody, it's totally safe for work and totally Star Wars related. Here's a preview.

But you totally have to click the above Flickr link to see everything. It is enormously detailed and crazy, with all sorts of really cool stuff hidden away in various corners. There's even a track running through the whole thing, although I don't know if stuff can actually move on it. I don't know if this guy is a professional or if he just does this in his free time, but it's completely amazing.

I just had to share this! I hope you guys like. Stay tuned!

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

There are some crazy stitches up in here

Hey everybody! I know everybody is probably wondering when our next new dude will be up, and all I can say is: soon. We've been kind of burned out on them, so it's been hard to get motivated to make any new characters. But there is a new dude coming soon, so please don't give up on us yet!

Anyway, for the time being, I came across these awesome cross stitch samplers from around the net. If I ever had the patience for doing cross stitch (hello, my many half-finished cross stitch projects) I would totally take these on. If you guys are inspired to do your own, there is this really cool site that turns pictures into cross stitch patterns for you! So now there's no excuse for not immortalizing your favorite picture of a cat with a lemon on its head (one of my many half-finished projects) with cross stitch. Enjoy!
Um, how awesome is this? Not only is it Firefly related, it's also Oregon Trail related. Seemingly random, and yet they work out so well together. This was made by craftster user SkyyAngel and she has graciously posted her instructions here, if anyone wants to make their own. And why wouldn't you? It's awesome.
And of course a Star Wars related sampler. Need I explain why I love this one? I think my favorite part is the two blasters at the bottom with the heart in the middle. You can find more details here.
Aww, best friends forever. You know, except for the burning part. You were rather quick to kill the companion cube, as GLaDOS does not hesitate to remind you. I like the little hearts all over. This one also has a pattern and is available at the creator's website here.

Anyway, I just thought these were all so cute and I had to share! Hopefully I'll get out of my slump soon and start working on characters a little more. Stay tuned!

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Um, yes please?

Are you tired of your boring room? Are you bored with being all "adult" and respectable? Well then here is the next piece of furniture you need to buy for your bedroom:
I know it's not the best picture, but seriously. That. Is. Awesome. I must have it. I love the little blurry star lines, I love the little pillow with the "galaxy far far away" thingy, and I love the Millennium Falcon in the middle. Please. I wish there was a better pic of the Falcon, but the concept is what matters here.
Here's a pic of the supposed room a bedspread like this would go in. I would just like to say that I have way more awesome posters than that kid. (Should I be ashamed of that?) Pottery Barn is selling this comforter set, you can check it out here if you would like. You can also get the sheets:
which are pretty cool too. See here for more details. I am totally in love with the classic old school design. Jeez, I don't even know if they come in adult bed sizes. Oh well, they are still rockin. Anyway, more stuff coming soon, stay tuned!

Friday, September 12, 2008

Get rich quick!

Need a little extra cash this weekend? I've got just the project for you--it will literally make money materialize in front of your face! You don't even have to go looking through grass or anything! Okay, it's not OUR money, you know, REAL money, necessarily, but rupee money, so if you're planning a trip to Hyrule it will come in handy at least. For those looking to stay home (Hyrule always seems to be in some sort of peril anyway), it will make a great cat toy. Look!
They're just made out of two pieces of felt and then embroidered shut with (mostly) matching embroidery floss. As you can see, they still get the basic idea across even if you are a terrible embroiderer and can't draw a straight line to save your life. I stuffed some catnip in them too, and the cats have been going crazy over them. Wanna see? Hm, what's that? You don't want to see pics of my kitties? Too bad, here they are anyway.

Reach, Dorian, reach! It's worth 20 rupees!
Bah bah! Yuki just found a blue rupee!
Dorian's rolling in dough.

Was this whole post just a giant excuse to show pictures of my kitties? Perhaps. But it really is funny to see them running around with rupees in their mouth, and there aren't enough geeky pet toys out there. Or any, really.

Anyway, it's just a fun weekend craft that takes less than 20 minutes, so make some up and watch your kitties go crazy! Stay tuned for more craziness--I promise, no more kitty pictures.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

The shirt off my back--redux

Hey guys! Remember this post, where I posted some of my favorite shirts? Well we finally got around to actually making some of them. We used the freezer paper technique (found here, if anyone is interested) and it was super easy and everything actually came together pretty fast.

If you guys are interested in making your own shirts, you can follow the above tutorial and use these stencils, which have all of the bridges and everything already cut out--all you have to do is print and cut out the black parts. Click here for the Blue Sun stencil, and click here for the Planet Express stencil.

Now, if anyone out there is looking for some free EPS vector versions, check it out! Click here for the Blue Sun vector art, click here for the Planet Express logo vector, or click here for the Hylian crest vector art. My boyfriend assure me these are very cool, so I hope you guys like them.

And moving right ahead! Here are the finished products:



Alright, first off, here's the Blue Sun shirt. I wanted it to look all splotchy and weathered (although it's not really as noticeable as in this pic, for some reason the light made it look kind of funny here).



And the Planet Express logo! This one was a little more difficult, because of all the letters, but I liked the way it turned out. We were split on whether or not to make the stencil in different colors, but we ended up just doing one (in blue, my favorite color, of course) and I like the way it turned out. The paint also has a little sparkle in it too, which is awesome. We also left the stencil lines in the letters to give it a more hand-printed stencily look. That's right--stencily.



And finally, the Zelda shirt. My boyfriend made this one for himself, and he made it all stony looking and old. Here's a (slightly) better pic:



He used a couple of different colors all mixed together to give it a stony effect, and it turned out looking really neat. This one's a little sparkly too, but not too noticeable.

Anyway, I just thought I'd share with you guys, and encourage everyone else to try it too. They were so easy and fun to make! And you can do almost any picture you want--I'm thinking of a couple more, maybe a Portal shirt (one of these icons probably) or an Arrested Development shirt--either a Family Band Solution shirt, a Gobias Indsutries shirt (as in "go buy us" a cup of coffee) or a Motherboy shirt. I wouldn't use these exact images, but they are all really cute ideas.

Let me know what you guys think, and spread the geek love through fabulous clothing (while still wearing jeans and a tshirt!) Stay tuned everyone!