Geek Crafts: Mini Dalek Brooch Tutorial

You’ve arrived the Geek Crafts column, your weekly dose of geeky goodness with Haley Pierson-Cox from The Zen of Making!

Having one of those days? Add a little “EXTERMINATE!” to your step with a mini Dalek brooch, inspired by the cantankerous villain from Doctor Who!

Materials

• Brown shrink plastic, 4” x 4” piece
• Wool felt scraps, 2” x 2” pieces in gold, tan, black, and blue•
• Fabric scissors
• Craft scissors
• Straight pin with black tip
• Paper punches, 1/8” and 1/4”
• Mod Podge
• Sponge paint brush
• Superglue
• Small pin back
• Cardstock, 3” x 5” piece
• Chalk pencil
• Marker or pen
• Wire cutter
• Sandpaper

Step 1
Using cardstock, make a Dalek template by cutting out a 3” tall triangle with a rounded top.

To keep my template symmetrical, I folded my paper in half and drew half of the shape at the fold before cutting it out.

Step 2
Tape the template to a piece of brown shrink plastic, then cut around the template to make a shrink plastic Dalek shape. Smooth around the edges with sandpaper to remove any rough spots, then lightly sand the front and the back.

Step 3
Following the instructions on the package, bake the shrink plastic piece, pressing it flat and allowing it to cool.

Step 4
Cut out the following felt pieces:

• 9 gold felt dots and 1 blue dot (using an 1/8” punch)
• 1 gold half circle (the same size as the Dalek’s top)
• 3 small tan rectangles
• 1 small black circle (using the 1/4” punch)

Step 5
Using a chalk pencil, mark the placement of the dots on the Dalek background, then secure the gold felt dots in place using superglue.

Step 6
Attach the remaining felt pieces with superglue.

Step 7
Clip the end off of the straight pin with wire cutters. Slip the end of the pin under the edge of a tan rectangle and glue it in place.

Step 8
Seal the felt pieces in place with 2 coats of Mod Podge.

Step 9
Glue the pin back to the back of Dalek, and allow to dry completely before wearing.

Make sure you come back next Wednesday for more geek craft fun!