CLOSED - Nerd Games - Fall 2023

This is for the Care pin. It is not really something that I can add as a prompt, I don’t think, because this was a joint effort involving over 20 people who are fellow employees and their family members, in addition to the awesome people at Feed My Starving Children.

Our team alone created packages of, and then packed, 21 boxes of Manna Pack rice destined for a Third World or disaster stricken area. During the session, our team and the other people participating altogether packed 192 boxes that will feed 40,000 people over the next year! That’s pretty spectacular.

Me (center) with co-workers Annette (L) and Lisa (R):

Boxing our packages (36 packages per box-our team did 21 boxes in just over an hour):

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This is such an amazing volunteer effort. I love this! You just helped 40k people have something to put on the table to eat. That is awesome.

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Thanks! It was both fun and rewarding!

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Wow! Awesome work, @Bunny1kenobi ! I’ve packed with them before and know it can be labor-intensive - that’s a huge haul you all completed! Thank you for sharing this goodness-in-the-world with us!

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What a great way to spend an hour - making a difference in so many people’s lives!

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Prompt: October Battle - Prehistoric Archeology
Team: So Corn-fused
Project Name: Leather + Bead Necklace 1
Project Link: Leather + Bead Necklaces
Brief Description: I made some necklaces as part of my holiday crafting spree. The photos can communicate the project without a bunch of wordy descriptions and it has a simplistic vibe, so…Pre-historic.

Project Photo(s):


Prompt: October - Relic Hunter
Team: So Corn-fused
Project Name: Leather + Bead Necklace 2
Project Link: Leather + Bead Necklaces
Brief Description: This one has a old or vintage look, has ceramic (clay) beads, and has gray!

Project Photo(s):


Prompt: October - The Librarians
Team: So Corn-fused
Project Name: Leather + Bead Necklace 3
Project Link: Leather + Bead Necklaces
Brief Description: This one has black cord and white on the beads.

Project Photo(s):


Prompt: October - The Detectorists
Team: So Corn-fused
Project Name: Leather + Bead Necklace 3
Project Link: Leather + Bead Necklaces
Brief Description: This one has metal and gold.

Project Photo(s):


Prompt: October - Blood and Treasure
Team: So Corn-fused
Project Name: Leather + Bead Necklace 3
Project Link: Leather + Bead Necklaces
Brief Description: This is multicolored (and the ring is both round and flat).

Project Photo(s):


Prompt: October - Uncharted
Team: So Corn-fused
Project Name: Leather + Bead Necklace 3
Project Link: Leather + Bead Necklaces
Brief Description: This has blue, and I’ve never made necklaces like this before now, so also new to me.

Project Photo(s):


Prompt: Advent - Week 1 Creep
Team: So Corn-fused
Project Name: Scrappy Trees
Project Link: Scrappy Tree Ornaments
Brief Description: I made these for the Small Batch Ornament Swap over a number of days. I ended up changing my offering because they were a mm too thick to send as a regular letter. (My replacement ones are below.) It was extra annoying because dimensions were on my mind as I was crafting and I was making sure they weren’t getting over a 1/4 inch or 3 oz for letter weight. Once the minimal packaging was added in though, too thick. Whomp whomp. Anyway, I made the scrap fabric twine that I wrapped to make the tree bases, made the pom poms on top, used balled up thread and spongey pom poms I cut in half for the ornaments, a bit of lace ribbon for the trunks, and the hangers from leather cord.

Project Photo(s):


Prompt: Advent - Week 2 Psycho Killer
Team: So Corn-fused
Project Name: Felt Flower Crown Bears
Project Link:
Brief Description: Here are my replacement offerings for the ornament swap. I was trying to only use what I had, so I went back to felt to make sure they’re flat enough! I really don’t like cutting. It’s my least favorite part of any project. So, these took a lot of meticulous focus and detail to have them kind of match. I sketched out a drawing and mini pattern before beginning, which helped a bit.

