The Geektastics » Palette of Holding

Palette of Holding: Claire Elizabeth Beauchamp Randall Fraser Cosplay Pt.1

Rhianna — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 18:35:39 +0000

In an epic fangasm, Starz has picked up the amazing Outlander series of books as a new television series. I am fan-girling all over this since I have been a fan of the books since I began reading them in 2004…that’s 10 years of excitement. I can count.

Anyway, as of today a small teaser trailer has been released and a few still shots of the characters. One of the shots in the trailer shows Claire in her 1940′s dress:

I have decided that I have the curly brown hair and need to pull off this costume for Denver Comicon and stuff. STUFF!

The planning stage has begun, and I have the pattern narrowed down to two options. The biggest hurdle is that you only see the dress in a few short glimpses in the trailer and only in this one still shot. I can deduce from those that the dress is knee length, has long or 3/4 length sleeves, and features a black belt.

Here are the patterns I have been looking at for this dress:

What do you think? Do you like either of these or have your own opinion on a better pattern? Please share

After I pick a pattern it’ll be fabric shopping time *yay!* and then sewing! Wish me luck!

Palette of Holding: I Get My Mod Podge On: SHOES

Rhianna — Tue, 25 Jun 2013 15:00:18 +0000

This is the second part of my “I Got My Mod Podge On” set. The previous set featured information on how to make the CLUTCH.

I have no idea how I was sparked by inspiration to begin decoupaging stuff, but somehow I was. Over the course of a few months I had created three clutches and two pairs of shoes. So, how did I make the shoes? Let’s find out…

1) Research. RESEARCH. Really. I did research. What else could/should I have done when trying something I never had before? So, I researched. How does one decoupage? What are the materials? Is there some techniques I should know? Let me share my results with you:

How to decoupage, in general.
Find the materials - general. The paper you want to use, mod podge, clear furniture lacquer, fine grain sand paper, and paint brushes.
Find the materials – shoes. A pair of shoes made from leather, faux leather, patent leather, etc. Pretty much anything smooth, and nothing made from fabric or suede. You want a smooth surface. I noticed that every example pair of shoes I found on the internet were covered completely, and then showed wear and tear like crazy due to shoes flexing and bending during walking. I didn’t want wear and tear to show. I didn’t want my shoes to look worn within a few times of wearing them. To combat that, I went with a wedge because the wedge part of a high heel doesn’t bend, fold, or crinkle. It stays sturdy and I would never have to worry about rips or tears due to creases forming as I walked.
Research techniques. Here are some web pages that I used specifically for these projects: Creative You! – Craft a Pair of Decoupage Shoes and Anomaly Blog – Geek Crafting: Comic Book Shoes
Ask questions. If I had a question, I asked it in the blog tutorials I had found. Sometimes I received answers and sometimes I didn’t. But when I did, the advice was invaluable!
Find examples of what I wanted the end result to me. Examples like: Star Trek Shoes, Poison Ivy Shoes, and Music Shoes.
Strive for better. See this set here: Batman Clutch and Shoes Set. Notice the paint strokes showing in the glare? And the crinkles in the clutch? I decided I could do better. And I did. Knowing how shoes work (the bend and fold as you walk) and taking where the bends occur into account, doing a good finish, and taking the time to complete the number of coats needed for a great finish, fixes this problem and made my project look like a million bucks (in my opinion)!
Be Prepared for a Learning Curve. If this is the very first time you are doing decoupage, prepare for the possibility that it wont turn out exactly as you want it to. Trial and error is a life skill and definitely applies here.
Take Your Time.

View the Prezi below to follow along and make your own shoes!

These comic shoes were made for walkin’!

Palette of Holding: I Get My Mod Podge On: CLUTCH

Rhianna — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 14:35:47 +0000

This is the first part of my “I Got My Mod Podge On” set. The next set will feature information on how to make the SHOES.

