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Saturday Steam 5/26/12

2012-05-26T01:30:00.000-04:00

Behold! Steampunk snowglobes!

By Camryn Forest Designs - hit the link to see lots more.

Talk about a brilliant idea; the water inside helps magnify all the details! And I love how the bases are just as much a piece of art as the tiny sculptures inside. Thanks for the find, Susan R.!

Shaina Z. sent over a link to a great photo gallery from The Steampunk World's Fair last weekend. I think this guy's costume is my favorite:

Everything's better with wings. And gauges. And utility belts. :D

Read the article on the Fair here and then go check out the rest of the photo set!

It wouldn't take much to make this Faucet Valve Nightlight a LOT more steampunk:

Just imagine it with an old rusty spigot instead of the blue one! And really, isn't that green glow perfect for your secret lab? (You, um, DO have a secret lab, right?)

The night light costs $50 over at Etsy - just message the seller if you want one - and the really cool part is that turning the spigot turns the light on and of. So. Cool.

Cora B. spotted this gorgeous PC case mod by Pablo Suarez:

I love the smoke stacks on top, and that bubble porthole. (It says "SteamPlanet" on the side, in case you're wondering.) Lots more detail shots and information here.

Audrey A. spotted a lovely steampunk wedding "inspiration" shoot (meaning it's not a real wedding, but it plays one on the Internet):

My favorite bits are the bride's coiled copper bouquet and this amaaaaazing vintage umbrella:

I wonder if you could dip-dye a fabric parasol to get that look? Hmm...

Anyway, head over to Emmaline Bride for all the steamy eye candy - including a ruffly gear cake! (The cake is ruffly, I mean. Not the gears.)

Happy Geek Pride Day!

2012-05-25T19:44:00.000-04:00

Let me get this straight: it's Towel Day, Geek Pride Day, the Glorious 25th of May, *AND* Star Wars' birthday? How can I NOT post something on this most auspicious of geeky occasions?

So here's what made me laugh out loud with delight today:

The caption on Reddit was, "I asked Bill for an autograph. I got this instead."

So much win, my head just a'sploded.

- And here's a great roundup of Star Wars Etsy crafts from Mashable.

Darth tutu. 'Nuff said.

- And in case you missed it on the Epbot FB page, here's an adorable little girl dressed as Iron Man for her fifth birthday party:

I stumbled across Alana's photo while looking for Iron Man Sweets for CW. Another party pic shows a different little girl dressed as a princess. Yay for little girls who know what they like - princesses, superheroes, or all or none of the above - and aren't afraid to celebrate it!

Pics via Will Hollis Snider

I hope you guys let your geek flag fly today, too! And have a fantastic weekend!

World of Geek Craft 5/24/12

2012-05-24T15:58:00.001-04:00

Check out what some of your fellow Epbot readers are making!

Riha P. sent in her newly completed Portal cross stitch:

Ha! Companion Cube Love? :D

(If that were me, I'd be all, "Dude, does this portal make my butt look big?")

Melanie W. etched her very own set of Star Trek: TNG glasses:

How cool is this?? She's giving them to her hubby for their 6th wedding anniversary. All together now: Awwww. And hit the link up there to see more of Melanie's awesome geeky crafts.

Kella sent in her fabulous Doctor Horrible-inspired costume:

She's Doctor Adorable!

You know, with a PhD in adorableness?

Kella turned a real lab coat into her dress, sewing in the panels to make it a full skirt, and then paired it with homemade goggles, cat ears, a petticoat and stockings, and even a marshmallow "fluffy ray." Hee! I like her correction on the lab coat embroidery, too:

Yep. That's cute.

Speaking of embroidery, check out what Pernilla over in Sweden just made with her new sewing machine:

AAAIEEE!!

Here's a clearer picture:

Pernilla tells me she's going to make a tote bag out of this - and I've already begged her for more pictures when she's done. :) See more of her crafty prowess on her blog here (and make sure you have Google Translate handy if you don't speak Swedish. Heh.)

And finally, Carly Jane made this to-die-for Haunted Mansion necklace for a trip to Disneyland:

Would you believe it's made with Shrinkydinks? So gorgeous - and the black ribbon looks perfect with it.

So, fellow crafters - working on something geeky? Want to share with the rest of the class? Then send me your pictures! I love seeing what you guys are up to!

Star Wars Weekends 2012

2012-05-23T19:10:00.003-04:00

The best part of opening day at Star Wars Weekends last week was definitely all the great Kodak moments - if you were quick enough to catch them. You never knew when a character would come waltzing around the corner, a lot like a con, and trying to get a clear shot through the crowds makes it a real photo safari. As an added bonus, though, at Disney the cosplayers are actors, too, so there's lots of fun to be had just watching them interact with the guests.

Take this guy, for example:

He developed an unusual interest in John:

After an extended staring contest (during which John couldn't stop giggling), he then made a big show of examining John's "Couldn't-Care-Less Bear" shirt:

It was hilarious, and it made John all cute and flustered. THAT'S A WIN.

Usually Disney doesn't allow guest costumes - or at least nothing they don't sell for the kids - so I was pleasantly surprised to see these girls:

Two Anakins & his droids.

(Note that C3PO even has one silver shoe. Nice!)

Even more surprising, I spotted another girl in a Slave Leia bikini at one point - and she was definitely a guest. Maybe Disney relaxed their policy for the Weekends?

Here's an example of a photo quick draw:

She came striding around a corner, and her costume billowing out in the wind was just gorgeous.

It's hard to tell with the slight motion blur, but her nails are an amazing metallic pink foil.

And now, Darth Vader signing a pink Princess autograph book:

It just never gets old.

Those autograph books are *everywhere* at Disney, and often provide the only time you can snap a good close-up of the characters. (When they're not signing they're posing with guests, so it's hard to get them alone.)

This Tusken Raider would pause to bleat at people on occasion - a fun touch, considering most of the characters aren't allowed to speak or make any sounds.

Of course, the king (Sith lord?) of guest interactivity has to be Darth Maul:

We camped out in front of his photo spot for a while, watching him give guests a hard time about those autograph books:

"Homey don't PLAY that."

After glaring at the offending person for ages, he'd snatch the book and sign it with his back turned. He also did some hysterical poses for the camera:

Stuff's about to get real.

I later learned through some friends-of-friends that this Darth is a big cosplay enthusiast, and I *think* I've even seen him in an epic God of War costume at MegaCon or D*C before. It's awesome to know these guys are doing what they love, don't you think?

My favorite character at SW Weekends, though, is Zam Wessel:

It has nothing to do with her character in the movie (I've never actually seen Attack of the Clones. Terrible, right?) - I just love her costume and how she acts here in the park. Not only is she gorgeous, she has a really fluid way of moving, and interacts with guests in an aloof-but-still respectful manner. (She's also the best dancer at the Hoopla. Just sayin'.)

When we were there with my friend Tim a few years ago, Zam went out of her way to drape herself around his wheelchair for a really fabulous photo. And, as you can see here, she went out of her way this year to give me some fantastic poses - even though I was the only one taking her photo at the time. (Still not sure how that happened, given all the crowds.)

I took nearly a dozen shots from two different angles, and for every one she was looking straight at my camera and seemed in no hurry to leave. Stuff like this makes me positively giddy. I mean, c'mon, LOOK AT THIS SHOT:

[mrrow]

Right? RIGHT?

Ok, let's end with my second favorite SW Weekends character:

D'awwww, Donald!

Oh, and we weren't able to stay for the Hyperspace Hoopla on Friday, but you can watch the whole thing (or just browse the highlight clips) over at Inside the Magic. The Hoopla is arguably the best thing at Star Wars Weekends each year, so I'm looking forward to seeing it when we go back. (And you can expect more photos then, too!)

