September’s Loot Crate theme is ANIMATE and I think this is my favourite one to date!
This Stimpy doll from Jazwares has a squeaky nose and elastic tongue. Oh, it also talks. Reliving some childhood Nicktoon days.
Egoraptor made this really creepy Pikachu sticker and Bizklimkit mashed Ninja Turtles and Storm Troopers in a magnet. Loot Crate made a sticker with the phrase “It’s Over 9000”, which comes from the popular Dragon Ball Z meme. Since last month’s crate, they’ve also included a handy dandy little zine explaining everything in the crate.
There was Family Guy or Yoshi branded lip balms in this month’s crate. I got Stewie! I’m very thankful to not be putting anything Quagmire on my lips.
Each crate also had blind boxes of either Futurama or Simpsons key-chains from Kid Robot. I opened my Futurama box to reveal Lord Nibbler.
Last but not least, was a TMNT vinyl figure from Funko. I was lucky enough to actually get my favourite Ninja Turtle, Donatello. Woohoo!
I wonder how Loot Crate will top this one next month.
I love Moleskine notebooks and I usually have one in some shape or form around me at all times. During NXNE, I lost my mini-staff paper ruled book I was using for concert reviews. Funny story, it’s actually somewhere on the other side of the world. A musician had found it while in town for the festival and I told her she could keep it. To celebrate the cassette’s 50th anniversary, Moleskine recently released this Limited Edition Audio Cassette Notebook. I bought the pocket one to replace my old concert notebook but a full-size is also available. Inside the covers are some cassette and analogue-style decals. The spine even has player controls. They included some stickers and of course their official booklet. Tomorrow is Cassette Store Day but I think this is the farthest I’ll go in supporting the cause. The only cassette I’ve ever owned is Pokemon the First Movie’s soundtrack.
It’s time for another Loot Crate unboxing! This week’s theme was CAKE in celebration of Loot Crate’s 1 year anniversary.
I made this unboxing video as the next instalment of my vlogs for all those that like to watch videos instead of read!
I don’t watch Walking Dead but my character in these Funko blind boxes is super adorable. I’m sure you fans out there can recognize who she is.
It’s not a Loot Crate without some Loot Crate stickers.
I am now a scientist in Portal’s Aperture Laboratories with this lanyard, tattoo and bracelet.
My favourite item from this month is this caffeine molecule T-shirt! They accidentally sent me a medium, but that’s okay. It would actually make a great gift for Nash who’s been sleepless with work. Also in the box was a $5 coupon for more shirts at Shirt Woot, so I can go order some more cool novelty tees. I’ve been browsing through their catalogue and I kind of want EVERYTHING.
A birthday party has to have some candy of course. I wish they included like 10 more packages because I ate it in two seconds.
I saw the ad for Six Dollar Shirts as a Google Ad on Ride the Tempo. I was lured in by their promise of cheap T-shirts. The shirts are $6, but if you want a fitted female one they are $6.50. This is still not bad compared to other sites like Threadless. The more you order, the cheaper it gets. I think 10 shirts are only $50. The shipping doesn’t cost an arm and a leg either. I was testing if they were a legit company so I went with a safe 3 shirts. I chose geeky tees like the one pictured above. Adventure Time!
The selections aren’t the greatest but I took the time to dig through and found ones I liked. This Adventure Time design is definitely worth the price. For the most part the prints are monochromatic, but are available in multiple shirt colours. I also purchased this simple and cute, konami code shirt. The girl shirts fit well and are not boxy, so they are worth the extra 50 cents. The shirts shipped in like 2 weeks. While I waited though, I actually thought they might be a scam. I didn’t receive any notice of the items being “shipped” even though the original order confirmation said there would be. I thought I’d mention that as a warning. However, I received my shirts so the company is totally legit!