How to decoupage, in general.
Find the materials - general. The paper you want to use, mod podge, clear furniture lacquer, fine grain sand paper, and paint brushes.
Find the materials – clutch. For the clutch, I had to figure out what the specific purse creating supplies were called, which was harder than I thought. Searches for ‘clutch’ ‘clutch supplies’ etc. did not yield what I was looking for. Finally, I stumbled upon the correct term of ‘dressing case’ which finally yielded results online. Here are search results in Etsy for clutch dressing cases (hard sided clutch base sides with frame). One thing to note is that these are meant to be decorated/crafted. They come as a set: two black plastic sides and one metal frame. You decorate the sides and then glue them onto the base. The other main thing you will need is some hearty all-purpose glue. Do NOT use super/gorilla glue. You need the even-more uber stuff. It should come in a tube and be more like gel than a liquid. It should be rated for metal, plastic, and cloth. Lastly, you will need a hot glue gun and fabric for the lining of the clutch, I recommend velvet.
Research techniques. Here are some web pages that I used specifically for these projects: Southern Blackberry Designs – How to Decoupage a Purse
Ask questions. If I had a question, I asked it in the blog tutorials I had found. Sometimes I received answers and sometimes I didn’t. But when I did, the advice was invaluable!
Find examples of what I wanted the end result to me. Examples like: Aquaman Clutch and this Bird Purse.
Strive for better. See this set here: Batman Clutch and Shoes Set. Notice the paint strokes showing in the glare? And the crinkles in the clutch? I decided I could do better. And I did. Knowing how to do a good finish, and taking the time to complete the number of coats needed for a great finish, fixes this problem and made my projects look like a million bucks!
Ignore some Instructions. Coordinate the project you want with directions that make sense. This can sometimes backfire, but if you use your head you can go through the directions and figure out what applies to your specific project. For example, the clutch, which had no 100% directions for me, so I used about 4 different instructions and came up with a set that worked for me. Some directions were not needed, like a painted color background, so I ignored that step.
Expand on some Instructions. For the most part, I noticed that the instructions I found didn’t put enough emphasis on the finish/lacquer step of these projects. I had found one set of instructions that said to use a spray gloss finish, but I was very unhappy with the results. With my dad’s help, though, I was able to get the right type of finish and expand on the “apply a few coats of gloss” that was listed in instructions to “apply a shit load of coats” with amazing results! So, some steps in the directions need expanding on.
Add some Instructions. The clutch, for example, will need a template made for lining it (or if you are doing one solid image on the outside). I made my templates using newspaper and spent extra time making sure they were done right, which involved multiple attempts, wielding scissors like a boss, and scotch tape.
Be Prepared for a Learning Curve. If this is the very first time you are doing decoupage, prepare for the possibility that it wont turn out exactly as you want it to. Trial and error is a life skill and definitely applies here.
Take Your Time.

2) I failed on my first attempt. Well, not “failed” per say, more like “didn’t live up to my own expectations.” I’m calling it my practice clutch. Want to see it? Okay. All of the red marked areas are my “needs improvement next time” sections.

Most are due to the attempt I did of using a spray on lacquer. It did NOT give me the results I was looking for, and I ended up sanding off some of the paper, which is what made the biggest shit results on the clutch project.

The other issue was caused by me attempting to use one large piece of paper instead of a bunch of small ones. I still like the result of this (one large image on each side) but it definitely made it a LOT harder.

Another issue was my first attempt of using cheap thin fabric for the lining, and then fleece on top of it. Fleece is way to thick to use, especially when on top of another fabric.

Lastly, wait. Wait longer than you think/want for the lacquer to completely dry before using it. I ended up wrapping the clutch in a bag to bring with me on a trip, but it wasn’t 100% set and ended up getting the indentations of the bag on it. I had to re-sand and put another top coat of lacquer on it to fix it.

So, what did I learn? A) Go straight to the good stuff for your top coats: hardware-store-high-gloss-furniture-lacquer. And do a CRAP load of coats. 10 or more coats. B) Use small bits of overlapping paper, OR work more slowly when using one large piece. C) Use flannel or velvet for lining. D) Wait for it to dry completely before using it. That means waiting 2-3 days after your last coat of lacquer.

