A Holiday Hodgelany

 

This is a Worldbuilders Blog.

Today, we bring you… well… everything we wanted to get out before Christmas.

We’ve got a bunch of new stuff in the store. Most of these new items we only have a few of, so you might want to move quickly.

We’ve also got a *ton* of auctions running and some of them are going to be over in only a day.

We’ve got books, art, and one-of a kind items like this…

All parts of the doll and accessories are hand made. All of the sewn clothes were done by Shannon’s mom, Karen Rivera, the rest was made by Shannon herself.

I’ll tell you the truth folks, until Shannon sent this to Worldbuilders, I’d never even seen the word Amigurumi. Now, I can only assume that it’s Japanese for “Soooo Cuuuute.”

(Amanda’s Editorial note: According to Shannon, Amigurumi is the Japanese style of knit/crochet dolls where the main objective is disproportionate cuteness. So Pat apparently knows more Japanese than he thinks.)

(There’s so much cute in this picture I now have diabetes.)

I can hardly express how adorable this little Kvothe doll is. Everyone at Worldbuilders was talking about it, but I didn’t get to see it until yesterday. And when I did. I *had* to pick it up and play with it.

(And a little plushy Totoro.)

His clothes are all real. His little boots come off and everything. And when I undid his cape, (using the little talent-pipe pin that Shannon *made*) I found out that his cloak had little pockets…..

So of course I spent the next hour finding little things to put in those pockets. Little things that Kvothe would make a point of carrying with him at all times.

All of these things will be yours if you win the auction. But you should hurry up and bid before Amanda runs away with the doll. Seriously. We took the photos, and then had to sneak up behind her and crack her over the head just to get it away from her.

This is a beautiful book, and it’s been signed by pretty much everyone ever. To see more pictures or check out the signatures, you can head over here.

  • Auction: A limited hardcover 20th Anniversary edition of Polar Express.  Signed by Chris Van Allsburg.

This edition features a special cover with matching slipcase, as well as a CD of the book read by actor Liam Neeson. Find out for yourself why this enduring book earned a Caldecott Award.

To bid, head over to the auction.

  • Auction: A professionally matted and framed Luring the Draccus poster by Phil McDarby.

We received an email from a lovely woman named Menolly, and she told us about how she had her Luring the Draccus poster professionally matted and framed after she bought it from us.

She has since decided to donate it to us.  So she’s awesome.  If you want this beautifully framed poster, head over to the auction and bid your heart out.

(You really need to click this to see the bigger version.)

For legal reasons, we would never imply that any Disney characters ever met a certain Doctor….

But I have to say that Karen did a beautiful job imagining what it would be like if some princesses were extended offers much different than what they’d originally gotten.

We’ve pictured this together to save space, but we’re auctioning each of them individually. If nothing else, you should go look at the auctions to see better pictures than the one I’ve taken here…

For Cinderella, click here.
If you want Belle, click here.
If you want Ariel, click here.
And if you want Rapunzel, click here.

  • AuctionsThe Night Watch and The Wyrd Sisters prints.  Both signed by artist Paul Kidby.

Now’s your chance to own signed copies of some of Kidby’s marvelous discworld illustrations.

The first of these shows Carrot, Vimes, Colon, and Nobby keeping the streets of Ankh Morpork safe. Bid here.

The second features Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg and Magrat Garlick. Bid over here.

This lithograph reproduces some richly detailed pencil illustrations by Paul Kidby and is signed by Kidby and author Terry Pratchett.

This gorgeous print features finished pencil illustrations of Discworld’s rather highly strung Bursar in three bizarre reaction poses (you can practically hear Ridcully shouting “BURSAR!!”) followed by a fourth, more normal pose of an abnormally large smile. We’re guessing frog pills are some kind of opiate.

I would like to stress that this limited, numbered print is signed by both Pratchett and Kidby.

It can be yours if you win the auction over here.

  • Auction: A set of Twisted Elephant and a Twisted Rabbit prints.  Signed by Michel Gagné.

Twisted Bunny & Twisted Elephant

Artist and animator Michel Gagné (Saga of RexZed: A Cosmic Tale) cooked up a demented collection of off-kilter sketches called Insanely Twisted Rabbits. This auction features two prints signed by Mr. Gagné: a Twisted Elephant and one of the spikier Twisted Rabbits.

To bid on these insanely twisted prints, head over here.

PORTAL GUN!

  • Auction: A limited edition, 1:1 prop replica of the Portal Gun.  Signed by the Portal Team.

