Chain Maille Earrings

Just in time for Georgia's Renaissance Faire, I decided to goof around with a few of the leftover links in my maille bag.

They are pretty much as simple as it gets: a length of European 4-in-1, with 18g 3/16" Bright Aluminum rings from The Ring Lord, ending in a single small sized scale. 

They are incredibly light weight. I was very surprised when I put them on; the moment arm from the scale isn't bad either. They have not been stress tested yet, so I'm unsure how much they will catch in hair and such.

Overall: fr ~10 minutes of work, I'd say they came out pretty well!

The Skyrim Helmet

Fus Ro Dah!

I was commissioned to make a knit Skyrim Helmet for a friend, hopefully before the cold weather finally caved to Spring. Alas, I finished in a balmy 74 degrees, letting me spend all year thinking about all the mistakes before it gets any use, but I digress.

Honestly, I did not like this pattern. I thought it had some great components--I love the band chart, I think it looks fantastic--but the rest of the pattern was really poorly written. I was incredibility upset.

House Martell Scarf

Season 4 is here! I've been waiting for Game of Thrones to come back for so long, this season can only be awesome.

With the introduction of Prince Oberyn, I noticed that House Martell didn't have a lot of love on Ravelry. I didn't find a pattern I really loved. So, I made my own.

This scarf is double knit from Michael's Impeccable, Worsted weight, in Pumpkin and Cherry red. Honestly, I'd use better colours next time, but I was running short on time and couldn't order anything.

Its incredibly warm, which is fantastic, and its very very hot down here in Georgia. I wouldn't say this is a quick knit, but its not very difficult.

Pattern can be found here.

Styrofoam Scenery

I've been looking into various kits, molds, and tutorials for D&D dungeon walls, so I decided to try my hand at some styrofoam walls.I figured, at most, I'd be out $0.12 of paint.

Things You'll Need

• Styrofoam. Check the old electronics boxes you've got laying around
• Acrylic paints, black and white
• Paintbrushes. Mine were kid's craft quality purchased at Walmart
• Optional: fake moss 

I had some packing styrofoam I'd been saving for something sitting in a closet. I cut some into roughly wall-sized pieces and started mixing the acrylic paints.

Note: a really good idea when working with styrofoam is to have a plastic grocery bag next to you. When you inevitably get little pieces of the stuff all over you, shake your hand/foot/appendage in the bag, and the static of the bag will attract them.

Initially I cut the pieces with scissors, for a rough look, then I sheared the bottom with an Xacto-Knife, so they could stand properly. A few I carved with the knife, as it was much easier and less messy.

I started with a base coat of a very dark grey, then dry-brushed the highlights on, using a lighter grey.

They worked out pretty decently. They are very light, and are prone to falling over.