Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Mailbag: Stranger Things Cross Stitch, POP Shelves, & the CUTEST Baby Mandrake EVERRRR


 You Epbot peeps make/do awesome stuff. 

Want (more) proof? 

I'LL GIVE YOU PROOF:


This is Keri M.'s daughter Hazel as a baby Mandrake, and she has just slain us all with TEH CUTE.

As the ultimate geeky cherry on top, this exchange happened in the comments:


This is why I love you people.

I almost hate to make anyone follow that perfection, but buckle up, me hearties, because I have more goodies to share.

First, Steph geekified her desktop:

And her shelves look even better than mine, thanks to that decorative tape edging. So good.

Hey, you know what else is good? GLITTER.

Yeeeeeeesssssss. 

Love it when you guys take one of my tutorials and make it so much more fabulous.

Speaking of fabulous, look how much better Carrie's POP dragon looks with a little aging:
So good.

 I'm mildly obsessed with cosplay that tricks the eye, so imagine my delighted squeals when Lori shared her hubby's Haunted Mansion "singing bust" costume:

HOW CLEVER IS THIS? 

To push the illusion further, you could make a "stone" pillar or column that either drapes from your waist like a skirt, or that rolls on wheels so you push it in front of you. Gah. So good. Now I want a barbershop quartet to do this and sing Grim Grinning Ghosts for me. :D


And finally, Stranger Things fans, prepare to run for your stash of cross stitch supplies:

GLOW IN THE DARK THREAD, y'all. This is genius.

And if you want to make one yourself, you can buy the pattern over at Jennie's Etsy shop. (She doesn't know I'm shilling for her, so let's all sneak over and yell "SURPRISE." You know, virtually.)


Oh, and a quick note re: the Fans of Epbot page: the admins have made it a private group now, which means anyone can still join, but once you do, only your fellow group members will see your posts/comments. This makes it a safer space to share and talk through stuff, though it's mostly still fun pictures and much-needed geeky silliness. 
At first I wasn't sure how I felt about making the group private, to be honest. Then Melyssa wrote this, and I was all in:
(Shared with permission)


Like I said, you guys do awesome stuff. Thanks for letting me be a part of it. <3 br="">

27 comments:

  1. I have enjoyed Fans of Epbot page so much. It is AWESOME! :)

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  2. Cute kid, nice shelves, awesome dragon, clever cosplay, excellent cross-stitch!

    I'm glad the members feel safer, but I am in absolute agony over the Fans of Epbot page being private. I'm >>THIS CLOSE<< to caving and actually joining Facebook just to be a part of it. ARGH. Nope, can't do it. GAAAAAAHHHHHHH! *sniffle* *sigh*

    KW

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    1. You should do it! You don't have to add friends or follow anyone else. I've seen people over there saying that they don't use their real name on Facebook. You could give yourself a geeky moniker and join just for that group. That way you're not being found by someone you sat behind in third grade if you don't want to be. ;) Honestly, pretty much everyone I know follows me on Facebook and I follow them, but my feed is still at least 70% Fans of Epbot posts since I joined the group. ~TAL

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    2. Holy flurking schnit. I just signed up for a Facebook account for the first time in my life. I'm 40, and I swore...!!SWORE!!... that I would NEVER be on Facebook. I'm so disappointed in myself but so excited that I'll get to see what's happening over on Fans of Epbot. (Fake name, of course: Kay Double-Yoo.) I couldn't take the torture of being excluded anymore, heh.

      KW

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  3. Again, with the onions? I must live near an Outback or something. *sniffle*

    I'm scrolling back up to the Mandrake to clear the air. :)

    -Just Andrea

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  4. I LOVE Fans of Epbot! It makes me smile every time I open Facebook, instead of growling at political posts!