3) Take two. Try again.

Check out the Prezi below with the successful directions.

Are you ready to start gluing??

Palette of Holding: Forest Friends Nursery

Rhianna — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 13:45:32 +0000

I recently did a mural for a best friend for her first baby! It was exciting, fun, exhausting, and anxiety ridden!

Here is what I did…

1. I made a drawing on the computer and got it approved by the mom-to-be.

2. I bought paint, brushes, etc.

3. I set up my space.

4. I used a projector to place and size the image on the wall.

5. I used a pencil to trace the image directly onto the wall.

6. I started painting. I began with the background, the tree.

7. I used bits of blue painters tape to indicate where pencil marks needed to be erased after it dried.

8. Every once in awhile I would step back and check how I was doing.

9. I moved onto the animals.

10. For the animals, I did them in sections by color: The lightest color first then moving to to darker colors.

11. Sometimes I had to go back and fix mistakes where I deviated from the artwork.

12. Sometimes I had to move in real close to get better detail.

13. Usually, though, I was just ‘in the zone.’

14. I decided to add some detail that wasn’t in the original drawing. This meant I had to mix my own color…

15. I saved the leaves for last. Believe it or not, I had never sponge painted before, so I did a bit of experimenting first.

16. Then I just went for it!

17. Ta-da!

Palette of Holding: Vintage Housewife Baby Showers

Rhianna — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 14:30:34 +0000

In January I set myself a huge task: host two baby showers, both on the same weekend. It was pretty epic and had serious potential to be completely overwhelming. Handling it as best like a pro that I could, though, both parties went extremely smoothly and well. (I should note, this was my first time hosting a baby shower, and only the second and third baby showers I have ever been to – the first being my own. So, I hardly have any baby shower experience.)

First, I had to decide one major thing: host both baby showers back to back, or on separate weekends? Since I have a very active and fulfilling family life, I like to keep my weekends (or at least one weekend day) free for my family. But, the showers also needed to be in January, which was right after the insanity that was December (my daughter’s second birthday, my brother’s doctorate graduation, Christmas in California, and my wedding anniversary) which has left NO weekend day free for an entire month. January is also my husband’s birthday, and add in New Years festivities in there. January was filling in quick. Ultimately, I decided to get them done in one swoop: one on Saturday and one on Sunday of the same weekend in January. This meant I only had to clean my house once and I could keep the same decorations up with ease.

‘What’s that you say about decorations, Rhianna?’ – yep, you read right. I had the same decor for both parties. If you are doing two parties why not make the theme exactly the same? A very smart decision, if you ask me! I went with a vintage housewife/mom theme with a red, white, and teal color scheme. I came across a great Etsy shop called Xreations which did two great vintage themed invitations. Check them out:

Sometimes it is worth a few extra bucks to use a pre-made invitation template/design than make one yourself. Besides, for the cost of stock illustrations of vintage housewives, this option made complete economical sense!

Next was to build upon the theme with decor, decorations and food. I decided I wanted to do *something* that would be memorable and keep-able for the parents, so I found another Etsy shop, MTipsy, which sells baby shower specific paper goods. I went with the “Wishes for Baby” option, which is a card that let’s guests fill out their wishes for the baby. Things like “I hope you learn _____________” and “I hope you never forget ______________.” I found it sweet, and a great thing to keep and give to their babies when they are older to see what friends and family wished for them. Another card I got was a Baby Mad-Libs type game. This was used for only one of the baby showers since it dealt specifically with first time parents (and the other baby shower were welcoming their second baby). The Mad-Libs was a small fun addition, something guests could fill out as they arrived, and something the mom was able to keep.

