Club Jade tends to keep it simple when we do piñatas (Death Star, Alderaan) so I can’t help but be charmed by these two far more complicated Star Wars ones – the Millennium Falcon and a TIE fighter – by Etsy seller Antonio Sanchez. (via)
Do-It-Yourself X-Wing looks familiar…
1800Recycling.com blogged up a list of Star Wars vehicles made from recycled materials, and one of our Craft-athlon entries was included “Seven Awesome DIY Star Wars Vehicles.”
Michelle Brzozowski’s Red Leader X-Wing, made from a paper towel tube, chopsticks, empty glue stick tubes and more, flies high on the list, which also includes a working robotic AT-ST, the office supply X-Wing, the TIE Fighter made of Starbucks waste, and more. Reduce, Reuse, Rebel!
The fandom minute: The Star Wars food truck and how Empire ruined everything
Since it’s a holiday weekend – at least here in the U.S! – and we all have other things going on, here’s a quick sweep through the week’s best fannish links.
- Arkansas, of all places, has a Star Wars-themed grilled cheese food truck. Sandwiches include the “Cheebacca” and “Jack to the Future.” (Photo by redditpoweruser.)
- Vulture has a history of the movie prequel. There’s also how to make a sequel, but Star Wars doesn’t get a mention. Perhaps because The Empire Strikes Back ruined everything?
- Go offbeat with home decor that channels the Death Star and a Star Wars wedding down under. (Nice choice for a wedding dress!)
- Utah Vader and co. profiled in The Salt Lake Tribune
- Make a X-Wing soapbox derby car or an “I know” embroidery case.
- Brand Wars: From Sith, Jedi, and Vader to everything in-between.
- io9 takes a look back at “Lapti Nek.“
Make an X-Wing out of office supplies
Inspired by this Starship Enterprise, Instructables user Spookylean offers step-by-step instructions for building an X-Wing out of a Sharpie, binder clips and some other objects that are likely laying around the office. (via)
EUbits: Interviews with Bonnie Burton and Paul Kemp
Interviews Bonnie’s been doing the rounds for her craft book with interviews at Geekdad and TFN. The book also got favorable reviews on TFN, Geekdad, and iGeektrooper.
Meanwhile, Deceived author Paul S. Kemp has appeared on podcasts from SF Signal and (along with John Jackson Miller) the ForceCast’s Jedi Journals.
Tour. DK is sending out some of their authors and artists, along with The Clone Wars’ Ashley Eckstein, on an east coast tour throughout May. Ryder Windham, Chris Reiff, Chris Trevas, and Jason Fry will be making appearances.
This place can get a little rough. Looking for a new forum home now that the ones on StarWars.com are going away? EU Cantina has revamped their boards, and even TFN’s Lit has a welcome thread.
Rancho Obi-Wan. A look inside Steve Sansweet’s library.
Craft-athlon: Who’s made of win?!
We are pleased to announce the winners of the first ever Club Jade Craft-athlon! After judging the five craft-making events individually, our panel of judges has scored up all the entrants and have awards lined up for the top Star Wars craft makers who dared to face our challenge.
Our grand prize winner is Michelle Brzozowski. Not only did her Red Leader X-wing take the top place in the Recycled Designs competition, her creative Cloud Car made from sweet potatoes and avocados took the cake in the Food for Thought event, and she entered all five events, making her an all-around craft-athlete! Michelle wins the grand prize pack from Del Rey: a copy of Bonnie Burton’s The Star Wars Craft Book and a copy of the three-volume The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia with a bookplate signed by all six writers. Way to go, Michelle!
In second place is Kitty Lewis. Her Darth Lolita Goth Arm Warmers swept away the judges in the Vader’s Custom Tee event, and her adorable Kit Fisto tied for the top rank in the Paper Bag Puppet event. Additionally, she submitted entries in two other events. Our second place prize from Del Rey is a copy of the new craft guide and three hardcover novels in the Fate of the Jedi series: Abyss, Backlash, and Allies, each signed by its author: Troy Denning, Aaron Allston, and Christie Golden. Great job, Kitty!
Third place goes to the team of Dajuan and Doug Kinney, who showed off their crafting prowess in all five events, making them all-around craft-athletes. Their cute Salacious Crumb puppet won the hearts of the judges and their tauntaun cake had some amazing detail. For achieving third place, we have a copy of The Star Wars Craft Book and a paperback copy of The Force Unleashed, signed by author Sean Williams. Congratulations, Doug and Dajuan!