Procrastination Station 5/22/12

2012-05-22T01:07:00.000-04:00

I kept seeing references to a new "Ghostbusters NY tour" last week, but it wasn't until Karilee S. posted the vid on the Epbot FB page that I learned what all the buzz was about. If you're a die hard ghosthead like me, then prepare to have a giant goofy grin on your face for at least the next seven minutes:

I seriously need to be friends with these guys.

- Any Animaniacs fans out there?

If so, then you'll love this Mental Floss article: More Than You Ever Wanted To Know About Animaniacs

*sigh* Man, I wish that show was available on Netflix streaming.

- Why Nikola Tesla Was the Greatest Geek Who Ever Lived - a funny but extremely informative comic by The Oatmeal. (When I was a kid I once had to pick a historical figure to write a paper on. My dad immediately suggested Tesla, because he was "the most fascinating man you'll ever study in school." Dad was right.)

- 65 Behind The Scenes Photos from Back to the Future (found via ThinkGeek)

In case you've forgotten how eminently crush-worthy Michael J. Fox is. :)

Fox with Huey Lewis. Love it.

- For my fellow Netflix-streaming subscribers, did you see they've added all of the Jem episodes?!

So far I've watched the first 6 or 7, but only when John's not around; he keeps snickering during the songs. (HARUMPH.) Here's hoping they keep adding more cartoon series like this; In addition to Animaniacs, I'd love to see ThunderCats, SilverHawks, The Tick, Tiny Toons, DuckTales, TMNT, etc, etc. (Mmmm....childhood nostalgia....)

Oh, and if you're one of those Doctor Who fans who's never seen any of the old stuff, then go watch City of Death on Netflix streaming right now. I'll wait.

Ok, no I won't - but I just watched it the other night, and it's a fabulous example of Tom Baker (AKA "the one with the scarf") and my favorite assistant, Romana as played by Lalla Ward. She's smart and strong and awesome, and I just love seeing Baker with an assistant who's more of an equal than someone he has to bail out or boss around all the time.

PLUS, City of Death features a funny cameo from Monty Python's John Cleese:

...AND the villain is the actor who played Mr. Humphries on Are You Being Served. (Loved him!) So, yeah, lots of awesomeness happening there. GO SEE.

[CORRECTION: It's *not* Mr. Humphries. It's the guy from Indiana Jones that kinda sorta looks like Mr. Humphries. Oops. Sorry, guys! But if it helps any, I also learned in the comments that Douglas Adams of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy fame penned most of the script. Does that help make up for it? :)]

DIY Star Wars Papercraft (With A Hidden Surprise!)

2012-05-19T22:42:00.000-04:00

Here's a fun Star Wars "card" I made for my friend Chris' birthday yesterday:

This is a papercraft set of electrobinoculars - those nifty binoculars you see everyone from Luke to the Storm Troopers using in the films. However, the really cool part is that these binoculars have a special message inside:

Ok, so it's hard to see from here. But it's there. Honest.

The papercraft template is by Tektonten Papercraft, and you can download it for free from their site. (woot!) The template wasn't actually designed to have a message inside, though; that's my own little addition.

Now, this is probably the most difficult papercraft project I've ever assembled (mostly because of the visor; that thing required two do-overs and a John consult to figure out), but if you have a lot of patience and want to give it a go, here's all you need to put a message inside:

When you've completely assembled the front half of the binoculars, cut a hole like this in the piece that goes on top of it. Then print and attach your message to the very far end inside (the very front of the binoculars) before gluing that top piece in place.

After that, all you have to do (besides finish assembling the binoculars, of course) is punch holes in the eyepieces to look through. That's actually trickier than I expected, since the printed eye pieces are set much too wide. Your eye holes will need to be a lot closer in to the nose piece if you want to be able to read your secret message. (In the end mine turned into big ovals because I had to keep widening the holes. Harrumph.)

And one more quick tip for anyone planning to make these: that pesky visor will be a LOT more manageable if you add three extra tabs before cutting out this visor piece:

Note my (badly) drawn-in tabs.

Then, when you've assembled the visor, insert those tabs into slits cut into the faceplate, and fold & glue the tabs to the backside of the faceplate. This is the *only* was I was able to get that lousy visor to stay in place securely, so please, learn from my mistakes/trials & errors!

Now, let's all bask in the glow of my creation! Mwuah-ha-haaa!!

Hm. Maybe these glue fumes are getting to me.

Oh, and if you have any interest at all in papercraft, definitely check out Tektonten Papercraft. I just stumbled across it a few days ago, but already I've found TONS of new templates I can't wait to download. (Where has this site BEEN all my life?!) They also have simpler projects for kids and newbies (like this cutie), so you're sure to find something fun to try no matter what your skill level!

If You Have Coulrophobia Go Ahead And Skip This One

2012-05-18T10:12:00.000-04:00

First, let me apologize:

I'm very, very sorry.

Now let me to explain the thing I'm apologizing for:

It's...well, it's what we found in an old arcade on my birthday last weekend. More specifically, it's the fact that I'm about to show you PICTURES of the thing we found in an old arcade on my birthday last weekend.

[deep breath]

Ok, here goes.

Meet Stinky:

...the Clown.

(Oh. Maybe I should have said something about not scrolling down here if you have a fear of clowns. Heh. Whoopsie!)

Stinky was way in the back of the arcade, past all the kiddie games and claw machines, and from a distance I honestly couldn't tell if he was a real person or not.

When we got closer, we were treated to this nightmare-fueling view:

Oh, but wait: it gets worse.

(You, uh, may want to scroll quickly past this next one:)

This photo is blurry because:

A) I couldn't look directly at him
B) my hands were shaking from laughing (that's my story and I'm sticking to it), and
C) Stinky chose this exact moment TO START MOVING.

You know, I'm not sure these photos truly capture the full "Stinky experience."

So let's try a little video!

You can hear his high pitched laugh around the five second mark. I'm honestly not sure if this is *supposed* to be scary or not...but it is. It really, really is. And speaking as someone who used to be a clown - yes, with the face paint and everything - I'd like to go on record as saying THIS IS WHY WE CAN'T HAVE NICE CLOWNS.

Well, this and Stephen King.

NOT A SQUIRREL

2012-05-17T10:08:00.000-04:00

If you were on Twitter yesterday afternoon then you already know most of this story. If not, buckle up. It's gonna be a SQUEAKY ride.

So...remember those scratching noises I mentioned way back during my Supernatural post? The ones that would always start up around 2AM and freak us right the heck out? Well, they kind of went away, and then came back, and then John put this strong spruce-smelling stuff up there that's supposed to ward off varmints, and then it went away again.

When the scritching came back again John got a humane metal trap and put *that* up there. Since it was in our back room, which was an addition to the house, there's no crawl space up there - just a tiny space you can stick your arm (or a boxy metal trap) inside. And since that room is directly under the branches of our massive backyard tree, we kept telling ourselves it was probably a squirrel.

Then we waited.

And waited.

And nothing happened.

The past few nights the noises have gotten a bit louder, like the squirrel was either moving its little squirrely furniture around or leading a rodent jazzercise class, so John and I finally agreed it was time to call in the professionals. We hated to do it, since we didn't want to actually *kill* anything, but it seemed we no longer had any choice.

The very next afternoon - yesterday - I was sitting on the couch working on my laptop when I heard a ceiling-shaking metallic *CLANK!!* I felt like hitting the fire alarm and yelling a triumphant, "WE GOT ONE!!!" but since we don't have a fire alarm I just yelled for John instead.

Cut to: John standing on a ladder outside in the rain (the ceiling access is under the roof line) with me standing inside at the window beside him, calling helpful things like, "Don't fall!" and "Can you see it yet?"

