Last year bumblev of Tried and True made this attractive “zombie invasion” cardigan (with downloadable pattern), and this year she decided to repurpose it into a stenciled T-shirt (I love the picture of her little boy wearing the shirt).

The tutorial is appealingly easy (little more than paper and spray paint), and if zombies aren’t your thing the same technique would work well with any image that fits nicely along the bottom of a shirt. A line of spooky trees with the occasional flitting bat might be nice, as would a row of dancing skeletons.

If you’re careful with the stencils you should be able to re-use them, so you could make similar shirts for the whole family. Cheap! Easy! My favorite kind of project.

This is…just what it says it is. Etsy seller ArtAkimbo sculpts these lightweight tentacles from styrofoam and papier mache, then sticks them in a plywood porthole. Perfect for making your room appear to be under attack by some horrible octopoid menace. They’re wonderfully realistic, and would be an entertaining addition to a room decorated in either a Captain Nemo-esque nautical theme or an H.P. Lovecraft-esque oh-no-the-Old-Ones-are-coming theme.

They’re also, as one might expect, on the expensive side. If you’re good with sculpting it might be possible to make something similar yourself, but considering the level of detail I don’t think it would be easy. It would depend upon your budget vs. how badly you wanted a wall tentacle. I have to admit that it would be a heck of a conversation piece.

(via Neatorama)

“Yoda” Bat Discovered – A new species of bat found in Papua New Guinea ostensibly looks like Yoda. I suppose there’s some vague resemblance, but I’m really mentioning the article because it just looks so darn cuddly.

Bluntcards – Ecards that combine vintage illustrations with snark. I particularly like this one.

Minnesota Borders Alfred Hitchcock – In the “can never be unseen” department….

Umbilical Cord iPhone Charger – I’m not sure if this is a real product or a clever mockup. Either way, gah.

Cthulhu Christmas Elf – Original polymer clay sculpture of…just what the title says. (I like the “It’s beginning to look a lot like End Times” bit in the description.)

19th Century Family Car Stickers – I wish these were an actual product instead of just Photoshop, because I would be mighty tempted to own a set.

‘Til Death Do Us Part – Engagement ring knuckle duster. It certainly…makes a statement.

Paul Pape Designs – Sculptor with a geeky bent who creates things like custom sculptures of game avatars, personalized cake toppers, and wearable button eyes a la Coraline (under General Geekery, toward the bottom).

Cannibal Snowmen – These are some of the most wonderful holiday cards I’ve ever seen.

Snip, Burn, Solder, Shred – Book of “geeky” projects to make with kids, including things like a muzzleloader that shoots marshmallows, screen-printed T-shirts, and a sock Cthulhu.

The Lovelace Reader – New magazine devoted to steampunk.

p.s. – This is a milestone of sorts, as it’s the 1,000th post published on the blog. Thanks to everybody for being a great audience; I can’t wait to start on the next thousand.

Be very, very afraid.

(via Friendly Atheist)

Colleen of The Magic Bean has a wicked Christmas habit which she occasionally excuses by sharing tutorials for making wonderful things like these silhouette ornaments. My head is about to explode from the cuteness.

These striking little ornaments are made of bits of felt and trim, and are one of those marvelous projects where the result looks like you spent way more time and effort than you actually did. Once you get the hang of it, turning out lots of these with various hat colors and decorative elements should be fairly easy.

If you’re feeling particularly ambitious, you could personalize the silhouettes by using photos of family members (here’s a tutorial for making silhouettes), and you could go beyond the Regency idea and experiment with other headgear and accessories. A clown hat and red pom-pom clown nose might be cute, not to mention witch hats or pioneer bonnets or whatever else appeals to you.

In addition to tree ornaments, a series of these would be attractive hung garland-style across a mantle. They’d also make wonderful gift tags, and might even be fun place cards for a dinner party. Lovely!

(via CRAFT)