Thursday, June 13, 2013

My Craftiness Abounds (or, the Impossible Holster)

So, I'm going to the Realm Makers Conference in August, and there will be a costume banquet. Of course -- of course -- I will be dressing up as River Song.

The particular outfit I wanted to wear is her gunslinger ensemble from the Impossible Astronaut episode:


So, let's see. Jeans...check. Boots...check White shirt...check. Denim jacket...check.

Awesome tooled leather holster...not check :(.

A search online revealed that there are holsters EXACTLY like hers for sale! :) But they run at minimum $80 plus shipping :(.

However, I would not let that deter me. There HAD to be a way to MAKE this...

And yes!

I started off by going to Goodwill and buying a really ugly purse for $5. Which I should have taken a picture of. Here it is after I chopped it up for the pieces I wanted:


It had some textured parts (perfect for the tooled leather) and some smooth parts. It was, however, the wrong color. Fortunately for me, we have lots of wood stain in our garage. After cutting, stitching, gluing and staining, this is what I got!


The belt I bought at Walmart for $6.50, btw.

And for comparison's sake, the "purse" BEFORE and AFTER:



Anyway, the only thing I have left to do is buy the pouch she carries on the other side, which I would've had to buy even if I'd gotten the megacash real leather holster:


Not yet sure where I'm going to find that, but at the least I could probably stitch it from a piece of leather bought at JoAnn fabric. I'll likely make another trip to Goodwill, though, in search of a small leather satchel that I can cut the strap off. We'll see, but I'm not too worried.

Just had to share! And I promise pics of me in the full get-up after the conference. WHICH, BTW, THERE IS STILL ROOM AT! Click HERE for more info.


5 comments:

Kessie said...

That is beyond cool. Do you have a gun?

Kat Heckenbach said...

Thank you! :)

I have a plastic cap gun, yes. It looks like an old west revolver, like she carries in the episode, although not quite as big. I'm not sure the con will let me carry that around, but I figure if they won't I've got an 11th Doctor's sonic screwdriver :).

Anonymous said...

Hi Kat! Awesome! In your spare time you could teach a creativity class with assignments like that! Have fun! Rick C.

Kat Heckenbach said...

LOL--thanks, Rick :).

Rick said...

I am amazed to see your photos. Nice gun and holster. An outside the waist holster always looks great on you.