we do things.

my daughter wants to make a steampunk costume.
uh-huh.
we start thinking about hallowe'en early.
we have to.
or, at least, we tell ourselves that.
anyway,
she secretly watches all this internet content about modifying stuff,
and adding bits and pieces to other stuff,
and stuffing stuff into other stuff.
y'know?
NO!
not like that.
jeez. you guys are A*-holes.
i'm talking about tutorials on crafts.
and googling information on cool costumes.
but,
 i sure do love nerding out.
so,
after she showed me a few pictures of nerf guns that's been altered to look
like victorian battle-blasters from the alternate future of the distant past,
we got one for ourselves, and got to work.
we decided on a small one,
since they live with some pretty staunchly anti-gun lefty nancypantses.
no sense in getting the kid into trouble, right?
yeah.
so,
after a little black paint, a lot of epoxy and superglue, and lots more paint,
and paint markers, and wire, and sorting through odds-and-ends and bits
and pieces we found in the clearance bric-a-brac aisles at the department store...
....we ended up with this:

pretty cool, huh?
like, a tiny pneumatic lightning inoculator!
and how F*ing rad (and cute) are those little lightbulbs?
no.... they aren't functioning.
take it easy, killjoy.
plus,
that big lightbulb carburetor jauns, from wire, a sink strainer and a travel bottle?
neat-o, neighbors, is what we were shootin' for here.
we used a lot of small parts from actual firearm accessories,
a bullet casing, bottle caps, gear findings, a fishing swivel,
a giant thumbtack, fake leather felt, weird string, a drywall anchor, tiny beads,
and just a little bit of patience.
we made it all happen in-between work and pizza and movies an' that.
not half bad for a quick foray into nerd munitions, though.
and i think the other side is pretty good, too:

maple likes it,
i like it,
and we had fun putting it all together, together.
yeah!
plus,
it still shoots nerf darts.
that's kind of expert, isn't it?
family togetherness,
and craft party activation,
with guns!
yep.
all guns are dope, even the plastic weirdies.
oh, yeah, and just so you know what we got ourselves into-
it started out looking super-gaytarded:

ew!
the retrofit teleport time-travel unravel upgrade is what's up.
making things, together.
that's that family sh!t friends.
and it's good for you.
*
we didn't make a whole costume, yet.
it's still only august.
go easy.
but,
in anticipation of the effort,
i gave her an old broken pocketwatch i've had for some time;
and an old beat-up bowler hat i bought from the long-gone hat shop in town;
and we hit up a craft store for all the felt and glitter and fabric,
so she's well on her way.
i try to help, guys.
i mean it.
we do nerdy stuff,
but it's how we bond;
never quiet, never soft.....