SadCar and Sketch

So, Monday I wrecked my station wagon, and it's one of those situations where the repair will cost more than the car is worth. On the up side, no one was hurt, and this doesn't completely incapacitate me transportation-wise. I am close to most things so that I can walk.

One step at a time, I guess I'll figure out what I'm going to do next. In the meantime, I'm learning to drive manual (for the third time) and I'm trying to look at this as an opportunity. What kind of vehicle do I really want? What do I need?

In the meantime, here's a drawing of a kitty and some TARDIS costume iteration 2 ideas from my sketchbook to cheer us up:

Valar Morghulis Bracelet: Geekery in Jewelry

I'm a big fan of George R. R. Martin's Game of Thrones series, and especially of the character Arya Stark. I'm going to try and not include any spoilers for those of you who haven't read the books, so let's just say that this phrase is very cool, a sort of memento mori in world, and the coin is a reference to part of that as well.

Making it:
I got some nice soft black leather from Ornamentea, about 36", and attached the coin closure to the end using a bone colored bead and some thread. I looped the leather through the hole in the coin, sewed the bead to the leather, then put one end back through the hole and fastened the leather back together on the other side with black thread. For the other end, I just made a loop and sewed it with black thread, wrapping it around several times before tying it off.


The words were the most difficult part. I wanted the coin and the words and I tried lots of different methods to get the words into the project, and finally I decided to stamp the words using my metal alphabet (I also stamped a copper piece, which I'll show you later).


In the end, I'm very happy with the piece. I'm curious to see how well the leather will continue to hold up after being stamped so heavily. I put the phrase on repeatedly around the leather, so however you wrap it around your wrist, you can see them.


Here's what I've learned with this project:
- Use serious needles when working with leather, I destroyed two needles
- Wintergreen transfers do not work on metal (my initial idea was to transfer "Valar Morghulis" onto a brass oxidized coin-like piece using wintergreen - it did nothing!)

Papercraft Decorating: D&D Tea Party

Awhile back, Nick and I wanted to have a party, but we couldn't decide what kind. We wanted to have people over to watch the various Dungeons and Dragons episodes of television shows (Freaks & Geeks, IT Crowd and Community) but we also wanted to have a fancy tea party, because we are fancy.

My idea was to smoosh them together and have a Dungeons and Dragons Tea Party! Now that we had a theme, I wanted to make a few decorations, because what's a party without ambiance?

I found these Papercraft Dice downloads on Q Workshop (they make tons of awesome dice, and they also make custom dice, but they're expensive). Easy to print out and fold! Perfect!

I love putting interesting stuff in the apothecary jar, so that was the plan with these. I also chose to leave the blank because 1) I'm lazy and 2) I thought they looked cool and 3) I didn't want to do it wrong. So here's the final "decorating for a D&D tea party" product:

I added some vase fillers in the same colors, as well as a couple of Christmas ornaments to fill it up a little more. We did a D4, two D8's, a D12, and a D6. They were all pretty fun to do, but I wasn't about to go through all the effort of doing a D20 (I did print it out though).

As usual, during my search, I came across something awesome on the internet (on Will Wheaton's blog to be exact). A sweet geek lady printed out a papercraft D20 template, and went around to conventions getting her boyfriend's favorite writers, actors and creators to sign each side! Then she put it together for an amazing birthday present!
Click on the picture to see more.


So, geeky decor, and possible geeky gift idea! Papercraft dice are so cool.

Felted Brooches

After working on quilts for a few weeks and being sick, I wanted to work on some smaller projects that could give me that immediate gratification that I've been missing. Being sick also limits my energy, which quilting takes a surprising amount of.

I have a ton of random wool roving so I just started playing with it to see what would come up. I did the Queen Bee based on a wax seal that I have, using lots of different types of embroidery stitches. The felt cupcake is just a regular feature:

I did a set of felt cupcakes awhile ago, and it's just so fun to make them all different colors and decorate them (like real cupcakes, except they don't get eaten!)


