CLOSED - Nerd Games - Fall 2023

[LovelyMiss (Ashley - Nerd Games Chief Morale Officer)]

Happy Fall! We are doing another 12 week winter countdown advent event! Each week on Sunday I will post a new prompt for you to craft. These are EXTRA prompts, and the same rules and bonuses apply as regular monthly prompts. You will just have a lot more prompts this season to tap into your crafty mojo! Have fun and happy holidays! This event begins on October 1st.

The countdown has a music theme! Each prompt will include a song you might use as inspiration in your creating. The songs are loose associations to a theme either through title or lyrics as a way to provide a variety of inspiration options

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Week 1: October 1

Creep. We’re creeping into spooky season! Craft an item over multiple days, or inspired by the song “Creep” by Radiohead.

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Week 2: October 8

Psycho Killer. Fa-fa-fa-fa, fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fall weather . (Get it? To the tune of the song? ) Craft an item that requires meticulous detail, or inspired by the song “Psycho Killer” by Talking Heads.

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Week 3: October 15

I Put A Spell On You. A spell to get creative! Craft an item that requires glue or adhesives, or inspired by the song “I Put A Spell On You” by Nina Simone.

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Week 4: October 22

Sisters of the Moon. We’ll have a full Moon on October 28! Craft an item that uses the color gray, or inspired by the song “Sisters of the Moon” by Fleetwood Mac.

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Week 5: October 29

Feed My Frankenstein. “Actually, Frankenstein is the doctor. It’s Frankenstein’s Monster.” Craft something that is ANNOYING (like that fact) to make, or something inspired by the song “Feed My Frankenstein” by Alice Cooper.

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Week 6: November 5

Time Warp. How is it already November?! Craft an item that might be considered sparkly, or inspired by the song “Time Warp” from Rocky Horror Picture Show.

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Week 7: November 12

Gone Till November. Groove into Fall. Craft an item that requires liquid, or inspired by the song “Gone Till November” by Wyclef Jean.

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Week 8: November 19

Autumn Sweater. Bundle up, it’s getting chilly! Craft an item using paper, or inspired by the song “Autumn Sweater” by Yo La Tengo.

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Week 9: November 26

Operator. The season might have you thinking of, talking to, or seeing folks you haven’t in a while. Finish a WIP, or craft an item inspired by the song “Operator” by Jim Croce.

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Week 10: December 3

Cold as Ice. It’s just not winter unless you complain about the cold. Craft an item that you’ve wanted to make but kept putting off, or inspired by the song “Cold as Ice” by Foreigner.

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Week 11: December 10

Give It Away. Craft an item that you’ll give as a gift, or is inspired by the song “Give It Away” by Red Hot Chili Peppers.

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Week 12: December 17

Some Nights. The Winter solstice is December 21 in the Northern Hemisphere, and the nights are getting long. Craft an item incorporating the color black, or inspired by the song “Some Nights” by FUN.

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BONUS: December 24

The Dock of the Bay. Chill and enjoy the rest of the year. Craft an item while you watch a show (share the show when you post), or inspired by the song “The Dock of the Bay” by Otis Redding.

[LovelyMiss (Ashley - Nerd Games Chief Morale Officer)]

Pin Prize Collection

We’re continuing the Nerd Games enamel pin collection! Each season you’ll have the opportunity to earn up to three pins. Each pin will be different, and every season the pins offered will be different. Try to collect them all, or have fun picking and choosing ones to work toward!

ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EVENT:

In celebration of the 10 year anniversary of the Nerd Games, there’s a special pin event running all year, in addition to the events each season.

Super Nerd: Participate in every Nerd Games season this year by submitting at least one project in each round (Winter/Spring/Summer/Fall). (You will claim this pin in December 2023).

FALL EVENTS:

Celebration: As we close out the 10 year anniversary of the Nerd Games, write an mini essay post in the discussion thread telling us about your experience with the Nerd Games/crafting, and what it means to you. (Think about it being roughly a paragraph or two. There’s no word count requirement.) In addition, post at least five projects in the current Nerd Games thread.

Explorer: Create separate posts in the appropriate LC boards for at least five projects this season – each project must be in a different board category (e.g., Art, Home & Garden, Fashion & Wearables, Fiber & Textile, Food & Drink, Paper & Vinyl). Of course, you must also submit the projects in the Nerd Games thread!

Care: Do something crafty that will benefit charity or your IRL community in some way and post it as a project (if it qualifies - if it doesn’t qualify as a project, make a post with photos telling us about it.) In addition, like at least 20 posts in the current Nerd Games thread, and thoughtfully comment on at least one project.

To claim your prizes:

Once you have completed the requirements, send the below submission form to LovelyMiss via private message by 11:59 pm (central) on Sunday, December 31, 2023.

