A short hiatus

Hey folks – I’m sorry I didn’t get anything posted last week. Last week was crazy, work-wise, and tomorrow starts my two-week conference marathon, so I’m unfortunately going on a bit of a hiatus.

Never fear, though! I’ve got plans for new podcast episodes to record when I get back, and I’m hoping to have some fancy yarn to show off when I get back from my second conference! I do love doing a little yarn tourism while I’m traveling, and it’ll be my first ever trip to New Orleans, so I’m looking forward to checking out the local yarn stores near my hotel.

Thanks for sticking with me, and I’ll be back to a regular posting schedule in a few weeks!

Where I’ve been the past two months

I’m so sorry I ended up dropping off the radar, folks. It seems like every year after Gen Con, I end up a little bit burnt out and end up not posting for anywhere from a few weeks to a month or so, but this time my post-Gen Con hiatus ended up being nearly two months long. Yikes.

During my accidental hiatus…

  • I’ve been so busy at work – I’ve taught ten workshops since the beginning of the semester (end of August), designed three posters to present at conferences, and put together printed materials for a conference as well. I’ve been so busy it’s insane.
  • I bought a Nintendo Switch Lite and Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild in an attempt to get back into gaming and find something to write about. Instead, Breath of the Wild has eaten up all my spare time over the past week. Please send help. 🤣
  • Two games of Kishar have happened – Ëlinyr successfully defeated armies in combat, managed to learn how to use a staff, helped stop a civil war, and rescued her elf-boyfriend Alair from certain doom.
  • I backed ArchRavels on Kickstarter! Which I’m really excited about.
  • I hung out with R2-D2 all day at a work event last week! It was pretty awesome.

Me kneeling next to a remote-controlled R2-D2 in front of IT Training's booth at Game On.

With all that happening, though, I haven’t had much energy (or brain) for writing up new posts. However, I’ve got some ideas for new content here that’ll hopefully be added soon – I’ve just gotta put everything together.

Thanks for sticking with me, folks – I appreciate it, and I promise this year’s post-Gen Con hiatus is done!

What’s on the nerdy radar: February 2018

I’m trying out a new post series – one that details things my local geeky and nerdy friends are up to!  I figure this’ll start out with smallish posts, but hopefully soon I’ll be able to add more to these!

What’s on the nerdy radar for February?

  • My friends over at Geeking in Indiana are headed off to the JoCo Cruise as I type!  I’m incredibly, incredibly jealous – Tony gets to spend a week on a boat with Patrick Rothfuss.  A WEEK.  With Pat Rothfuss!  Maybe someday I’ll get to go – I’ve never been on a cruise before, and going on a nerdy cruise sounds like absolute heaven.  (Except for the 75 cents a minute cost for wifi.  Bwuh.)
  • Over at The Five-ish Fangirls Podcast, they’re talking about season 4 of The Librarians – given that I’ve got a masters in Library Science, I feel like I should watch this show, hah.  I’ve heard good things about it – maybe I’ll go hunt it down on Hulu and watch it this weekend.
  • Granted, this already happened, but my friend Jen hosted a learn to paint minis class at Common Room Games here in Bloomington last weekend!

    It looks like they had lots of fun – and there’ll be more painting nights coming up soon, so for those of you who are local, come out to Common Room and paint with some cool people!

  • It looks like Gen Con might sell out for the second year in a row – which is exciting and impressive!  (And a little terrifying for this socially anxious nerd, haha.)  Given that approximately 60,000 badges were bought last year, and the convention officially sold out just before the convention last year, I’m curious to see the official attendance numbers this year after the convention’s done with – and I’m definitely curious to see when badges sell out this year!  Ross and I are definitely going to Gen Con this year – I’ve got my press badge, and we’ve got a downtown hotel room (although it was outside of the housing block and ridiculously expensive), and with this being Ross’s first year staying at a hotel at Gen Con, we’re excited.

Is there anything I missed?  Do you want me to add your nerdy news to next month’s post?  Let me know in the comments!

 

The Crafty Nerd hangs out with The Five(ish) Fangirls!

First off, I apologize for the inadvertent hiatus – work was absolutely crazy, especially with preparing to go off to my first-ever professional conference!  However, that’s all done now, including all the pre-conference poster-making (I made a poster about making research posters, and made it Spaceballs-themed, and everyone loved it, haha), flailing around in airports as I try to figure out where to go, dealing with ridiculous jet lag, and consuming ridiculous amounts of caffeine to balance out said jet lag.  Now that the majority of the work-related craziness is done, I can focus more on fun stuff – like the poor neglected blog.