Finally, I've been sort of obsessed with fiddlehead ferns for the past week, ever since I went hiking out at Umstead Park and saw a ton of them. I had no idea that they were common locally, and now that I've looked them up online, I had no idea that people ate them. I bet they look really cool on a plate!


One of the things I do when I'm playing around is check out etsy.com for some inspiration, and I found plenty. Especially designedbyjane. The embroidery and colors are just gorgeous, and they sell for so very little! Check this out:

Very inspiring work indeed! It just makes me want to make more stuff and actually use all of the ridiculous amounts of embroidery thread and beads that I have!

If you have any places that you look for project inspiration, please share!

TARDIS Dress Costume

TARDIS Dress - Iteration 1.0

I've been thinking about this costume for awhile, but only really working on it for about a week. I've been wanting to do a cute Dr. Who costume, but I've been stumped about what character to do, but then I realized I should dress as my favorite character: The TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimension/s In Space)!

I'm not the first person to have this idea, I mean... we have the internet, and it is full of nerds, and we are all making stuff CONSTANTLY! Here's a quick collage of the inspirational images I found online when searching for "TARDIS dress" or "TARDIS costume":



Inspirational, every one. I particularly love the policewoman dress! The devil is in the details with this kind of stuff, so I decided to hand-sew a choker with "POLICE public call BOX" on it. I think the outfit needs more details, so it's not finished. I'm thinking of working the flyer that hangs on the door into the design somehow, possibly as a brooch. Any suggestions are welcome, and in the meantime, enjoy a pic of my handiwork:


Up next, more nerdery, I'm sure!

Sick Days & Weekend Update - Die Zauberflöte

Scene from The Magic Flute on the Silver Screen at Meredith College - yes the child in the bunny suit is supposed to be there.
I got sick over the weekend, so pretty much all I did was go to Nick's production of Mozart's The Magic Flute (Die Zauberflöte), watch television, and rest.

I found the opera very nice - so nice I went and saw it twice! It was also free, so there's that. Nick did a great job in the chorus, and I'm pretty sure I could hear him even when they were chorusing off-stage.


I think my favorite character was Papageno, the everyman, seen here with Nick looking like he's about to murder him. Not only is the character itself written well, but the actor was an amazing actor and singer. He ate so much bread and drink so much "wine" during the production, which I also found impressive. I don't know why.

Soon there will be other updates, I'm just trying to keep things in order, and the weekend happened forever ago! Up next is my TARDIS costume work!

Friday Finds: Cherry Pie!

Crochet Cherry Pie for $4.50 by Nacholescrafts

Ice Cream and Cherry Apron for $48 by dotsdiner

Cherry Pie Pincushion for $22.50 by NorweiganGal333

Colorful Pie Plates for $48 by Lesliefreemandesigns

Cherry Pie print for $25 from Fat Crow Press

Cherry Pie Hair Clip for $4 from Lulu's Nest

And, if you're looking for some local cherry pie to nom, I highly recommend PieBird's - the new sweet and savory pie shop in Raleigh.

I have been there twice in the past week and haven't been disappointed. I highly recommend their curried chicken pot pie and cherry pie a la mode!

32 Years

I didn't intentionally take the week off for my birthday - it just kind of happened that way!


Today is my birthday, and Nick took me to the Duke Gardens for a picnic (aww!). It was super gorgeous and just the right temperature. He also got me the D20 socks that I so dearly needed for playing Dungeons and Dragons, as well as a shadowboxed Ghost cicada (so cool!) and flowers. He's such a sweet guy! I'm very lucky.


For breakfast, I had banana pudding (homemade - I made it yesterday for Craft Night), for lunch I had chicken pot pie (from Whole Foods), and for dinner, I'm going to PieBird to have Curry Chicken Pot Pie. I have now fulfilled my family duties and listed everything I'm eating!

Oh! My parents made me this adorable movie where my Dad is making a snapdragon sing Happy Birthday to me. I'm giving you a link so you can check it out too because it's awesome.

So yeah, this year is great. I'm having a good time, and I'm happy that spring seems to be happening (despite the frost we had last night). My plan for year 32 is to be myself, as much possible, even if that means being ridiculous.



I hope you're having a good day!