There was a bit of scraping and huffing from John, and then:

"Uh-oh."

"WHAT??"

"I think it might be hurt."

"OH NO! Really? I thought the trap wouldn't hurt it!!" Desperately I tried to think of a vet that would treat injured squirrels. (Hey, I bet the smelly vet would do it!)

"No, wait. Never mind. He's not hurt. He's just being an [censored]."

I took a moment to process this. "Um. How does that work, exactly?"

At this point John heaved the cage into view, revealing a small-ish sized squirrel with a rat tail. Well, ok, maybe it was a rat. But I prefer to think of it as a squirrel who just Nair'ed his tail, ok?

Naturally, I did what any woman would do when faced with a caged rat pulled from her attic:

I ran to get my camera.

I told John to strike a triumphant pose with his bounty. I got this:

Because of the rain I instructed John to take it into the garage so I could get a cute close-up.

Yeeeeah...about that....

So it turns out, rats aren't terribly cute. I mean, don't get me wrong, I like rodents as much as the next girl - growing up my friend even had a lovely white rat with a spots like spilled chocolate milk - but let's face it, they're no Fennec foxes.

Still, I did the best I could:

It helps to imagine him in a little cloak and guest-starring on the Secret of Nimh. And also that I cropped out his tail. Those things are mega squicky. [shudder]

Oh, and when I asked John what he meant about the rat being an [censored,] he told me the little bugger had stuck his head through the bars and was trying to bite him. Once the rat got his head back inside the cage, though, it was obvious he was fine.

After this we got down to business: John driving our catch many miles away to a patch of woods far from houses and stores, and me tweeting about it.

About fifteen minutes after John left, he called me.

"Why are you torturing everyone on Twitter?"

"Aw, c'mon, it's hilarious making them guess what we caught."

"Just tell them what it is!"

"Ok, ok, fine.

"How's the rat release going?"

"It's surprisingly hard to find an isolated patch of woods in Orlando."

"Oh, I thought you'd let him out by now. I wanted to make sure he didn't leap for your face when you opened the door."

"THEY DO THAT?!"

"Um... No? Probably not. Just, you know, stand back."

"Gee, I am SO glad I called."

Fortunately the release went fine, and now we wait to see if there are any *more* scritching noises in our LR ceiling. We'll just have to watch something super scary tonight - that's the only way to be sure.

Weekly Geek Glee 5/16/12

2012-05-16T16:05:00.002-04:00

(As you can see, the quest for the perfect "cool stuff roundup" post name continues. It's down to this - John's idea - and "Jen's Gems" - a reader's idea. Feel free to cast your vote in the comments. :)

First up, a Ghostbusters-inspired Ecto-1...bicycle?

Photo by Nik White, found via Ghostbusters Fans

Love the fins. And the tanks. And the striped trap box lid. And...ok, all of it.

Actually, this is kind of a Pee Wee Herman/GB mash up, since that looks like the same bike from Pee Wee's Great Adventure. "I'm a loner, Dottie. A 'buster."

Not the best shot, but check it out lit up at night:

I'm a little confused as to where the tail light came from, since I don't see it in the first picture...but whatever. It's awesome. I'll take it.

Who's got two thumbs and wants to snuggle a giant miniature Wookiee?!

$100 at Perpetual Kid

THIS GEEK, that's who.

Spotted on Reddit: the best staircase for bibliophiles EVER?

I think soo-ooo!

This is so well done, at first I thought it was a clever Photoshop. Turns out it really exists, though, in a parking garage by the downtown Kansas City library. The fact that this is real makes me oh-so-happy.

It seems crafters are always looking for new ways to upcycle old LPs. Purses, bowls, dessert trays...and now, painstakingly hand-cut clocks!

$55 at NotByLaser via Nerd Approved

[UPDATE: Tyler from NotByLaser has just e-mailed to offer a special discount code for you Epbot readers: use the code "Baxter" to get 17% off!]

As the shop name says, these are *not* cut with a laser. They're done by hand - and there are lots and lots more designs at the link. Hat tip!

You guys realize you're only encouraging my Labyrinth addiction by sending me cool Labyrinth links, right? You're incorrigible, all of you. PLEASE NEVER STOP.

Case in point: behold!

Labyrinth door knocker earrings!! (Elizabeth Z., bless your goblin-loving heart.)

Made by Ale Buz of BuzHandMade, who has a whole Labyrinth clay collection here. (Plus lots of other goodies from The Never Ending Story. OoooOOooh.)

Seen something that makes your inner geek gleeful? Share your links in the comments, or hit me up via Twitter or FB!

Birthday Sweets!

2012-05-15T19:39:00.000-04:00

So after boasting about what an awesome birthday I was going to have in the wee hours of Saturday morning, I woke up in the not-so-wee hours with a miserable case of food poisoning. (Helpful Tip: I'm pretty sure the Boston Market meatloaf is *not* supposed to be pink in the middle. Ug.) That's what I get for jinxing it, right?

Fortunately I was recovered enough by the afternoon to still get out of the house for a bit, and fully recovered in time for my deeeLIGHTful Boma birthday dinner with friends:

Mmmm. Booooomaaaa.

Now I'm going to brag on John a bit.

He's been acting extraordinarily pleased with himself the past few weeks, dropping hints and collecting packages and generally being way more excited about my birthday than I was. (Which, to be fair, wasn't hard.)

Last week the suspense was apparently too much for him, because he surprised me with my first gift: the oh-so-elusive paperback movie adaption of Labyrinth. (WOOT!!) It's never been reprinted, so he was up 'til 5AM one morning in a bidding war on ebay to get it. (And I've already finished it. And it's awesome. I may have to write a book review to share some of the cool extra tidbits in there with you guys...)

John and I don't usually "do" birthday gifts, so please forgive me for photographing my haul like an obnoxious 12-year-old:

Toys, art, and books. Does my hubby know me, or WHAT?

The ACEO is from Jasmine Becket Griffith. The adorable mustachioed octopus was a custom order (teal & orange FTW!) from Cheek & Stitch, and I'm especially impressed because John found it all by himself - or maybe one of you readers tipped him off? (He *has* been helping me with a lot of e-mail lately...)

Sir Squibner now sits in the place of honor on my monitor stand:

"I say! What what! Tally ho! And so forth."

Of course, the big big surprise came on Saturday afternoon when John handed me his phone and instructed me to read the e-mail he had on screen.

I won't bore you with the details, but suffice to say that John had been conspiring with the famous Geek a Week artist Len Peralta for nearly six weeks, all to get me this:

Me as Mr. StayPuft.

Awwwww YEEEEAAAHH.

Len's an insanely busy guy, but thanks to John's charm (and the fact that Len happens to be a fan) he found the time to do this drawing and surprise me with a sweet birthday e-mail. (In which he informed me what a great husband John is. Believe me, Len, I KNOW.) John even talked him into giving me the original sketch, something he normally doesn't do. I'm going to get them framed together side-by-side. And then try to find a free spot in my office to hang them. (I need more walls!)

Thank you all for the lovely get-well and birthday wishes on Saturday - they made the day that much sweeter. If I could, I would totally throw a big ol' geek party at Boma and have every single one of you there. Maybe next year? You guys don't mind coming to Orlando for that, right? :D

How To Paint A Faux Copper Patina

2012-05-14T10:30:00.000-04:00

Today I'm going to show you how to take something like this:

Seahorsies!

And turn it into something like this:

BioShock Seahorsies!!

This is a great technique for transforming everything from knick-knacks to cosplay props and hardware, and it can be used to make almost any material - wood, ceramic, plastic, etc. - look like naturally aged copper.