Project Photo(s):


Prompt: Big Time
Team: So Corn-fused
Project Name: Graffiti Fabric Collage Cards
Project Link: Graffiti Fabric Collage Cards
Brief Description: I made these for the Homemade Greeting Card Swap. Technically I made them last round, but my partners hadn’t received yet, so here they are now!

Project Photo(s):


Prompt: Big Time
Team: So Corn-fused
Project Name: Felt Bowls/Baskets
Project Link: Felt Bowls/Baskets - Get Ahead of the Holidays Challenge Entry
Brief Description: And finally, I also made these for the holidays. Part of the time was trial-and-erroring my pattern. I kept having to make small adjustments that necessitated starting over - I finally got one that worked in the end!

Project Photo(s):

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Here is my CARE submission. I will come back and comment soon.
I just finished my first (and only) craft show. I did it to help support the shelter I foster and adopt from. I hospice fostered for three years and then switched to special needs cats. I adopted a cat that was run over by a fire truck and had to have several operations to save her life. Her leg was amputated, but nothing slows my little girl down. I wanted to help give back because I know the surgeries to save Tobin were expensive.
The show was very, very small and slow. About 40% of the venders didn’t even show up. I ended up spreading out over two booths to help make it appear fuller. In the end, I raised $262 for the shelter and I am going to company match it so I can donate $512 (my company matches up to $250).



And you can see my wonderful mom in the pic above (she’s in blue).
And a shout out to @kwality570 who donated the Smitty’s Kittys to adopt and the reversible baskets! Thank you so much!!!

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That looks incredible, go you!

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That booth looks fantastic!!!

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Wow! What a awesome way to support the shelter! Great booth set up, and so fun to see some of your projects out in the world! How cool to have the company match, too. Amazing work!

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Prompt: October Battle: Prehistoric Archeology
Team: Don’t Stop Beliefing
Project Name: Cards of all shapes and sizes (including miniature)
Project Link: Cards of all shapes and sizes, part of the mega paper destash
Brief Description: I finally sat down and spent a whole day dealing with my gigantic paper stash. I created these cards, which do not have words on them (yet).
Project Photo(s):

Cards of all sizes, including miniature

Who said cards have to be rectangular?

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@Bunny1kenobi What a wonderful way to spend time with coworkers—working together for a good cause. Sounds like it was a lot of work but well worth the endeavour.

@LovelyMiss I love the little scrappy tree ornament, and I’m so happy to have received one of your beautiful graffiti cards :heart:

@gozer thank you for volunteering for the craft show and for company matching; I’m sure the shelter will be thrilled with the help. It’s too bad that many vendors didn’t show up, but hopefully the one who did will be a good help.

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@LovelyMiss, I love your bear ornaments and wish I was participating in the ornament swap so I could claim one! Those felt bowls are really neat and I love the look of the leather closure. The felt and leather work well together and give the bowls a very stylish appearance.

@gozer, no wonder you were spending so much time and energy preparing for the craft show! Wow, you created a wonderful booth full of so many different treasures! I especially like the ghost mug rugs (did you create a separate post for them?) and I love the idea of the book ornaments (I would love to create a similar ornament with all the audiobooks I’ve listened to this year). $262 seems like a pretty good amount for a small, slow show. What a great way to give back!

@LindyBlues, what a good way to use up your stash and have cards prepped ahead of time and ready for when inspiration strikes!