I have used the Etsy store Paper Patterns for two years now and have always had stunning results. This time around I needed a vintage-inspired centerpiece and banner. Both needed to be generic enough to use in both showers, and this time I decided to be super generic so I could maintain the possibility of using it for other stuff as well. I decided on a “Congratulations” banner and a simple centerpiece with one interchangeable item to make it more custom for each party: a rolling pin with the mom’s name on it. I stuck the centerpiece picks in a glass coke size pack container for style.

Food was a bit tougher, as I had a small budget and wanted the items to seem somewhat vintage/retro. After weeks of debating with others on what the food should be, it was finally decided: popcorn (used only at one shower due to the number of participants), glass bottled cokes, IBC glass bottled root beers, gelatin salad, cheese ball and crackers, garlic chive dip and pretzels, veggie tray and dip, strawberries (used only at one shower due to the number of participants), punch, cookies, and cake. Everything was easy to make, and could be made in advanced so they were ready for plating the day of the event.

I had my husband leave up the white and red light up paper stars we have as Christmas decorations in our home. They fit with the colors and added some sparkle. Other decor included a crystal champagne bucket I have that I used to collect cards and a clothesline with my daughter’s red, white, and teal clothing hanging from it. It was a cheap and cute idea, I got many compliments on it. I am also a big promoter of ribbon. I find it is another cheap decorating item that is reusable. I tied the ribbon onto my cookie stand, punch bowl stem, individual punch cups, cake server handle, candy bowl handles, and more. When the party was over, all the ribbon was saved for use later in another party, hair ribbon for my daughter, or other craft projects. I also had a slide show going on my TV showcasing some 1950′s adds for all sorts of things. A quick internet search came up with some great ad options to choose from! The favors for the party were wooden spoons with a simple ribbon tied around them.

Besides the “Wishes” and Mad-Libs cards I did 3.5 shower games: Do You Know Your TV Moms, The Price is Right, Name that Smell, and Trivia (either baby trivia or Australia trivia depending on which shower it was). The Do You Know Your TV Moms was a game involving 10 vintage TV moms from the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Guests received one point each for knowing the name of the character, the actress name, and the TV show name (for a total possible score of three points per mom). I used a simple PowerPoint slide deck to show the photos of each mom. The laptop the deck was on was hooked up to my TV, thanks to my awesome husband’s mad skillz. Here are the 11 (we had a bonus mom) moms we went with:

1. Wilma Flintstone (voiced by Jean Vender Pyl)on The Flintstones
2. June Cleaver (Barbara Billingsley) on Leave It to Beaver
3. Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball) on I Love Lucy
4. Carol Brady (Florence Henderson) on The Brady Bunch
5. Jane Jetson (voiced by Penny Singleton) on The Jetsons
6. Shirley Partridge (Shirley Jones) on The Partridge Family
7. Morticia Addams (Carolyn Jones) on The Addams Family
8. Samantha Stevens (Elizabeth Montgomery) on Bewitched
9. Lily Munster (Yvonne DeCarlo) on The Munsters
10. Olivia Walton (Michael Learned) on The Waltons
Bonus: Maureen Robinson (June Lockhart) on Lost in Space

The next game we did was a mini-Price is Right where guests were asked to guess the 1950′s price on the grocery item (closest price without going over won the point, guests who guessed the exact price received two points). The prices came from the website The People History (except for the postage stamp price, which came from fiftiesweb.com). I gave guests the price I paid for the item when I bought it (the 2013 price) and then they had to write down their guess what it was in the 50′s on an index card and hold it up. The items were:

1. Postage Stamp – 3 cents
2. Campbells Tomato Soup – 10 cents
3. Carnation Milk Can – 14 cents
4. Gerbers Baby Foods – 10 cents
5. Jiffy Cake Mix – 10 cents
6. Kelloggs Shreaded Wheat – 18 cents
7. Maxwell House Instant Coffee – $1.19
8. Miracle Whip – 55 cents
9. Palmolive – 7 cents
10. Ritz Crackers – 32 cents

The next game is a baby shower classic: Name that Smell. The game involved melting different chocolate bars into a diaper and having guests guess what candy bar it is. Guests are passed each diaper and are allowed to smell, touch, and even taste the melted basin of the diaper to help them with their guess. We had six candies we used:

1. Hershey Bar
2. Mr. Goodbar
3. Krackel/Crunch Bar
4. York Peppermint Patty
5. M&Ms
6. 3 Musketeer Bar

The last game we played was used as a tie breaker for one shower, and as a separate game for the other. It consisted of basic trivia questions themed to either baby history or Australia (since one of our shower’s pregnant mum is Australian). Want to know the questions (and answers)? Then check them out below!