We here at Worldbuilders are a bunch of nerds, for the most part.  So to say we were excited when ThinkGeek donated this item is a HUGE understatement.

It is a perfect replica, with blue and orange lights and different sounds depending on which portal you’re shooting.  Amanda used it for a few minutes to defend her little Kvothe doll, until she was overpowered.

To bid on this auction, head over here.  There’s cake!

New Items in the Store.

In keeping with the Christmas spirit, we’ve put up a bunch of new stuff in the store recently.

  • Greysdale Mead T-Shirts

Nicole withstood the terrible Wisconsin winter without a coat just to take these pictures for you in some natural light. And so she could look pretty, of course.

To buy a t-shirt, head over here.

  • More Bear Steins and More Different Bear Steins.

(Click to embiggen and see their faces…)

The last time we put up some steins from Sea Bear Pots, they sold out in about 24 hours. So Charlie offered to make some more for us.

Then, in a fit of kindness, he offered to make some for  the Worldbuilders Team itself. Unfortunately for him, he offered to personalize the mugs, and he paid for it. Just to give you a sense of the sort of folks that work here, you can read Brett’s personalization form, or Nate’s.

If you’d like to snap up some of these Steins from Sea Bear Pots before they’re gone, click here.

When we sold out of bear steins early on in the fundraiser, a gentleman named Frank emailed us.

See, he makes bear steins too. So now we’re selling two different kinds of bear steins. Because obviously you guys have a burning desire to quaff like the vikings you are.

To buy one of the Bear Steins from Off-Center Ceramics, click here.

  • Jayne Hats, Cthulu Plushies, and Chibi Totoro Plushies.

Here we have Amanda, sporting the latest in eclectic fangirl fashion.

But she’s not just geeking out, she’s showing off four new items in the store. (And playing with the portal gun. Because PORTAL GUN.)

1. New Jayne Hats. Better hurry – these sell quickly.

2. Plush Totoros. They’re always there for you, and they’ll always love you.

2. Little Cthulhus (Cthulhii?). Made for us by Heather, who has more stuff up on her Etsy store.

  • Cthulhu Playing Cards.

(Click to embiggen)

The folks over at Albino Dragon were gracious enough to let us sell their decks of standard and limited edition Cthulhu-themed playing cards.

I have to say folks. The designs on these are really gorgeous. You should go look at them in the store if only to see some high-res pictures of the cards. Plus they’re genuine Bicycle cards, not some cheap knockoff. So they have a good feel in your hand.

You can buy your own copies over here on the Tinker’s Packs.

Poor Lovecraft!

When Albino Dragon was doing the Kickstarter for their Cthuluhu cards, (see above) their $1000 dollar donation bonus was that the talented artist Shane Tyree would would design you your own set of cards.

They were cool enough to give us the same package so we could auction it off for Worldbuilders.

That’s right, the artist behind those beautiful cards (and you can see more over at the auction) is willing to design a deck to your specifications.

What are you waiting for?  Go bid!

  • Bookwyrm Pendant

This pendant is clearly beautiful, and it was lovingly hand-made by Amber of Serpent’s Dance.

But it sold out before the blog even went up.  So now you can’t have it.  However, she has an Etsy, and you can probably get other cool things there.

  • ImpSec Silver Eyes Collar Pins.

Are you a Bujold fan? These ImpSec Silver Eyes will strike terror into the hearts of your rivals! Wear you best sinister smile with these etched and antiqued sterling silver collar pins. Made and donated by Paige of YayPrettyColors!

Do you like Bujold? Into the Eye of Horace? Either way, click here and to buy them.

  • Auction: One-hour consultation with award-winning dog trainer Laura VanArendonk Baugh.

Canines In Action

Laura decided to help out Worldbuilders this year by offering up something different from our usual book-and-geekery, because let’s face it, it’s tough to get some good reading done when you’re waiting for your dog to race through the room with half of your bedspread in his mouth.

Here’s what Laura told us:

Got a crazy dog in your life, or know someone whose dog needs some manners before your next visit? Try this one-hour consultation with an award-winning trainer. Pet manners and many specialized concerns can be addressed via consult. Please note I much prefer video where I can see the dog live as we work! (If initial contact indicates that remote consult is not appropriate for the issue of concern, I’ll contribute $75 toward training with the nearest trainer I am comfortable referring.)

Need help with your dog?  Just want to be a better dog owner?  Go over here and bid on this awesome auction.

  • Auction: 2-night *Suite* package at Rancho Las Palmas in Rancho Mirage, California!

