Fangirl Nation comes to Comikaze

As a writer for www.fangirlnation.com, I have been having a blast bringing geeky news, reviews and geeky craft how-to's to the community. At Fangirl, it is our mission to encourage girls to love what they love without shame or fear. ( I have written extensively about the topic here, in my article addressing the “Fake Geek Girl.” )

As a young girl, my father sparked my interest in sci-fi, fantasy and other “geeky” pursuits. Being raised by him, it was just the norm. I didn't even know I was a “geek” until high school, when I met others, male AND female that were like me. They were simply my interests, the things that I loved.

http://www.mrwallpaper.com/wallpapers/Man-Woman-Geek

Never could I have imagined the the recent events that have swept through our community. It breaks my heart that a contigent of people, no matter how small or how large, could be so violent, so full of rage. That female fans, creators and industry workers are being driven to silence and fear, is horrifying. I truly do not, cannot understand, why we are any different than any other fan. Why do the organs that inhabit our bodies determine what we allowed, or not allowed to love? I was raised to believe that we are all people, all humans, and despite our gender, our only limitations are those we share as a species (i.e not being able to fly unassisted). These sorts of events hurt everyone, both genders and the community as a whole.

Despite this sad turn of events. It has been a joy to be surrounded by the gals of FangirlNation, a passionate group of ladies, with an important goal.

“We embrace all levels or fandom, nerdery, geekdom and culture, knowing that in the end we are all passionate about something. We banish the concept of “fake geek girl” knowing every woman deserves the chance to love what she loves without being questioned for her dedication.

We are Women. We are Fangirls. We are United in What We Love.
We are the FangirlNation and we want you to join us!”

This is a topic that means so much to me, and we are going to be bringing this message to Comikaze 2014 with our first panel “Why Female Fans Matter”

Anyone can be a fan. Everyone should be able to love what they love. Please come celebrate yourself for the amazing, passionate person that you are. Saturday, November 1^st at 1:30 PM in room 306AB

All my love,

~ By GoblinGal

#comickaze2014 #fangirlnation #FGN #FGNmag #Fangirl #geekequality #humanist #fakegeekgirl

Entlings!

With films like Lord of the Rings and Gaurdians of the Galaxy tree creatures are all the rage! I've personally wanted my own army of tree creatures since I was a little girl, so, I decided to make them!

These are my entlings, just babies, but someday they will grow up to be large fearsome ents!

Just like any boy band worth it's salt, there are five different entlings with their own looks and personalities!

This little entling has befriended a little dragon, and they'd be more than happy to help you hold dome of your dice and rolls some 20's 

Here is a shot of them before they are painted.

 




This little guy is ready for mischief! All the Entlings are made with polymer clay and glass accents. They are handpainted with scrylic paints.

Fairy Entling

These were a lot of fun to make, and I hope everyone else enjoys them too! 

Thanks for dropping by! I can't wait to show everyone my next project!

These little guys are available here! Help support artists and feed all the hungry goblins mucking about my house!

~By GoblinGal

#IAmGroot #ent #entling #guardiansofthegalaxy #LoTR #fantasyart #treecreature #groot

How to Make a Dalek Trash Can!

Good morning everyone! Just a quick cross post this lovely August morn to encourage you all to go out and bring a Dalek into your home (or office.) That's a totally good idea, right? As I have mentioned previously, one of my many jobs is writing for Fangirl Nation, where I am a columnist for a monthly crafting “how to” (it's a cool job) called “Goblin Gal's Crafty Corner.”

Today Fangirl released the third article in my series, teaching you to make this guy!!

I love him, seriously. My husband has named him “Darryl the Dalek” and he now resides in my living room. He's great because he is a piece of fandom, but also a functional piece for your home (us geeks love us some functionality). Also, my cat thinks Darryl is his personal back scratcher.

Check out the how-to here and don't forget to check out FangirlNation.com for all your geek news needs!

To look at all my how-to posts, go to the website, and mouse over the “columns” button in the nav bar. It's under “Goblin Gal's Crafty Corner”

To read every article I've ever wrote for Fangirl...ever! Click here! 

Stop by again soon!
 ~By GoblinGal


#fangirlnationmagazine #fangirlnation #fangirlnationmag #fgn #goblingal #drwho #dalek #thedoctor #drwhohousewares #dalekdecor

Five Ways to Get Out of a Rut and Get Back to Work

It happens to the best of us, the muse takes an inconveniently timed vacation (and you’d really like slap the inconstant tart). Whether you have a big deadline coming up, or just have found yourself distracted or procrastinating, sometimes you just need a little extra boost to get back to work.  When I find myself struggling to find the get up and go, here are some tactics I use to try to tempt back the muse and get some real work done.

