Thursday, December 10, 2020

An Interesting Mix Of "Holiday" And "Mildly Horrifying"

Wassup, 'Bot fam? How's your week going? How's your stress level? You remembering to breathe today?

Well listen, I don't know what kind of day you're having, but I can almost guarantee this roly-poly toad ornament is going to make it better. 

HEEEE! Omigosh. Y'all. Y'ALL.

The more I look at this face, the better my day gets. Can you feel it?

::Kronk voice: "Oh. I can feel it."::

Check out the side view on this bad boy:


This amazingness is by Beatrix Cromwell, and you can check out her Etsy shop here. Last I checked she doesn't have any of these toadies left (SOB) but she has plenty of other cool creatures!

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Kleo over on Weird Secondhand Finds posted about her new chair, but as usual, I was immediately distracted by the thing next to it:

Oooh, that fabulous pink plant! Reminds me of Doofenshmirtz's giant blue palm/flower thing:


Kleo later said in the comments that she'd used an old thrift store plant and 7 cans of gloss spray paint to make it that pink, and omigosh. I... I think need to do this. Not only is it fun and cartoony and modern, I bet the gloss paint makes it easier to dust. BONUS.

Hmm. Let's see, I have an interesting mix of both holiday and mildly horrifying stuff today. (Aha! POST TITLE, BABY.) So which do you want next?

Holiday? Really?

Ok, party pooper, here:

The Christmas gnome trend has reached new heights:


This pic is all over Facebook and Pinterest, but I can't find the original source. Anyone know?

I'd love to do this with our own stubby front tree, but then our gnome would have more of a bowler hat and a pencil neck. Which, you know...


Right. MY TURN TO PICK. Brace yourself:


Bahahahaa!

I legit love that I'm the go-to-tag on Fans of Epbot for creepy doll posts, because I'm not sure which is funnier: the dolls or all your "NOPE KILL IT WITH FIRE" .gif threads. Ahhh. SO GOOD. Not to mention all the ideas I'm filing away for a time when John does something truly heinous, like eat the last donut or not let me adopt an alpaca, because have you SEEN Alfie the alpaca trying to eat a cherry, John? HAVE YOU?

::whispering:: We neeeeed ooooone.

Oh sorry, I just realized some of you are still mildly traumatized by the glowy doll thing. Here, have a cute Santa Claus chaser:


Anna & Daniel Clark of We Are Pretend Friends cut and painted a bunch of these adorable standees for their front yard, and I have heart eyes and grabby hands. GIMMIE. Please?

 Go see the rest on their Instagram post here. If you love these then you'll love the rest of their art, too, so be sure to give them a follow while you're there.

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This next one actually combines "holiday" and "mildly horrifying" - but in a genius sort of way.


One more compelling piece of evidence in the "Is Die Hard a Christmas movie?" debate.

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I've only seen DIY faux fireplaces made as purely decorative pieces - usually made from wood or cardboard - which is why I felt so clever when John and I built in some hidden storage for our screen-accurate Sherlock fireplace.

::leans forward:: WELL. Last month I spotted another faux fireplace build (not Sherlock - just a generic fireplace), and this thing blew my mind. Here's the in-process shot:


Those are all stock IKEA cabinets, y'all, arranged around a large cabinet base.

Now here it is all trimmed out and finished:


Whaaaaat.
Mind = BLOWN. Not only is this gorgeous, it's chock-full of hidden storage space AND it's a relatively easy build. You just screw 4 cabinet bases together! Go see all the details over on the Ikea Hackers site if you're interested in making your own - or if you live in central Florida, shoot me an e-mail; I want to convince John we should try to make one. :D

And finally, my cool cats and kittens, I double-dog dare you to get through this entire 2 minute video without laughing:

I kept it together until about halfway: the 2 German Shepherds rubbing their bellies - followed by the mistletoe drop - did me in. Bahaha!

I hope my silly and/or disturbing finds gave you a grin today, and reminded you to take time out this month for a little sheer lunacy. Or a little opaque lunacy.

And hey, if you're in a dark place where that kind of silliness seems a million miles away, then know that I'm right here rooting for you, along with everyone else in this amazing community. We love you, we believe in you, and we're right here when you need us. (Not "if," by the way. When.)

Someone reading this right now has been waiting for some kind of sign, wondering if they're ready to ask for help, wondering if they're ready to let someone help. If that's you, then this is for you: make the call. Your whole life is waiting for you - and I can't wait to be right here in the wings, cheering you on.

Love you all. Take care of each other out there.

***

P.S. We're watching the original animated Grinch and a few other holiday shorts tomorrow for Friday Movie Night over on the Epbot Discord, with a repeat showing Sunday afternoon. If you're able, come join us for a few laughs and some silly .gif-offs!