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**Prompt: October Battle Historic
**Team: Team So Corn-fused
**Project Name: Ghost Notebooks
**Project Link: Halloween Notebooks - Ghosts and Bats!
**Brief Description: Ghost are in the past, so these could have gone either way for the Battle, but they are on notebooks and those are made for writing!
**Project Photo(s):

Prompt: October Relic Hunter
Team: Team So Corn-fused
Project Name: Patchwork Ghost Coasters Set 1
Project Link: Patchwork Ghost Coasters
Brief Description: Patchworked out of bits of fabric (recycled/broken) that would have otherwise been thrown away. And they have touches of gray on them.
Project Photo(s):

Prompt: October Librarians
Team: Team So Corn-fused
Project Name: Patchwork Ghost Coasters Set 2
Project Link: Patchwork Ghost Coasters
Brief Description: Some of the fabric has text on it!
Project Photo(s):

Prompt: October Detectorist
Team: Team So Corn-fused
Project Name: Halloween Fridge Magnets
Project Link: Halloween Fridge Magnets
Brief Description: The magnets are metallic.
Project Photo(s):

Prompt: October Blood & Treasure
Team: Team So Corn-fused
Project Name: Bat Notebooks
Project Link: Halloween Notebooks - Ghosts and Bats!
Brief Description: I drew these bats. It’s my artwork.
Project Photo(s):

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Prompt: October Battle — Historic Archeology
Team: Gourd of the Rings
Project Name: Lots of Red Tweets of Love cards
Project Link: Little Bird 'tweets of love' tiny notecards
Brief Description: Custom set of cards for the STS. Cards are a great way to have a written record!
Project Photo:

Prompt: October - Relic Hunter
Team: Gourd of the Rings
Project Name: English robins cards
Project Link: Little Bird 'tweets of love' tiny notecards
Brief Description: The English robins were custom for the STS, and they all have a lot of grey on them. (Re-using a photo from last month because I neglected to take pics of all sets of the English robin cards).
Project Photo:

Prompt: October - Detectorists
Team: Gourd of the Rings
Project Name: Bird notes with little birds holding notes!
Project Link: Little Bird 'tweets of love' tiny notecards
Brief Description: Lots of little birds holding love notes in their beak! Of which one is a lovely golden color.
Project Photo:

Prompt: October - Blood and Treasure
Team: Gourd of the Rings
Project Name: Custom cards for STS
Project Link: Little Bird 'tweets of love' tiny notecards
Brief Description: All these little birds are multi-colored!
Project Photo:

Prompt: October - Uncharted
Team: Gourd of the Rings
Project Name: Green Blue owls
Project Link: Little Bird 'tweets of love' tiny notecards
Brief Description: These little owls have a LOT of blue on them!
Project Photo:

Prompt: Advent - Creep
Team: Gourd of the Rings
Project Name: Custom feederbird and owl cards
Project Link: Little Bird 'tweets of love' tiny notecards
Brief Description: Custom set of feederbirds and owls for the STS made over a couple of days. I cut and scored and then penciled and inked many sets of custom cards at night. This was one of the sets. I then let all the many cards dry overnight so the ink would not smear when erasing the pencil line work. I finished the cards up on the following day. If anyone is curious… the feederbirds are stylized: carolina wren, warbler, and red breasted nuthatch.
Project Photo:

Prompt: Advent - psycho killer
Team: Gourd of the Rings
Project Name: Chirpa Chirp Chirpa Chirp chirp chirp chirp cards
Project Link: Little Bird 'tweets of love' tiny notecards
Brief Description: To the tune of psycho killer - “Chirpa Chirp Chirpa Chirp chirp chirp chirp” cards! Little birds can make a lot of chirping noises! :upside_down_face:
Project Photo:

Prompt: Advent - Sisters of the Moon
Team: Gourd of the Rings
Project Name: Even more English Robin cards
Project Link: Little Bird 'tweets of love' tiny notecards
Brief Description: These little robins have a lot of the color grey on them!
Project Photo:

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Those are so cute!

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Thank you! :slight_smile:

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I especially like your interpretation of the psycho killer prompt :smile:. Those cards look like they’d come in handy in a variety of situations!

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@AudiobookLover — Thanks! :smiley: I have to admit when I saw that prompt name I was wondering how I was going to get cute little birdies to fit the prompt. :upside_down_face:

@storerboughtcreation — I added community links to the birdie cards. :slight_smile:

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I love all these little birdies so much!!!

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