1)   Go Somewhere That Inspires You

pic from http://funnypictures.co.uk/

So often when I am feeling blocked or frustrated all it takes is going somewhere that makes me happy, somewhere that gets my creative juices flowing again. For me, that means nature, particularly trees and water. If I’m having a block I love to go to an arboretum or nature center. I step inside, breathe in, and instantly feel more calm. It doesn’t have to be a vacation, or far away. Find a good local spot you can go to feel inspired and relaxed.

          2)  Leave Your Work Space for Awhile

Sometimes the physical environment we are working in contributes to the block. If you are hanging around in your home or office, surrounded by the projects you feel you should have finished already, you may actually decrease in productivity. It also makes procrastinating easier. Does this sound familiar? “Man, this isn’t going well. Oh hey, that sure is are lot of dishes in the sink…I should really do those.” Four hours later, you have a squeaky clean house, but a project no where near finished. Go to a coffee shop, a local library, or heck, just go out on your patio or porch. Give your brain a change of venue, and eliminate those distractions and ways to procrastinate.

3)  Don’t Work While Watching TV

From allmeanssomething.wordpress.com

I am very guilty of this one. I just want some background noise, so I put the TV on while I work.  Next thing I know, I am either completely watching the TV or I realize that I am working, but about three times slower than usual. At very least don’t put on the latest episode of “Game of Thrones” (or anything that will steal your attention). If you're not in a rush, and don’t mind going at a slower pace, that's fine, but if you are really against a wall for a deadline, avoid the TV.  If I feel I just have to have background noise to focus, I tend to put on music instead, or travel or nature shows. These things are pleasant, may help keep me inspired, but stay in the background where they belong.  Also try turning the volume down lower than you would if you were fully watching the TV.

4) Take a Break

Sometimes the harder you push and try to focus, the stronger the block becomes. Sometimes a simple walk outside, or lunch with a friend will cause the solution to your problem to just pop into your brain (only as soon as you stop thinking about it of course). Just make sure that it is a disciplined break and it doesn't slide into procrastination.

5)     Compartmentalize & Discipline

If you have already tried a lot of these, and they haven’t worked, you may be in the realm of needing to give yourself a swift kick in the pants. Commit to working on something. Give yourself consequences if you don’t (or just remind yourself of the consequences that may already exist). Often you may feel overwhelmed; there are too many things to do, so you just do none of them. Don’t make yourself a pledge to finish all the things, it won’t work. Pick a single project, and commit 30 minutes, if even to just start it.  Just tell yourself  “Just sit down and start it, just try for 30 mins, and then if it doesn't work, we can take a break or try something else.” This trick works wonders for me. Sometimes I do only work the 30 minutes. What usually what ends up happening is that with less pressure.  I end up getting way farther than anticipated, and usual working way longer than 30 minutes. If you compartmentalize and focus, and give yourself permission to take breaks, it takes a lot of the pressure off. In my personal experience, that pressure is one of the key ingredients to a creative block.

From makeameme.org

Thanks for reading, and I do hope this helps you wrangle that pesky muse! Feeling depressed about your run off muse, and would prefer to procrastinate a bit longer before you get to work? Like lists? Check out my  post of 7 Things You Shouldn't Try if you are a Crafter with a Cat

Until next time!

~ By GoblinGal

#writersblock #creativeblock #artisticmuse #gettingoverwritersblock #gettowork #GoblinGal #waystogetbacktowork #lovetrees #craftinghelp #getoutofrut #spidermantree #fivewaystogetoutofarut

7 Things You Shouldn't Try if You are a Crafter with a Cat.

Crafting is a wonderful creative outlet for many of us. Some of us, arguably the slightly insane among us, have decided to try maintain this hobby while also owning a cat. Perhaps not our most intelligent move. Besides the fact that every cat seems to come equipped with the extrasensory ability to inform them the exact moment you start to make something, (even from 3 rooms away, or while asleep.) every project quickly becomes an uphill battle of “how much fur can I keep out of my project?” Want to cut out that new pattern? Not likely! Yet, we love our furry little crafting assistants, and we wouldn't trade them for the world.

Over the years I have learned a few of the do's and don'ts of crafting with cats. Here are a few things you maybe shouldn't try.

1) Having a piece that does not incorporate cat hair.

Yeah, cat fur sticks really well to polymer clay, and fabric, and yarn, and...

2) Trying to photograph your new stock.

You didn't put out that perfectly clean white backdrop to be a cat bathing station?

3) Trying to write... anything.

You should be grateful, really, that bright colored zombie box is clearly bad for you. Try participating in healthier activities. Like cat petting. 

4) Trying to cut out a sewing pattern.

Really? You really thought you could get away with this? This combines many of a cats's talents, interrupting, sitting on things, AND hair coverage. No way will they let that opportunity slide.

