MAILBAG: Pony Art, Felted Felties, and new Q&As!

Remember that custom My Little Pony generator I linked to a few weeks back? The one that let me make this?

Well, Kayla B. has since informed me that "there is an unwritten brony rule that if a well-known individual makes themselves a pony, at least one of the least occupied pony artists must draw it."

I did not know this rule! But I'm happy to report that Kayla totally stepped up:

BEHOLD MY PONY AVATAR'S MAGNIFICENCE!

Hee! Oh, and be sure to head over to Kayla's DeviantArt to see more of her work.


Ah, but that's not all! Beth R. drew me as a toddler in my steampunk outfit (!!), complete with the most squishable-looking Epbot 'bot I have ever seen:

Note to self: buy teal sneakers. Wear with black & white striped socks.

In my physical mailbag, I got all kinds of goodies, so congratulations on your continuing plan to fill my house with amazing stuff, everyone.

Two highlights: these felted...felties?...made by Keren over in the UK:

LOOK HOW AWESOME.

And get this: she made one for John, too!

He's got a little felted wheel and antennae and everything!

Oh, and that's Claptrap from the video game Borderlands, non-gamers, which John is more than a little addicted to. I can't even fathom the amount of work these took, which is why Claptrap is staying in MY office. You know, for safe-keeping.



And lastly, I answer a lot of e-mail - though sadly I can only respond to a small percentage of what I get these days - so I thought I might share a few Q&As you might find interesting from time to time. I'll start with two questions from two different Sarahs:

"I'm just about to move into my first home with my equally-geeky/steampunky boyfriend and we were wondering if you had any great blogs or ideas for decorating on a budget? I have all of your tutorials and links bookmarked but if you have any other ideas that would be really appreciated." 

- Sarah from Brisbane, Australia

Hi Sarah!

I honestly think one of the best resources today is Pinterest, because that's where all the best DIY home hacks and ideas end up, and you can scroll through about a bajillion different ideas at a time. My favorite decor blog is The Steampunk Home, but she doesn't post anymore, sadly. Still, there are a few years' worth of archives you can look through! I also love Better After,which mostly features furniture re-dos, but she also posts whole room makeovers from time to time, and most are DIY projects. Young House Love is one of the most famous DIY decor blog out there, but to be honest, I haven't checked in on it in ages and ages, so I'm not sure how great it is now.

Hopefully that will help get you started, at least! And when you find a design blog you like, be sure to check their side bar or links page; that'll lead you to similar blogs and content, which'll lead you to MORE goodies, and before you know it's 5AM and you forgot to go to bed last night. (Not that I would know, of course. :D)

"If it's not too terribly invasive, could you tell us about how you met John, the husband of Jen? I'm an introverted geek on the wrong side of thirty and you guys remind me that girls like me can still find someone." - A Different Sarah 

Hi Sarah!

I met John back in community college. He was the outspoken teachers' darling who lunched with the college president, and I was the silent wallflower who did as little as possible to draw attention to herself. A teacher purposely put us together in a small poetry discussion group because we were so different, and John asked me out the next day. The conversation - which John likes to tell people at every opportunity - went like this:

John: "Do you have a boyfriend?"

Me: "Yes."

John. "Oh. Would you like to have dinner with me next week?"

(I called my then-boyfriend and informed him I was going on a date. The rest is history.)

So, yeah, sometimes these things happen when you least expect them, and with someone you'd never imagine. I'm no expert, of course, but I say: keep living your life, loving your friends, and following your passions, and then let life/God/fate handle the rest.

Oh, and go to conventions. All the cool people are there. ;)

- Jen


PS - Feel free to share links to your favorite home decor blogs in the comments, guys - I'm always looking for more!

Saturday Steam 1/19/13

First up this week, Danna spotted the most amazing lamps over at Anthropologie:

And get this: it's called "The Kerplunk Bell Jar Lamp." That's right, KERPLUNK. Hee! I love it! I don't love the $700 price tag, though. Yowch. But hey, that's marked down from $1300! Plus their smaller Trinket Lamp is only $500:

WHATADEAL!

Most interesting is to me is that these look like assemblage art - so why not save yourself several hundred dollars and cobble together an apothecary jar, some old lamp feet, wire, bits & pieces, and a $10 lamp kit from the hardware store? Makers, ASSEMBLE! (And, John! To the hardware store!)

And while we're talking assemblage art, look at this crazy beautiful collage painting:

The artist, Anna Dabrowska, uses all kinds of industrial flotsam and random doo-dads (technical term) to make these paintings. Normally this kind of art is a little too grungy for me, but I gotta say, I am LOVING Dabrowska's style.

Here's another:

It's kind of like if the Borg went Renaissance.

Here's a close-up, so you can see the doo-dads:

See lots more over at TechGraffiti, which has a really nice write-up on Dabrowska. (And thanks to both Vivienne & Laura for the link!)

Now check this out: Elinor found a Star Trek officer's uniform done up steampunk style!

 

DANG THAT'S SPIFFY. All it's missing is one of those cool hats with the feathers, amirite?

This is the work of Steven Connell, and you can see more of his work over on DeviantArt.

Look, I know Christmas is long over. I KNOW. But I never got around to showing you this cool wire tree that Candy made from an old bed spring!

Ok, so there are no gears and it's not exactly Victorian, but how fun are those copper wire loops with all the beads? I want this in my office right now!

I almost never paint my nails, but I like looking at nail art as much as the next geek girl. Plus I do have one of those stamping tools that transfers designs off small metal plates. So when Katie C. sent me this new design made with a stamping plate from Nicole of Nail Polish Wars, WELL.

I've seen steampunk nails with actual gears and bits glued on them, of course, but it would drive me bonkers to have bumpy snaggy bits stuck on my nails like that. Plus the hand-painted designs I've seen are way too difficult/time-consuming for most of us, so these stamping plates are a great idea.

This particular design plate is by Cheeky, if you want to look it up, and I *think* it also includes this funky number design:

via

Great. Now I want to paint my nails. I BLAME YOU, KATIE. (Ok, maybe I'll just look at nails on Pinterest for a few hours instead. Good? Good.)

And finally, I'm not much of an online clothing shopper, but Olga P. found this awesome "Lost in the Labyrinth" skirt that would be fantastic for cosplay or just elegant evening wear:

The satin skirt can be worn three different ways, thanks to all those grommets and ties, and the best part? It's only about $57! I mean, I know that's not exactly pocket change, but that's a great price for something that looks to be decent quality. Not to mention preeeetty. (Fair warning: I don't know anything about the site where it's being sold, so shop with caution.)


Oh, and for further reading, the Huffington Post published an article this week by one of steampunk's original pioneers, James Blaylock. He talks about the genesis of steampunk, and then recommends a few titles - which I need to check out!

Also, Lori M. sent over this one from the Seattle Pi on steampunk fashion. The site is ad-heavy, which is annoying, but there are some fantastic photos in the slideshow - like this one of Diana Vick, who I've long admired for her cosplay savvy:

Welp, now I want to go shopping for copper cyberlox, too. Gorgeous!

Hope you guys enjoyed, and as always, share your steamy finds in the comments or over on the Epbot Facebook page!