But the best part? It's really easy! All you need are a good spray primer, spray paint in metallic copper and flat black, mineral spirits, and some cheap flat craft paint in a bright teal.

So let's get started!

First, prime your piece. (If it's plastic, be sure to use a plastic primer.)

(I originally planned to paint this piece gloss white, but the ceramic was rough and didn't look that great in a solid color. So...ultra aged copper, it is!)

Next, spray your piece with the copper metallic, and let it dry completely:

For this next step, have a small cup of mineral spirits and some cotton rags handy, because you'll want to move somewhat quickly once you've finished spraying your piece black.

When you're ready, go ahead and spray a nice thick coat of flat black all over your piece. Make sure you don't miss any nooks or crannies:

As soon as you're finished spraying, grab a rag and start wiping down the piece. The paint will get tacky pretty fast, but don't worry; that's what the mineral spirits are for.

Using two fingers wrapped in your cotton rag, dip the cloth in mineral spirits and continue wiping down your piece. [And it's much better to wear gloves; we just ran out.] You want to expose the copper on all the raised areas, leaving the black in all the recesses.

Keep going as long as you like, until you're happy with the look. (More black = more aging, so if you only want a light patina you'll want to take off more black than I did.)

This is how mine looked after I finished wiping it down.

Of course, you *could* stop there, but trust me: this next step is where the magic happens.

For this part you'll need your teal craft paint on a plate or palette, a brush, and a cup of water.

Mix a lot of water in with a little paint to make a thin glaze. Err on the side of caution: use a LOT of water.

Now, using your brush, start to drip your watery paint mixture onto your piece:

Concentrate on getting the glaze into all the recesses: the nooks and crannies. In short, anywhere there's black paint, that's where you want to concentrate your glaze. Use extra water to make the glaze drip and run down the sides.

Stop every now and then and splatter some of the glaze onto the piece. When these dry they'll leave really cool-looking water droplet marks.

The most effective aging mimics what would happen naturally out in the elements, so make your patina heaviest near the base and anywhere rainwater (and therefore rust) would naturally pool. You'll also want to do several coats of drips to get the best texture, so take your time.

Oh, and keep in mind that your glaze will look a lot like solid paint while it's wet, so don't worry if it seems too dark; it'll dry lighter.

Most of the glaze here is still wet. Compare that with the dry sections on the smaller seahorse's face and tail. See how translucent and dusty it looks? That's why you need several coats to get a really vivid patina.

You can put as much or as little patina on your piece as you like. For mine, I decided to go all out and really age the heck out of it:

The heavy sections have at least half a dozen coats of glaze drips on them.

Of course, you still want some of your shiny copper metallic to show, so as a finishing touch rub down some of the raised areas with a wet Q-tip or paper towel to let that shine back through again. And if you realize your patina is a little *too* heavy, just rub some of that off, too. You may have to rub pretty hard, but the glaze will come off. (And if you rub off too much, just drip more on!)

And, guess what?

You're done!

Fortunately the glaze is strong enough that it's not going to rub off with casual wear, so there's no need to clear coat your finished piece. Which is good, since clear-coating would ruin all that great texture you just created, anyway!

To finish my seahorse statue I think I'm going to have John cut a thick wooden plaque for the base. And since I like to imagine it's a little souvenir statuette recovered from the underwater city of Rapture, maybe I'll even get a brass plaque saying something to that effect for the side. :D

I hope you've found this tutorial helpful! And if so, please let me know how you plan to use it in the future - or better yet, send pictures!

Update: A couple of you have pointed out - and rightly so - that copper patina is usually a bit more green than this. I just used the teal craft paint I already had on hand, but for your own projects you may want to find a shade that leans more green.

Saturday Steam 5/12/12

2012-05-12T01:30:00.000-04:00

I know I just mentioned this not too long ago, but if you're not already watching Felicia Day's Flog then you should at least give this week's show a try. In it Felicia visits the famous Clockwork Couture and does a hilarious fashion shoot - meaning you get LOLs *and* steamy fashion eye candy. Great stuff!

Guess why I've been searching ebay for an old bicycle horn?

By Flickr user lowtechatmo, found via Craft:

This iPhone speaker uses nothing more than a pvc pipe and old brass bike horn to naturally amplify the sound - no cords needed!

But believe it or not, that's not the only non-powered iPhone amplifier I saw this week. Check out this 3D printed version I found via Mashable:

The iVictrola Gramophone comes in two pieces (the horn and the base) in your choice of colored plastic, which you can then paint to match the scheme above or leave a solid color for a neat modern look. Pricing starts around $95 for both pieces. (Isn't 3D printing cool?!)

Caitlin W. spotted these bookends with gears that actually move:

Yep - the hand crank works! Awesome. They'll be available in August for about $50 here.

And speaking of cranky things, check out this adorable "Hootch-Owl" bottle opener:

$50 from Red Envelope

D'aaaawww.

Oh! For those of you who live within driving distance of Waltham, MA, get yourselves over to the Watch City Festival, the city-wide steampunk celebration, STAT! It's going on now through tomorrow. And I want pictures!

And finally, check out my new steamy side table!

John and I stumbled across this on sale at Hobby Lobby for $90 - not bad, considering it's all heavy wood and metal. The legs especially have some neat screw and hinge detailing.

Here's a view looking out towards the dining room:

And here's a closeup of all my goodies on it:

I love how steampunk is slowly but surely creeping outward from the dining room into the rest of our house. I still try to keep a lot of color with it, but the aged pieces and leathers and metallics add so much warmth and character to the place. It's all quite cozy, really.

And now, if you'll excuse me... IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!! So I'm off to be spoiled rotten by John and then have dinner at Boma, my all-time favorite restaurant (which just happens to be at Disney). I hope you guys have a great weekend, too!

Going to a Con...By Yourself?

2012-05-10T23:22:00.000-04:00

Many of you often mention in your e-mails that while you'd like to go to a convention some time, you just don't have any geek friends to go with. I can totally sympathize; John and I can count our local geek friends on one hand, and I'm not sure either of us would be brave enough to go to a con alone.

But then I got this e-mail from Catherine, and no lie: I was so inspired I actually got a little weepy. Fortunately she's given me permission to share it with the rest of you, so without further ado, here 'tis:

---------------------------------

Hi Jen (and John),

I just wanted to write to let you know how awesome I think your blogs are and how you encourage everyone to let their geek flags fly.

Like so many nerds, I am quite shy and hate large crowds. I also don't have any friends that share my love for all things sci-fi, so I never thought I would attend a con. Then I saw all your cool posts and pics about all the ones that you attend but still wasn't sure if I was brave enough to go alone.

I finally decided to take the plunge when I heard about the Calgary Comic Con and the fact that the entire cast of Star Trek:TNG would be there!

I had the most amazing time and met so many really great people who love all the same kind of stuff I do! Plus I got to meet Sir Patrick Stewart and listen to him speak in that AMAZING voice of his, as well as hug Wil Wheaton ( girly sigh! ).

(I just had to include a couple of photos cause I have no one else to show them off too.)

So thanks for pushing me to try something new, now I want to go to as many Cons as I possibly can. Maybe someday I'll meet you at one.

TTFN,

Catherine

---------------------------------

SHE HUGGED WIL WHEATON, you guys. (Sooooo jealous.)

And you know what's even more awesome than the fact that Catherine went to her very first convention by herself?

The fact that she went IN COSTUME:

Oh yeah, she just crossed the Star streams - and I love it.

Now THAT is a magical moment. (Sorry, Disney.)

