Howdy buckaroo!

Today's outfits are a bit later than I like, on account of I was sick at hom today and yesterday. But with the aid of cold medicine, some caffeine, country music, and good old-fashioned determination, I got it done! So for today's kid costumes I present: cowboy and cowgirl! When I was a kid, the cowgirl would've been an "Indian maiden" or some such. I skipped that here, as I have fairly unfriendly feelings about using stereotypical images of marginalized peoples for dress-up. But these costumes are cute, budget-friendly, and safe for any Halloween party. Yeehaw!

Tricks or treats!

Today's outfits are a couple of my favorite kid costumes - the hobo and the clown. They're adorable, totally DIY-able on the cheap (raid Dad's closet for grubby t-shirts and huge shoes!), and lots of fun for little ones to wear while hitting up the neighbors for candy. I remember being a hobo myself one year, and my son was the cutest baby clown for his first Halloween.

Classic frights!

There are so many classic kids' costumes to choose from that I was almost afraid I wouldn't have room for all of them in a month! Lucky that the little paper fashions are small enough to let me post more than one at a time. So, say hello to my cute and creepy little friends - the ghost, the witch, and the skeleton!

Come out, come out, wherever you are!

I'm kicking off a whole month (well, most of a whole month) devoted to costuming and cosplay starting today with National Coming Out Day. The two shirts in these outfits are actual merchandise that can be found here and also here. The day was first celebrated in 1988, on the 1st anniversary of the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. In 1990, organizers joined their efforts with the Human Rights Campaign, and the rest is history.

Lord Saladin - the face of "Destiny: Rise of Iron"

So this is the first addition to my cosplay collection that I'm including because someone else is a fan. Much as I wish I could enjoy 1st-person games as a player, they all tend to make me queasy, so I settle for enjoying them as a spectator. And the game I've been "spectating" the most since its initial release has been Destiny. My husband swears he can stop any time he chooses (lol!), but I find it amusing that he's taken this week of vacation time off, so as to properly enjoy the release of the Rise of Iron DLC/expansion pack. I can't tweak him about it too much, though, as I'll be putting in as much time as possible to my own favorite game when my beloved Sims city expansion pack drops in November.

This was also my most ambitious project to date, as the outfit itself used very few of the stencils from my Klutz books. Even so, I think it turned out pretty well and I'm really proud of the details I was able to freehand on my own. So here's everyone's favorite guardian and his giant flaming axe:

Sims 4 City Living, woo! :)

I may have crossed my eyes and cramped my right hand making this next outfit, but I had to. Just HAD TO, cuz I love The Sims something fierce, and The Sims 4 in particular has had a real hand in helping my unlock my creatively crafty side. So, to celebrate a new trailer, I present the little girl in the big city from yesterday's teaser video:

Back to school, better late than never!

So at risk of sounding maudlin, I saw all the back to school photos online of folks sending their kiddos off and I got a wee bit jealous. Then I realized I could create whatever outfit I wanted for any of the zillion and one "schoolkids" in the pop culture multiverse! And thus I took my first step into the, erm, interesting wardrobe belonging to Glee's Rachel Berry, circa 2009. So I present, back to school, Finchel style!