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Geek Crafts Roundup: Have a Nerdy Holiday

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I’m Haley Pierson-Cox from The Zen of Making, and this is your bi-weekly dose of geeky goodness.

Deck the halls with golden snitches and death stars (fa la la la laaaa)…

Now that we’re all feeling nice and festive, here are six DIY holiday projects that will have you spreading some seriously nerdy holiday cheer in no time flat!

1. Retro Space Age Stocking Tutorial from Tried & True

2. Death Star Ornament from Chris McVeigh

3. Golden Snitch Truffles from Girl Meets Bowl

4. DIY Star Wars Snowflakes from Matters of Grey

5. Gingerbread TARDIS from therru and pnr on LiveJournal

6. Tutorial: Nerdtastic Felt Ornaments from Nerd Jerk

Need something nerdy to fight those cold weather blues? Check out my Geek Crafts Roundup: Cozy Yarn Crafts right here on FaveCrafts!

Geek Crafts Roundup: Cozy Yarn Crafts

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I’m Haley Pierson-Cox from The Zen of Making, and this is your bi-weekly dose of geeky goodness.

If you’re going to venture out into the cold this winter, why not do it in style? Here are six cozy fiber projects that are sure to warm any geek’s heart—and, you know, various other parts of the body!

1. Bigger on The Inside Doctor Who Scarf from Knitty

2. Harry Potter Scarf! from Live. Love. Laugh.

3. Skull Stockings from Vintage Stitch-O-Rama Free Pattern Emporium

4. Dr. Montville’s Double Helix Seaman Scarf from TwoSheep.com

5. Das Monster Leggings from Hrönn Jónsdóttir on Ravelry

6. R2-D2 Hat from SO MUCH YARN, SO LITTLE TIME!

Want more? Grab your crochet hook and check out my list of 8 Awesomely Geek-tastic Crochet Projects right here on FaveCrafts!

Our Office Dog is Famous!

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Okay, so maybe he isn’t the office dog, but he does belong to one of our most creative staff members, Simone.  And now his adorable little face is popping up all over the Internet:

Maybe I should start at the beginning.  A month or so ago Simone, who is our Social Media Guru, whipped up an amazing Harry Potter costume for her pup, complete with Gryffindor cape, striped tie and even Harry’s iconic black-rimmed glasses.  She then graciously typed up the instructions and shared them with us all.

Fast forward to last week when Simone was lucky enough to be a guest at the Martha Stewart Show.  She quickly became best buds with Martha and they’ve kept in touch via Twitter.  But despite their budding friendship, Simone was still stunned yesterday when she found out that Martha had mentioned her Harry Potter Dog Costume on the air and posted a snapshot of it on her website (click through to slide 4 to see Simone’s pup in all his Harry Potter glory).  Or I could just show it to you here:

Yes, that’s our Harry “Pawter” on the left and Martha’s face right next to him on the right.  We’d call that famous!

As if that wasn’t enough, Simone’s pup has since been featured by our friends over at Craftzine.  Before you know it, he’ll be gracing the cover of Vogue!

We love that people love our doggie Harry Potter costume so much.  If it was up to us, there would be a whole army of Harry Potter pets parading around on October 31st!

For anyone who wants to make a Harry Potter dog costume of their own, just head on over to Simone’s tutorial and she’ll walk you through it step by step.

We’re curious:  What’s the funniest pet Halloween costume you’ve seen?

The 5 Nerdiest Crafts

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Is nerdiness “cool” now?  As a self-confessed Gigantic Nerd, I couldn’t possibly say.  However, I do know that on FaveCrafts.com, we’ve all got something we obsess over, and doesn’t that give us a sort of kinship with every comic book fan and video gamer?  Maybe that’s why there are so many craft projects out there that pay tribute to some of the stranger and more fantastic franchises and hobbies.  Today, we round up our five favorites, in no particular order.

 

1) Stuffed Daleks

 

For those who don’t know, Doctor Who is the incredibly long running (since 1963!) British TV series focusing on the adventurers of a charming rogue alien who travels through time and space in an obsolete police-box that is actually a time machine.  Having trouble wrapping your head around that?  Stay with me, because one of the title character’s most implacable and dangerous foes are the Daleks, evil xenophobic aliens that resemble nothing so much as giant pepper-grinders.

Of course, while no true Dalek would consent to hugs (their catchphrase, after all, is “EXTERMINATE) you can get around that by knitting these cute stuffed versions.  Just make sure you get them right on the first try; Daleks aren’t known for being forgiving.

Doctor Who has an especially dedicated fanbase, as you’d expect from the Guinness World Record holder for Longest Running Science Fiction Television Show, and they’ve come up with a few variations on this project:

Crochet Dalek
New Paradigm Dalek (a bulkier and more colorful design based on the 2010 season)

2) VHS Toaster

 

Our younger readers may strain to remember the days before DVDs.  Back then, movies were recorded onto strips of magnetic tape, encased in plastic, and played on something called a VHS (believed to have stood for Victory Handholding Society.)  These miraculous devices could also serve as a compartment for holding waffles, pizza, and pop tarts. It’s all true kids, ask your parents.