You know, having been to my fair share of cons I know just how friendly the people are - heck, at Dragon*Con if you don't make a new friend in every line it's because you're actively trying NOT to - and yet I still have this lingering fear of ever venturing out by myself. Seeing Catherine overcome that fear, though, and how happy she is that she did, makes me want to jump out of my comfort zone and try to get out there more. The fact is, cons are where "our people" are - so if ever there was a place to make new friends, it's at a con!

Also, if you're a bit shy like Catherine and me, then I really can't recommend going in costume enough. I know it seems scary, but costumes are instant conversations starters. Not to mention they'll attract fans of the same flavor, so you'll already have something in common to talk about!

If a costume feels too ambitious, then at least go with a geeky t-shirt, bag, or accessory - the more obscure, the better. I've had people cross a crowded room just to talk to me about my t-shirt at conventions before - and I've done the same for an especially nice ray gun or piece of jewelry. It's all about breaking the ice, so don your finest geekery, and get out there!

Thanks again to Catherine, my newest hero, and here's hoping her story helps inspire some of you out there, too!

So tell me, peeps, have you ever been to a con by yourself? How was it? Any tips for newbies?

We're Trekkies And We Know It

2012-05-09T04:15:00.000-04:00

Though people often mistake me for a bigger Star Wars fan, the truth is my first sci-fi love has always been Star Trek. There just aren't as many awesome Trek goodies out there for me to post about, so 'Wars tends to get a lot more love here on Epbot.

But today, thanks to a link from Jennifer P. on the Epbot FB page, I get to even the score a little.

Yes, it's ridiculously cheesy. Yes, you're probably not going to want anyone around you to see or overhear what you're watching. And yes, I realize I'm reaching new heights (depths?) of extreme geekdom by posting this.

BUT I DARE YOU NOT TO LAUGH.

(Personally, I lost it at "C-Captain Kirk out," and "Tribbletribbletribbleyeah." And the non-stop pelvic thrusts/dancing, of course. Hee!)

LL&P, y'all. J-Jen out.

And That's Why I Answer E-Mails 3 Weeks Late

2012-05-08T19:00:00.000-04:00

John and I always keep an iChat window open with each other while we're working. This is so John can send me various funny and/or cute pictures he finds on Reddit to distract me from my serious work of pinning my latest craft aspirations and catching up on Twitter.

Anyway, this is how one of our exchanges went yesterday:

IM window: *ping!*

Me: "D'AWWWWW!! So cute! And they totally look like they're skydiving! Someone should photoshop them onto a sky. Right? Right?!"

TEN MINUTES LATER:

*ping!*

Me: "BWA-HA-HAA! Except now they look like they're plummeting to their deaths. They need parachutes."

FIVE MINUTES LATER:

*ping!*

Me: "Ok, now they really need some goggles."

John: *sigh*

Me: "Oh, come on. You've come THIS far."

FIVE MORE MINUTES LATER:

*ping!*

Me: "YES! I love it. Now it just needs a big LOL cats-type caption with, 'DON'T LET GO,' or 'I'VE GOT YOU' on it, right? Something cute like that.

ONE MINUTE LATER:

*ping!*

Me: "PERFECT."

Now if you'll excuse me, I have some very serious work to BWAHHAHAAA!! Sorry, I couldn't even get that out TYPING. Heh. Aheh. Heh.

(Hey John, now how about some double rainbows? And glitter? And little top hats? And a little squirrel in a rocket pack? [Too much?])

------------------------------------------

IMPORTANT UPDATE:

I'd like to thank Epbot reader Orcrist for this vital service to humanity:

Especially since John wouldn't do it. (The spoilsport.) :D

Jen's Truffles 5-8-12

2012-05-08T13:45:00.000-04:00

Before you ask, "Jen's Truffles" is the result of an impromptu brain-storming session with John. After compiling a list of boring generic terms like "cool stuff" and "favorite finds" and getting pretty frustrated, I finally blurted, "They're like truffles. You know, 'cuz I had to dig through a lot of crap to find them." Which made John laugh so hard that he insisted I use it. So there you have it. My favorite finds of the week are now comparable to "a strong-smelling underground fungus." Which, you must admit, is pretty memorable.

Now, on to the fungus among us!

I know I'm supposed to save my favorite for last, but I can't wait that long - so LOOK AT THIS AMAZING LABYRINTH BOX:

Preeeetty.

I found this hand-painted beauty over on my favorite Labyrinth fan site, and I'm head over heels for the whole thing. The stylized jewelry and hair piece, the spindly lettering on the side ("I was looking for something..."), and of course Sarah herself is just gorgeous.

And as if that weren't enough, check out the inside:

It's the helping hands!

This was painted by artist Darcy Ripley, and sadly it's already sold (CURSES!) from her etsy shop. If you hit that link you can see a few more close-ups of it, though - and maybe we can petition Darcy to paint more Labyrinth-inspired boxes. After all, wouldn't this be perfect for an engagement ring?

Next up, this Doctor Horrible Plush has a Ph.D. in adorableness:

$30 at MyLittleFandom, via NerdApproved

I'd want a Bad Horse plush to go with him.

If you love Fantasyland as much as I do, then you're going to really love this children's playhouse:

I found this while following the links from a whimsical wooden fairy house over on Boing Boing. The site it's on has lots of storybook playhouses like this one - and yes, that's an actual kids' playhouse, complete with real landscaping. AND I WANT ONE. Hit the storybook link to see over a dozen more guaranteed to make your inner 6-year-old squeal with delight.

Via Fashionably Geek: check out a princess Leia hoodie, complete with bunned hood:

Now that's adorkable.

(And they sell them at Hot Topic!)

And finally, in case you haven't seen it yet, behold the awesome lineup of Avengers-inspired eye makeup that went viral last week:

WOW.

These are by a Finnish makeup blogger named Jangsara, and her site is chock full of gorgeous shots like these, often along with full step-by-step tutorials. (She also did an amazing R2D2 look for Star Wars Day on Friday.) Whether you'd ever wear these yourself or not, you can't deny that this is the ultimate geek girl eye candy. Me likey.

Comic Books for Newbies?

2012-05-07T11:30:00.000-04:00

One of the cool things about being a geek is that there's always something new to try, read, or watch - and whatever you choose, there's sure to be tons of other geeks out there ready to cheer you on and give advice. Case in point: I've never really read comic books. It's not that I've never had the interest, exactly, it's just that I've never known where to start.

Well, Saturday was Free Comic Book Day, and thanks to the urging of nearly every geek I follow on Twitter, I decided to go check it out. Plus I'd heard there was a special give-away book being released from Archaia that included a new Labyrinth short story. Aww yeeeah.

John and I headed out to our local comic book shop around 3, and when we got there we found the parking lot mobbed with people. OUR people. A few were in costume, a lot had their kids with them (awww), and pretty much everyone looked to be in a good mood.

Then again, how could you NOT be in a good mood when you pass this on the way in?

Once we got inside the madhouse, John and I realized that we had no idea how Free Comic Book Day worked. So we wandered around the aisles, trying to look like we knew what we were doing and talking out of the corners of our mouths.

"So..um...is it a buy-one-get-one kind of thing?"

"I dunno. Will we look stupid if we ask?"

"Yes. So you should do it."

"Maybe the guy driving R2D2 knows."

"Ok. Go ask him. I'll be over here pretending I don't know you."

R2 never judges us on our lack of Free Comic Book Day knowledge.

In addition to scoring some fun tidbits on droid-building, John eventually learned there were specific titles at the front counter that you could choose from for your free comic. And another lady passing by told us they still had the Archaia book! WOOT!!

After collecting our freebies John and I tried to find something to actually buy, which is when we remembered we know nothing about comics. And they're not really something you can browse through easily, are they? The only series I've read are the online comic Girl Genius (so addicting) and Lady Mechanika, which I also really like, but sadly they didn't have any of those at the shop. (We asked.)