Baby Trivia

Australian Trivia

The first disposable diaper was invented and patented in:

a. 1948 *

b. 1958

c. 1968

d. 1978

Who is this?

a. Dame Edna*

b. Amy Pond

c. Benny Hill

d. Russell Crowe

The first US patent of a nursing bra was granted in:

a. 1913*

b. 1916

c. 1931

d. 1961

The following are all Australian bands EXCEPT:

a. AC/DC

b. INXS

c. Jet

d. Muse *

Gerber was founded in:

a. 1917

b. 1927*

c. 1937

d. 1947

Cricket is played on a field with a center rectangular 22 yard long
______.

a. Zone

b. Grass

c. Line Out

d. Pitch *

Kraft Macaroni and Cheese was introduced in:

a. 1907

b. 1917

c. 1927

d. 1937 *

Who is the current Queen of Australia?

a. None

b. Elizabeth II*

c. Julia Gillard

d. Cate Blanchett

Johnson & Johnson was founded in:

a. 1886*

b. 1906

c. 1926

d. 1946

Vegemite is made from

a. Yeast Extract*

b. Hazelnuts

c. Bush Tucker

d. Billy Tea

The original pacifier was actually a corn cob, used in England,
during the:

a. 1660′s

b. 1680′s*

c. 1860′s

d. 1880′s

In Rugby, a _______ is a means of restarting play after a minor
infringement.

a. Ruck

b. Maul

c. Scrum*

d. Wicket

The earliest use of the word “playpen” cited in the
Dictionary in:

a. 1902*

b. 1922

c. 1942

d. 1962

William Kent developed the pram, or stroller, in:

a. 1703

b. 1733*

c. 1903

d. 1933

I’d like to think both showers were great! What do you think?

Palette of Holding: Baby Chell

Rhianna — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 15:45:44 +0000

Portal is an amazing video game developed by Valve. It is a puzzle game that involves two things: an in-portal and an out-portal; you shoot two different portals and can go in and out them. It’s a bit difficult to explain, even though I found playing it and picking up the concept easy upon actually doing it.

The game primarily comprises a series of puzzles that must be solved by teleporting the player’s character and simple objects using “the handheld portal device”, a device that can create inter-spatial portals between two flat planes. The player-character, Chell, is challenged by an artificial intelligence named GLaDOS (Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System) to complete each puzzle in the Aperture Science Enrichment Center using the portal gun with the promise of receiving cake when all the puzzles are completed. The game’s unique physics allows momentum to be retained through portals, requiring creative use of portals to maneuver through the test chambers. (Wikipedia)

…I agree, that still sounds confusing. Really, I swear, it was easy to understand when actually being played. Maybe a video will help:

Totally looks like fun, right? Well it is! They came out with Portal 2, too! And it is two player, which was even more fun!

Our annual Halloween party last year was Science Fiction theme, and although my husband waffled about what he wanted to be, I had my costume and my daughter’s costume set! I went as a female version of the 10th Doctor Who Doctor and Sierra went as Chell, the main character you play as in Portal! Baby Chell!

This was my first time tackling a costume like this.

Regular Chell looks like this:

Image came from http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net

I started off scouring the interwebs for a good base. Orange is not an easy color to find. Originally I was going to go with this NASA costume and modify it, but it turns out the patches aren’t the kind that are sewn on, so it was impossible to get them off…and that collar was weird and something I didn’t think I could modify.