I get excited every month when my Loot Crate arrives. It will be the closest thing I’ll ever have to Christmas in July (or every month for that matter). This month’s theme was Varsity
Star Wars headphones from Jazwares came at random. I got Darth Maul but other characters included Darth Vader, Yoda, and C3PO. Let’s be thankful Jar Jar wasn’t an option.
This month’s crate was in partnership with Video Game Highschool. Therefore, it was quite appropriate to include the 2 disc DVD of Season 1 and a pencil for back to school sake.
There was also this VGHS button set.
The stickers this month included a storm trooper + VGHS mashup and the Rocket Jump logo.
I totally forgot PEZ existed. What a blast from the past! Loot Crate randomized the MARVEL edition of the PEZ dispensers. I got Thor. Anybody want to trade for Wolverine?
Lastly there was this Sonic air freshener with a smell appropriately labelled “Sonic Breeze”.
Loot Crate is like a nerdy box of stuff delivered to your mail box every month. I do buy all my crates and it’s a little bit pricier in Canada ($29.99) as opposed to the US price of $19 (shipping included). If you’d like to sign up for Loot Crate, please use the referrer link below: http://mbsy.co/lootcrate/176357
I first learned of the Konstruktor’s existence via Laughing Squid. The idea of a DIY camera was so cool so I ordered myself one from Lomography. It’s basically like the IKEA version of a camera. The camera light chamber comes premade but there are instructions on how to build it if you ever feel like taking it apart. The body is plastic and most of the parts you have to twist from the plastic moulding. It also came with a screwdriver and stickers for customers to add their own personalizations.
The box claims that the camera can be built in 1-2 hours. However, it took me 15 minutes to distinguish the screws the first time I built it.
The instructions for the most part are pretty clear. The diagrams are easy to follow but must be looked at carefully. The first time I missed an arrow pointing from end of a spring to a little nook.
The reason I had trouble building it the first time was a defective light chamber. The springs were not strong enough to activate the shutter. I spent 6 hours thinking I built it wrong before considering that it was defective. Luckily Toronto has a Lomography store and I ended up exchanging it. It was a little bit of a hassle to do that though because in-store they claim their inventory doesn’t have any affiliation with the online (even if it was shipped from there).
Anyways, the second time around I built it in 45 minutes.
Here is the camera decorated! I was a bit sticker happy…
I’ve never really owned an analogue camera so the thought of not being able to see photos until later is so nerve racking. I bought some ISO 800 film from Lomography but right now I’m purposely experimenting with (unopened) expired film I found around the house. I made a couple of film winding mistakes in the beginning so it will be interesting to see how those turn out. I’m hoping that having to think more about composition will make me a better overall photographer!
Order came with this random keychain
Despite the weird mishap, I do recommend the Konstruktor if you’re interested at learning how cameras work. The top placement of the viewfinder is a cool experience. I can’t vouch for the quality of photos though because I have no idea yet! Don’t worry. I’ll definitely be posting some scans when I get the film developed.
The July Lootcrate is almost on its way but I didn’t have time to talk about the June one until now. June’s theme was “mashup”; the joining of two separate ideas.
My favourite item in June’s crate are these 8-Bit sunglasses. Mine came in Loot Crate’s orange and black colours but apparently some people got plain black ones in their crates. They are also selling pink and white ones in their gift shop. I’m super tempted to grab a pair of those too.
This sticker Harebrained shows two classic characters helping each other out.
It’s a pen. No, it’s a stylus. Wait, it’s both. The 2 in 1 pen from Bic is a smooth ball point pen and stylus in one. I hope I don’t actually use the wrong side on my iPad.
I haven’t decided what I want to use these sticker anagrams for. What would you make? My imagination can only think of boats.
Loot Crate got mashed into this a robot on this sticker from Danger Brain, a really cool company that makes logos.
I was so excited that this crate had a T-shirt which was totally worth the price of the box. The design (from Graphic Lab) mashes up antihero Deadpool with Kool-aid to make DEADPOOL-AID.
