Galvantula (Days 504 - 513)

So I quicly (in less than a week) made a Galvantula cosplay. It was intended to be worn to the BAC gathering at the SF Zoo today (June 11th), but unfortunately, after staying up until 5am last night finishing the costume, I got sick this morning and couldn't go. So when I felt better later in the day, my boyfriend came over and took some pictures for me.

The picture to the right was my jumping-off point. I had been trying to decide whether to cosplay Galvantula or Joltik, since Joltik is my favorite Pokemon ever. I finally decided on Galvantula mainly because the design is more fun to work with (more colors and such).

The main thing that I used from the reference picture was the hair, it represents the extra eyes and the mandibles. Unfortunately, I didn't have access to yellow fur, so I ended up using fleece. Now I'm pretty much out of yellow fleece.

I already owned both shirts that I used, the yellow one is one I bought for Pikachu some time ago. I also already owned the wig, which was also originally for Pikachu. I bought the shorts from Target, I've been wanting yellow shorts for Pikachu anyway.

I made the blue hair pins by covering buttons and sewing them onto bobby pins. The hair wraps are honestly just scrap fabric left over from the rest of the blue pieces that I made. I made the suspenders, they were really simple, I bought the clips for them at JoAnns, they're actually intended to be one piece that you clip onto the back of your shirt to make it fit better (tighter), but I cut the elastic strip connecting them in half and sewed it onto the front of each suspender. On the back, I made a buttonhole (I hate buttonholes with a passion) that fit the buttons on the back pockets.

The arm warmers and leg warmers are fleece, the arm warmers are two pieces of fleece back-to-back, but that just made them kind of awkward (the first one I made was really bad), so for the leg warmers, they're only one piece. All of them have two pieces of elastic each, one near the bottom (wrists/ankles) and one near the top (calves/elbows) to hold them on and help them keep the shape of my arm.

The blue parts on the bottom of the shorts (supposed to look like Galvantula's tail) are separate from the shorts (so that I can re-use the shorts for Pikachu), they're held on with elastic (though one of them is a little loose for some reason). They're a pain in the butt to try and keep up, so I need to either make them tighter or figure something else out for them.

This was my first time ever making boot covers. Originally, I wanted to make them pointy, but then I changed my mind, and they came out pointy anyway. The good news is that I know why, so next time that I make boot covers, I'll know what to do. The combination of the boot covers and the leg warmers reminds me of Skull Kid from Legend of Zelda.

I would prefer to have blue tights, but the only ones that I own are blue on the front and black on the back, and it makes it nearly impossible to see the blue bits at the bottom of the shorts. Yellow tights would be cool too, but the ones I own now have holes in them. So I'll need to get new ones before the next time that I cosplay Pikachu, which, you know, sucks, because it's so hard to find yellow tights. Maybe I'll just order some from somewhere.

READ MORE - Galvantula (Days 504 - 513)

Fanime 2011 Cosplay Report (Days 587 - 603)

I survived Fanime Con 2011! (Read my full review here.) My lack of updates is due primarily to trying to finish costumes in a panic. Unfortunately, I didn't finish everything on time, but it's didn't greatly impact the weekend.

(Photo by Steven)
Koffing was finished on Day 0 of Fanime, most of the waiting was because my mom said she'd make part of it and then said that I didn't remind her in time, or something to that effect, so she finished it the day-of. Made it in time though. I ended up not getting a hammer for Koffing and opted for a grenade instead, both because a grenade was surprisingly easier to find, and I didn't feel like explaining the hammer to everyone who didn't understand it. My Koffing cosplay is ridiculously comfortable. It's so comfortable that I don't even care that I was only recognized about 10 times the whole weekend while my boyfriend was swarmed by photographers, because I was so comfy and he had to wear a wig and hop/shuffle around all day as Magikarp.

Magikarp was about 99% finished, I only didn't make the side fins/ears, which is probably why more than half of the people that saw him thought that he was a red Gyrados. Whoops. I'll make them before the next time that he wears it, though who knows when that will be. Also, the tail got really dirty from, well, just being on the ground. Luckily, the fabric we used was intended for outdoor furniture, so I should be able to scrub out the dirt and red tanbark gunk that got on it.

Fun fact, my sewing machine broke Wednesday night when I was finishing Magikarp, and I blame that for not finishing the ears. Luckily, my boyfriend's mom let me borrow hers to finish what I could.

(Photo by Branden Kong) Pac-Man and Clyde were already finished, though I need to re-iron the letters on the back of the Pac-Man shirt, probably because my boyfriend always carries the Con Backpack, so the letters got worn off more than the Clyde ones on my shirt. I meant to do that before the convention, but never got to it, unfortunately.

