Milk Jug Photo Studio

Ok, since I'm clearly not so good with the explaining with words thing, here are some pictures of the milk jug photo studio I mentioned in my last post:



You don't have to physically stick your camera lens through the top hole; you just have to get close enough that you can focus through it:


I took these photos at 10:30 last night with no flash and only an overhead light on. Note that I did bump up the exposure and color correct that last one; the jug helps diffuse the light, not increase it. For best results, you should have light sources on either side as well as above your jug. And maybe not be photographing an almost black key. :)

I can't claim credit for this idea; I only remember reading somewhere that many Etsy jewelry sellers use it for photographing their goods. At any rate, I hope it helps some of you!

My Steampunk Flux Capacitor Pin

I don't want to post any big spoilers for our Dragon*Con costumes quite yet, but here's a fun little jewelry project I put together that I'll be wearing:

I started with this LED flux capacitor pin I received from Team Fox at MegaCon:

I also grabbed an old watch a reader sent me for parts, and...well, took it apart:

I scratched off the tacky "quartz" and brand name from the center of the watch face with a fine blade, and then painstakingly cut and placed tiny watch gears to fit inside the outline. I also used copper foil to accent the edges.

In that photo you can see the small square filigree piece I cut into four sections. I used these to accent the edges of the capacitor pin, which I'd also edged with copper foil:


I enlisted John's help to drill two holes into the metal watch face, and then used some fine gold chain and O-rings to hang the face from the pin itself:

And yes, the watch still works! Pretty handy.

The final accent piece on top is actually a flattened brad with an O-ring on top. John said it reminded him of a propeller. I just think it looks vaguely art deco.

The best part is that exposed gear on the back, though. I added it to the twist-on cap behind the pin which turns the lights on. This allows me to easily turn the pin on and off while wearing it.

To demonstrate, here's a little video I shot with my brand new iPhone (woot!):

That's my first new phone in eight years. Needless to say, it's a pretty dramatic upgrade from my old beat-up Cingular brick phone. (Plus, I sense more videos in my future!)

Oh, and sorry for those yucky night pictures. That's what I get for crafting at 3AM! For that last shot I tried the milk jug technique someone once mentioned for shooting jewelry, though, and I think it turned out pretty well, don't you?

(To try it yourself, just cut out the bottom of an old water or milk gallon. Trim the top back for your camera lens to stick through, set it on a white sheet of paper, and violá! Instant miniature photo studio!)

Stay tuned for more great photos and tutorials! [Hint: My raygun is finished! And she's beeeeaaauuutiful.]

How to Find Me at Dragon*Con

This week John and I will be packing up and heading to Atlanta for four fun-filled days with Our People, the Geeks. And, since it's an increasingly FAQ, here are some tips on finding us if you'll be there, too:

1) Sorry, we won't have a booth. And while the lovely folks at D*C have indicated they'd be delighted to have us do a presentation or whatnot, I'm selfishly choosing to do what I most want to do instead: see the con!

2) That said, I'm happy to sign anything you bring, pose for embarrassing photos, or just say hi, assuming...

3) you find me.

And, as an added incentive:

3) There will be prizes.

Yep, it's the return of the ever popular/frustrating "Find Jen and Win a Prize!" So

4) watch my Twitter stream for updates on my location and apparel throughout the weekend. I'll be there all four days, and I'll even be in costume one day for your blackmailing pleasure.

And just to make things a little easier, here are a few helpful hints in advance:

5) I'm not a morning person. So don't bother looking for me before 10 or 11 AM. (I will be at the parade, though.)

6) The tracks I'll be haunting most are 'Trek, 'Gate, and Alt History. I also hang out in Artist Alley quite a lot.

And to make it really, really easy:

7) There will be a small CW pow-wow in the ConSuite (aka "the place with the free snacks" in suite 223/226 of the Hyatt Regency) on Sunday afternoon, time TBA. This is because loyal henchperson Priscilla, one of the organizers there, took it upon herself to plan one. I hear there will be cake. (Rock on, Priscilla!) So, if you haven't found me by then, consider that your Plan C (for "cake").

And no, you won't win a prize for finding me there.

Now, since the ConSuite is open to everyone, I'm guessing most of the people there on Sunday will not be one of us Wreckies. Therefore, I propose some kind of code word exchange to ID each other. Preferably something having to do with sprinkles, carrots, Epcot, or all of the above.

Any suggestions?

Also, stay tuned for the exact time; I'll update this post once we get it nailed down.


UPDATE: Mark your calenders: party in the ConSuite will be at 5:35pm on Sunday! John and I look forward to hearing all your many and varied code phrases. ;)

Friday Fun Links

It's the weekend, guys! Time to stop slaving away at the computer, get outside, and do fun things!!

