I can’t think of anything to write this week, so instead, I’ve lovingly curated a collection of ten free nerdy crafts for you all. (If my Facebook friends come through with cool post ideas, there may be a second post this week to make up for this one!) It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these, so I figured, why not? So, here we go – seven nerdy free crafts!
This week’s post isn’t going to have too much substance to it, I’m afraid. I got sick last Sunday, and ended up in bed for half the week. You know how long it’s been since I’ve caught a cold, even a teeny one? Two and a half years. It was a rough week. I was hoping I’d just be down for maybe a day, but nope – it turned into a sick week.
I was even too sick to crochet for a few days there. Can you believe that? Too sick to crochet!
whaaaaaaat
Yeah. It was rough. I wanted to, and I even tried a few times, but after a few minutes I’d flump back down, exhausted and bleary-eyed. I did end up spending all that time laying in bed like a useless lump somewhat constructively, though: I binge-watched two seasons of Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries.
Set in the late 1920s in Australia, the show follows the adventures of Phryne Fisher, a female detective who works with the local police (even though early on they’d rather not have her assistance quite so much) to help solve murder mysteries. And oh, this show is fabulous. It passes the Bechdel Test in the first 30 seconds of the first episode! The show is full of strong female characters, and it seems like more and more keep showing up. There are only three seasons of it out currently, all on Netflix (if you’re in the USA, at least, not sure about other countries), and while it’s unsure about whether there’ll be a season four, I’m guessing there will be once Essie Davis (who plays the amazing Miss Fisher) is done with filming for Game of Thrones. (We can hope, anyway!)
The majority of my week was spent curled up under a pile of blankets, watching Miss Fisher, downing mug after mug of tea (earl grey, of course), and whining about how miserable I felt. I’m still not feeling amazing (stupid sinuses just don’t want to unstuff themselves!), but I feel a little more alive than I did through most of last week. That’s good, right?
I promise there’ll be a more interesting post next week. Maybe I’ll finally get around to finishing that crochet pattern I’ve been working on writing…
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, folks! One of the things I end up doing most years since I started The Crafty Nerd is collecting a bunch of nerdy valentines for people to share with their loved ones – and this year’s no different. Here’s a selection of some fun, nerdy valentines for everyone! Share them on Facebook, print them and leave them around the office, do whatever you like with them!
Holy crap, has it really been four years since I started the blog?
A lot’s happened in the past four years. And I tend to ramble about all the stuff that’s happened since I started the blog almost every time it celebrates a birthday. (Although somehow, I manage to cover something different each year – how do I manage that?) This year, I’m just going to focus on the awesome things – crafty, nerdy, and life-related – that have happened since the blog’s last birthday!
Since The Crafty Nerd last celebrated a birthday, I’ve…
Every crafter has one (or more) – a tool kit they use to crank out their projects. I’ve actually got a handful of little tool kits, for each of my main hobbies. As I was digging around in my most frequently used one, my knit/crochet kit, I thought “hey, why not show off what’s in your yarn craft kit? Someone might find it useful to see what you’ve got!” And this week’s blog post was born.
This collection of goodies helps me while I make yarn crafts.
It’s a random assortment of goodies, but they all help me out while I craft! Here’s what I’ve got, top to bottom, leftish to right:
And that’s what I’ve got in my yarn tool kit! What do you all keep in your crafting kits?
Peridot resembles how my week went, pretty much.
I apologize in advance, folks – this week’s post isn’t going to be terribly entertaining. I’m freaking exhausted. I went from the craziest week ever (so much stress, so many things going on!) to the most relaxing weekend ever (Ross and I spend the weekend at the West Baden Springs Resort, a little trip we do every year around the end of January), so I didn’t really have much chance to even think about the blog. I didn’t even do any crafting this week! Blog-wise, I’m on a roll, though, and have been cranking out at least one post a week since the beginning of the year – and I really don’t want to lose my momentum. So, this week will be devoted to a collection of nerdy rambles, in no particular order.
You know me and technology – I always love having something new to play with.
