Category: Crafts

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Reversible Star Trek: The Next Generation Apron

My wife came up with the idea for this reversible ST:TNG apron and supervised the creative bits while I did most of the patterns and construction.

NOTE: The pattern as written is designed for me (at 6’4″ I’m a fairly big dude), so if you’re making it for somebody of smaller stature, you’ll want to adjust the length of the neck strap. If you want to make it more universal you could turn the single neck strap into two straps that tie. You’ll just need additional strap material.

We used these 12.5 mm antique brass snap fasteners for the pips. We didn’t have the kit to set them, so we picked up this set from Amazon in case we need them for future projects. The iron-on patch we used for the communicator is out of stock, but just look for the 2″ by 2.5″ iron on patch (Next Gen version).

Clicking the images below will take you to a larger version (so you can ready my awful tiny handwriting)

An apron in the style of a Star Trek The Next Generation engineering uniform

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Googley Eyes Makes Everything Better

Wife texts: “This cat furniture thing looks kinda ridiculous but I really like it. What do you think?”

Me: “We should totally get it, but only if we can put googley eyes on it.”

I come home to this. My wife is a treasure. Also: googley eyes make everything better.

Googley-Eyed Cat Furniture

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The Fabulous Tavern

Our latest campaign starts off with the characters in a small town that happens to have an awesome tavern called the Ewe and Arrow. Inspired by various sources, we decided to create our own!

Starting with the first floor, we went with a basic cardboard rectangle with a removable bottom (each of the floors will be separate). We used craft foam for the stone walls and used a ball point pen to create indentations to create the rock look we wanted. After that, toothpicks for the window frame and wooden coffee stirrers for the door frame, then card stock for the reinforced bits of the door.

First Floor Assembled First Floor Primed First Floor Painted

The next few floors came together easily after that. They were similar cardboard boxes, but got coffee stirrers added to the outsides to go for the look we wanted. After that came the attic/roof. Priming and the first layer of paint was relatively easy.

Unpainted sides Painted sides

Here’s a view of the different floor plans (created using more coffee stirrers glued to the base of each floor). Also, the roof was made using long strips of card stock. The paper was painted brown, then gone over with bits of other colors to give it a non-uniform look. After that, the strips were cut apart into sections and laid down to cover the roof. The opening was left for the chimney.

Roof

Floor Plan 1

Floor Plan 2

Floor Plan 3

And it’s final stages. First, with a little bit of the wood still unpainted, and finally with walls all at least painted with one coat. Eventually we’ll get back to this and do the chimney and re-weather the outside walls, add color to the floor plans, etc, but it’s good enough to get some serious gaming done in the meantime.

Mostly painted Done for now

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Oscar the Grouch Classic Crochet

It turns out you can find just about anything on eBay, including ancient, errr, classic Sesame Street crochet kits. Any softness the yarn in this kit had when it was made seems to have disappeared in the last few decades. Either that or it was pretty plasticky to begin with. Either way, it’s an authentic kit, so I made a go of it for a present for my wife. So far it’s been a lot of fun!


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Star Wars Knit Pillows

It may have taken forever, but I finally managed to finish the knit pillows with a rebel symbol and the imperial symbol. It was one of my first experiences with dual color knitting and there were a few gaps that had to be tied together, but overall it was a success.

I underestimated the importance of blocking, and designed the pattern without fully taking into account on my graph paper that the stitch height and width aren’t equal. Still, it was a great learning experience and made for a great present to a friend.

Imperial Symbol Rebel Symbol in Progress Rebel Symbol

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Stumpy the Crochet Stormtrooper

Picked up the Star Wars amigurumi crochet kit recently and decided to give the stormtrooper a try. Funny thing, ended up getting delayed on making the arms, so he just stood around like this for a bit until he was dubbed “Stumpy” affectionately.

Eventually he got arms, but until that point we were amused by… well, you know.

Stumpy no arms Stumpy one arm

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Star Wars Paper Silhouette Bell Jar

Problem: need a relatively inexpensive gift for a huge Star Wars fan

Solution: an hour on Pinterest looking for ideas, a trip to Michael’s craft store, and some quality time with a craft knife and some single sheets of scrapbook paper.

The inspiration for this is this lovely piece: http://jackiehuangstudios.blogspot.com/2013/12/out-of-shire-tribute-exhibition-to.html

We managed to work in Han and Chewie, Luke in his landspeeder, Darth Vader and Obi Wan, and even the Death Star blasting something (presumably Alderaan) while an X-Wing flies by.

Star Wars Bell Jar Right View Star Wars Bell Jar Left View

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The Adventures of Snoopy and Friends

When my wife’s stuffed animals got stolen from her work, she was understandably upset. Not knowing what to do to help, her friend and I hatched a plan. With the help of eBay and a few trips to local bookstores, we were able to find replacements for all of them. Elephant and Piggie (shown wearing outfits I made to resemble their costumes in “Elephants Cannot Dance”), Knuffle Bunny, Horton, and a monkey in a barrel puppet.

Stuffed Animals

For whatever reason, on eBay it was cheaper to buy the Horton stuffed animal paired with a Snoopy. That got the creative wheels turning and we devised a story about what had happened.

Snoopy’s arch-rival, the Red Baron, had clearly kidnapped the missing stuffed animals in an evil plot! I went around town creating a photo journal of the various traps they had fallen into. The monkey was lured in by a giant pile of bananas at a grocery store, while Horton got roped into egg-sitting.

Horton Egg Sitting

Eventually, Snoopy discovered that his friends were missing! Off to his trusty Sopwith Camel! (Several cardboard boxes were injured in the making of this project)

Building Snoopy's Plane

He took to the skies (in a custom made flight helmet, goggles, and scarf!

Snoopy Flying

After a thrilling aerial combat, Snoopy saved the day and brought everyone home safe and sound. If you look closely you can even see the Red Baron’s Fokker Triplane (made from a Red Baron frozen pizza box, what else?).

All Back Together

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Mid Century Modern Putz Houses

Every year we try to do at least one thing from December first through the twenty-fourth to get us in the holiday spirit.

We did these a little early with some friends, but we’ll post them on the timeline during our Holiday Adventures (if you don’t tell, I won’t).

We found the templates online and adored the mid mod design. After that we just needed a bit of cardboard, some hot glue, a sheet of glittery white felt, and some paint.

They’re obviously not candle friendly but you can use the LED tea lights if you want to get a lighted effect.

Putz House Putz House Putz House

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