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  5. That mandrake! I think my ovaries just skipped a beat. <3

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  6. Oh gosh, Jen and John, you have no idea how much you have helped me find myself and understand that I am special. Those things that always made me feel different, even when people liked me, made me think I was weird and unacceptable. When you first started EPBOT, I couldn't believe that I had found someone with some of the same likes and dislikes that I had not really shared with anyone outside of family. I had been Steampunk for years and didn't even know what it was. Thank you so much.
    As for Fans of Epbot, it's really another life altering thing for me. To know that there are OTHERS! Good people who are nerdy, geeky and awesome using good grammar and being themselves. Wow, just wow. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
    AKA Lady Teapot, Teapotjan

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    1. oh, the grammar! I didn't notice it until i read your comment, but you're RIGHT! i haven't seen anything in that group that makes me want to tear my eyeballs out! Kudos to us for our mad grammar skills!!

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  7. psst! hey jen, can i tell you a secret? you inspire us to do awesome things! and do you know why you inspire us to do awesome things? because you, and john, are an awesome person!

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  8. Realistically I have only found two "bad" things about the FoE. 1) The volume of cool stuff sometimes means I miss things (how did I miss the singing bust pic???) 2) I sometimes don't do things I should because I spend so much time reading cool postuff or following nifty links.

    It's a hard knock life. *grin*

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    Replies
    1. Ditto. (Because there is no 'like' button. :)

      -Just Andrea

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    2. Yes to all of this. I mean, the Internet was a black hole of productiveness for years. But now? I'll go check my email, look at FB and BAM there go three hours. And even with all of that I still miss stuff! Like the bust costume! So cool!! It is my safe space and I don't have the anxiety that comes with posting in other groups. Love you guys! Thank you all for making the Internet fun again!

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  9. And thank you for bringing us all together! I don't know how to express my gratitude to you for helping me realise who I am and what I love, to help me feel ok with that and enabling me to embrace my geeky loves. Epbot and now the FoE have helped me through so much. Giving me the courage to leave a relationship with someone who was controlling to the point where refused to let me be me which in turn has enabled me to meet the man of my dreams (kind, supportive and geeky - what more could a girl want!)... Through all that Epbot has been my safe space, my escape, the place I could be myself, and Jen, you started that, so THANK YOU for getting this whole thing started.

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  10. Yes, Jen (and thoJ, of course; where would we be without John?), thank you for being the sort of people you are and creating this warm, welcoming (virtual) space for us! (Actually, for many of us, the "virtual" part makes it all the better — we don't have to go out into the loud, crowded, scary world to meet like-minded folks!)

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  11. All the crafts and inventions are great (thanks for sharing!), but I'm not going to lie... The Haunted Mansion bust costume is my favorite!

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  12. There's so much great stuff on Epbot and FoE. I really feel like I've found my people here and there. I love the awesome and non-judgmental vibe and that there are so many people who share my own geekitude. Plus I love that I never have to read anything about politics :) Also, baby Hazel is so cute, I can't even stand it.

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  13. Can I just say how very much I am LOVING FoE? Facebook is so much more fun now!

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  14. Jen, thanks for sharing Melyssa's post. I'm old and never realized that anyone else cancelled a lot for being "sick," where sick = anxious, shy, overwhelmed. The FofE group sounds awesome, but I have not succumbed to the lure of Facebook due to having a stalker for years. There has been a respite for several years now, but I'm still afraid that as soon as I post something on FB he will recognize me and start again. Anyway, I'm glad Jen posts some of the highlights here.

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    1. Hay Sweety, im sorry you've had such a horrible experience. You are most definitely not alone. Cyber hugz xxx

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    2. Since Facebook settings can be done so no one who googles can find your Facebook page, and your profile can be private, you could join just for the Friends of Epbot group, maybe using your initials or a derivative of your name. I don't mean to minimize what dealing with a stalker is like, and I understand if that's too risky! But the community in Friends of Epbot is extraordinary, and it could be so powerful for you to have that. The admins make sure the posts are not divisive or negative - it's the one place online where it's not only safe to read the comments, it's uplifting! Barring that, I do hope you find community somewhere. Peace to you.

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  15. I never realised how much I needed a group like Fans of Epbot. It makes me feel normal in ways I never even knew you could feel.

    Thanks guys xxxx

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  16. Man! Private! Now I can't join the fun. Keep showing highlights, k? Love y'all.

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