Super Mario Earrings

Happy Mario day everyone! 

(Get it, "MAR10"!)

I don't know about you, but the Mario Bros. series of games has been consistently one of my favorites. I've loved the character designs from the 8-big beginnings to today's cute and cuddly 3D versions. Even the monsters are cute and loveable! 

That's why when I first saw chain chomp and piranha plant earrings for sale on Etsy, I knew I wanted a pair of each for myself. I put off buying them until one day I came across the YouTube channel NerdECrafter. 

These tutorials changed my life (or at least my crafting game). Jackie is the reason why I started playing with polymer clay in the first place. Her videos make even tough projects look easier, and they are! There are so many more awesome and geeky tutorials on NerdECrafter, so please check them out! 

Here are a few Mario Bros. themed earring sets I made:

Chain Chomps

*crazy barking noises*

These are my favorite to wear because they are so fun! The chompers are doing their job and they're not letting go! The ear cuff gives it a little something extra too. 

"Are you my mummy?"

Using this tutorial, I was finally able to make a pair of chain chomps for myself. Easy peasy! (Actually, that's not true. I spent hours working on this trying to make it look right. But it wasn't as bad or as hard as it looks!) Check it out:

Bullet Bills

I made these for a friend's son. They were really fun and challenging to make. I still need to make a pair for myself! 

I didn't use a tutorial for this one, just a lot of reference photos!

Piranha Plants

They're my favorite!! I have several Venus fly trap plants in my house, so I'm a big fan of carnivorous plants. Even when they're trying to bite me! 

"Feed us, Bowser!"

Watch out, they bite!

Mine look a little different, but here's the tutorial I used from NerdECrafter:

I highly recommend not doing sharp points like I did. It can make your ears angry after a while! 

1-UP Mushroom

I made these specifically for my birthday last year when I went to the EMP in Seattle to celebrate leveling up.

Even more perfect was the awesome Mario-themed mural they had there! 

Who is your favorite Mario Bros. character? 

I got the Mario themed font from FontSpace

Gotta Catch 'Em All! Poké Ball Bracelet and Earrings

Pokémon is 20 years old! 

I was pretty much obsessed with the original television show when I was in 6th grade. The characters were so much fun and it was unlike any other show I had seen before. I was also a card collector which means I had no idea how to play the game and because of that I made a lot of bad trades. I got most of my cards (which I still have, by the way) from KB Toys. Ahh, the good old days!

To celebrate this momentous occasion, I'm sharing two fun Pokémon related pieces of jewelry I've made. The first is one of my favorite, and most intricate, pieces of polymer clay jewelry I have ever created: a Poké Ball bracelet!

In the IGGPPC forums last year there was a post for a fandom jewelry swap and I immediately signed up! I decided to go ALL OUT for my partner, and her love of Pokemon gave me the inspiration I needed to make this bracelet the very best. (I had to. Sorry, not sorry.)

These are the Poké Balls my swap partner requested:
Classic Pokeball, heal ball, Team Rocket ball, Great ball, Diamond ball, Master ball, Ultra ball, Premier ball, and Safari ball.

I used a tutorial from my favorite polymer clay artist on YouTube, and the person whose tutorials got me interested in clay crafts in the first place, NerdECrafter! Here is the video:


Check out her other tutorials! They're guaranteed to inspire you to create.

I combined this technique with pictures of the other Poké Balls I was able to find online as a guide to the various designs. The only charm that took multiple attempts was the Diamond ball. I eventually ended up embedding the crystals into the clay itself, and that seemed to be the most effective way to keep them in place. As you can see, I ended up making the charms quite small which made this a meticulous process.


The second piece of Pokémon jewelry I have to share are some Poké Ball earrings! 

I didn't use a tutorial, but I did find some inspiration online and decided to go for it. If you want to try and make a pair for yourself, here are a few video tutorials that you may find helpful: DIY:Pokeball Stud Earrings and DIY Pokeball Earrings


Are you a Pokémon fan? Which are your favorites? I had so many when I was younger: Pikachu, Mew, Togepi, Evee, Vulpix, Psyduck... the list goes on!

