Day of the Doctor reaction & giveaway winner #savetheday

Well the Day of the Doctor is over and all I can say is WOW! Before I get into a full fledged review I wanted to get down to some business first! Our Day of the Doctor giveaway is over and a winner has been chosen! Thank you all so much for entering! Without further ado the winner is.....

Megan Gotch !!!

Congrats Megan! Please email me so that I know where to send all of your goodies.

Now let's discuss the big sha-bang. I got ready and in the mood by making a nice lunch of fish and a tangy 'custard' sauce. So there I sat, sonic screwdriver in hand and anticipation!!

Warning:

The Doctor (11th) and Clara are called to the tower of London to investigate some mysterious 3-D Gallifreyan paintings. Meanwhile, in a different time of course, this is where we meet the 10th Doctor romancing on Queen Elizabeth. When a mysterious time fissure appears it brings both Doctor's together. Eventually they are joined by the Doctor's biggest secret and regret, this doctor incarnation (played amazingly by John Hurt) that is known as the War doctor. Together they band together to help Queen Elizabeth and her little issue with some nasty creatures called Zygons. However this entire story is just a catalyst to get to the real story, the Time War. Since Doctor Who's re-brith in 2005, every Whovian knows about the time war! The 9th Doctor we first meet is fresh off the time war and is battling some serious issues. The three Doctors paths cross just when the time war is about to end, meaning this is around when the War Doctor ends the lives of millions to save billions by destroying Gallifrey making him the last of the Time Lords. Its a choice he has struggles throughout the new Who series.  However, thanks to the doomsday device 'the moment' and its sentient, bad wolf inspired operating system and Clara's tears the Doctor's realize they can do what the Doctor does best... SAVE THE DAY! They figure out that they can end the time war while hiding away the planet Gallifrey. And its not just three Doctors there helping..oh no it is all of them! After saving the day the Doctor's go their separate ways and because of the laws of time, the younger Doctors know they are going to forget what they have done. This leaves the 11th looking at the Gallifreyan painting named, "Gallifrey Falls No More." The curator, who is quite a familiar face, tells him that it still exists and of course its up to him to find it and go home!

To be perfectly honest, I was really worried about this special. The last season of Who was not my favorite. This epic special made up for it! I loved every single second of it! When 10 and 11 first cross paths I was doing some serious fan girl-ing! Their banter was perfect and it was so funny seeing the Doctors play off of each other. Then when the War Doctor shows up, because of their youthful appearance, mistakes them for companions. I love that from seeing all of these Doctors together, we learn more about him, for example, the War Doctor asks "what horrible thing has happened, that you feel the need to act so childish?" This explains the quirkiness of the younger Doctors, he is a 9 year old in a 900 year olds body.

Through out the episode I was ecstatic but there were two big moments that were gasp worthy! The first one came when all the Doctors converged on Gallifery to help save it... thirteen of them! This included the yet to come Peter Capadli Doctor!

The other audible gasping moment was when the 11th Doctor has a little conversation with the Currator. We see what it is none other than Tom Baker (the 4th Doctor)!!!! I wasn't sure if he was reprising his role or just making a cameo, then he tells the Doctor that he might just be revisiting familiar faces. Which was just so epically mind blowing! Does this mean he is going to run into other past/future selves or reincarnated Doctors?!

Just the fact that these two cameos were in this special demonstrate that this was all about paying tribute to the past as well as the future. Although I would have liked to have seen more of the former Doctors.

One thing I really got out of this special, which lays a lot of ground work for the future of who, it made me want to relive its past. I jumped onto Who when the show was rebooted and completely fell in love. I've always wanted to watch the older classic episodes, but now I am more determined.

The night before the special, BBC America aired the movie about Doctor Who's creation, An Adventure in Time and Space. It was really interesting to see how it all started from humble beginnings and how it came so close to not happening! Towards the end of the movie, the first Doctor, William Hartnell is about to film his last scene and he looks over the TARDIS console and sees his future self, the 11th Doctor. Its a little slice of magic realism that I thought worked so perfectly. Its as if the 1st Doctor runs into his older self and at the same time its William Hartnell prepared to pass the torch and he knows its going to go on.

The genius of this show is that I can be anything at anytime and go anywhere. There are no limits! I believe that clever premise and the great storytelling is what has kept the show around for fifty years and I hope it stays around for fifty more. 

I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one that loves this show so much! What did you Whovians think of the Day of the Doctor? 