Our final prizes from Del Rey, copies of The Star Wars Craft Book will be awarded to our other single event winners: Reynalyn Camoras, whose Mother Talzin won the Star Wars Roll Model event and Tommy Garcia, whose Boba Fett puppet complete with jet packs tied for the top spot in the Paper Bag Puppet round. Good work, Reynalyn and Tommy.
Relive the contest with all the different event entries on our blog. If you want to see all the entries in their full amazing creative glory, check out our online photo album, which show different views of some of the entries as well as in-progress shots.
Congratulations to our winners, and thank you to Del Rey for supporting the Club Jade Craft-athlon! Some of our events were inspired by The Star Wars Craft Book, so if you are looking for different ways to re-use an old Star Wars tee shirt, or want to make an AT-AT herb garden, Chewbacca sock puppet, R2-D2 Crocheted Beanie, Jabba the Hutt Body Pillow, or twelve parsecs worth of other cool crafts, check out Bonnie Burton’s new craftastic book.
Craft-athlon: The Emperor’s New Clothes
And now the results from the final event in the Club Jade Craft-athlon: “Vader’s Custom Tee,” in which participants took a Star Wars apparel item and re-purposed it into a new creation. While most of our entries used a t-shirt as their base design material, our winner, Kitty Lewis, went down to the feet to turn two pairs of Darth Vader socks into “Darth Lolita Goth Arm Warmers.”
To accompany Vader’s socks, we had a squadron of tee-fighters closing in fast. Transforming the shirt off their backs into something new, we had an oversized Hoth bib from Dajuan & Doug Kinney (maybe for use when eating their Tauntaun cake?), the Sweet Dreams Sith pillow from Michelle Brzozowski, and a Lego Original Trilogy round poster from Nancy Lutz. Great work everyone!
And now with the Craft-athlon events complete, keep an eye out for our awarding of the fabulous prizes from Del Rey, live from the Massassi Throne Room on Yavin IV. Who will win the grand prize of a signed version of the Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia and Bonnie Burton’s The Star Wars Craft Book? Will Chewbacca get a medal for his crafting achievements finally?
Craft-athlon: Calling TP-421!
The Club Jade Craft-athlon has finished its five craft-making events, and now the judges are scoring the last two events, and we have winners to announce for the “Star Wars Roll Model” competition. Each participant took an empty toilet paper roll and turned it into a character, and we had a tough time choosing from so many great entries.
The winner of the Roll Model event is Reynalyn Camoras for her depiction of Mother Talzin, using paint and crayon on a intricately cut and folded toilet paper roll.
Coming in on Talzin’s red heels were the entries were Blinky the Jawa, by Kitty Lewis, and Princess Leia by Jennifer Fuchikama. While Blinky sports a battery-powered tealight inside for the eyes, Leia’s spherical head was made by rotating rings sliced from the toilet paper roll. Rounding out the finalists, we had Michelle Brzozowski’s R2-Deetube and Barren Paper-rolla by Doug and Dajuan Kinney.
A newcomer jumps in to claim this event with one final event to be judged: the Vader’s Custom Tee challenge, where entrants turned old Star Wars apparel into something new. Stay tuned for the finish of the final event, and the awarding of the cool prizes from Del Rey. It seems that some of these entries should be included in the next edition of Bonnie Burton’s The Star Wars Craft Book.
Craft-athlon: “For the Jedi it is time to eat as well.”
The third event in the Club Jade Craft-athlon came down to a food fight between veggies and dessert. In the end, the innovative use of sweet potatoes and avocados won out over the detailed decorations of a tauntaun cake.
Michelle Brzozowski uses her “Calrissian Coolness Cloud Car” to reach victory in the “Food for Thought” event, with Doug and Dajuan Kinney’s “Frozen on the outside, Luke warm in the middle” getting honors for having the guts to make guts.
Still want a chance to win some cool prizes from Del Rey, including copies of Bonnie Burton’s The Star Wars Craft Book? There’s still time to cut up an old Star Wars tee shirt and turn it into something else in the “Vader’s Custom Tee” event, deadline midnight Pacific time! Get the full scoop on submission rules and stay tuned for the results of the Roll Model event.
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!