I need to track down the latest issues of this; I've only read the first two!

Oh, and last week I read Return to Labyrinth, a graphic novel, but I didn't like it well enough to read the sequels. Actually, I didn't like it at all. Heh. Good thing it was a library read...

Anyway, after wandering around a while longer, John and I admitted defeat and left with just our free comics, feeling guilty.

The Archaia anthology has short stories from six different children's comics, which acts as a nice sampler of different writing and art styles. The Labyrinth one is about Hoggle and the Worm, and is funny with a slightly sad ending:

My other favorite was Return of the Dapper Men. The writing was utterly confusing - which I think was intentional - but the art is nothing short of magical:

I've since learned The Return of the Dapper Man is a graphic novel, not a comic book. You can browse through some of the pages here on Amazon - and it's definitely going on my wish list.

So here's where I need your help, comic book geeks: where should a noob geek girl start? I don't have any particular favorites in the super hero world, so I'm open to most anything. I also love sci-fi, steampunk (obviously), kids' books, and old cartoons with reboots like TMNT and ThunderCats. Oh, and I know there's a Ghostbusters comic out there - is that any good? Please, leave your recommendations in the comments!

Saturday Steam 5/5/12

2012-05-05T13:14:00.000-04:00

This week one of my favorite artists, Doktor A, released photos of a gorgeous new toy prototype:

Her name is Bella, and the toys are due to be painted in gold and teal (see the mock up here). However, Doktor A also mentioned on FB that, "There is a plan for an all white version with Matte and Gloss areas and a random splatter of blood red." AWESOME.

And while I'm at it, check out my new favorite piece by the good Doktor:

It's called The Candy Factory, and it has sooo many drool-worthy details. The little glass bottles in the back! The two tiny mini-bots operating the hand cranks! THE CANDY! Click here to see the rest of the photos - they're well worth it.

And speaking of eye candy, check out the rare 1895 Ford typewriter featured over on Boing Boing:

Not quite as ornate as those ball typewriters, perhaps, but still impressive.

After a while, a lot of steampunk jewelry can start to look the same, but I'm really liking the shapes and chain draping on these necklaces:

Plus, with a shop name like Spanky Spangler Steampunk Creations, you know it has to be good.

(These two have already sold, but there are similar designs in the Spanky Etsy shop which range in price from about $33 to $48 - not bad!)

Just when you thought you'd seen everything anyone could *possibly* make with old watch parts, someone like Dmitry Khristenko goes and makes a mini motorcycle with 'em:

Almost everything you see here came from an upcycled wristwatch - even the seat is an old leather band!

This one even has a cute little hatch back:

Epbot reader Tahlia P. sent these images in via e-mail, and when I tracked them down to Khristenko's DevianArt page (where there are dozens more), I got another pleasant surprise. Check out what Dmitry's making from watch bits now:

STEAM GRIFFIN!

He also made the most insanely complex and gloriously steampunk radio you will ever see:

Seriously, this thing has so many moving parts and switch-operated lights and built-in music boxes and spinning gears that the accompanying video showing them all off is TEN MINUTES LONG. Gaze in wonder, ye steamheads! GAZE! IN WONDER!!

Reader Kendra B. sent in John's favorite find this week: a bronze statue that's nearly three feet long called "Catfish Lily:"

By Nano Lopez

Granted, it's not hugely steampunk, but there IS a gear, so we're going with it. For John's sake. Besides, the embellishments have a neat found-object look to them that reminds me of our bird Schnappsie:

(More on Schnappsie here.)

Since one of our cats (my cat) is named Lily, and the statue has all those lovely teal and orange accents PLUS a giant gear, John has become thoroughly smitten with "Catfish Lily." So much so that he went hunting online for a price. Which is $7,800. So I told John he could just use that picture up there as a desktop image. o.0

And finally, here's the best steampunk Leia cosplay I've seen:

By Flickr user CaptainSparrow

Now THAT's a princess. Love it!

Oh, and remember that steampunk Portal gun from last week? Well, I heard from Duncan, the creator, who sent in a couple more photos of himself & the gun. Hit the link to see them at the bottom of the post!

May The Fourth Be All About Crafts!

2012-05-04T10:00:00.000-04:00

Some parents use the Fourth for good. Others, for evil.

Um, today's we're just going to focus on the good ones.

Yep, in honor of all of the Star Wars celebrating today, I've got some fantastic kids' room crafts I've been saving up - and the very best part? They're all made by you Epbot readers!

First, remember Kimber G. and her amaaaaazing Millenium Falcon blueprint mural? (If not, go see! I'll wait.)

So, yeah, remember that?

Well, Kimber decided that next her kids' playroom needed a little something. You know, like an X-Wing-fighter-fleeing-an-Imperial-Cruiser-over-the-planet-Earth kind of something.

Sha-POW!

Here Kimber's kids admire their mom's handiwork with the respect it deserves:

And here they attempt to hug it backwards. I think.

Awesome work as always, Kimber! Be sure to let us know which room in the house gets a Star Wars makeover next, k?

And now, the very thing every Star Wars bedroom needs:

A custom carved Star Wars headboard! Amber B. had her husband and father build this beauty for her three year old son, Gavin. Check out the raised Rebel crest with his name in the middle!

But of course my favorite part:

"That's no bed knob..."

Say, you guys look like you want to see another awesome Star Wars mural.

Your wish = my command.

Jason J. painted these next scenes in his wife's nephew's room. Jason reports, "He wanted the Battle of Hoth, and since Ralph McQuarrie is my favorite Star Wars artist, I decided to put several of his concept art pieces together into one large battle scene."

And what a scene it is!

Check it out, I found the original piece that inspired that last scene:

Rock on, Jason! And the rest of you can see more of McQuarrie's art (which really is amazing) here.

And finally, for you parents out there who may not want to tackle murals or woodworking: how about crochet?

Karen V.'s mom crocheted these for her last Christmas, proving that just 'cuz your kids are grown doesn't mean you can't still spoil their inner geek. (Although apparently Karen gave her a pretty strong hint by buying her mom the patterns sometime after I posted about them way back when. Hee.)

Things like this always remind me how much I wish there was a local geek girl craft class around here. You know, like the cake decorating classes John & I took at JoAnn's, only it'd be stuff like knitting Star Wars characters and forging armor and wiring up nixie tube clocks. (I WILL do that before I die, guys. I will.) Can one of you out there please get on that? And then include Orlando on your nationwide geek-girl-craft tour? Kthxbai.

And finally, I'll leave you with a picture of one of Marnie B.'s students during their school's "Crazy Hat Day:"

This girl's gonna be alright, you guys. I CAN FEEL IT.

Happy Star Wars Day! MTFBWY!

In Which John Does NOT Get Shot

2012-05-03T13:12:00.000-04:00

For any of you who saw this tweet the other night:

Not to worry; John escaped the world of back-alley used video game dealing relatively unscathed. I'd like to point out that he wouldn't be forced into such tactics, though, if GameStop would just stop gouging everyone on their used video games. Seriously, only $2 less than the brand new one, GameStop? Really?

If my husband gets shot while trying to save $15 on a copy of Skyrim, GameStop, I'LL BLAME YOU.

In related news, I expect I'm about to become a video game widow for untold weeks, since John has recently acquired (for those of you who weren't paying attention just then) a copy of Skyrim. That's assuming I don't swipe it out from under him and start playing it first, of course. We're both properly prepared: we've already been making "arrow to the knee" jokes for months.