But first look at this awesome stuff.

- Absolutely adorable upcycled necktie ruffle collar:

Plus, McKell makes it look so easy, even *I* might be able to do it.
Tutorial here, found via craft:

(Note: here's a good question raised in the comments: what if the tie isn't machine-washable? I wonder if you could make it removable...)

- If you love the film Labyrinth as much as I do, you'll get a kick out of this:

From this post which includes a letter from Jim Henson to David Bowie regarding the Fireys scene, plus a few sketches and pictures.


- Which reminds me, you can watch the complete making-of special on the Dark Crystal here. After watching the first 30 minutes, I realized I *still* think that film is creepy as heck. Cool stuff, though. [UPDATE: video has been pulled. Sorry, guys!]


- Christopher Lloyd plays Doc Brown again (in the DeLorean, woot!) in this new commercial. (I couldn't stop grinning for like five minutes.)


- And now, the world's most adorable Tauntaun carousel "horse":

Needle-felted sculpture by PushPLAY (hit the link for more pics), found via @jmaruyama

- And finally, would you believe this is a dollhouse?

The Bloggess posted a whole photo set of her painstakingly detailed (not to mention creepy) "Haunted Dollhouse," and this was my favorite shot. Check out the little Tinkerbell on the dresser! Er, right next to the skull. (Hey, I *said* it was creepy.)

Hit the link to see the rest.


Happy weekend, everyone!

My Book Tour Has Officially Been Out-Geeked

Dang it.

Ernest Cline, the creator of Fanboys, is on tour this week promoting his new book Ready Player One. Nothing unusual there.

Well, except that he's traveling in a thoroughly souped up DeLorean with "features from Doc Brown's Time Machine, KITT from Knight Rider, Buckaroo Banzai's Jet Car, and the Ecto-1 from Ghostbusters."

Check it out:

Yes, I am insanely jealous.

No, I don't want to talk about it.

Harrumph.

Cline will be driving about 2,000 miles in the DeLorean - John and I will be driving about 5,000 miles this October. So, our lousy generic rental car will at least be comfier, right?

Right?

[sob]

Read more at The Geekiest Book Tour Ever, and don't miss the rest of Cline's series on his process of building the geekiest car ever - it's pretty amazing. (Especially the latest one about his proton pack. Omigosh so cool!) You can also find the posts and his tour schedule over on his blog.

(Before you ask: I haven't read his book yet, but I plan to. It has great reviews and looks like a lot of fun.)

Also, many thanks to Elizabeth A. for sending me the link and making me question my geekhood. -.- No, really. Thanks a LOT, Elizabeth.

As for my own tour, I believe we just nailed down the last tricky date in Houston, so final details are coming soon. (Hooray!) Stay tuned!

Every Geek Home Needs...

A Star Trek-themed cat tree:

Set phasers to "love me."

(More images and another design over on Bit Rebel, found via @amy_geek)


Which will look great next to your....

KLINGON COFFEE TABLE!!



Yes, it lights up, and it actually looks fabulous in the room.

It was made by Nick Woodrow, who says he's taking orders - for an undisclosed price.
(If you have to ask...)

More info and video on Gizmodo. (found via @GirlsAreGeeks)

And finally, for a little wall art, how about some Portal 2 Cave Johnson cross stitch?

Finally! A reason to return to my cross-stitching roots!

You can snag the .pdf pattern for less than $4 here. (found via @kiala)

Oh, and speaking of Portal, there's another excellent fan film making the rounds - but I actually like the first one I featured with the cake better. Is that bad?


And they say Twitter is a waste of time. Ha!


So, what geeky greatness is wasting YOUR time today, guys?

One Size Fits All?! (A Short Girl's Rant)

So for my final costume piece for Dragon*Con, all I needed was a pair of striped tights. Striking out at the mall, I turned to ebay, and snagged a nice black and brown pair for about $10.

They arrived in the mail today, and I excitedly ripped opened the package and unrolled the contents.

And unrolled,

and unrolled,

and....

...unrolled.

Guys, these suckers are as tall as my shoulders, UNSTRETCHED.

I know I'm short, but I've yet to meet a woman whose pelvis is eye-level with me. So I ask you: WHAT. THE. HECK??

Also, what's with this crappy "one size fits all" thing in the world of hosiery, anyway? Every cool pair of tights out there (Sock Dreams, I'm looking at you) is one size. ONE SIZE. Since I'm five foot tall, that means knee socks are thigh highs, thigh highs are nipple-highs, and tights can keep my neck warm - while I'm wearing them.

THESE tights, however, take the proverbial cake for sheer insanity. (Heh. "Sheer.")