5) Leaving anything, anywhere at cat height.

If you leave a craft project unattended, your cat will see that you clearly need some help, and quickly attempt to attend to your items. Unfortunately, cats are not very good at weaving. 

6) Leaving spherical objects unattended, or in bins,  or lockboxes.

No minimum security containers. Really, it's bio-metric security or nothing. Just make sure fluffy doesn't lift your prints or get a retinal scan...

7) And finally...thinking you are in control in any way, shape or form. 

~ By Goblin Gal


#cats #lolcats #crafters #7ThingsYouShouldn'tDo #icanhazcheeseburger #funnycats #craftingwithpets #sewing #sculpting #kitteh #hooman #mai #GoblinGal #cutecats #interuptingcat #writingcat #weavingcat #craftingcat #labyrinthcat #catsloveyarn #sewingcat #catonfabric #catmemes #catcraftmeme

Armatures Incoming

So here are a few of those armatures I was talking about starting, Here

It may be 12:40 AM by by golly I made them. I'm a little sleepy now. Sleepy enough to be saying things like “by golly.” I have one more I'd like to make, but it's a humanoid figure, so naturally I'm saving the hardest for last, haha.

So the four legged little guy is my base for my Rowsdower from WildStar. Hopefully when I am done it will look more like the big guy there.

The other two are for my snake habitat I am currently building. They are going to be snake hides to keep the little guy or girl happy.

Me being me, I can't just have rocks and branches and a forest, no no. It must be themed. Everything must be themed! So sayeth I! If I could be a millionaire, and have every room like Disney leveled themed, I would. You bet your sweet ass there'd be a tiki room. Birds would sing words, flowers would croon, the whole nine. Man I really gotta stop writing these during bouts of sleep exhaustion, I digress.

The terrarium shall have a tiki/jungle/witch doctor sort of a theme. Why? One, that's awesome! Two,
I'm going to be naming said future snake “Hex.” Why “Hex” I will pretend you asked? The snake is to be named for both the folklore and stereotypes around snakes AND a terrible awful geometry joke between my husband and I. Also, it's a bad-ass name for a snake.

Anyway, the tube things will be tiki heads, and the low flat thing will be this!


It's a Stumpkin, also from WildStar. It will be a slightly modified version anyway. It serves the purpose of giving my snake a hide, being a tree (which is one of my favorite things to make) and it also still kinda fits the witch doctor theme. Green glowing eyes, I mean come on!


So, that's my pile of armatures so far! Next up, actually sculpting them.



By Goblin Gal


#Sculpting #polymerclay #WildStar #Rowsdower #Stumpkin #snake #snakehide #terrarium #armature #tikiroom #sleepdeprivation

Sauron Hair Sticks and a Status Update

Ever have one of those Fridays where you know you should have gotten enough sleep, and you have plenty to keep you busy, but your eyes just won't stay open?  That's me today, so please pardon the sleep deprived ramble.

I am seriously debating running over to the gas station next door to pick up some caffeine, which is unusual for me. I'm in the that slim minority of Americans who aren't hitting the coffee every morning. (I love coffee, it doesn't love me, so I have to be careful.)

Speaking of drugs, the addiction that is WildStar has been distracting me from being quite as productive as I had hoped for the past week or so, MMO's just get me every time.  But hey, I finally got to level 15 and got my mount (essentially a giant hamster ball) and a house!  Actually inspired by WildStar, I'm working on some armatures to make some figurines from the game, I'm hoping to have them finished by the end of the weekend.

I'm also building my patio garden with my husband. (I spent a good chunk of my time off yesterday staining & sealing the planter boxes he built. Yippee I didn't get enough time painting large flat surfaces with the same color with doing house reno! I kid, (mostly) it wasn't that bad. 

I did actually finish a "sculpture" piece lately, for Fangirl Nation. My first "Goblin Gal's Crafty Corner" column published yesterday.  

http://fangirlnation.com/2014/06/19/goblin-gals-crafty-corner-eye-of-sauron-hairsticks/

It's a how-to article on how to make Eye of Sauron LoTR hair sticks (seen below). I'm pretty excited. I mean, I'm writing for a website all about fangirls and geekiness and I've got my own craft column! I've now got four reviews and this new how-to article published with them. It's been a bit tricky to add in another job to my schedule, but I love writing, and it is so worth it.

Here's a shot of them finished.

So please, go to the article, check them out, try them out and keep reading for my next adventure.

Lots of love, and much caffeine,

~By Goblin Gal

#FangirlNation #Fangirl #LoTR #Grumpycat #Sleepy #Friday #Sauron #EyeofSauron #lordoftherings #hairsticks #Tolkien #WildStar #MMO #Caffiene  #lotrhairsticks #sauronhairsticks