In less-related news, MY GALLBLADDER IS PROBABLY FINE. I know how worried all of you were, so, yeah, sorry to keep you in suspense like that*. However, if you ever start getting crazy pinchy pains in your lower right side (or "flank" as we professional gallbladder-type persons call it) that last for several days after eating something really high in fat like creamy butternut squash soup, then you should probably go see a doctor. That way she (the doctor) can jab around your abdomen and give you a little pee cup in a paper bag to carry out in front of all the other people waiting outside, even though that paper bag is SO NOT FOOLING anyone, and they'll watch you with their judgy eyes as you close the bathroom door and they'll all think, "Wow, that girl is totally peeing in a cup right now," while you attempt to actually pee in a cup, which might make it kind of hard to get things going, if you know what I mean, but that's why I AM A PROFESSIONAL.

*What, you weren't worried because you don't obsessively follow my every tweet? WELL WHY NOT?!

***

Sometimes I think back to the second-grade-me, sitting at my crappy wooden school desk and dreaming of being a writer, and then I'll look over a paragraph I just wrote that will be read by literally TENS of people about me peeing in a plastic cup, and I'll think, "Does 'judgy' have an 'e' in it? 'Judgey?' Is that right?"

***

Just now John asked me what I was writing about, and I told him "not much," because if there's one thing I know, it's that I do NOT need any actual content to write a LOT of stuff.

But just so these last few minutes haven't been a complete waste of your time, take a gander at these adorable polymer clay charms of Sam and Dean Winchester from Supernatural:

AAIEEE!! So cute!!

These were sent to me by the lovely Stacey G., who commissioned them from her sister Chey. And you can tell they were made just for me because the boys are wearing Mickey ears. (Mental image: Sam & Dean riding Haunted Mansion. You're welcome.)

Oh, and the boys don't have bottoms...but I don't mean like that (*mrowr*) I mean like this:

I like to think there's a portal under each of them. :)

Chey has an Etsy shop here, in case you're looking for your own Supernatural goodies. (I'm especially digging her Castiel pendant with the tie - very fun.)

Oooh, and speaking of Supernatural, I think I'm driving John nuts by constantly talking about the last few episodes. I won't spoil anything for those of you haven't seen 'em yet, but I AM SO EXCITED AND HAPPY AND I HOPE THEY DON'T SCREW THIS UP. That is all.

I mean, this could be a huge turning point for the better and add such a cool new perspective on the show and I am reeeeallly invested in these characters and they're probably going to screw it up, aren't they? Harrumph. No, no - I'm remaining positive. So...fingers crossed.

Seven Ways To Be A Better Pinner

2012-05-01T11:30:00.000-04:00

Hi. I'm Jen, and I'm addicted to Pinterest.

If you've also pinned the Kool-Aid, then you know Pinterest is a fun and easy way to visually catalog the things you love online. However, as the controversy over Pinterests's Terms of Service the other month showed, there actually are wrong ways to pin - ways that could even potentially get you in legal trouble. (And even if they don't, they're not very nice.) So whether you've been pinning for ages or are just getting started, here are a few tips to help you be a better pinner:

1) Pick The Right Picture

This sounds like a no-brainer, but sometimes - particularly with things like DIY tutorials or self-help articles - people tend to make some...well...odd choices:

If this isn't an article about hugging small appliances, I am gonna be SO MAD.

Maybe it's a Toy Story couch?

As a general rule, just look for a picture that's as self-explanatory as possible. If you're pinning a product, use a close-up. If you're pinning a recipe or DIY project, use a photo of the end result.

For example, I found this pin:

Right next to this pin.

Which would *you* click?

Articles can be a lot trickier, of course, since many don't have ANY pictures to pin, much less one that makes sense:


I CAN FLY!!

So, writers, this tip is just for you: always illustrate your articles, and use illustrations that are at least in some way related to your content. Remember, the more pinnable your content, the more readers Pinterest can send your way.

2) Pin From The Source

This is the most common mistake I see on Pinterest, probably because most pinners have no idea they're doing anything wrong.

The beauty of Pinterest is that, when used correctly, it directly rewards original content creators. However, when you pin from a third-party-site (meaning any place that is *not* the original source), you're robbing that content creator of page views and even business. Pinterest has become the #1 traffic driver for countless independent Etsy sellers, artists, bloggers, and more - so believe me, those clicks count.

At best, an incorrect source link is an annoyance. At worst, it might get you in trouble with the image's copyright holder - so try to err on the side of caution.

Even if the site you're on credits a source, that's not enough. Too often that credit is just another site crediting another site, and we all know how frustrating it can be to chase a link through half a dozen websites. Don't do that to your followers or the content creator - find the original source and pin from there.

So to recap, because this really is that important: If I post a jewelry roundup here on Epbot, don't pin your favorite necklace from my site. Instead, follow my link to the shop it's sold from and pin from there. By the same token, if you see my flip-flop hangers featured on a craft site somewhere, follow their link back to Epbot, and pin the image from here.

3) Link To Posts, Not Home Pages

Now that you've found the correct source of your pin, help your followers out by linking directly to the specific page or post on the site in question, not just the website's home page. I've accidentally made this mistake a few times myself; I'll go back to a pin a few weeks later and realize my link only leads to a website's front page, while the post I'm looking for is buried somewhere in the archives. This can be über frustrating. Don't do it.

4) Label It!

Pinterest encourages users to explain and describe pins by requiring a caption, but more and more people are just putting a period in the caption box to get around that requirement.

STOP DOING THAT.

I can't tell you how many caption-less pins I've seen of clear plastic bottles filled with colored liquid. What are they? Homemade dish soap? Perfume? Your baby's first wee? SOMEBODY PLEASE TELL ME WHAT'S IN ALL THESE FRICKIN' BOTTLES.

What is it?!

Ahem.

Adding a word or two of description not only helps people understand your pins, it also helps people find them. Think about it: if all you type is "WOW!" on your new bathroom makeover, then anyone searching for "bathroom makeovers" is never going to find it. Throw a few keywords in, though, and you'll not only be making Pinterest a more useful place for everyone, you'll also be reaching more potential followers. (I know I routinely follow people I've found while using the search function.)

5) Check Sources Before You Repin

I know this sounds like going above and beyond the call of duty - and it is! - but seriously, for every conscientious pinner out there, there are several more pinning willy-nilly from third-party scraper sites or the 75th Tumblr re-blog or some other uncredited source. At some point, someone needs to step in and remind the community that the originating source deserves a hat tip, don't you think?

Fortunately, it only takes a second to click a pin and check the source address:

If the address looks suspicious or leads to something like a Google image search (another popular mistake), then take a moment to find the original source before pinning it. And if you want an extra gold star, leave a comment on the incorrectly-sourced pin with the right link, too, so the original pinner can correct it.

6) Relax! You CAN edit your pins!

So you just realized you pinned something awesome from a third-party site instead of the original source. Don't worry; you don't have to delete it and start over again! Pinterest allows you to edit your pin source after the fact. Just hover over the image and click "edit."

Easy peasy!

7) A Little Thoughtfulness Goes a Long Way

Hey, no one can follow all the rules all the time, so if pinning is becoming a chore, cut yourself a little slack. So long as we all keep these general guidelines in mind, and remember that there are real people being affected by where our pins lead, I think we can continue making Pinterest a great place to lose all of our productivity. Who's with me?

- And Finally, A Quick Word on Copyright:

The brouhaha over Pinterest's Terms of Service a few months back led to a lot of pinners deleting their accounts in a panic, and probably scared off a lot of potential users as well. The problem stemmed from language in Pinterest's ToS that stated you had to own the copyright of every image you pinned, or else have express written permission from the image's copyright holder. Obviously, 99% of the pins on the site break this rule.

More worryingly, the Terms of Service also indicated that Pinterest could sell or license anything you pinned, leading people to fear their grandkids' photos might someday end up on a box of Lucky Charms.

