Author: jawajames

San Diego-based Jawa.
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Craft-athlon: “What a piece of junk!”

The second event, Recycled Designs, from the Club Jade Craft-athlon got participants to build a starship, vehicle or creature by digging through their trash compactors and recycling bins for parts. Like a gang of industrious Jawas or kitbashing ILM modelmakers, our competitors assembled some pretty amazing recycled designs.

Our top crafter in this round is Michelle Brzozowski for her Red Leader X-Wing fighter, made out of items including empty paper towel and toilet paper rolls, chopsticks, empty glue stick tubes, and a plastic Easter egg.

Rounding out the finalists are Dajuan & Doug Kinney for their Paploo on a speeder bike, and Kitty Lewis for her Java Squadron X-wing fighter. The Kinneys used the entire recycling bin for the Fast and the Furball-ous, incorporating 8 glass and plastic bottles, several empty Lego boxes, plastic lunch meat tubs, and empty paper towel rolls. Lewis’ caffeinated starfighter uses some cannibalized coffee cups and lids, and straws. Watch out for the dark side of the roast, Luke!

While we are judging the third event, Food for Thought, there’s still time to get your entries in for the last two competitions: Star Wars Roll Model (toilet paper roll turned into a Star Wars character), and Vader’s Custom Tee (repurpose a Star Wars t-shirt or other apparel item into a new creation). Get the full details here on how to enter and be eligible to win cool prizes from Del Rey, including copies of Bonnie Burton’s The Star Wars Craft Book, coming out March 29!

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Craft-athlon: The puppetmasters!

The Club Jade Craft-athlon judges had some tough decisions with the entries received in the first crafting event – the Paper Bag Puppets. All the submissions were great and when the judges combined their scores, we ended up with a tie for the top Star Wars paper bag puppet!

Congrats to Kitty Lewis for her Jedi Master Kit Fisto paper bag puppet and Tommy Garcia for his Boba Fett puppet complete with jet pack. Rounding out the top five, we had an impressive Boba Fett, a detailed Jabba the Hutt and a cute Salacious Crumb.

But the contest is still any crafter’s game – we’re now judging the second event: Recycled Designs for starships, vehicles, and creatures, but everyone still has time to submit in the final three categories: Food for Thought (food items as art media), Roll Model (toilet paper roll turned into a Star Wars character), and Vader’s Custom Tee (repurpose a Star Wars t-shirt or other apparel item into a new creation). Even if you haven’t submitted yet, you can still enter into any category for a chance to win one of our fabulous prize sets from Del Rey. Get the full details here!

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Craft-athlon update: Send us your ship!

All wings report in! We’ve received a handful of entries for Paper Bag Puppet event in the Club Jade Craft-athlon and while we are judging your fine lunch bag creations, we’d like to remind you that tomorrow, March 23, is the deadline for Event #2: ‘Recycled Designs.’ Who can build the best hunk of junk in the galaxy… out of household junk – or recyclable materials? You can! Send us photos of your starship, vehicle or creature craft creation.

Friday is the deadline for Event #3: ‘Food for Thought’, where food items form the main ingredient in this artistic challenge.

Get the full rules and submission guidelines and check out the prizes from Del Rey at our contest page.

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Craft-athlon: Get your paper bag puppets in!

Pocketbook by Dianna BatesStill working on your entries for the Club Jade Craft-athlon? We’ve already received a few entries, and we’d like to remind you that the deadlines for some of the events are coming next week! Be sure to get your photos submitted by the deadlines:

  • Paper Bag Puppets – Monday, March 21
  • Recycled Design vehicles, ships and creatures – Wednesday, March 23
  • Food for Thought artwork – Friday, March 25
  • Star Wars Roll Models – Sunday, March 27
  • Vader’s Custom Tee – Tuesday, March 29

To help inspire you in the contest, check out this zippered pocketbook made by Dianna Bates using some vintage Star Wars bedsheets. With a fully lined on the interior, it even has a cell phone pocket on the inside. Thanks to her husband Justin LaSalata for sending pics along. Check out the submission rules, get crafting and keep those contest entries coming!

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The Clone Wars review: ‘Counterattack’

“This is some rescue. When you came in here, didn’t you have a plan for getting out?” Last week’s episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, entitled ‘Counterattack’ shows what happens when the best-laid plans of mouse droids and men hit reality. As the middle story in the Citadel arc, its parallels to Leia’s rescue on the Death Star build up – and then take a different route as the Sith hits the fan. Continue reading “The Clone Wars review: ‘Counterattack’”

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Start your crafting! The Craft-athlon has begun…

Potholders?!“It’s away!” The Club Jade Craft-athlon has now started. Our craft-making contest has five events to challenge your makery skills. Will you come up with the coolest Star Wars character ever made out of a toilet paper roll? or the finest craft item that utilizes an old Star Wars t-shirt? or turn an old cereal box into a Star Destroyer?

To help celebrate the March 29 release of The Star Wars Craft Book by Bonnie Burton, we’re hosting this no-holds-barred competition of mad making and cunning crafting. Build your craft items, send us the photos, and we’ll award some winners. What can you win? Del Rey is providing some awesome loot, including copies of the new do-it-yourself guide to Star Wars crafts, and the grand prize winner will also get a signed copy of The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia.

Get the full scoop on the events, rules, submission guidelines and deadlines at the Club Jade Craft-athlon rules page. And then get busy!

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Get your glue and scissors ready…

Break out the googly eyes!…because Club Jade is going to be hosting a craft contest! In anticipation of the release of Bonnie Burton’s The Star Wars Craft Book at the end of this month, Club Jade is having a Craft-athlon to help bring out the inner crafter in you! It will be a multiple event challenge, with the grand prize pack that includes the upcoming craft guide and a signed set of The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, courtesy of our friends at Del Rey.

We’ll have more on the rules and the first Craft-athlon events later this week, but start scrounging your home for random household craft materials – like maybe a paper lunch bag, an old Star Wars shirt, or even a toilet paper tube.

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The Clone Wars review: ‘Ghosts of Mortis’

Two weeks ago, Star Wars: The Clone Wars wrapped up the three part story arc involving the Father, Son and Qui-Gon’s Ghost. Do good things come in threes? We’ve got three episodes, with three Jedi, and three Force wielders (err… two now!). ‘Ghosts of Mortis’ closed up the story of the Chosen One doing what a Chosen One does best, bringing balance by killing things. I guess important deaths do come in threes.

Continue reading “The Clone Wars review: ‘Ghosts of Mortis’”

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“I love EU.” “I know.” Valentine’s Day in the Expanded Universe

It’s that time of the year when flower, candy, and jewelry stores make us think that romance better be in the kriffin’ air. But what’s a Star Wars fan to do to celebrate Valentine’s Day with a special someone? Well, it turns out Darth Cupid has been shooting some Valentine’s Day goodies for Star Wars Expanded Universe fans over the years. Short stories, comics, and more. Continue reading ““I love EU.” “I know.” Valentine’s Day in the Expanded Universe”