From my trip to PAX Prime in Seattle 2015

Happy Birthday, Pokémon! 

Here's to 20 more years and many different and weird Pokémon to catch!

Amulet of Talos Fit For a Dragonborn

Special thanks to Gladys from Usagi In Wonderland who gave me the Nord figure!

When I first began playing Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim a few years ago it quickly became my favorite game. An open world where I create my own character who has awesome Dragonborn powers?? Count me in! Since then I have also played a little bit of III: Morrowind and IV: Oblivion. One of the biggest features of the games are the Daedra and Aedra, basically the Greek Gods of Tamriel, who play around with the world and its people for their own entertainment. Of all of the deities in the game, the one that stood out most to me was Talos, AKA Tiber Septim. Though many refuse to accept him as a deity, because he was once a man, he is a favorite among the Nords of Skyrim. Not so much with those jerks the Thalmor, who had it outlawed during the White Gold Concordat.

But I digress. The Nords remind me of my own Norwegian heritage and so I feel a connection with Talos. Even though my own character is a badass Redguard, she still has the warrior heart of a Nord. In the game the Amulet of Talos allows the wearer to decrease their shout cooldown by 20%. If you don't play the game that probably means nothing to you, and that's okay! When I first saw it I immediately wanted one, and not just in the game. I searched the web hoping to find something in my price range, but I didn't come up with many results. As I had been playing around with the idea of working with polymer clay at the time, I figured I might as well try to make my own!

It had been over 10 years since I worked with clay last, and I was really impressed with what I was able to accomplish for a first go! Don't get me wrong, I made a LOT of mistakes. The point is, I did my best. And now you can too!

Little Green Men From Outer Space

"Fangirls, it's me." 

The X-Files revival series premiered last night, and another new episode airs tonight. Despite being RUDELY delayed by football, I felt that the episode was worth the watch. I really enjoyed live-tweeting with some other iggles! (International Geek Girl Pen Pals.) It featured all of our old favorite characters and added a few new people to the mix. Without being too specific and spoilerific, the episode contained many classic themes such as conspiracy, the government, and Mulder's favorite: Aliens!

Watching many Science Fiction shows and movies over the years have drastically changed the way I view extra terrestrials. Yet whenever someone mentions aliens one specific visage comes to mind. (Sorry, Doctor!)

This face right here:

Take me to your leader

You've probably seen some incarnation of them before on stickers or shirts. Gotta love the 90's grunge style aliens! Especially those that glow-in-the-dark! I had been wanting a cute little alien head pin of my own, and being the crafty person I am decided to sit down and make it!

Here's what I used to bring this little green dude to life:

• Sculpey brand glow-in-the-dark clay
• Sculpey Accents clay in "Twinkle Twinkle"
• A small amount of bright green clay
• A pin back blank
• Various sculpting tools

I wish I wore pins more. Maybe I should have made it into a necklace instead. It measures about 2.5x3 cm, so it's quite small.

Still, I think it went pretty well with my 90's grunge X-Files look for Nerdvember 2015.

A photo posted by Kelsey (@craftylilgeek) on Nov 6, 2015 at 4:24pm PST

 T-shirt I won in a giveaway from 6 Dollar Shirts, and yes, I layered a blazer over a hoodie. (Liv Moore style!)

Since we're talking about aliens, this classic alien face isn't the only one I love and have crafted. The zany Pizza Planet aliens from Toy Story are also near and dear to my heart. (And my ears.)

The Cllllaaaaaaawwwww!

I've been playing Tsum Tsum for a while now, and was inspired by their shape to make these earrings. I think those guys are so cute tsum-tsum-ised!

For this pair I used:

• Sculpey Premo! Clay in Bright Green Pearl
• White and black clay
• Acrylic paints
• 2 i-pins
• 2 earring hooks
• Sculpting tools

So tell me, in a non-spoilery way for fellow fangirls who haven't watched the episode(s) yet, what did you think of the premiere? 

"I want to believe" that this will be a good comeback for the series. 

Seriously though, I hope this is worth it, and I'll be watching it tonight! Feel free to join the conversation with me if I live-tweet! @craftylilgeek