Remember this?

Fortunately, Pinterest has since changed the language in their ToS to this:

"...you grant us a non-exclusive, royalty-free, transferable, sublicensable, worldwide license to use, display, reproduce, re-pin, modify (e.g., re-format), re-arrange, and distribute your User Content on Pinterest for the purposes of operating and providing the Service(s) to you and to our other Users." (emphasis mine)

As you can see, Pinterest is still laying claim to your content rights, but only insofar as to operate the site itself. And frankly, as far as CYA legalese goes, this isn't unusual or scary at all. Given the massive amounts of good Pinterest is doing for small companies and independent artists, I personally have no qualms with using the site or posting my images there - but of course you should read their complete Terms of Service and make that decision for yourself.

I hope some of you found this helpful! And feel free to look me up over on Pinterest and/ or recommend boards to follow there; I'm always looking for more ways to avoid actual work.

So tell me, fellow Pin-addicts, what'd I miss? List your pinning advice and pet peeves in the comments!

UPDATE: A few excellent additions from the comments:

- Categorize your pins on boards, and do it correctly
Recipes don't belong in the "geek" category. 'Nuff said.

- Take the time to flag spam and inappropriate content
   Pro-anorexia and other self-harm pins *are* out there. Flag 'em (plus any other offensive content) by clicking the pin & selecting "report pin," so we can make Pinterest a safer place.

   Scammers can be harder to spot, but here are a few tips from Mashable on how to do so.

- When repinning, change the caption if it includes something personal
You'd think this would be extra obvious, but it sounds like this happens to you guys a lot! So, if you see a personal note ("Hey, Mom, look what I made!") don't just repin that - change the caption.

Art Smiles 4/30/11

2012-04-30T14:35:00.000-04:00

Some of my favorite art finds this week:

Just look at this adorable Wall-E art. LOOK AT IT.

By Jeffrey "Chamba" Cruz

I actually fell in love with this next one a few years ago, but I recently rediscovered it again on DeviantArt:

By Jennifer Hom

The airships! The colors! THE AIRSHIPS!

I would *love* to have a giant print of this in my house, but sadly I don't think Jennifer has ever made one available. (If I'm wrong, someone please let me know!)

I'm digging all the great art nouveau/geek mash-ups lately, and this has got to be one of the best I've seen:

By Adam Hughes

(From what I can tell this print isn't available, either. Sad panda is sad.)

Sillof is an artist who makes Star Wars toy mods which re-imagine the characters in styles like steampunk or retro sci-fi. And they. are. AWESOME.

Rand-2000, Dark Vanquisher, & Princess Lura from Sillof's "Serial Wars" series.

I desperately want to see these characters cosplayed.

Remember the "historical Disney princesses" series that went viral last year? It was the one that put each princess in a more historically accurate dress. Well, check out one of the latest additions: Tiana from Princess and the Frog!

By Claire Hummel

Isn't she fabulous? Now, go gawk at the rest of the series here, and just TRY to resist buying them all when you realize the 4x6 prints are only $4 each. ONLY $4, YOU GUYS.

And speaking of affordable amazingness, check out "Droidettes" by Robin Kaplan, aka the Gorgonist:

Robin has a whole series of girls in scifi dresses - which I'm pretty sure I've mentioned before - and they're only $7 each for a 5x7 print.

I'm also quite partial to the Doctor Who one:

And finally, feast yer eyes on this fabulous Alice poster:

(Click for full size)

By Dave Perillo, who has a bunch of prints (though sadly not this one) on sale here for $10. (And yes, I already bought the Ghostbusters one. OF COURSE.)

Hmm. I actually didn't intend for this post to be a Disney/Star Wars love-fest, but it kind of worked out that way, didn't it? Hehe. Whoops. Next time I'll try to mix it up a bit more. :)

Seen some amazing geeky/girly art lately? Link to your favs in the comments!

Saturday Steam 4/28/12

2012-04-28T01:36:00.000-04:00

A roundup of my best steampunk finds this week:

First, Marilyn sent over this photo of her favorite costume from WonderCon:

Marilyn tells me this lovely lady made the entire outfit herself, with only a little help from her dad cutting out the wood blades for her wings. Isn't she gorgeous? I'm also digging the bronze and gold ruffles she added on her skirt.

I know it's way too early for Halloween stuff, but check out the crazy cool mechanical spider Amanda H.'s father made for her!

Amanda says, "My mom is very big into Halloween, and last year my dad made beaded spiders as gifts for me and my siblings. Since I had recently explained 'Steampunk' to them ... my dad decided to try his hand at a steampunked spider. This was the result."

Wow, go Amanda's dad!! I love the wrapping on the spider's body, and can't you just see that back piece spinning to release a wire web?

Here's something I stumbled across while following a Pinterest rabbit trail:

Look at these awesome glass bottles. LOOK AT THEM. Wouldn't they be perfect for an alchemist/mad scientist-themed bar? (Or on top of my 'cabinet of wonders'?) I'm especially loving the one on the left for its rocket-ship curves and tripod legs.

The bottles are hand blown by artist Dyland Kehde Roelofs, and cost between $65 and $110 on his website. He's only making 50 of each, though, so if you want to buy me one you'll have to get on that soon. ;)

I was browsing through SuperPunch's archives last week, and stumbled across the most amazing Jules Verne-inspired art piece:

Now, here's where your mind's going to get a little bit blown: this entire scene is built inside this little box:

It also has sound, light, and motion effects! Check it out:

After I found this I spent a good hour or two on artist Nemo Gould's (yes, his name is really Nemo) website gawking at all his crazy awesome robots and moving dioramas and other wondrous contraptions. Most of his pieces have an accompanying video, and I highly recommend watching them to get the full experience.

And finally, Ellen McClain, aka the voice of Portal's GLADoS, recently posted a few photos from Momocon in Atlanta, and LOOKIE:

THAT, my friends, is the most amazing steampunk Portal gun I have ever seen. Just look at the gorgeous wood grain!

For the record, I have no idea how Duncan here built this, but I'd reeeeally like to know. I also think he should be wearing a Victorian-style lab coat with an Aperture logo embroidered on the chest. Just sayin'. (Hint hint, Duncan!) (And a huge thanks to Katie F. for the link!)

So...seen something steamy lately? Link to the goodness in the comments!

--------------------------------------------

5/4 UPDATE: Duncan has spoken! And he says, "Thanks for bloggin' me! The short answer to how I made it is: I work with wood and metal for a living so I have fancy tools. Anyway, I just had to send you a pic where I look less derpy."

Duncan, I'm not sure I could actually define "derpy," but I think we can all agree you look less it here. I would offer a wolf whistle, but I don't think John would approve. So...er... never mind.

Duncan also sent another kickin' photo of the gun:

Yup. Kickin'.

Oh, and I did a little Googling, and it turns out you can see more of Duncan's work at his website here. I even recognized one of his pieces from Dragon*Con's Steampunk Exhibition last year, and when I went to link to that post just now, I realized I have pictures of Duncan in it! So, yeah - small world. :)

Flog Me!

2012-04-25T21:12:00.001-04:00

I love Felicia Day. Not only is she funny and smart and freaking adorable, she also has major geek cred. In short, she gives us geek girls a good name.

Anyway, Felicia's latest project is a weekly Youtube show called The Flog, and believe me when I say you guys are going to love it. In each 7 - 10 minute episode Felicia shares her favorite links and games from around the 'web, goes out for a "skill set" section to try a new activity (like blacksmithing), and then answers a question from the audience. It's kind of like a TV talk show, only custom made for geek girls!

Told you you're gonna love it.

Anyway, check out the first episode below, and then head over to The Flog's Youtube page to catch up on the rest!