Harrumph.


Ok, rant's over.


'Scuse me while I go find the scissors...

$10 Geek Tees? Yes, Please!

I should start by saying this is *not* a sponsored post. I just figure if I'm going to be throwing all my money into geeky tees, you guys might as well join me.

Through tomorrow, all the tees on Threadless are only $10. However, you may have noticed - as I have - that Threadless seems to specialize in more artsy hipster stuff than in geek girl goodies. And there's a LOT of it to comb through when seeking geektastic gems.

Well, never fear, fellow fans! I have heroically picked through all the watercolor guns and ironic silhouette art to bring you only the best geeky options!

BEHOLD!

Been There

Back to the Future meets Indiana Jones. Great Scott!


I also like that the girl wearing it has a cute hot air balloon tattoo:

Of course, none of the designs can come out and say they're a Star Wars or Harry Potter design for copyright reasons, which is another reason searching through shirt sites like Threadless can be a pain.

Rebel Lighthouse

House Brawl

This one's neat because its also available in the girl's "boatneck" style for the same price:

I absolutely LOVE this Doctor Who (ish) design:

Space and Time

I don't usually wear t-shirts this busy, though, so I'm on the fence about buying it. I'd almost rather have it as an art print. (Something I say quite a lot about Threadless designs, actually.)

There's even a little steampunk to be had:

Steampunk 1852

I already own these next two, if that tells you how well I like them:

A Simple Plan

Calling Home

And John wore this next one so much he literally wore it out. I think I'll have to buy him a new one:

Haikus Are Easy

This started many, many conversations. Most of them confused.

I think I'll also have to nab this one:

Wishless

And also this one, even though it's less geeky and more oh-so-cute-hot-air-balloon-y:

Fishing for Rainbow Trout

Again, all of these shirts are $10 until tomorrow. To find more geeky options, your best bet is to select Gaming or Pop Culture under categories and browse that way. I also omitted a few awesome designs (like the Muppets rainbow one) because they're sold out. (Boo!)

Also, today's TeeFury is a Firefly inspired "I Aim to Misbehave", and their shirts are always $10 (plus shipping.) Oh, and while we're at it, if you've never checked out Woot or Ript Apparal, those are also great $10 deal-a-day t-shirt sites. (Today's Ript Cylon toaster made me laugh.)

Um, I guess I should stop now, before I bankrupt us all. Heh. Still, let me know what I missed in the comments! And happy shopping!

This Is Why I Love Conventions

Ok, well, one of the reasons why.

Ladies, gentlemen, and fellow geeks, I give you...

BRENT SPINER IMPERSONATING PATRICK STEWART!!

(spotted via Wimp)

Yes, he's weird on Twitter, but Spiner is gold - GOLD, I say - in person. We got to see him live with Levar Burton at MegaCon last year, and he was both bitingly hilarious and surprisingly humble by turns. I like him. And this video (shot at this year's Emerald City Comic Con) makes me like him more.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to X out another day on my countdown to Dragon*Con. :D

Saturday Steam 8/20/11

After MUCH peer pressure (thank you, peers!) I've started a Pinterest account. If you haven't heard of it, Pinterest is a super-addictive photo-sharing platform that rips open the space-time-continuum and sucks away your entire afternoon. Trust me. It's dangerous.

Anyhoo, of course I'm pinning mostly steampunk inspirational stuff, like this:

Submitted by Julie N. via locksmith-r-us; By Franz von Stuck and found at Bremen City Hall, Germany.

Now THAT is a door handle.

And check out these funky cool "light installations" by Liquid Light:

That's a chandelier.

And here's a floor lamp:

I'm sure they can't be as fragile as they look, but I'd still be terrified of even breathing on those crystal drops. Wow.

John and I have been working hard on our Dragon*Con costumes this week, and I'll give you one guess what they are since I'm mentioning them in this post. Heh. Anyway, we've been consulting the mighty Google image search quite a bit for reference and inspirations like these:

Found by Corinna H.; Victorian Picnic at the Clara Zetkin Park in Germany; photo by Regina Katzer.

Hit that link to see over a hundred fun costume shots. Eye candy galore!

And speaking of eye candy, I'd give a non-vital organ to look like this:

(I did a triple-take before I realized that's a real girl and not a painting. Sooo pretty.)

Or this:

Both photos from SteampunkCouture, which you should go click around for lots more gorgeousness. (And if you're that skinny - well, I hate you - but also you can buy that last outfit for only $175!)


And just LOOK how adorable this girl is:

Found via Steampunk Girls, another good time waster, but I don't have the photographer's credit. Anyone know?

[Edit: I'm a dolt. This one's *also* from Steampunk Couture. I should've known!]

