Every once in a blue moon I get in a crafty mood; I put my laptop aside and take out the paint, scissors and glue. Occasionally, I take my hand-made wares to a craft market, or in this case, a maker’s fair, and sell them to those who might appreciate them. This past weekend, I […]
Continue ReadingDo you have a Geekling who wants to be R2D2 for Halloween? Is your Geekling older than a toddler and therefore can’t really fit the commercially-available costumes? In 2008, right on the heels of Star Wars: The Clone Wars in theaters, my 3 1/2 year old son wanted to be R2D2. With just a trash […]
Continue ReadingWhen one hears the words “Pumpkin Shine On Line,” they may think it’s a place on the internet to show off shiny gourds. Folks in my parts will know that it’s referring to an annual event, that happens the week before Halloween, on Line Avenue in Shreveport, Louisiana. One of the biggest and oldest parks […]
Continue ReadingMy daughter is busy sewing her third quilt in this picture, using her Hello Kitty sewing machine. If you have the ability to sew, it’s a skill you should pass to your kids. If you don’t have the ability, you should learn together. I had a girl first, so we taught her first, but we […]
Continue ReadingWe’ve all seen the paraphernalia, T-shirts, mugs and the like. I personally have a button of “Everything I Need to Know About Life I’ve Learned By Reading Banned Books.” Incidentally that wasn’t the button I was asked to remove by the Homeland Security officer, but that’s a story for a different week of censorship. […]
Continue ReadingIt’s truly unbelievable to walk through the tents at Maker Faire New York and marvel at what people have pulled from their imaginations put forth into reality. So much time! So much energy! Frankly, I always leave feeling like a serious underachiever. Fortunately, the Makers have me covered. All throughout Maker Faire was cool stuff […]
Continue ReadingThe second-born child came up to me a few days ago and announced gravely: “Mom! ComicCon is in October and I need to prepare. I think today I would like you to teach me how to make a sword.” “You mean: a cardboard sword, right?” “No, no, no! A metal sword–steel.” Looking piercingly out […]
Continue ReadingThanks to everyone who entered our contest over the last four weeks. What a whirlwind! Last week’s winner is Trishden (and while I’m always team Weasley I can understand that there’s just something about Severus…) With the movie breaking records around the world, we sure hope our lucky winners will be proclaiming their Potter fandom […]
Continue ReadingYou’re likely already read the printing adventures by our own GeekMoms over the course of the week. I am admittedly a bit of a Harry Potter fangirl, so this project seemed like a no-brainer for me. Kodak Design Gallery Software featuring Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows™ boasted all sorts of wicked good fun, and […]
Continue ReadingWow, it’s hard to believe that we’re already in week four of our Kodak and GeekMom giveaway! We’ve been busy putting our own printers to work (which were given to the four editors, Jenny, Kathy, Corinna, and myself) provided by Kodak (you can learn about my favorite Harry Potter character later this week and the […]
Continue ReadingI’m a sucker for re-purposing. When I was younger I would take my dad’s beer bottle caps, punch holes in them, and make earrings. When it came time to plan my best friend’s baby shower, I massacred some Little Golden books rather than visit One Stop Party Shoppe. So when Sue at Comic Salvage contacted GeekMom […]
Continue ReadingAt heart, I’m really kind of a lazy mother. If I have to go to a lot of trouble to set up a fun activity, I’m apt to find a million excuses for putting it off until tomorrow. But that tendency conflicts with my desire to be a mom who says yes, a mom who […]
Continue ReadingIn four short weeks, Hogwarts fans will be lining up to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, the last movie in the series based on the great adventure novels of J. K. Rowling, which opens July 15. And in honor of the event, GeekMom has joined with Kodak to give you a […]
Continue ReadingThere are many geeky themes you could have for your wedding. Ren Faire was the theme my husband and I chose for our wedding, which was nearly 5 years ago. My husband, Todd, and I had been dating for nearly two years when he proposed to me on my birthday. Once the euphoria of being […]
Continue ReadingThe tot and I decided to make rayguns to match our ballgowns–because a lady’s raygun says a lot about her. We, well, I, was going for something Steampunkian, but you could go Spaceranger, Futuristic, Fantasy, or what have you and just change out the colors (and sparkles). I started with a little mini Nerf gun. It’s […]
Continue ReadingI’ve mentioned before my family’s fascination with tape. This? Is sheer brilliance. I suppose the only downside to having such a cool tape gun is that kids will forever be carting the tape around and making laser gun noises – which will make actually finding the tape a bit of a challenge. (Psst! Check the […]
Continue ReadingDid you count thirteen petals on the Black-Eyed-Susan? It’s fun for kids to count petals on blooming flowers “springing” out of the ground. It’s also a lesson in higher math. Last week I attended the NSTA Conference in San Francisco where I met Sarah C. Campbell, author of the picture book Growing Patterns. Sarah presented […]
Continue ReadingA steampunk gal needs some sort of bustled skirt, right? But the super-easy burlesque skirt tutorial I used for myself just didn’t seem appropriate for a four-year-old, and the pattern books were woefully lacking. So I winged it. You can see pictures of her whole steampunk alchemist outfit in my first GeekMom post. I think the […]
Continue ReadingOur winters in Oklahoma, USA are typically mild with occasional bouts of precipitation that melts within a couple of days. Last year, however, we had a blizzard on Christmas Eve and this year we had record snowfall. We don’t have blizzards here. We aren’t prepared to deal with that much snow. Our daughter’s school was […]
Continue ReadingI am not exaggerating one single bit when I tell you that masking tape saved my sanity as a parent. As we continue Cabin Fever Week here at GeekMom, take a tip from me: get tape. For some reason, my kids thought it was a great treat to have unlimited access to tape. Regular old […]
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