Franziska von Karma still needs some major work, I need to completely remake the cravat (necktie thing), including the gem on it because it just doesn't work, and I always have to hot-glue it together while I'm wearing it or it just doesn't stay up right. I'd still like to get a color-accurate riding crop, but it's money that I just don't have right now. Speaking of the riding crop, a Fanime staffer (actually two of them) who didn't know what they were doing decided to zip-tie my riding crop to my belt loop, even though the forums (and other staff) say that they don't do that. I got it taken care of thanks to my buddy FoxBerry and her boyfriend. Also, my shoes for Franziska are just getting old. I'm considering taking them to the shoe repair shop in my local mall, but it's probably cheaper to get a new pair. And I sat in chocolate in my white Franziska pants. I washed them, but I haven't looked at them since, so I don't even know if it all came out.

I didn't have a cosplay for the Black & White Ball this year, I just had a tradition Chinese dress, and I put on the Magikarp wig because my hair was bleh. I'm actually considering gettng my hair cut like the wig now though, I think it looked cute! I found out that the dress (which I bought at a second-hand shop) is actually home-made, based on a lot of the stitching, and did come apart in one place, which is why it was in the second-hand shop. A dart that should go all the way to the bottom only goes to the waist. It's not horribly noticeable, but I would like to fix it before the next time I wear it (whenever that is).

Overall, Fanime was fun, I was only stopped for photos a ton as Clyde with Pac-Man, so it was a really relaxing weekend, and my only really uncomfortable costume was Franziska, which I only wore for a day.

READ MORE - Fanime 2011 Cosplay Report (Days 587 - 603)

Exhausted (Days 566 - 570)

So I've been run ragged with ballet practiced for an upcoming dance performance at the college that I attend. The ballet piece in the performance isn't really that big, but it is hard, and regardless of our less than five minutes of stage time, we all still have to be at the stage for the full two to five hours of practice (no joke). Just being there is exhausting for some reason, it's probably the high energy level and low lighting. Anyway, because of all of that (and lack of money) I haven't done much.

My mom helped me gather the last $60 that I needed for Fanime hotel and badge, so that's fantastic. I just have to be sure not to spend it. I also counted change to build a cosplay fund for my Koffing cosplay. It's about about... nine bucks, which, actually, if I forgo the wig will cover just about everything.

However, I completely forgot until today that I have to see a ballet performance and write a reaction paper for my ballet class. And that'll run me about $30+. So... There goes my Fanime fund again. T_T I need to sell more hats.

Speaking of which, I did sell another Link hat! I think that's the third Link hat I've sold, actually. It sold to someone in Florida, so I'm feeling kind of awesome now, having three hats on the other side of the country (two in NY and one in FL). Oh, I hope they're being treated well...

It occurred to me fairly recently that I could probably get a lot mmore publicity if I put my hats up on Etsy, but I've just been too lazy to set up an account, list things, and re-link everything on my website. Hopefully I can get that done before Fanime and print out business cards, because every time my boyfriend wears his Magikarp hat out, it's amazing publicity and a lot of people ask where he got it, but they never end up ordering anything. Also, the online store that I use right now (UShops) requires an account to buy from and is rather difficult for me as a seller to navigate.

READ MORE - Exhausted (Days 566 - 570)

ARG! (Days 511 - 515)

So, yeah, most likely not going to WonderCon. And by "most likely", I mean, there's like a 5% chance. So here's the story. (I asked people not to ask, but at the same time, I need to vent it, so here we go.)

Originally, my boyfriend's brother (we'll call him S, for anonymity's sake) was the one planning the trip. He invited my boyfriend and I to go with him and his fiance. Originally, this meant he would drive us there, pay for our entry, and pay for our lunch. Best deal ever, I should have known it was too good to be true.

Then, suddenly, he stopped talking about going. When he was asked, S would just say "Oh, yeah, that" and nothing else. It turned out that he didn't know which day we were going because of his fiance's work schedule. She usually works Saturdays, but we had originally planned to go on Saturday. Also, he wanted to go on the same day that the creators of the Dunny series were going, and for some reason couldn't figure out which day that was.

A few weeks later, when he was asked again, S said that he was worried about being able to pay for everybody to go. I said that I would pay for my ticket, as long as I was told which day we were going so that I could register online (I don't even know if this information was relayed to S). I also offered to pay for my own lunch. After waiting about another week or so, I changed my offer to $20 cash for my ticket (plus my lunch), because if S had been on top of things, I would have been able to pre-register, and $20 would have been the most I would pay.

At this point (probably about a week or so ago from today), I was mad. I can't stand the lack of communication, the constant changing of stories and plans, and the general confusion of the entire thing. This is exactly why I plan convention trips for myself and my boyfriend, and when anyone else wants to join us, they go through me, because I feel like if I don't do it, it won't get done right, and we'll end up sleeping in the convention hallway with one ticket between four people, three energy bars, and no water. It's instances like this nonsense that makes me think this way!

Anyway, about a week before the con starts, I'm told that S's Fiance is going to dictate the entire trip. That if she goes, we'll leave super early, stay at the convention for two hours, shop for four hours, go out to dinner on a "super-special double-date" (or something like that), and then go home. I'm sorry, but I'm not spending $20 just to go to a convention early in the morning, when most of the events are in the afternoon/night, and only stay for two hours. While I would love to go to dinner with S and his fiance on a double-date, that was not the point of this trip, and I'm insulted and offended at the possibility that she's commandeering this whole thing. Again, this is why I plan con trips.

