Tag: craft

Posted in Sparky gifts, WWWhat?

A bit of geekery

Posted on by Cate

A confession – I’m not really all that cool. I like gadgets, good spelling and other things that I guess could be described as ‘geeky’. So it should make me happy to know that I’m not alone – and my measure for that is of course the most popular craft marketplace in the world, etsy. There is a whole category of ‘Geekery’, featuring nearly 118,000 items, catering to crafty geeks (or crafty people who know and love geeks) across the globe. But I found a lot of the geekery to be kinda scary. Here are some highlights…Cool kids, consider yourselves warned.

For the geeky home accessory, or if you’re after a romantic trip down memory lane, here’s an Etch-a-Sketch cushion for your beloved. Sure, the white knobs don’t actually work and you can’t shake it to erase and start again, but the writing is still as wonky as the real thing. Part of a collection of geekery made by Cindy and Randy Green, this is one of the few things in their Yellow Bug Boutique that I actually ‘get’. They have a lot of chemical and periodic table type gags (!), but I’m afraid the memory of struggling through high school Chem classes means that I’ll never find that stuff funny. (I do also like this black & white cushion in their shop, but I think it would bug me too much to have it lying around. Which, come to think of it, is maybe why I need it.)

If you’re a Dr Who fan, you might appreciate this Tardis beanie (more than I do). The Gromidez shop also has other beanies that might appeal to geeks – including these cute and colourful numbers modelled on those ghosts in PacMan. And some other Pokemon things, which I am far too old to understand. The shop also sells a cool SpiderMan web blanket, just in case you’ve been looking for one to complement your new lounge.

Or maybe you’re looking for some geeky jewellery that also serves a practical purpose. If so, apparently you will really like the BitofSugar shop. Who knew that beautiful Hawaii could be a hotbed for so much geekery? They sell this ‘Zombie Antidote’ necklace, by asking: Are you preparing for the eminent zombie invasion/apocalypse? If you answered “yes,” this zombie antidote necklace is the most important component of your stockpile. Ah, the old marketing technique of scare tactics, gets ’em every time. But in a somewhat evil twist, they also sell a ‘Zombie Virus’ necklace, thereby cleverly creating the zombie virus market of supply and demand. Genius.

I’ve only scratched the surface of Geekery, but if you’d like to see more, you should check out etsy. If the cushions are to your liking, the Yellow Bug Boutique is here, and the beanies can be found at the Gromidez shop here, while the zombie antidote (and virus, if you’re so inclined) are for sale at BitofSugar here.

Posted in Arty sparks, Sparky gifts

Sock it to ’em

Posted on by Cate

Sock monkeys seem to be everywhere at the moment. Well, not wandering the streets or catching buses or seeing movies, but everywhere in shops that sell cool toys. I like them a lot and think they’re a great gift for young and old alike, but they can be a bit same-same looking, without a distinct personality or style. Enter the clever people at You Make Me…Me, who sell their ‘handmade sock softies and baby books’ on my beloved Australian handmade market site MadeIt.

These are more than sock monkeys. These are movie stars. Whether you’re a fan of Star Wars, Harry Potter or a whole heap of other films, you’ll find your match here. It was this Yoda who first caught my eye – firstly, because he is a favourite beacon of wisdom in an often dreary world, and secondly, because in this incarnation he looks a little bit like a dodgy gremlin or an old man you might see in the park…

Or if Wookiees are more your thing, then here is Chewbacca in sock form. I find him almost as scary in this form as on the big screen, but since he means no harm (at least, that’s how I remember it), he’s probably a safe addition to your home security detail. 

Then there is that pesky boy wizard Harry Potter, complete with dorky glasses, scar from that failed homicide and a little wand to cast a spell on those around you. As always, I take no responsibility for whatever happens if you bring Harry into your life – that kid did get into quite a lot of trouble…

You can also get custom-made supporter sock monkeys in your team’s colours, along with a range of more traditional looking sock friends. If you’d like to brighten your life with the company of these ‘sock softies’, then check out the collection in the MadeIt shop here.

Posted in Fashion Sparks, Sparky gifts

Let’s ear it for cuffs

Posted on by Cate

There’s a lot about fashion that I don’t understand. The whole concept of ‘ear cuffs’ would be an example of something that I just don’t get. They sound painful, like you’re punishing your ears for doing something wrong. But they must be popular, as there are 159 pages of them on etsy. (And, no, they’re not all made by the same person.)