Rancho Las Palmas

Amanda’s Editorial Note: There have been a couple of complications with this auction, so we’re hoping to get it up tomorrow morning – stay tuned. 

Later Editorial Note: So, it turns out Ebay has different rules set up  when vacations and trips are being auctioned off, for buyer protection.  Worldbuilders has to clear a few security measures, so this auction will go back up after the holiday.  Thanks for your patience, guys!

  • Auction: Play AD&D with eight fantasy authors at ConFusion in January.

 You can smell the writer's musk in the room.

And, last but not least…

Join me and seven other fantasy authors playing a game of classic AD&D at Immortal ConFusion this coming January. Players include some of the best in the fantasy world: Peter V. Brett, Diana Rowland, Jim C. Hines, Mary Robinette Kowal, and Sam Sykes. Authors Myke Cole and Saladin Ahmed will DM the game. I will be there too, playing Master Lambernath.

You can see the video we made of last year’s game over here.

Confusion will provide the winner of this auction with a badge. We’ll provide you with a seat. But you’ll have to arrange your own transport and bring your own dice. Because real gamers don’t share dice. Because that’s how you get diseases.

Later Edit: The winner of this auction will also receive a set of the DVD’s chronicling last year’s entire delightfully geeky event.

Gaming with these people is awesome. And I, while I’m not nearly as cool as they are, I plan on casting magic missile and drinking Mountain Dew, which is a close second place to being awesome.

If you want to be a part of the party, you should bid over here.

*     *     *

Whew… that was a lot.  I hope you all got it, but if not, it might be worth taking a lookie-loo over at all the auctions Worldbuilders is currently running so you don’t miss anything.

Taking a minute to check out the Recently Added category of the Tinker’s Packs wouldn’t be a bad idea either.

If you want to see the other items that have been donated to Worldbuilders, or learn more about the fundraiser itself, you can head over to the main page here.

This entry was posted in a billion links, hodgelany, Worldbuilders 2012By Pat31 Responses

31 Comments

  1. Posted December 18, 2012 at 10:23 PM | Permalink

    Can I get a Hell Yeah?

    • Byk
      Posted December 18, 2012 at 10:36 PM | Permalink

      HELL YEAH!!

    • DraccusPlum
      Posted December 18, 2012 at 10:47 PM | Permalink

      Hell yeah! I already bought my bff the pinup girlies, but he may need a Cthulu as well… :)

    • SilverTpt
      Posted December 19, 2012 at 10:59 AM | Permalink

      Hell Yeah!

      Because… PORTAL GUN

    • PeacefulMaelstrom
      Posted December 19, 2012 at 5:44 PM | Permalink

      HELL YEAH!!

  2. aldel
    Posted December 18, 2012 at 10:23 PM | Permalink

    I would love to buy a Bredon beer shirt. Greysdale Mead is kinda tempting, but I’m not much of a mead drinker. Bredon beer sounds like exactly the kind of thing I would love.

  3. Sandhya
    Posted December 18, 2012 at 10:33 PM | Permalink

    That picture of you in the hat, playing with the toys, is the cutest thing I have ever seen!! I had a good belly laugh over that.
    and…………..HELL Yeah!

  4. Wren
    Posted December 18, 2012 at 10:52 PM | Permalink

    So much awesome…I just…I don’t know what to…I need to lie down.

    • Posted December 18, 2012 at 10:54 PM | Permalink

      And my work here is done.

      • Wren
        Posted December 18, 2012 at 11:00 PM | Permalink

        While I recover I’ll just relentlessly continue to promote everything on facebook to my friends list. With the power of social media we’ll have a good portion of the geek population on the east coast with a serious case of the vapors.

  5. Slamadoca
    Posted December 18, 2012 at 11:05 PM | Permalink

    Oh my god, it has little pockets!!! Trying hard to decide what to spend a bit of extra holiday money on.\

    On further contemplation, is there a reason that the D&D auction also seems to include $7 in shipping? If that’s the ticket price to Detroit, it’s an awesome deal ;D

    • Posted December 19, 2012 at 8:17 AM | Permalink

      The auction also includes the full, unedited footage from last year’s game on DVD.

      Thanks for reminding me: I should go mention that in the item description.

      I’ll remove the shipping too. Because I can just hand the DVDs to the winner when I see them in Detroit.

  6. Tait
    Posted December 19, 2012 at 12:17 AM | Permalink

    The knit Kvothe is so cute!

    What has it got in its pocketses?