Although speaking of work… I might have mentioned my co-worker Rachel a time or two on the blog – she’s one of The Five(ish) Fangirls, and has a weekly podcast focusing on all sorts of fandom fun-stuff.  (And her cube at our Indianapolis office is just as nerdy as mine down in Bloomington.)  With the My Little Pony movie recently having been released, the Five(ish) Fangirls decided to do a podcast on My Little Pony, and guess who they invited to be on the podcast! 😀

So, yes, I got to hang out with the Five(ish) Fangirls last night and ramble about nerdiness and ponies – which was so awesome.

Alright everypony, time to gather round for today’s friendship lesson! Join us, along with special guest Beth from The Crafty Nerd, as we discuss the phenomenon that is My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. We get tangental, and possibly a bit deep into why this fandom has grown to the size and reach that it has, without any signs of slowing down. Plus we bring back the news!

Please ignore my ridiculous moment of completely forgetting what company is responsible for doing the new Sailor Moon dubs – it was at the end of a long day and my brain was mush, hah.  I had so much fun rambling about My Little Pony with everyone, though – and hopefully I get to go back on the show again for other fangirly stuff!  (Like Sailor Moon – my inner rabid Sailor Moon fangirl could talk for hours about all the Sailor Moon things, hah.)

Check out The Five(ish) Fangirls’ site here!

Costuming through the years: the Crafty Nerd edition

Oh, costuming.

I’ve been a huge fan of wearing costumes, ever since I was a kid – the more elaborate, the better.  Halloween was always my favorite time of year, because it meant dressing up – granted, Halloween in the mid- to late 80’s typically involved those costumes that came in a box, with the weird masks and vinyl jumpsuit things…

I’m Tenderheart Bear in this one, I think this might have been from… what, 1987?

Once I got a little older, I discovered the world of more exciting costumes.  I’d try and find something better and fancier than the previous one, because dangit, I wanted to pretend I was someone else for the day.  And once I got old enough to handle a sewing machine with some skill, I started making my own costumes.  They may not have been amazing, but I sure as heck felt awesome in them.  Case in point: my first ever costume, a handmade Princess Toadstool costume from 1997.

My first venture ever into costume creation. (Don’t mind the tape around the edges – had to use Google Photo Scan to scan this in from an old scrapbook!)

Granted, my sewing skills were still pretty limited at this point, so the only part of the costume that involved any sewing was the skirt – but my thrift store skills were epic even at the tender age of fifteen, and I managed to get everything else I needed to put together that costume – gloves, pretty red heels, and a floofy petticoat.  Sure, the crown and brooch were made out of construction paper, and my wig was a cheap one from Spencer’s that smelled horrible, but dangit, I was Princess Toadstool, and I was happy.

Continue reading →

Steven Universe: my new obsession

You may have seen some more Steven Universe images creeping into my blog as I’ve been posting (infrequently as its been, I know) – and there’s a reason for that, friends.

I am ABSOLUTELY OBSESSED WITH THIS SHOW.

omg omg omg

I haven’t been this enthralled with a show since I discovered Sailor Moon back in 1997, you guys. I love the characters, I love the overwhelmingly female-positive vibe of the show, I love the fact that it tackles issues like anxiety and relationships, I love the gripping and occasionally deep storyline, I love the music, I LOVE IT ALL.

I love it so much that I made it the focus of my research for a class I took last semester, Content Analysis for the Web.  (And once I polish up my papers, I’ll even post them here, for those curious.)  I love it so much that I’m considering getting a Rose Quartz themed tattoo.  I love it so much I named my new car Lapis.

She’s no longer rocking Janeway’s old plate, but there’s my Lappy!

Seriously.  I love this show.  So much.

huuuuuugs

I’ve got my desk covered in as much SU merchandise as I can find.  I’ve got a plush Steven on my bedside table.  I have Steven Universe boxers, for crying out loud, haha.  I feel like I used to back when I discovered Sailor Moon… but there are lots of others out there who like Steven Universe, too.  And episodes keep coming out.  And it’s all over awesome and wonderful.

