Alexandra Duncan Takes the Dare

After my last dare, fellow Thirteener Natalie Whipple dubbed me the Nerd Queen and dared me to make a crown out of action figures . . .

Now, I don't know if I'm the Nerd Queen herself, exactly. There are probably people with more Star Wars t-shirts and hours logged playing D&D than me, but I could definitely be some kind of Nerd Duchess or lady-in-waiting. And no way am I going to pass up an opportunity to use my glue gun. So of course I took Natalie up on her dare. 

How does one make a nerd crown, exactly?

Step 1: Assemble your nerd crown components.

Pictured here: two mini-lightsaber key chains (they light up, you guys!), yarn, a hair band, disembodied dragon head, little red ninja dude, the tiger from Kung-Fu Panda, my glue gun, two mini skateboards, a Hot Wheels car, a wind-up robot, and a My Little Pony. Most of these things came from the toy bin at my local Goodwill outlet, since I don't have any small nieces and nephew or children of my own. (Yes, Goodwill will sell you a disembodied dragon head.)

I didn't end up using everything, because some of it was too heavy and I ran out of room, but I'm sure I can find something to do with that My Little Pony. Maybe glue it to one of the skateboards?

Step 2:Wrap the headband with yarn to increase the surface area and stick-ability of the hot glue.


Step 3: Attach disembodied dragon head. Obviously, this is the most important part.


Step 4: Attach fake lightsabers.


Step 5: Ice your finger after you accidentally get hot glue on it and develop a really painful blister.


Step 6: Add little red ninja dude. (Or maybe he's a football guy? I don't know.)


Step 7: Add awesome little blue robot.


Step 8: Go eat an ice cream sandwich while the hot glue cools and dries. Ice cream sandwiches are good for burned fingers.


And now, ladies and gentlemen, the final product. Drumroll, please. . .

 TA-DA! Nerd crown acheived!

The Nerd Duchess bids you adieu. Check back next week to see what the marvelous Erin Bowman has in store for us!
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Alexandra Duncan is a writer and librarian (plus amateur photographer, crochet enthusiast, cinemaphile, and, or course, book fiend). She holds a B.A. in Creative Writing from the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and has been a frequent contributor to The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. She loves anything that gets her hands dirty – pie-baking, leatherworking, gardening, drawing, and rolling sushi, to name a few.Her first novel, Salvage, is due to be released by Greenwillow Books/Harper Collins in April 2014. You can find her online at Twitter, Goodreads, and her personal blog.