Lastly, there was a golden ticket for Stan Lee’s Comikaze. It’s a coupon where you have a chance to win admission or a percentage off. Personally, I don’t have much use for the item but I think they just added it as a bonus in the crate.
Though there were a lot of stickers in this month’s edition, the T-shirt and the sunglasses more than made up for the price! Next month’s theme is VARSITY. If you’re interested in subscribing use the referral link below:
For Father’s Day I bought dad a mug that looks exactly like Canon’s 24-105mm lens. I placed my order on eBay but noticed that it was shipped from xcsource.com, so you should check them out if you want your own. The details of the replica are pretty astounding. The AF and IS buttons actually move. For an extra buck or two you can actually have it say “Canon” where it is supposed to, I just didn’t realize it when I ordered. We don’t actually have the 24-105 lens, so above is a photo next to the 24-70mm. Close enough eh? Hope dad doesn’t accidentally pour coffee in his real lenses!
I was so excited when I found out that Loot Crate started shipping to Canada that I signed up right away. It’s a monthly subscription of nerdy gifts to your doorstep. It’s $19.99 for US residence and $29.99 for Canadians. Each month the boxes have a theme. May’s theme was EQUIP. Inside the box was a card that explained all the product’s relationship to the theme. I also received a membership card since this was my first crate. There was also this $10 digital subscription to Pure Nintendo for iOS and Android so I could be equipped with nerdy news on the go.
This ninja by The Dojo is for wrapping your tangled earphones. I assume I received pink because I registered as a female.
These stickers (via Fred & Friends) are for making your inanimate objects come to life. Hmmm.. maybe now I won’t look so crazy talking to my computer.
I think my boyfriend is going to love this 8-bit tie from Black Tie Geek.
The box contained a DC figurine at random (The Flash, Green Lantern and The Joker) and I was lucky enough to get Batman. Woohoo.
In reference to Douglas Adams’ May 25th towel day we were equipped with this silly towel from Graphic Lab.
Like Mario, we were equipped with a question mark box of coins. These ones were edible and surprisingly strawberry flavoured.
I really enjoyed building this Iron Man figurine from Mini Paper Craft.
I’m loving my Loot Crate so far. It is full of great childhood memories, nerdy references and most of all encourages playfulness.
If you’d like to check out Loot Crate please use this link to help me save on my next box!
As you may or may not know, I wear cupcake t-shirts to concerts. It is something I started a few years ago with Johnny Cupcakes T-shirts but I’ve been trying to add other kinds of cupcake attire to the collection. I hope to support more independent designers. My latest edition is this adorable Rocky the Zombie T-shirt from Etsy made by Ranon. It is pretty difficult to find cupcake clothing that aren’t made to fit children. This adorable t-shirt has a slash neck so I could do an off-the-shoulder look if I wanted. The T-shirt came in only a week and was wrapped in a cute silver ribbon with a random piece of candy! Ranon who is from Southsea, UK is the original creator of the adorable Rocky the Zombie character. You can read more about her on her blog.
Have you seen cute cupcake clothing anywhere? I’d love to know!
This Stimpy doll from Jazwares has a squeaky nose and elastic tongue. Oh, it also talks. Reliving some childhood Nicktoon days.
Egoraptor made this really creepy Pikachu sticker and Bizklimkit mashed Ninja Turtles and Storm Troopers in a magnet. Loot Crate made a sticker with the phrase “It’s Over 9000”, which comes from the popular Dragon Ball Z meme. Since last month’s crate, they’ve also included a handy dandy little zine explaining everything in the crate.
There was Family Guy or Yoshi branded lip balms in this month’s crate. I got Stewie! I’m very thankful to not be putting anything Quagmire on my lips. 
Each crate also had blind boxes of either Futurama or Simpsons key-chains from Kid Robot. I opened my Futurama box to reveal Lord Nibbler. 
Last but not least, was a TMNT vinyl figure from Funko. I was lucky enough to actually get my favourite Ninja Turtle, Donatello. Woohoo!
Tiana Feng 