So, yeah, in case you couldn’t tell, I like this show.  A lot. 😀

March Book Madness! (and a contest!)

visioninsilverMarch seems to be the month of the year where all of my favorite authors conspire against my wallet and release books from their ongoing (or new, as in the case with one author I adore) series.  And this year is no exception – I have not one, not two, but three books from authors I enjoy coming out this month.

The first one is Vision in Silver, by Anne Bishop, which was released on March 3rd, 2015.  I’ve been following Anne’s works since 2004, when a friend of mine gave me a copy of the Black Jewels Trilogy, the start of what turned into a seven book dark fantasy series.  He said “this isn’t really my style, but maybe you’ll like them?” as he handed me the stack.  I devoured all three in roughly three days, and then got excited when I learned she was still publishing stories in that universe!  Vision in Silver is a novel set in the world of The Others, an alternate universe to our own filled with Anne’s unique take on supernatural creatures.  You’ll find shapeshifters, vampires, and prophets in the world of The Others.  The setting for the books is a modern-day society where these Others are more populous than humans – and don’t take kindly to humans trying to encroach on their territory.  Vision in Silver is the third book in the series – I’m currently finishing the first book, Written in Red, to refresh my memory before I read through Vision in Silver.

PrudenceCoverThe next book I’m excited about is Gail Carriger’s Prudence, due to be released on March 17th, 2015 – it’s the first book in the Custard Protocol Series.  Gail’s already written two book series’ in this universe, a steampunk version of our own world set in the late 19th century with a heaping dose of the supernatural.  I’m excited for this series – Gail’s first books, the Parasol Protectorate series, got me incredibly excited about the steampunk genre.  Her writing style is sassy and sometimes over the top, her characters are strong and likable (especially Alexia Tarabotti, Prudence’s mother), and there’s a liberal dose of humor sprinkled throughout her novels.  Plus, the way she writes her vampires and werewolves is refreshing – a different take than most books.  Her vampires are fashionable and almost prissy, and her werewolves are humorously rough around the edges.

With this being the first book in the Custard Protocol series, I’m not entirely sure what to expect.  What familiar characters will we run into during Prudence?  What sorts of ridiculous adventures will we get to read about?  And – the biggest question, for Gail’s fans – will everyone’s favorite vampire, Lord Akeldama, be making an appearance?  With this being a new series, readers who’ve never dipped their toes into the world of Gail Carriger’s novels can jump right in and not be lost, and then read through her other two series (The Parasol Protectorate series and the Finishing School series, a set of young adult novels set in the mid-19th century in the same universe as her other books) if you decide you want more.

Diamond-Conspiracy_finalAnd last, but certainly not least, is the latest entry into the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences series, written by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris – The Diamond Conspiracy, set to release on March 31st, 2015.  The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences novels are also in the steampunk genre, taking place in the late 19th century as well, and focus on two characters who are just about as different as night and day – Wellington Thornhill Books, the Ministry’s dashing archivist, and Eliza D. Braun, a field agent for the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences.  Where Books is quiet and calm, Braun is very in-your-face.  They take very different approaches when it comes to solving problems, and as you might expect, eventually opposites end up attracting… one of the sub-plots from the first book ends up working its way to a more major plot point as Books and Braun end up developing feelings for each other.  The books (of which The Diamond Conspiracy is the fourth) are full of action and adventure, mystery and intrigue, and interwoven with various subplots that help tie the stories all together, with a heaping helping of steampunky goodness thrown on top for good measure.

I’m so excited over having a month of good books to read, some of which I’ve been waiting a while for – and I’m going to share that excitement with you, with The Crafty Nerd’s first ever contest!

The Crafty Nerd’s March Book Madness contest!

The rules for entering are simple: post a comment on this entry with what book you’re excited about that’s coming out soon, and the winner (chosen randomly) will receive a $10 Amazon Gift Card!  Pick up the Kindle version of that book you’ve been wanting, or put the gift card towards a hardcover copy of something you’ve been looking forward to reading!  The contest will run until March 20th – so tell me what you’re looking forward to reading soon!

Two years of The Crafty Nerd!

I can’t believe it’s been two whole years since I started The Crafty Nerd!

I believe this calls for a PARTY

I believe this calls for a PARTY

In those two years, I’ve done a lot of awesome stuff…

And there’s a lot more awesome stuff to come, of course!  I’ve got more books to review (three in March alone!), more conventions to attend, more costumes to make, more crafts to blog about, and more games to play.  I hope to do bigger and more awesome things in the coming years, and I hope you’ll all stick with me as we go into our third year!