Post your projects with the following header:
Prompt: (Write the name of the prompt you are entering your craft for here. Don’t forget to include the month!)
Team: (Choose one of three, listed below)
Project Name: (Name your craft anything you like; fanciful titles or simple labels/descriptions are all fine)
Project Link: (Paste the link to your community post for the bonus points)
Brief Description: (Tell us anything you’d like to about the craft, such as how you made it, and why it fits the prompt.)
Project Photo(s): (Post photos of your awesome craft here, so we can ooh and aah over it!)
PLEASE NOTE - for each month, you will select ONE set of the 5 prompts, the battle is the same for everyone!
JULY - Choice One: How Will You Investigate? (Search Online OR Search Around Town)
July Battle: Nature vs. Technology (CLOSED)
Search Online
You boot up the ancient computer in the activity building and try to connect to the internet, hoping to research the local wildlife. Instead of taking you to the URL you’re entering, other websites keep loading. Odd websites. Almost like you’re connected to an old version of the internet. What is happening?
- Geocities. A weird fanpage for obscure media hangs like you’re on a 56k dial-up modem. Craft an item that is from a fandom you like, uses a website to help you make (tutorial or pattern), is brightly colored, or uses bits of old electronics to make.
- Pets .com. Like an echo of the dot com crash, the website flashes on the screen and briefly loads before you get a [404]. Craft an item for a pet, that is fuzzy (or scaly or feathery), is a puppet or a sock or made from a sock (remember the Pets .com sock puppet?), or is white/black/brown.
- Napster. It’s uncertain if that download that started is actually “Werewolves of London” or a computer virus, but it doesn’t matter because the computer crashes before it can finish. Craft something inspired by your favorite song, is blue or green, or is slightly shady…
- Yahoo Groups. Even the juiciest message board drama had nothing on Yahoo Groups, and your heart rate increases significantly as a knitting group opens and the first words you see are “UNLIKE SOME PEOPLE.” Craft an item that you make with a friend/group, is involved in some sort of drama (either the pattern or pattern creator or item it makes), or is red.
- Ask Jeeves. Nine minutes later, the page finally loads. At least it’s a search engine! You try to type in “local wildlife” but the screen flickers three times before finally loading the URL you were trying all along. The internet starts working normally, as if nothing happened. Craft an item you got help with, that is for the house/garden, is striped, or is black/white.
You learned about birds, bears, bugs, and beasts of all kinds. But nothing that seems like it would growl like that.
Search Around Town
You head into town to see if anyone there knows anything about the history of the campgrounds. You can’t find many folks to talk to, but the server at the local diner suggests you check out the visitor’s center around the block. You must have taken a wrong turn, though, because you end up at an empty mini mall. You decide to look around anyway.
- Blockbuster. It smells like moth balls and nostalgia here! The walls are lined with empty movie cases and dusty posters. Craft something inspired by your favorite movie, that you had to check out/borrow something to make (book from the library, items from a friend), or that is blue.
- Borders. Man, you wish these shelves were still filled with books! You’d be set for summer reading. But instead they’re just filled with uncanny vibes. Craft something based on your favorite book, that is made of paper or uses words, or is black.
- Sports Authority. There’s a jersey on the floor for a player you’ve never heard of, and a lone life-sized cardboard cutout in the corner trying to jump scare you. Craft something based on your favorite sport, that is to be used outside, is made of natural materials, or is green.
- RadioShack. The dare devil in you wants to shimmy through the broken window, just to see what’s inside, but the last thing you need is a trip to the infirmary. Plus the radio static that sounds like it’s coming from the backroom is unsettling enough to get you scurrying on your way. Craft something that uses electronics/technology to make, uses a small, obscure, hard-to-find supply, is for the house, or is red.
- ToysRUs. This place is so big! You were shorter than the counter the last time you remember stepping foot in a toy store like this. Too bad it looks like some kids have raided the place and the only things left are boxes, leaves, and graffiti. Craft something for a kid (or a kid at heart), that doesn’t serve a purpose (other than fun/play), is new to you to make, or is multi-colored.
After splunking through the abandoned mall you eventually find your way to the visitor center. [Take a look around]
AUGUST - Choice Two: How will you investigate? (Consult the Mystical OR Consult the Practical)
August Battle: Over Prepare vs. Totally Wing It
Consult the Mystical
You’re a little skeptical of the mystical, but whatever is going on feels more and more out of the realm of normal anyway. You’re willing to try anything.
- Astrology. Maybe what’s happening has more cosmic origins? Craft something that is inspired by space, the stars, or a star sign, is star-shaped, is spotted, or is deep blue.
- Psychic. You visit the psychic in town and see where your shared intuition can lead you. Craft something that is mysterious, that you get instructions from another person, has a wavy pattern, or is gray.
- Seance. Are the campgrounds haunted? Who knows! Might as well see if anything comes through. Craft something that requires help from someone else, is connected to another thing, is round, or is white/clear.
- Tarot. Your bunkmate has a deck and you do a spread together as you chat about all the weird things you’ve noticed. Craft something that has many pieces, is made of paper, has two sides, or is multi-colored.
- Tea leaves. The hot tea energizes enough for more exploration, and the leaves show there’s definitely a strong energy moving through the area. Craft something that is edible, uses heat to make, has a bunch of small parts, or is brown.
After consulting the mystical, you’re feeling more certain you’re on the right track.
Consult the Practical
You’ve already been busy investigating the area this season, but there are still a few more practical ways you can poke around.
- Maps. Double check the Local maps and see if there are other ways around the broken bridge. In order to learn more, you really need to get deeper into that area. Craft something that is made of paper, gives guidance/directions, is foldable, or is beige.
- Ranger. You find the Ranger camped out in their Nest, a little treehouse that gives them a good view of the surrounding area, and ask if they’ve seen anything strange. They say they’re focused on trying to figure out how to get the bridge repaired. Craft something that you need someone else’s help with, is made of wood, is to be used outside, or is green.
- Guidebook. All those things you found on the hike were easily explained, and have nothing to do with the weirdness, right? Right?! Craft something that has words on it, that you use thread or glue to make, that is made of cloth, is square, or is brown.
- Zoologist. Maybe you should get them checked out by a scientist, just in case. When you do, they’re not so sure that fun fur is actually fun fur. Craft something that is inspired by your favorite animal, is plush or furry, has teeth or claws, or is black or white.
- Townsfolk. There are always folks coming and going around the area; maybe they noticed something. You catch one who tells you they saw something red and glowing around the bridge a few days before it fell. Craft something that is for someone else, that you make in a group setting, is based on your favorite bit o hearsay/hot gossip, or is red.
After consulting the practical, you’re feeling more certain you’re on the right track.