Prizes will be sent after the season ends.

Pin Event Submission Form

I am claiming: (Celebration, Explorer, Care, Super Nerd)

I attest that I have completed the requirements for the Pin Event(s) I am claiming: Yes/No

My name and mailing address (as it should be formatted for sending, including country) are:

[LovelyMiss (Ashley - Nerd Games Chief Morale Officer)]

Nerd Games Anniversary Events

Junk Journal Challenge

Make a junk journal during the Fall 2023 Nerd Games season and you’ll be entered into a drawing to win an Amazon gift card! (Winner will be drawn after the season ends and gift card will be sent electronically. Winner must provide an email address for delivery.) Here is a tutorial if you’re looking for some ideas.

To enter the drawing, submit a junk journal as a project in the Fall 2023 Nerd Games thread, and send the link to the post of your completed journal to LovelyMiss, anytime by 11:59 pm (central) on Sunday, December 31, 2023.

Junk Journal Drawing Entry Form

Link to your completed junk journal post in the Fall 2023 Nerd Games Thread:

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Nerd Games Crafty Crossword

Complete the Nerd Games Crafty Crossword anytime during the Fall season and get a small prize! PM LovelyMiss an image of your completed crossword using the form below by Sunday, December 31, 2023 @ 11:59 pm (central).

To submit your puzzle, do not post it publicly, PM it to LovelyMiss ONLY using the form below. You can complete it digitally or print/complete/and send an image. Whatever works best for you!

Nerd Game Crafty Crossword Claim Form

ATTACH AN IMAGE OF YOUR COMPLETED CROSSWORD. (Do NOT post your completed crossword puzzle in any public threads!)

Name and address as it should be formatted for mailing (including country):

[gozer (Becca)]

Got my crossword in! Thanks @LovelyMiss for a fun game.

[megwell (Megan (she/her))]

Prompt: Historic Archeology (October Battle)
Team: Gourd of the Rings
Project Name: More scrap notecards
Project Link: N/A
Brief Description: I made some more quickie notecards using weird cardstock leftovers (one is actually two hinged together with washi) and some stickers/pens. They’ll include a written record of the ATCs I’m sending.
Project Photo:

[megwell (Megan (she/her))]

Really trying to stay caught up this season. (Will come back and laugh ruefully at this come December.)
Prompt: The Detectorists (October)
Team: Gourd of the Rings
Project Name: Button magnets
Project Link: Fridge Magnets from Buttons (as in Pins)
Brief Description: The buttons I used for this project are metal.
Project Photo:

[storerboughtcreation (Jamie Storer - Nerd Games Captain)]

Every season I plan on staying on top of things, and by the middle of the first month I’m always behind. I hope you have more perseverance than me! Good luck!

[LindyBlues (Mariana [she/hers] 🇨🇦)]

I feel like I’m finally getting the hang of the different things on this site, so I’m going to try to jump in to the nerd games and actually do all the things more of the things this time around

Prompt: Blood and Treasure
Team: Don’t Stop Beleafing
Project Name: Inktober Days 1-3 mashup
Project Link: Inktober First 3 Days Mashup (includes a spider)
Brief Description: The paper I used for the drawing is flat, and I used multiple colours. I missed the first 3 days, so I decided to combine them into 1 drawing. Day 1’s theme was “dream,” day 2 was “spiders” (which is why I have blurred the photo), and day 3 was “path.” A road counts as a path, right?
Project Photo(s):

[bluebird]

@megwell — Great cards! I really enjoy how you juxtaposition the phrase with the images in your cards.

@LindyBlues — Great way to combine the first few prompts! The spider is really well done, and I love the silvery web.

[storerboughtcreation (Jamie Storer - Nerd Games Captain)]

I love the heads up and blurred photo. My bug/arachnid phobia is really bad, so I greatly appreciate it.

[LindyBlues (Mariana [she/hers] 🇨🇦)]

Thank you @bluebird!

@storerboughtcreation, you’re welcome! When I first joined the site, I was looking around and saw a member who requested “no spiders” on an ATC swap. I figured it might be a phobia, so I decided to blur all spiders going forward, just in case. I can’t remember who the member was, but I suppose it may have been you.

Arachnid phobia was a bit of an inspiration for the “3-day mashup” drawing I made. It’s a woman dreaming. There are two dream “thought bubbles.” One of them is a spider, and then there are “dream dots” leading to another dream/thought bubble, which is a woman running away, saying “aaaa!” She’s running on a road. I hope this description includes you without causing undue stress. If the latter is the case, please let me know, and I will delete this text. Also, while I don’t mind spiders, centipedes completely freak me out, and even writing the word gives me the heebie-jeebies. So I completely understand not wanting to see something that gives you that feeling

Writing this also makes me wonder… perhaps I should include text description with my photos going forward.