I’m sure you Star Trek fans know what sweater was the inspiration for this blanket… 🙂
I promise there’ll be a far more entertaining post next week – if I can get my hands on my camera tripod, I’m going to attempt to record a video tutorial! I’m excited about being able to use my video development skills on something new. 🙂
Maybe I just like to dress up as pink haired characters. Maybe I really am obsessed with Steven Universe. Either way, it’s led me to my cosplay idea for this year’s conventions (yes, I’m actually going to make it to at least ONE convention this year, if it kills me or not) – Rose Quartz, from Steven Universe. Finally, someone I can cosplay as who has a similar body shape to mine! (Although I don’t think I’ll ever be 8 feet tall…) Someone I can cosplay as and not feel so self conscious about!
… specifically, this version of Rose Quartz.
I try not to mix politics and blogging, but given what’s happening in our country lately, and who’s about to become president… yeah. I won’t go into my own feelings here, as this is a crafting blog, not a “rant about politics” blog. However, I found a project where crafting and politics collide (thanks to my friends Josie and Kasi) – The Pussyhat Project.
Long story short: The Pussyhat Project aims to create hats that not only help keep protesters at the Women’s March on Washington warm, but also to make a visual statement to make those marching on Washington, D.C. in support of women’s rights in light of all that’s been spewed out during this past election cycle. I’m going to try and crank out as many pink cat-eared hats as I can over the next week, and as I started crafting my first one, I ended up making a crochet pattern on the fly that might help others interested in making some pussyhats of their own.
What you’ll need:
The pattern:
I’m sure some of you have heard about bullet journaling, but for those who haven’t: it’s a combination of to-do list and daily planner that is infinitely customizable to what you need from a planner. The “bullet” part of bullet journaling comes from the fact that most items in your journal will be in a bulleted list format (and oh how I love my bulleted lists, I swear the <ul> tag is the most abused HTML tag in my websites and my old online journals). There are different bullets based on different types of items in your journal, and they’re typically outlined in a key at the beginning of the journal. Certain bullets, like an “o” for events, a “-” for thoughts and non-to-do items, and a dot for to-do items, are present in all journals, and if you need more for other things you’re keeping track of in your journal, you can add them as you see fit.
My first bullet journal key!
Bullet journals start with a table of contents, with plenty of room for including new items you might want to find easily, often include a future log, and also make use of monthly, weekly, and even daily layouts. My bullet journal makes use of all of those items, along with pages that are often referred to as “collections” – in short, a page or two that’s devoted to a specific topic. I have collections for books that I’m reading, craft projects I’m working on, maintenance for my scooter and car, and important things for work.
I’ve long had an addiction with daily planners, which most likely started back when I was in elementary school and my dad would give me his outdated Day Timers to me to play with. I’d use them to try and plan out the ever-so-thrilling day of a fourth grader – for a little while, anyway. That’s always been the story with me and planners – buy something awesome with lots of features, like stickers or a fancy day marker or a nice leather cover, use it for a few weeks, and then let it gather dust for the rest of the year.
That is not the case with bullet journaling.
You may have seen some more Steven Universe images creeping into my blog as I’ve been posting (infrequently as its been, I know) – and there’s a reason for that, friends.
I am ABSOLUTELY OBSESSED WITH THIS SHOW.
omg omg omg
I haven’t been this enthralled with a show since I discovered Sailor Moon back in 1997, you guys. I love the characters, I love the overwhelmingly female-positive vibe of the show, I love the fact that it tackles issues like anxiety and relationships, I love the gripping and occasionally deep storyline, I love the music, I LOVE IT ALL.
I love it so much that I made it the focus of my research for a class I took last semester, Content Analysis for the Web. (And once I polish up my papers, I’ll even post them here, for those curious.) I love it so much that I’m considering getting a Rose Quartz themed tattoo. I love it so much I named my new car Lapis.
She’s no longer rocking Janeway’s old plate, but there’s my Lappy!
Seriously. I love this show. So much.
huuuuuugs
I’ve got my desk covered in as much SU merchandise as I can find. I’ve got a plush Steven on my bedside table. I have Steven Universe boxers, for crying out loud, haha. I feel like I used to back when I discovered Sailor Moon… but there are lots of others out there who like Steven Universe, too. And episodes keep coming out. And it’s all over awesome and wonderful.
So, yeah, in case you couldn’t tell, I like this show. A lot. 😀