Make your own TARDIS #savetheday

If you are planning a big shin-dig for the Day of the Doctor, then you festivities will not be complete unless you have a TARDIS. This is after all the Doctor's preferred method of transport! Here is how you can put together a simple TARDIS that won't break the bank.

Materials & Tools 

• 2 PVC pipe measuring 6ft
• 1 PVC pipe measuring 38 inches
• 4 PVC pipe measuring 12 inches
• 4 PVC caps 
• 2 PVC shaped t-shaped connectors 
• 2 PVC curves 
• Blue butcher paper (or blue table cloth) 
• Black and white paper
• Computer & printer 
• Tape 

Instructions

• Gather all of your pvc supplies and begin assembling them. Refer to the pictures! I will describe as best I can but I think the pictures will help you the most! 
• Bottom pieces: 
• Take 2 of the 12 inch pvc pipes and t-shaped connector. Place each of the 12 inch pvc pieces on each end of the connector. 
• Repeat this step so you have two! 
• Take the two 6 feel pvc pipes and insert them into the t-shaped connector of your bottom pieces
• Next take the 38 inche pvc pipe and place a corner connection on each end. Then attach it to the top of your already assembled structure.
• Your almost there! Keep it laying down flat and wrap it with paper. If you don't have paper that is big enough you can use a blue vinyl table cloth (they are in the party section of most stores) 
• swivel the bottom peices and slowly turn your structure right side up 
• Now you are ready for details! I used card stock and my silhouette machine, so its really up to you what you how you want to decorate your TARDIS. You can print a lot of them out and that helps! 
• Enjoy! It makes a fun background for a photo booth! 

Day of the Doctor Giveaway #savetheday

Hello there Whovians! The Day of the Doctor is less than a week away! In the past few days some more footage and shots have come out getting us fans more and more excited. One of the most exciting things I have seen is Tenant wearing a fez. Could this have been where his love of the Fez subconsciously started?

I also can't get over how amazing bad ass this image is of 10 and 11 side by side rocking the sonic screwdrivers. Its the ultimate dream team! No matter what peril the world is in this time it is in good hands because two doctors are better than one! (although there are technically going to be three)

I know I'm not the only one super duper excited! There is an entire universe of Whovian's just as pumped! So to celebrate I am  holding a little giveaway that is open to all of my US friends. The prizes feature some handmade items inspired by my love of Doctor Who. These items include, a TARDIS zipper pouch, 'Home is where the TARDIS is' sign and a blue bow tie (because remember, bow ties are cool)

How do I enter such a might fine contest you might ask? Well just enter a comment telling me what you are most excited about seeing in the Day of the Doctor! This contest runs all week and will end at midnight on the 23. Good Lucky and ALLONSY!





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Fezzes are cool #savetheday

We are still in full swing of the month of the Doctor! The big shindig is days away! Are you excited?! Have you seen the clip recently released?

If you haven't noticed it features one of the Doctor's most popular accessories... the Fez! Whats more exciting is the two seconds we see Tennant wearing the FEZ! OMG! NERD-GASM! Needless to say it has gotten me quite excited for next Saturday. Speaking of Fezzes... would you like your own ? Perhaps to sport at your own Doctor Who shindig? Well, ALLONSY, let's make one!

Materials & Tools

• At least 3 pieces of red felt
• Yellow yarn
• Scissors 
• Ruler 
• Tape measurer
• Sewing machine and notions

Instructions 

• Ok first things first, how big is your noggin? Take your tape measurer and wrap it around your head and see what you come up with. My own head is about 20 inches. Add a 1/2 seam allowance!

• Since felt is cut short, divide your head measurement in half. Then determine how tall you want your fez to be. I made mine 8 inches. Add a 1/2 seam allowance! 

• Now that you have you measurements, but your pieces! I cut two 10 X 8 inch pieces (dont forget, add 1/2 inch seam allowance!)
• Lay the cut pieces on top of one another, pin and sew along the edges determining the height of your fez. Congrats you made a tube! 
• Push your tube out to make a circle and take your ruler and measure from edge to edge. This will be how big you will make the top of your hat. I made mine 6 inches. So measure it out and mark it on felt and cut it out. 

• Pin the circle to the top of your hat. Sew! 

• Pull inside out and your almost there! You hat needs tassel before it can be an official fez! 
• Cut a long piece of yarn and some little tiny bits. Tie the tiny bits to the end of the long piece. This makes the tassels. 

• Cut two little slits on the top of your hat and tie your tassel to it. 

• Geronimo! You are ready to go! 

Stay turned later this week for an announcement about my Doctor Who giveaway!