  7. Sister_Spider
    Posted December 19, 2012 at 7:37 AM | Permalink

    I was ok until I saw the last item up for auction, at which point my head exploded. I’ve been breathing into a paper bag for the last 10 minutes. Were I a less responsible person (curse you, trappings of adulthood!) I would open a credit card and blow that sucker up trying to win that.*

    *Which is a TERRIBLE idea. Please don’t do that.

    • Posted December 19, 2012 at 8:18 AM | Permalink

      Come to us…..

      • Sister_Spider
        Posted December 19, 2012 at 8:54 AM | Permalink

        These is some very creative math happening in my bank account right now. I might win a Nobel Prize for it. Or break the universe. Totally worth it either way.

  8. Posted December 19, 2012 at 7:58 AM | Permalink

    I NEED that Kvothe doll. The tiny pockets..that is the cutest damned thing I’ve seen in a while.

  9. Posted December 19, 2012 at 9:25 AM | Permalink

    I have the hat and totoro plushie already! My friend Hadley made them for me years ago, but I bought a calendar. I’ll keep checking for more things I need to have!

  10. CSSCervantes
    Posted December 19, 2012 at 9:32 AM | Permalink

    Beautiful gun and beautiful girl; dignified image of a scene in a book. Greetings from Mexico.

  11. Posted December 19, 2012 at 10:44 AM | Permalink

    Umm, Hell YEAH! My god, I love this blog!

  12. dvs2nite
    Posted December 19, 2012 at 10:47 AM | Permalink

    To be a fly on the wall would be great. Although I wouldn’t want a peanut gallery influencing the game. This is a spectacular idea for an auction. I’m not one of the big boys able to play but I will enjoy the heck out of the con anyway. Last year was one of the best times I have ever had with strangers. I would recommend that every one go and enjoy the con. Chauncey = best manservant ever.

  13. StringCheeseTheory
    Posted December 19, 2012 at 10:58 AM | Permalink

    Forgive me if this has been asked before, but would it be possible to auction off a book signing event for Worldbuilders? I was thinking in terms of an auction open to bookstores, were if they win you would rock up and do a signing.

    I imagine that a lot of bookstores that wouldn’t normally make it onto your signing schedule would be very keen to have you make an appearance. Or does the number of complications involved make it slightly unfeasible, to the point where it would be more efficient for you to just donate the costs of such an exercise to Worldbuilders?

    • Posted December 19, 2012 at 12:33 PM | Permalink

      If we end up hitting the stretch goal where I donate a favor, I’d let people cash that in to have me come do a reading at their local library/convention/university or whatever.

      Folks have done that before, and it’s ended up being a pretty good time…

  14. Posted December 19, 2012 at 3:16 PM | Permalink

    MORE BEARS! I have a firm belief that you can never have too many.

  15. MELEFICENT
    Posted December 19, 2012 at 6:14 PM | Permalink

    I live in Wisconsin, got a say the winter so far has been anything but cold, bracing maybe but not cold

    • DrFood
      Posted December 20, 2012 at 11:57 AM | Permalink

      Happy now??

  16. Gwhiz
    Posted December 20, 2012 at 8:55 AM | Permalink

    Hi Pat,

    Wanted to say thanks for all the great work you are doing with Worldbuilders, it’s awesome :).

    Also totally randomly I thought you would laugh to hear that I was really confused when you put up your Black Friday post because we have a similar sounding Friday in Northern Ireland. I just remembered this week that it’s this Friday the 20th this year and it’s actually called Black-Eye Friday. If you’re confused think of all the Christmas nights out and the drink fuelled altercations!

  17. IvoryDoom
    Posted December 20, 2012 at 11:49 AM | Permalink

    Coolest stuff so far!

    Love the Kvothe Doll, The Princess Prints, and what I wouldn’t give to join that game at Confusion….

    Hope you record it at the very least!

  18. BlueInsanity
    Posted December 20, 2012 at 2:37 PM | Permalink

    How much can I donate for you to be my very bestest friend?!? I won’t ever ask to sleep on your couch for just a couple days until everything works out or borrow a couple of bucks just because, you know you’ve got it, right buddy?

    I will give monies!!!

  19. fb
    Posted December 21, 2012 at 6:54 AM | Permalink

    Heads up: the link at the bottom for all the auctions Wordbuilders is currently running, doesn’t seem to be linking to the right page. :)

  20. zdrumz13
    Posted December 26, 2012 at 2:24 PM | Permalink

    Any chance we could have a “win a date with Amanda” auction? Because I’d be all over that. You’d be more than welcome to chaperone if you deem it necessary, Pat…

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