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P.P.S. We're adding a new design to the Epbot t-shirt shop today! And some of you might even remember what it's for:


OoooOOooh. So mysterious. (Or... not. :p)

This should go up in a few hours; John and I are just tweaking it to work on different shirt colors, and debating between orange or teal for the EPBOT. (Which do you like better?) I can't wait to order ours! Hit the link up there to see if it's live yet, and/or to browse our other shirt designs.

19 comments:

  1. Nothing to say, other than it's hard, hard times at the library where I work (layoffs at Christmas, branch closures, library half open, everyone terrified) and it's a pure delight to come home, slip on my new fuzzy birthday robe, and find TWO new Epbot posts I hadn't seen.

    You... complete me. Or at least, completely delight me!

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  2. Oh Jen, I am having a real rough time of it right now, and your words are making me cry in that good kinda way.

    (CW: Death Mention) My mom died two days ago, and I'm really missing her. She loved crafting of all sorts, and she instilled that love in me from a young age. I was always telling her about the projects you and John were doing, or the things you found around the internet. She raised three geeky creative kids and then was a Girl Guide leader so she could share her love of crafting with more kids.

    I've mostly been a lurker here, but if any FOEs feel so moved, please tell your loved ones how much you care. And do something nice for yourselves too. <3

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    Replies
    1. All the virtual hugs! So sorry for your loss.

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    2. I'm so sorry!! Your mom sounds like an amazing person, and the kind I would love to know. If hugging were a thing right now, I'd be offering, but instead I offer a virtual hug.

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    3. I'm so sorry for your loss. I lost my aunt last month and it's so hard to deal with death just in general, but with everything going on right now, it's magnified. I did get a chance to write her a card to let her know I loved her and missed her, and how she was a great host for all the holidays she and my grandmother (her MIL) put together over the years. My cousin said she really appreciated that in her final days.

      I hope you are able to remember the good times you had with your mom; she sounds like a neat lady. Sending you warm hugs.

      --Yet Another Jen

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    4. Thank you for the reminder to breathe. I am home sick with the 'rona and I do in fact have to remind myself to breathe through my mouth at times. (I'm a wind musician! You'd think I'd just do it! But no.) Luckily it's mostly presenting as a cold, but it's the second time I've been sick this year. I kind of want to get on with my life.

      Some people are so creative. Years ago, someone in my town turned a front bush into Santa using only lights. It was super cute. I always wished I'd gotten a picture of it.

      The Hans Gruber advent calendar made me chuckle. I had one as a kid that my mom got from Avon that was scratch and sniff. I used that one for years.

      Also, I vote orange for Project Epbot. You already have a lot of teal from the outer edge of the rainbow, plus...I mean...it's you and teal and orange. I'm surprised you even need to ask!

      --Yet Another Jen

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    5. Whoops...the box was already open under theanagrace's top-level comment. My second reply was meant to be its own thing. Sorry about that! (YAJ yet again)

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    6. So very sorry for your loss! May happy memories bring you a measure of comfort during this difficult time.

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  3. Went upstairs and gave my best beloved a hug. Good advice.

    Orange for the T and thank you for the laughs today.

    It was a bit crazy but good day: Packed up and delivered about 100 wands for the virtual Yule Ball.

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  4. That video is hilarious! Didn't Sesame Street used to have a segment with dogs with human hands?? Or am I making that up?

    The shirt design is awesome! I think the orange pops better on the black background.

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  5. Thanks for the Christmas Doggies. It made my day! I sent it along to all my kids and their spouses too!

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  6. I like the Orange Epbot option - I think it pops more!

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  7. Thank you Jen for the Thanksgiving animal commercial! It put a smile on my face to replace the tears of telling my son good-bye as he deploys over Christmas and beyond!

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  8. I really like the teal EPBOT symbol! I don't live in Florida so (unfortunately), none of my living space would have magic Yates touch, but I would TOTALLY wear this shirt :D

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  9. I saw someone working on gnome bushes on my drive home from work, but they were not far enough along to know if they are the same ones. So those could be in Michigan, but I don't have any suggestions of where to find the original internet source.

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  10. I saw the same “We Are Pretend Friends” and found their yard display utterly adorable. I secretly want that display for my holiday display. Maybe in the future! You should also check out Magpie Ethel on Instagram for fun vintage decorating.

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  11. If you love Alpacas, there is a you tube family - Arms Family Homestead, they live in OK, and have Alpacas, including 2 new baby ones. THey call them "donkey poodles." They even sell shirts with Donkey Poodle Ranch logos on them. Look for their videos from 2 or 3 weeks ago, starting with "still no baby alpacs" and start watching there.

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