Nerd Craft Librarian goes to L.I. Who 2013

Long Island has been seriously lacking in the convention department. We used to have I-con at Stony Brook unfortunately the con was canceled last year (Thanks Hurricane Sandy). So when someone told me about L.I. Who I was thrilled! It was the first Doctor Who convention on Long Island in over 20 years. After searching other Who conventions, it looked like LI Who has become the only con of the North East! So I'm really pumped that it is was only a 20 minute drive away.

My brother, Charlie and I ventured out and arrived at the con pretty early on Sunday. Upon entry when I saw the TARDIS car I knew I was in the right place. The lobby was full of my people! Where else can you guy when you see a couple of Doctors hanging out with some weeping angels and Tardis'. The first thing we ran to was a panel with the Doctor of the con, Sylvester Mccoy. He played the last Doctor in classic Who, the seventh. He shared some stories of his days as the doctor and also talked about one of his latest roles in the Hobbit in which he plays Radagast the Brown. He spoke about working with Peter Jackson and that he was up for the role of Bilbo Baggins in the Lord of the Rings series. Towards the end of the panel and he started fielding fan questions and did the most extraordinary thing. He walked the room and approached the fans. He was very sweet to all of the fans!

We left that panel a teeny bit early so that we can check out the panel featuring Ian Mcneice. He's a guy who likes to keep buggering on, because he's known for playing Winston Churchill. He was really, we came into the panel a bit early and he acknowledged us and said "Oh please do come in, welcome! Would you like some water?" He talked a little bit about who, but he talked more about his varied career as a respected actor and he kept us laughing.

After Mcniece we went to check out the vendor tables. I was excited to meet other nerdy crafters that live locally! Some of the nicest people were, Pixel Who and Geektastic Creations. I was glad to see some amazing work. So go to their sites and check them out!

 

We then took a trip to the main room to take our picture with the cons TARDIS! While on line, we saw some amazing costumes, including a family of Cybermen (adorable). After the TARDIS photos we went and took an amazing/ridiculous family portrait with Sylvester McCoy. Its pretty amazing and I look forward to hanging it in my house and confusing future house guests.

I attended another panel that was all about my favorite Doctor, Matt Smith! It was hosted by the podcast Two-Minute Time Lord. It was an interesting discussion, where fans talked about why Matt Smith is their favorite Doctor and how sad we are that its his last year.

The rest of the day was great. We saw Daphne Ashbrook, who played Dr. Grace Halloway in the Doctor Who TV movie from the 90s. Then afterwards I participated in a game show styled like Wheel of Fortune and I won! woot woot! Afterwards things started to wind down. Towards the end of the day I received a ribbon that advertised for next years con! So I was excited that it will be back next year!

Doctor Who Bow ties #savetheday

So we all know the obvious… Bow ties are cool!

They are quite easy and fun to make. If you have every wanted to make you own, let me show ya how!

Materials & Tools

• Red or blue Felt
• Scissors
• Hot glue gun
• Safety pins
  
  

  

  
  

Instructions

• Take the felt and cut out a rectangle. Mine measured 4 X 8 inches
• Hot glue the top edge and fold down about an 1 inch. Repeat with the opposite side
• Now for the sides! Hot glue each side and fold to the center of your rectangle
• Pinch the rectangle at the center and scrunch it up. It will start to look like a bow tie
• Cut a small rectangle out of felt, 3 x 1 inches
• Wrap the felt rectangle around the center of the bow tie and hot glue the edges together
• Once the glue is dried, add a safety pin to the back so that you can wear it

The Month of the Doctor! #savetheday

With October and Halloween celebrations over, now I can focus on the next big thing…. November 23rd the DAY OF THE DOCTOR!!!

 

For me this is going to be the month of the Doctor all leading up to Doctor Who’s 50th Anniversary. November 23rd the anniversary special will be simulcast worldwide! This means it will be airing at around 2:00 PM for east coasters like me. I’m also thrilled to see Doctors 11 and 12 meet and team up! David Tenant and Matt Smith both playing doctors at the same time! It’s a Whovian’s ultimate fantasy!

They look like they are in love

I’m doing a few things to gear up for it and I thought it would be fun to share them with you this month. For the next three weeks, leading up to the Day of the Doctor, I’ll be posting a different Who themed craft tutorial. Including, how to make bow-ties, constructing your own TARDIS and making a Fez (because Fezzes are cool).

I’m also going to be hosting a giveaway! Enter for your chance to win some of the fun Who themed items from my Etsy shop. So look for that the week leading up to the special, November 17th!