NOT a good option for me – plus they are $35-$40!!
Image came from: costumeplayercatalog.com/

I kind of sat around on what plan B would be. Meanwhile, my husband started working on a mini-portal gun! The big one looks like this:

Image and Replica by: http://necaonline.com

As I did internet searches for “orange” “jumpsuit” and “toddler” I accidentally came across an eBay listing for the following item:

Image posted on the ebay listing by nevhuntre (http://myworld.ebay.com/nevhuntre?_trksid=p2047675.l2559)

I couldn’t beat the price ($1.99) and I thought that I could make it work. I cut off the sleeves and the hood, added black tape detail, and got specially sized Aperture Science patches from Etsy store Patch Makter to cover up both “T”s (one on the jacket and one on the pants) and the “VOLUNTEER” that was on the jacket. I decided NOT to cut the pants short for two reasons: 1) I live in Colorado 2) It’s for a costume being worn in OCTOBER…in Colorado. Burrrr!

My husband finished the mini portal gun just in time!

We accessorized with our stuffed weighted companion cube we got from Thing Geek back when Sierra was born!

So, you tell me, was it successful??!

We are hoping to squeeze one more event out of this costume: Denver Comic Con 2013! Perhaps I will cut the pant legs short for that?

Palette of Holding: Brain Slug

Rhianna — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 16:45:47 +0000

I did a fun and easy little project last fall: A Futurama Brain Slug!

It was crazy and easy to do, and was successful even thought it was my first attempt; I made two in two nights. I used the pattern from the Instructable user LegoBrickMaster7. He has a lot of other fun instructables, including this gem.

To follow the instructions and make your own Brain Slug, check out LegoBrickMaster7′s Instructable!

Supplies used to make TWO brain slugs:

4 pieces of lime green felt sheets

lime green thread

1 sewing needle

2 headbands (I used ones that had loops at the top. Like this.)

2 large googlie eyes

craft glue

Differences I did in relation to the Instructable’s directions:

I printed the pattern, then made multiple legs on the same sheet (7 of them) so I could just put the sheet of paper over the felt and cut it out once (instead of pinning the same foot pattern 7 times). All 7 feet fit on the 8.5×11 sheet with creative positioning. This meant I only needed to pin the pattern to two sheets of felt and I was able to cut out all I needed for one complete brain slug (with an extra base circle to boot!).

I used a googlie eye instead of a felt one. I think it came out AWESOME.

I tried gluing the completed brain slug onto a hair clip but it was not stable AT ALL. So I ripped off the clip and hand sewed the slug onto a headband. It worked perfect.

The result:

Futurama Brain Slug Project
(c) Rhianna Ulrich 2012 for the photo
(c) Futurama for the Brain Slug
(c) LegoBrickMaster7 for the Directions

Diaper Bag of Holding: Nothin’ BUTT Love for My Readers

Rhianna — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 07:01:47 +0000

Howdy again!! I thought I would share a cute craft that I did with my baby girl. These were Grandparent’s Day gifts and came out GREAT! (of course, I had to make one for Mommy and Daddy as well!)

This craft project involves a quick trip to any “paint your own pottery” type place. Pick a piece that can easily fit a butt print of your baby as well as text around it. A large plate/platter usually works very well. I chose a pie plate because it was on sale.

Choose paint colors that work well with each other and provide enough contrast for the butt print and text to show up clearly and be readable. I chose a light yellow background with blue text. The lighter the background the better your butt print and text should show up.

Here we are applying the paint! Use one of the store’s sponges to put the paint on. Make sure you have enough paint to cover both cheeks. Doing a test print on paper is always a good idea!

It does help to have an extra set of hands for paint application and to hold your baby still when pressing down on the pottery. One quick down-press-up motion will do the trick! Try and keep from any slipping or sliding. The steadier the better the print will be.

Again, doing a test run on paper is important. Add your text. “Nothing BUTT Love for ______” is what I chose, but you can do anything, really. Be creative!