nerd JERK at Maker Faire!

We've been busy here at nerd JERK. Between the Cherry Blossom Festival, the MOCFA Craft Bar, and showing our amigurumi at the STUDIO Gallery, we can hardly stand the awesomeness!


But the awesome is just going to keep coming, because May 19th and 20th, we're going to be under the Bazzaar Bizarre tent at Maker Faire Bay Area!

Kirby is so excited for Marker Faire, he can hardly contain himself!

What's Maker Faire? You mean other than being super rad? ;D  It's a two-day event that celebrates creative DIY endeavors. It's a family-friendly affair, with lots of fun stuff for humans of all ages!  Seriously, the list of topics covered ranges from food to electronics to music to sustainability to arts and crafts, including of course all of the schweeeet stuff nerd JERK is going to be bringing!

You can get some awesome nerd JERK geekery hot-off-the-presses! We'll be debuting some new designs for our Handmade Felt Brooches & Journals, as well as introducing a "Make Your Own Gift Set!" station! Mini Adorableness will be available in a customizable way! We've even got some BRAND NEW Cross-Stitch Necklaces that you're gonna LOVE!

And you never know - There may even be a surprise or two!

WANNA COME? Here's the DEETS

WHEN: May 19th 10am-8pm & May 20th 10am-6pm
WHERE: San Mateo Event Center (2495 South Delaware Street, San Mateo, CA 94403)
COST: Ticket prices vary.  Check out the Maker Faire Ticket Page for pricing.  There are discounts for children, students, families, and for purchasing your tickets early (hint hint!)

This will be the last weekend Steph will be 28 years old (her 29th birthday is on Monday) so come on by and help her celebrate! We hope to see you there!

Cross-Stitch, Customs & Chain Chomp - What I've Been Up To

There's been a whole lot of action around my house lately! Most of it from new items I'm trying to get ready in time for Maker Faire... which happens to fall on my birthday this year... and which I have never been to in my life!

WHOA! I know. Excited, much?

Here's a collections of photos that I've been releasing to my Facebook Fans & Twitter buds labeled "Sneak Peek of the Week"...

Ltd. Ed. Cross-Stitch Pendant Necklace -
Librarian Cat-Eye Glasses - $36 USD
DEBUT at Maker Faire 2011

I've been thinking about cross-stitch for quite some time now (as you all well know, cos of the teasers I've been giving out about my Nerdy Cross Stitch Kits), but it's taken THAT LONG to get all the ingredients I needed to makes these bad boys.

These MINIATURE Cross-Stitched Pendant Necklaces will be a Limited Edition collection that I'm solely releasing at the Bazaar Bizarre Maker Faire on May 21st & 22nd, 2011. I'm making 10 necklaces and I'll see how it goes. :) Especially since I'm spending 2-3 hrs on each mini cross-stitch!

Ltd. Ed. Cross-Stitch Pendant Necklace -
HELLO Calculator - $36 USD
DEBUT at Maker Faire 2011

Each one of these pendants' images were designed by me, specifically for the Limited Edition Collection or for the Nerdy Cross-Stitch Kits (that I was planning on releasing yesterday, but just couldn't finish the first round of instructions for cross-stitching in time). And all of them were designed with love.

I've gotta admit, I feel like I'm a lot more than just a girl who can crochet video game characters really well, but not get through most levels of Super Mario Bros. I've got a whole lotta geekiness pent-up in this ol' noggin of mine. And I really wanna let all of those geeky bits shine!

So I started going into designing simple cross-stitch patterns. :) It was like drawing with pixels... and, like with amigurumi, there was a certain amount of math involved in making everything look right.

Hence my new found love for gettin' my nerd on!

UPDATE: I've already had Roger help me create the visuals for the Nerdy Cross-Stitch Kits, so I just need to work on the instructions & packaging. But I'm sure you're all gonna love the way I express my Inner Geek!

Either way, if I don't sell out of the Limited Edition Cross-Stitch Pendant Necklaces at Maker Faire, then they should be available in my Etsy shop by May 25th.

CHAIN CHOMP - Custom Order made for birthday gift
Chain Chomp will be making his official DEBUT at Maker Faire 2011

And lastly, but not least-ly - Here's a photo of a Chain Chomp that I designed as a Custom Order for a birthday gift for a gentleman's best friend, that was paired with a Bob-Omb! Wow! Wish I had a friend like that!!!

Either way, the request for this Custom Order came just when I had been thinking up different ways to finally conquer the Chain Chomp/Pac-Man conundrum I'd been battling for so many years. And I was VERY pleased with the results! I only wish there wasn't so much cutting, as all the teeth are cut TWICE, adhered, cut down again, attached/lined up, cut AGAIN and fit together when he "CHOMPS" down! Sheesh! Reinforced mouth & teeth (so that they're "sharp!") and individually sculpted chains! Reinforced base & initial chain link to base to create stability.... needless to say, LOTS of time & love went into this guy. :)

Chain Chomp will be available Made-To-Order at nerd JERK after May 25th as well. 

So that's why I've been so quiet on the blog front. Combine that with 24/7 care-giving duties, my new collaborative Etsy, Inc. I Heart Art: San Francisco project and the insistent urge for cat naps from 1-6 PM everyday and you've basically got my life!

I'd love to hear what you think! :D What kind of nerdiness inspires you? Can you think of ONE SYMBOL FOR NERDITY that you'd like to see cross-stitched?

Word!