Also, that skirt makes me ridiculously happy.

Ok, enough gawking at pretty steampunk girls.


Now let's gawk at pretty steampunk jewelry!

Love the art deco touch - and only $22 at Sandrandan.


Dreeeeeamy.
$51 at the always fabulous Bionic Unicorn.

Ok, so this next one's more pirate than steampunk, but I love the enameled ship:

Found by Carthey S.; by Karen Keith Designs

I believe this was a one-of-a-kind that's been sold (curses), but click the link to see lots more.

Who says steampunk has to be all gold and brass?

$36 from Friston

I discovered Friston's etsy store last week, and quickly discovered that I have needs I never realized before, guys. Jewelry needs. I...I think I'm in love. With a purple leather cuff bracelet:

$47 from Friston

Not to mention at least eight of his other pieces. I'm telling you: NEEDS. I have them.

Oh, and finally - yes, I've seen the crazy steampunk apartment. I like the technicolor dirigible. So you can all stop e-mailing me the link. Please.


Seen something fun and steamy? Share your links in the comments!

I'll Buy THAT for $4

When John picked this up at the antique store last Saturday, my first words were, "Dude. They have LIGHTSABERS??"

Ok, so I admit I'm not an expert on lightsabers *or* vintage flashlights, which is what this is. However, I'm betting with a few more buttons and doo-dads I could totally rock this at the next Star Wars Celebration. Not bad for $4 - and there are tons like it on ebay, if you're in the market. (Like these - so cool!)

Next I caused a minor scene when I spotted this - also $4 - hanging off a shelf of old pencil sharpeners:


Circus World! Anyone remember that place? It was a theme park near Orlando in the 80's, and later became Boardwalk and Baseball before dying altogether. Frankly, I don't remember it at all, but according to this picture I've had forever I've been there at least once:

Huh. You know, looking at that creepy-ass clown in the picture with me and Ben, I'm suddenly realizing why Circus World wasn't around very long. And I LIKE clowns. (Since, you know, I was one for a coupla years.) (And btw, isn't my clown girl cute? I have her brother on the other side of that shelf in my office:

They're both from a cold porcelain artist on etsy.

Getting back to that pennant, though, I love the colors and it was only $4 and it made John roll his eyes a LOT so I call that a good purchase.

Now, does anyone know a way to clean little mold spots off felt? And would you say that pennant is creepy-in-a-bad-way, creepy-in-a-good-way, or still needs a motion-activated soundboard with the Joker laugh on it?

And why was John rolling his eyes, anyway? It's not like it was a giant metal chicken. (*gigglesnort*)

Also, I'm reminded that I've never posted the final "after" pictures of my office. I should do something about that someday. Maybe. (Procrastinators ftw! You know, some time tomorrow!)

You Can't Take the Carrots From Me

This bit of shininess comes from Epbot reader Alden L., who writes:

"I thought you needed to see this. I made them. The pig on the left is my male, Snickers, and the one on the right wishing I would die in a fire is Ouiser Boudreaux, my female. She is of course neutered because the world does not need more accidental guinea pigs. They are both rescue pigs. Also, they were not fond of the hats, no matter how cunning they are."

You are damaging my calm.

I'll admit I was expecting pigs of the curly-tailed variety at first (which, c'mon, would be pretty awesome) but that little death stare is perfection itself. Quick! Someone say the safe word!

So thanks, Alden. I think I speak for us all when I say: we actually DID need to see that.

World of Geek Craft 8/16/11

This "woven gift topper" by Kate of Minieco is made of pure happy:

Or maybe strips of paper. Whatever. The point is: I dare you to not smile while looking at it. I'd love to see a whole set framed individually on clean white walls: instant geek art! Hit the link above for more Invader dudes plus instructions. (Found via Craft:)

Some adorableness from the upcoming Stitch Wars gallery show:

Soooo cute. This one's my favorite, but there's lots more to squee over on SuperPunch.



Now, you could buy this necklace by Oak for $372:

OR

...you could use this tutorial by Honestly...WTF to make your own with stuff you might already have in the garage:

Oh, the possibilities! I'm thinking braided ribbon for a more feminine look. What do you think?

(And thanks to Amanda H. for the link!)

Oh, and while we're at it, I Still Love You's tutorial for making "Magic Braided Leather" makes my head hurt a little:

...but I have to try this.


And finally, Josh H. sent me a pic of this awesome nerdy birthday banner his wife Sabrina made for him:

I especially like the Picard uniforms. :)

Josh didn't say, but I think these are all made from felt. Family project, anyone? (And great job, Josh's awesome wife!)

Seen any great geeky crafts lately? Be sure to share in the comments!