[LindyBlues (Mariana [she/hers] 🇨🇦)]

Edited to add community post link

[storerboughtcreation (Jamie Storer - Nerd Games Captain)]

Descriptions like this are fine. Now, if you start describing hairy legs…

I don’t do any ATC stuff, so it wasn’t me. But even butterflies and ladybugs are terrifying. I’m totally cool with snakes and other reptiles/amphibians though. Go figure.

[LindyBlues (Mariana [she/hers] 🇨🇦)]

I may be misremembering about the ATCs… I just saw “no spiders” somewhere when I was “creeping” the site, no pun intended (well, maybe just a little bit )

[bluebird]

That’s very thoughtful of you. I’m sure its a pretty common fear. I don’t care for creepy bugs, but its not a phobia. Geekgirl is the one in the ATC swaps with ‘no spiders’ in her profile.

[craftADDchick (Cindy)]

I agree! And, I’m glad it was brought up because I have a project that might be spider heavy! So, I’ll make sure to blur the photo and put the trigger warning.

[storerboughtcreation (Jamie Storer - Nerd Games Captain)]

Prompt: October - Battle - Prehistoric
Team: Don’t Stop Beleafing
Project Name: Mimsy
Project Link: Mimsy and Whimsy the dino sisters
Brief Description: Dinosaurs are prehistoric… as far as we know anyway.
Project Photo(s):

Prompt: October - Relic Hunter
Team: Don’t Stop Beleafing
Project Name: “straw” hat
Project Link: Mimsy and Whimsy the dino sisters
Brief Description: This hat used wool I bought from a local crafty thrift shop, plus it was in a bazillion pieces (seriously, I had so many ends to weave in when I was done), because of dodo of a team mascot decided to chew on it. This hat took me FOREVER to make, and probably qualifies for a research project when paired with the tote.
Project Photo(s):

Prompt: October - The Librarians
Team: Don’t Stop Beleafing
Project Name: Newsboy cap
Project Link: Mimsy and Whimsy the dino sisters
Brief Description: I used a pattern to make this hat.
Project Photo(s):

Prompt: October - The Detectorists
Team: Don’t Stop Beleafing
Project Name: “feather” head piece
Project Link: Mimsy and Whimsy the dino sisters
Brief Description: This has a metal button embellishment on it, and I think it really makes the piece.
Project Photo(s):

Prompt: October - Blood and Treasure
Team: Don’t Stop Beleafing
Project Name: Dark brown hat
Project Link: Mimsy and Whimsy the dino sisters
Brief Description: This is called a flat top hat. Or a golf cap. Or a scally cap. It has a few different names. But it’s flat
Project Photo(s):

Prompt: October - Uncharted
Team: Don’t Stop Beleafing
Project Name: “straw” tote
Project Link: Mimsy and Whimsy the dino sisters
Brief Description: I have worked in the backside loop (not the back loop of the stitch, but the loop hidden at the backside of the stitch) plenty of times, but I didn’t know you could do it with single crochet. I’ve always seen it done with hdc.
Project Photo(s):

Prompt: Big Time
Team: Don’t Stop Beleafing
Project Name: Whimsy
Project Link: Mimsy and Whimsy the dino sisters
Brief Description: She’s not a small dinosaur
Project Photo(s):

Prompt: Zap
Team: Don’t Stop Beleafing
Project Name: mustache
Project Link: Mimsy and Whimsy the dino sisters
Brief Description: This was quick to whip up.
Project Photo(s):

Prompt: Zap
Team: Don’t Stop Beleafing
Project Name: Carrot
Project Link: Mimsy and Whimsy the dino sisters
Brief Description: This was quick to whip up. It fits inside the straw tote
Project Photo(s):

[Bunny1kenobi (Deanna 🇺🇸)]

Prompt: Research Project #1
Team: Gourd of the Rings
Project Name: Quote book junk journal
Project Link: Quote book Junk journal
Brief Description: I went to visit my mother in law for a few days. We went to a play (Jekyll and Hyde-awesome) and spent the rest of our time using @LovelyMiss’ tutorial and kits (she kindly sent one for each of us) to make junk journals!

We made 4 signatures and intend our books to be written in as opposed to a cool collection of ephemera. So now we are collecting quotes to put into our journals.

Project Photo(s):

Crafty mayhem:

Exterior:

Some interior shots:

[bluebird]

@storerboughtcreation — they are soooo cute!

@Bunny1kenobi — The journal is lovely!

[Bunny1kenobi (Deanna 🇺🇸)]

Added project link.