In case you’re not familiar with ear cuffs either, they are different to conventional earrings, as they wrap around bits of your ear without piercings. So you can easily swap to a different ear cuff to suit your mood. I have provided a selection for you to consider here. And may I say, it has been kinda creepy to look at so many photos of ears – not our prettiest feature, that’s for sure.

I call the first cuff, “Wait, can you hear a peacock?” and it is made by Anna in London. For $31 you can buy your own and freak people out as you wait at the bus stop. Or you might prefer the spiky cuff that Anna has for sale for $18 – this one would come in handy if you are trying to tone down your punk rocker look at work (or if you are trying to convince people you are actually part-human, part-machine).

And then there is this gold number, apparently inspired by the movie Labyrinth and made by ravenevejewelry in Detroit. To my uncultured eye, it appears that a fancy bird has taken up residence on this lady’s ear. Either that, or the aliens have vistied and are using her ear to transmit messages back to the mothership.

Or maybe you’d prefer a bronze octopus crawling on your ear, from martymagic in Santa Cruz. I’m just not sure how comfortable it would be to have those tentacles tickling your ear all day and am sure your Granny would try to bat it away as with any other eight legged creature crawling on your ear. Eeeeek.

But I think my favourite would have to be this black & white feathered number by Mariya in Russia. It’s pricey at $90, but will surely keep you cool in summer and if anyone wants to start an impromptu badminton game, unclip the cuff and away you go.

With Mother’s Day coming up in many parts of the world, I’m sure it goes without saying that any of these would make a great gift for the mothers and grandmothers in your life. And I reckon you shouldn’t limit the cuff’s potential by explaining where it is meant to go – hours of fun as Mum and Granny Mac smile politely and try to work out if they’ve been given a brooch or a duster or some sort of new ipod accessory… You’re welcome!

Posted in Arty sparks, Fashion Sparks

Knitted Fashionistas (Fashioknitstas)

Posted on by Cate

Diane is from Canada and she sells knitting patterns on etsy. Unfortunately, you can’t buy these dolls ready-made, as Diane notes that she doesn’t have time to knit them for you, but she will sell you the pattern so that you can do it yourself. And if I could, Diane, I would. Because I can think of so many people who would love your work. Ok, mostly me, but there will definitely be some other people who like them. They are kooky, they are bright, they are hilarious. Put them together and you could have a beauty pageant to rival Miss Universe. And I love that Diane has named all of her dolls and provided funny back stories on the site.

This pink doll mightn’t fit the pageant look, but I had to include her. Back in my day, there was a cartoon about a chick in a rock band called Jem. I can’t remember much, but that theme song has stuck with me since the 1980s. Probably because the lyrics were mostly a repetition of: Jem. Truly outrageous. Truly, truly, truly outrageous. I can’t remember if she really was, but since they said it so many times, I guess she must have been? Anyways, the pink haired, pink leg warmered doll reminds me so much of Jem. Although Diane says that she modelled this on an outfit she saw on Dancing with the Stars. Uh huh. I must try and find that episode to see it with my own eyes.

If the beauty pageant isn’t your thing, you might prefer your own knitted family. Or you can recreate (or dream about) your special day with the knitted wedding scene. Or adopt the doll that looks a bit like Marilyn Manson, with different coloured eyes. Diane’s etsy shop is well worth a look and you can find it here.

And the post wouldn’t be complete without a knitted streaker. Here he is.

Posted in Sparky gifts

Ethical Eco Enviro Elephants

Posted on by Cate
By now, I think you will have gathered that I like quirky stuff and love to give quirky gifts. But the downside is that they are all too often made without care for the people who produce them or the environment around them. And we people who have waaay too much stuff say, “Aww, cute” and then shortly thereafter say, “Aww, landfill”.

But we have to give something to that little kid / colleague / neighbour / friend to mark a special occasion, right? And a card telling them that you bought a chicken for a family in South America instead of a present for them doesn’t always go down too well. So I was excited to find these guys on the very cool Australian site Ethical Gifts.

They are animals made in Africa out of recycled flip flops (or thongs, or jandals). Apparently, this idea started back in 1997, when women and children started to collect all of the rubber shoes washing up on the beaches off the northeast coast of Kenya. They turned them into toys, buoys and cushion stuffing. The FlipFlop Project was born.

In 2005, the UniquEco brand was created to expand on the FlipFlop Project and support the local people to clean up their beaches, recycle the rubber, earn an income, and produce fantastic animal friends (and jewellery, keyrings etc) to share with the world.

You can check out the range of gifts at Ethical Gifts here and read more about the story behind UniquEco and the FlipFlop Project here.