Make Your Pet Look Nerdy Now!

We all love our pets, and we all love our fandoms, so of course we also love it when these two worlds collide! Here is a small treasury of ways that you can make your awesome pet even more awesome.

'Geekify Your Pet!' by Nerdifacts

Fun ways to attack your pets with favourite fandoms :)

Superman Dog Pajamas RebelWag $18	Individually Designed Cat Cu... Piggiepopshop $47	Bloody Fish Bowl Beta tank ... ghoulbaby $15.99	1.5in Martingale Collar,,, S... neckcandycolla... $21.5
Gumball Machine Aquarium H2retrO $200	Red White and Navy Plaid Bow... SoFetchCollars $20	STAR WARS DOG hat costume yo... HandmadeMonste... $20	pet tag dog pet tag id cute ... ThePetTags $11.99

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I would have loved to have had either of those fish bowls when I had beta fish! Do you have any creative ways that you've added a touch of nerd, geek or dork to your furry, fluffy or scaly companions?

*Maria

Introducing Instagram Mini-Wristies!

 This week has been full of ups and downs but I managed to create a brand new item and I'm completely in love with it. I don't have have a smart phone (my cell phone still resides in the dark ages of flip where I have to press the number 7 four times to put an 's' into a text message), so I can't actually use Instagram but I love the warm and familiar vintage kind of feel that so many Instagrammers favour when they are beautifying their photos, so the little Instagram camera icon makes me feel nice inside.

When I first put this pair on to test the fit after finishing them, I could resist holding my hand up in front of my face, palm outward, smiling and shouting "SELFIE! *click* *click*"

This project came together very easily, much to my surprise. The pattern begins with my standard Mini-Wristie design, and my first attempt with the colour blocking between browns turned out just right. Then the first lens I made was exactly the right size. The first time I added the white highlight it was in just the right place. Cutting out those teeny little felt hearts made me grumble a lot but patience and attention to detail meant I didn't have to make any more than just the two I needed. I even managed to apply the fabric glue without mucking anything up. These Instagram Mini-Wristies were just begging to be created!

Clicking on any of the photos will take you to the Nerdifacts etsy shop listing where these Instagram Mini-Wristies are available for purchase. Curious about the other wristwarmers that I've created? Just CLICK HERE.

Have you ever had a project come together so easily that it seemed it was simply meant to be? Share an experience in the comments, I'd love to hear about it!

*Maria

My Nerdy Universe: Star Wars Art

 Jim and I have been living in our current place for about 7 months and we just finished putting up most of our artwork. One wall featured only an abstract painting for the longest time, which I always thought of as a forest. Jim added our collection of Star Wars art to the same wall and the abstract painting was suddenly transformed in Dagobah and I loved it even more. I'm so glad that I dragged it along on multiple moves over the years so that its true destiny as part of a Star Wars collection could be realized. I couldn't resist drawing up a little sign, "Dagobah" and sticking it on the canvas.

These are some pieces that we purchased from artists during trips to Fan Expo, held every August in Toronto. Darth Vader was a commissioned piece, we had the opportunity to watch the artist put the finishing touches on the work before we took it home. We picked up the Yoda portrait beside it to maintain balance ;) The bottom piece is Boba Fett, mid-launch; Jim loved the details in that piece.

On the other side of Dagobah we have our prized, one of a kind, original Yoda painting. We hummed and hawwwed over making the purchase (it was around $100) but the image is so intense and so carefully and painstakingly created that we knew it would be an amazing thing to own. Scroll down for a closer look. That was the year we went ludicrously over budget at Fan Expo. Below Yoda is a cherished movie poster that has undergone some cropping over time as the edges saw some wear and tear through many moves and wall relocations.

Isn't it awesome? I don't miss the cash we handed over at all, and since this is an original with no copies made, I think we actually got a pretty good deal. It's waiting to be framed properly, but we're not as enthusiastic to hand over our hard earned money for a frame as we were to purchase this piece.

Do you have any walls dedicated to showcasing a specific theme in artwork that you've collected? Share in the comments below or head over to the Nerdifacts facebook page and share some photos of your artwork collections. I'd love to see them!

*Maria

Spring Forward! C'mon Sun... C'mon Sun!

I spent a lazy Sunday visiting with family and lamenting the hour of sleep that I begrudgingly lost overnight as we went through the Daylight Savings shift. Time is such a strange thing... but that's a thought for a different day. To welcome the return of sunshine and warm weather, I've created some sunny collections of items for you to peruse. Enjoy!

1. Sun Pendant Necklace by ThePendantIsland                   2. Yellow Triforce Necklace by TheGeekStudio
3. Geek in ASCII Binary Code Hoodie by FeistyFashion      4. Yellow Dice Cufflinks by SubwayCufflinks

5. Busy Being Awesome Cozy Cover by KnotworkShop          6. Tech Lover Light Switch Cover by ModernSwitch
7. Typography Love Poster by kyd13                                           8. Radiation Hazard Pillow by SaucyArethusa

*Maria

Nerd Girl Guide: Build Your Own Style and Confidently Rock It! (Part 2)

Alright! Now that you're feeling confident enough to wear anything that you want without worrying about what other people will think of you, we're ready to jump into that wardrobe and start making sense of it. If you missed last week's post on building up your confidence, it's right HERE.

Before You Start:

• You'll need a few hours to get through this so block off time before you begin.
• This guide is for your personal wardrobe. If you have a job that requires dressing very differently from your own personal expression, put those clothes aside into a Work Wardrobe and ask yourself why you're working where you are ;)
• This guide will not tell you to get rid of everything and start again; the focus is on really getting to know your wardrobe not annihilating it.
• At the end of the guide you'll find a downloadable cheat sheet to make sure you cover all of the bases without having to keep checking this post.

Mental Shift!
You have to assess your complete wardrobe. I know it's a big undertaking, but it's SO worth it. Especially if you're a bit of a clothes hoarder (I definitely still have some pieces I wore in high school, just not as many as I used to!). When I was learning how to manage my wardrobe, all of the articles I read said "purge, purge, purge!" but that's such a negative way to look at your beloved wardrobe. So I flipped it. We won't focus on purging. You'll look at your entire wardrobe like a boutique and go shopping. Way more fun!
*Consider your seasonal preferences so you know what types of items you may want more of less of. For example, in the summer do you prefer skirts rather than shorts? In the winter do you like sweaters or would you rather wear layers?

Ready? HERE WE GO! (in a rush but want the goods? click "read more" for pdf checklist at end of post)

Nerd Girl Guide: Build Your Own Style and Confidently Rock It! (Part 1)

If you're a nerd girl like me, chances are you already have some awesomesauce wardrobe components. But when you're out in the world sometimes it can be hard to wear the things you love without looking over your shoulder to see who is pointing at you. I hate to say this, but...

DEAL. WITH. IT.

If you identify as a nerd, geek, or dork of some sort, you shouldn't care who might be pointing at you, or mocking you, or thinking that you're weird and I'll tell you why:

Philosophize on Your Navel

Did you know that today is World Thinking Day? I was incredibly excited about this until I learned that it was an initiative for Girl and Boy Scouts to help increase awareness and raise funds for a particular theme of concern.

Sorry... but that's BORING. 

Nothing against the Scouts and everything they do for youngsters, but if I look on my calendar and see that it's World Thinking Day, probably one of the last things I want to think about is child mortality or maternal health (themes for 2013-not to say that they're not important of course).

The FIRST thing I want to do is dress up as Socrates and roam around my city asking people thought provoking questions and maybe cornering a 12-year-old to prove that with proper questioning he or she can derive the pythagorean theorem.