Kids love SpongeBob SquarePants. Heck, adults love SpongeBob too. He’s a big yellow goofball that children just can’t resist. My dad, the big kid, made a SpongeBob costume a few years ago and has gotten a great deal of mileage from it. Originally he wore it to a party. Since then, he’s donned the squarepants to bring smiles at birthdays and to generally cheer up the room. You very quickly find yourself smiling when a man in a 6 ft tall yellow sponge suit waddles into a room.

He started with some standard furniture padding. A large slab of it. Well, two slabs, like a sandwich board. He slipped a giant homemade pillowcase around the foam. He painted on the distinctive clothes. He did run into a small hiccup: the face. He wears a pair of SpongeBob novelty glasses to cover his face. It gives the costume a an odd scale but no less awesome. Easy to fix if he wants to revisit it. Behold! You too can create a super easy and lovable costume in an afternoon.

For those of you not into wearing furniture supplies, SpongeBob costumes are also available at most major costume retailers.

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle inspired clothing has been all the rage this holiday season. There are Shredder Hoodies, and TMNT baseball caps. The Half-Shelled ones are cool again. I like the turtles too. Here are a few of the streetwear goodies you can model at home.

Lest you think Shredder’s the only non-turtle in on the hoodie fun, check out Krang!

I like this trend of sneaking costumes into everyday clothing. Fun, fun, fun.

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Everyone ready for Disney’s latest animated feature? Well, get ready! The Princess and the Frog hits theaters December 11th. This tale turns the old ‘kiss the frog’ story and twists it around and places it in the colorful locale of New Orleans. The movie features big name hitters Anika Noni Rose, Bruno Campos, Keith David, and Jennifer Lewis. You may even recognize some featured voices like John Goodman, Oprah Winfrey, and Terrence Howard.

Like any good Disney princess, Tiana’s ballgown makes a lovely costume. Costume Craze has the exclusive license for the adult Tiana costume. Check out the dress. I, for one, love the soft green.

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We’re down to the wire for Halloween costume ideas and plans. Not to worry, I’m here to help.

Ned Flanders. Green sweater? Check. Pink shirt…maybe not check but easily attained. Gray or khaki pants? Check. Black shoes? Check. Rockin’ mustache? Well, we can fix that.

Check one of the many seasonal Halloween or costume shops in your area for an inexpensive lip tickler. Shouldn’t be more than $5. Or you can cut up an old brown sock or yarn and tape it on for the night. You’d be the hit of any party as Flanders.

Bonus points if you bring Maude, Rod, and Tod.

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I had a fun at Dragon Con this year. I was there for Saturday, Sunday and a teensy bit of Friday night. I took two new costumes and a couple of older backups with me.

Friday night and most of Saturday I was dressed as Colonel Hunter Gathers from The Venture Brothers cartoon. I used a sports top and bloomers I already owned as the base for the outfit. I painted the pieces, as is quite obvious, in a camo-like way. I wore two pairs of bloomers because I may be dressed as a stripper, but I am not a stripper and needed to feel like I was covered up. The stubble was dark eyeshadow stippled on with a contour brush. The cigarette holder was an eyeliner pencil with medical tape on the end. The hat is spare green material folded up like a newspaper hat and stitched in the corners to keep it together. I left my white gloves sitting on my bed. D’oh. Combat boots, fishnet stockings, wig, and glasses round out the ensemble. This picture includes a young lady who modified a Sexy Army costume.

I ran into the two creators of The Venture Brothers at a gonzo show. Jackson Publick laughed hysterically and never did say a thing. Doc Hammer shook his head while saying, “He wasn’t supposed to look that good.” I was nervous wearing that getup but that comment gave me all the confidence I needed to keep going. I had my picture taken more times than I could count while in that costume. Now I know how ManWithPez feels when he wears the Seymour and Audrey II costume.

Sunday was my Dr. Saunders day. You may remember my scar test. My technique improved, unfortunately, I forgot to bring my reference so the scars were a bit misplaced. Oh well. I wore the costume briefly on Saturday and discovered my subtle scars were too subtle. No one noticed them. Sunday’s scars are much darker. Dr. Saunders jacket is unique and could only be replicated if I made it…which I plan to do. Until then, I have a simple lab coat with a popped up collar. I wore a blouse, fluted skirt, and heels with the scars and wig. I heard there was another Saunders at D*C but I never found her.

My Dragon Con 2009 gallery is posted. I didn’t take as many pictures this year since I was there for two days and missed the parade. Sorry. I tried to take pictures of the costumes I loved. I hope you like them too. My recap post is on its way.

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I posted the video of the awesome Bumblebee Transformer costume but forgot to give you links to other Transformer costumes. I’ve had trouble locating adult versions of the Transformer costumes, but here’s an Optimus Prime you can try. It seems most licensed Transformer costumes are for children. I found old-school Bumblebee and movie Bumblebee. In addition, there are old-school Optimus Prime and movie Optimus Prime too. If you do a little searching, I bet you can be a robot in disguise too.

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