In the meantime, bring a slice of those days to the present with this neat project, which lets you turn an old VHS into a working toaster!

3) Keyboard Jewelry
4) Crochet Brain Slug

With technology getting replaced faster, and fixed less often, it’s not uncommon to have a few spare bits lying around.  Keyboards are among the most common victims of this syndrome, but with this craft you can turn those old alphabet gardens into eye-catching jewelry.  Plus, you can always be ready to esc. if things go badly.


Futurama is a critically acclaimed show that won its way back from cancellation through clever writing, A-list voice acting, and genuinely touching moments.  At least that’s what the mind-controlling brain slugs want you to think.  By means of this crafty crochet pattern there will soon be a Brain Slug in every yarn-buying household in the world.  Then, the new era will begin…

5) Crochet Golden Snitch

 

What’s the easiest way to ensure victory for your Quddich team of choice?  Sneak one of these crochet Golden Snitches into your seekers hand before the big match, and when he “catches” it you’re sure to have an edge over those pesky Gryffindors! The house cup will be ours! Mwa ha ha!

Do you have any secret nerdy leanings?  Share your answer below!

 

Harry Potter Projects to Knock Your Quidditch Socks Off

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There’s a reason I was asked to write this post; I’m the only person in the office today who walked in bleary-eyed with a caffeine IV feeding directly into her veins because she just had to see the final Harry Potter film at midnight on a workday. But of course it was infinitely worth it. These bloodshot eyes are the mark of a die-hard fan.

But, as excited as I was to watch the final film on the big screen last night (or this morning?), I was even more excited to write this blog post. I love crafting just as much as I love Harry Potter, and for me, those two loves are synergistic. I’m never more serene and productive than when I take an afternoon to watch one of the movies with knitting project in hand. I’m not the only one who has noticed that crafting and Harry Potter fandom go hand-in-hand. Knitting is featured prominently throughout the books and films, almost as if it were an intrinsic quirk of the wizarding world.

Gryffindor scarves, Weasley sweaters, charmed needles, and house elf liberation hats have become just as much a part of the magical scenery as owls and pumpkin juice (seriously, watch the entire saga sometime and count how many jokes they make about pumpkin juice). But the thing that sets knitting apart from other aspects of the wizarding world is its accessibility to us Muggles. We can’t cast spells, explore Hogwarts, or brew potions (although I have a recipe for a Goblet of Fire cocktail in the works), but we can knit wizarding paraphernalia. It’s our way of participating in this wonderful magical world where everything is gilded with the touch of imagination.

Lion Brand debuted three new Harry Potter projects today, aptly modeled after the three deathly hallows, and designer Michelle Urcuyo commented that her invisibility cloak is quite different from the one described in the books or illustrated in the films. Instead, her pattern reflects the story’s ability to spark our imagination and inspire us to create something outside the box. Michelle’s pattern riffs on the concept of an invisibility cloak, evolving into a mysterious and silvery feminine capelet. Likewise, her resurrection stone takes the shape of a large crocheted ring emblazoned with the symbol of the deathly hallows rather than the small geometric stone seen in the film.

I’m consistently amazed at the creativity of Harry Potter crafters. I have seen oodles of scarves, mittens, socks, and hats knit in house colors, and I’ve seen several golden snitches. I’ve also bookmarked quite a few replicas of Hermione’s various knit items from the films (I’m convinced her costume designer is a knitter). I had seen a wand made by knitting an I-cord around straws for stability, but Lion Brand’s elder wand project takes the cake. By wrapping yarn strategically around a dowel, you can create the distinctive knobby shape of the elder wand. The only elder wand more authentic would be whittled from an actual tree branch (and yes, I have already begged the Eagle Scout in my life to do this for my birthday).

The reason I want a handcrafted wand so badly is not that I want to walk around with one in my back pocket just in case I come across a dementor. The need for a wand involves a wonderfully imaginative book called Charmed Knits, which features all Harry Potter inspired knitting patterns, including a little gem called a dragon skin wand cozy. I confess to you all: I have made this pattern, and it was one of the best knitting patterns I’ve ever done. Unfortunately, I had no wand that required a cozy, so I gifted the project to a crafty friend who actually owns a wand (which she made from a dowel rod and modeling clay).

Another project I’ve still got on the needles from Charmed Knits is an owl modeled after Errol. I have a fantasy that I’ve guarded like a horcrux for the past year, and I’m going to share it with you: I think the ultimate combination of kindness, knitting, and fandom would be to send handcrafted Harry Potter paraphernalia to a fellow fan along with a handknit owl and a Hogwarts acceptance letter written on parchment in dark green calligraphy (as specified in the Sorcerer’s Stone). Because we all know that our inner 11-year-old is still waiting for her letter from Hogwarts, right?

Crochet

Jewelry

Knitting

Paper

Sewing

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