A Rainbow Plague Doctor Mask, Miniature Muppets, & The Cutest Mermaid Camper

How've you been this week? 

Do you identify more with this green pepper Isabella discovered?

 

 Big 2020 Mood.

Or would you say you're more like Andrea W. and feeling a little...

... Goofy?

:D

Seriously, though, we need more Disneybounding and closet 'bounding with masks. Anything to make them more fun, to bring a little nerdy whimsy when you're out and about.

John's favorite mask has rainbow cats all over it, and he reports that it gets so many smiles, he never wants to wear a "boring" mask again.

So hey, John, have you seen Kirsten's mask?

Bahahaa! Omigosh, I LOVE IT. That quilting is amazing, Kirsten.

As always I have so many saved goodies from the Fans of Epbot group on Facebook - you guys brighten up my feed every day - so let's see how many more things I can cram into one post. 

There's a gift exchange on FOE called QUACK where members make & send each other nifty nerdy things, then share pics with the group. I keep forgetting what "QUACK" stands for, even though we've had 9(!!) rounds so far, but here's one of my favorite creations from last May:

Sherry G. made this miniature Muppet Show stage shadow box - complete with needle felted Muppets!! - for Nicole C., and there was MUCH rejoicing. And Kermit-flailing.

A closer look:

EEEEEEE. I love that Sherry made Camilla, and one of the penguins!

But wait! Here comes another QUACK, this time made by Sarah D. for Gina H.:

At first glance it's an unassuming Potion-Making book, but open it up, aaaand:

AAAAAAAAAAAAA!!

The crystal ball lights up, all the books have printed pages, each potion bottle has its own label, and the portrait frame is a hidden door. I just... I can't, Sarah. This is too amazing.

****

Anyone else love a good furniture makeover?

Oooh, I love cell-shading, too, Sarah. Bravo.

Speaking of makeovers, Kali redid an entire camper, and then named it Gina.

Gina is teeny and magical and MERMAID-THEMED, oh my.

 If you already think that's adorable, hold on to your fins:

::SWOON::

Sea what I mean? ;)

If you're looking for a slightly smaller craft project, Ami discovered my DIY pin-to-necklace converter also works on bar pins:

Sweet! I have a few of these kinds of brooches I need to try myself.

****

I can never predict which of my tutorials will take off, which is one of those frustrating-but-also-wonderful parts of life. Case in point, I can't believe how many of you have built our Death Star shelf! I see a new one every few weeks, and every time I'm just as delighted as the first.

Here are a couple more, first one by Brian D.:

And another by Kristen L.:

Then here's a stellar Falcon variation by Marie W. from Instagram:

Niiiice. Love that paint job, Marie! And the lighting just under the engines is ::chef's kiss::

*****

I know it's still too early for Fall decorations, but I've been hanging on to Lynn's photo since last year, and it's high time we appreciated it:

Plus I know I'm not the only one who wants to shamelessly copy her design, right? :p 

 *****

Hey, did you know you could dye your own Chucks?

 Kristie, you smashed it! (Eh? EH?) As someone who also has a hard time finding my size in all the pretty colors, I may be stealing your idea.

Another idea to steal, this time from Rose G.:

She tells me they're still at it, too.

If you've never practiced any kind of gratitude exercise before, let me tell you: HIGHLY recommend. Simply re-telling a happy memory can trigger all sorts of wonderful things in your brain, and the more you dwell on the things you're grateful for each day, the better it is for your mental health. (I've also had friends fold their daily gratitudes into origami.)

*****

Valinda's sister is a stained glass artist, and, well... prepare to be really, really jealous:

::TRIPLE SWOON::

You can see more detail shots on her sister's IG account, Glass Creations Of Joy.

Also that is so smart to use a tension rod to hang the curtains below the stained glass, Valinda. (This was before she hung the other two.) That really makes it look like custom windows.

And finally, because this post is definitely getting too long, here's the snuggliest, squee-worthy little friend to a-maze you:

::no sound::

::because I've gone super-sonic::

LUDO, FRIEND!!

Lookit that sweet face, the gangly arms, the big feet! Aww, he's amazing, Poppy, fantastic job.
(You can see more of Poppy's creations on her blog, go see.)

This also reminds me, though it's not from FOE: my friend and fellow Labyrinth fangirl Kristi recently recommended this Labyrinth Fan Club on Facebook, and much like Fans of Epbot, it's added so many smiles to my feed. Check it out if you're like me and can't get enough Labyrinth fan content - and while you're at it, tell me what other nerdy groups you belong to on FB! (Rest assured, I'm already in Weird Secondhand Finds, haha.)

I hope these brought a little more light and life to your weekend, 'bots.

Oh hey, and since we're on a Labyrinth streak, let me end with something relevant to some of our interests: we have two new Epbot tees in our Threadless shop! Woot woot!

The "Should You Need Us" art is by the same Kristi I was just talking about, ha. So many of you asked for her fan art on a shirt when I shared it back in June that Kristi graciously allowed us to add it to the shop. And the Friendly FoE design is one John made up ages ago, but forgot to post. Which is pretty on theme for us, really. :p 

Oh, and since I had a few people ask: we've made all our t-shirt designs available on cloth masks, too - and while we were doing that I learned you can also get them on things like pillows and shower curtains and coffee cups. Ooooh. This could be dangerous.

*****

P.S. Aha, you thought I forgot about announcing our finger winners, didn't you? WELL I DID. But then I remembered just in time.

SO.

The winner of the Frost Bit Elsa TapStick is Mica Hendricks
The winner of Poke 'Er Face Purple is Kara Davies
The winner of Zombie Jamboree is Cowgirl68
And the winner of Digital Gothic is Polandra

Congrats, you four, and please e-mail me your mailing address!