Then, two days before the convention starts (today), I finally said to my boyfriend, "So we're not going to WonderCon, are we?" He gave me his wishy-washy answer of "probably not", trying to let me down easy, but really just making me mad at the thought of false hope.

Because of the way things have been panning out, I expect either Saturday or Sunday morning to go something like this:
S will wake up at about six in the morning, randomly with enough energy to get up. He'll get showered and ready in an hour, call his fiance, and leave. They'll go to the convention for all of an hour, leaving my boyfriend and I behind, then they'll spend the day shopping in SF and get back around midnight. When my boyfriend asks him where he's been, and why he left us, he'll say "lol You were sleeping, and I didn't want to wake you up." Not even out of spite, not even to make us mad or jealous, just because this is something he would just do. He would just not think about the fact that we (I) really wanted to go, and he'll just go. Ugh.

So, yeah, I'm mad. Never letting someone else plan a convention trip ever again. Even if they're my only possibility of going, I'm just going to say "no thanks" because this is too much stress.

And since I'm not going, I'm not going to be cosplaying Terra (Teen Titans) either. I wasn't overly excited about that cosplay anyway, but I am a little disappointed nonetheless. However, in it's place, I will now be cosplaying the lovely gem pictured right. It's a Koffing (Pokemon) gijinka. Unfortunately, I don't know the artist, but I would love to just because I love this design so much. It made me think of Koffing in a whole new light, and I love the subtle "Selfdestruct" reference that sets the tone for the entire design. Admittedly, I've never used Koffing in any of the games, and I was never fond of them in the anime, but I do have a special place for Poison-types in my heart, that's for sure. It's a newfound love, actually, starting from when I played HeartGold and really learned how to use bug types as strategic fighters. I branched out from there to love strategic-fighting Pokemon in general.

In any case, I really can't remember seeing any other Pokemon design as mentally stimulating and disturbing as this one. It's elegantly simple and so subtle, but once realization of it hit, it was impossible to get out of my head. Maybe I'm just messed up in the head like that.

On a side-note, if anybody could tell me what the blue gem on the necklace is supposed to be, that would be fantastic, because I can't for the live of me figure it out.

READ MORE - ARG! (Days 511 - 515)

AoD (Days 468 - 479)

7:50pm - Well, it's been a while since I posted. I went to Animation on Display on February 19th, con report coming soon. I also went to the Pokemon Black & White Promo Tour in San Jose on February 12th, I'll do some sort of write-up on that too.

As for actual cosplay progress, I finished Franziska (again), but part o fit fell apart (again) and I'm still now happy with it (again). I'm not sure if I'll ever get this right. I need to buy a little bit more fabric and try making the neck piece again. I might also remake the jewel for the neck piece. As much as I love the one I have, it's very heavy, and it's hard to attach and never sits right. So I'll figure something out.

I also finished my new Pikachu tail, but I'm not happy with it either. It's too thick and heavy, and there are seams everywhere. That aside, though, it's very cute. Once I accepted that it was going to flop to the side no matter what I did, it grew on me, and now I think it's pretty cute. I may try to make a thinner one before Fanime, but we'll see.

I've also confirmed that I am going to WonderCon, not sure which day though. I'll be going with my boyfriend, his brother, and his brother's fiance. I don't think we're spending the whole day together, but I'm expecting to ride there and register with them, and probably eat lunch with them, but that's all. Regardless, it was really cool of them to offer to take us. I'm not really close with my bf's brother or his fiance, so I'm actually looking forward to spending time with them outside of a family trip and in a place where we're all comfortable and have something to bond over.

I'm going to be cosplay Terra from Teen Titans (pictured right) at WonderCon. the funny thing is, I completely can't remember if I liked her or not when I watched the series. I don't remember ever really disliking her (the way I remember disliking Starfire -.-), but I don't remember loving her either (the way I loved Raven =D). I'm sure I got annoyed with her, the whole Slade thing, but, well, duh, haha.

In any case, I was torn between her and a Star Trek (season 1) Vulcan Starfleet Officer with a tribble. I've always wanted a Star Trek uniform, but I'm much more partial to The Next Generation, a season 1 female uniform is a super short dress, and there's no "set" design for a Vulcan officer. Given a choice, I would actually rather have a red or yellow uniform, but because of Spock, all of the Vulcan officer cosplays I've seen are blue. I know I could do whatever color I wanted, but it's more widely accepted as blue, and I just don't want to deal with sci-fi nerds telling me I'm wrong when I know exactly what I'm doing.

Also, all of the parts that I need to buy for Terra I can re-use in other cosplays (except the belt, which I don't know how to do yet). The long-sleeved crop-top black t-shirt I need for Gardenia, and I've been wanting a pair of yellow shorts for Pikachu. So that all works out well. As for the belt, I'll see what the thrift store can provide as far as parts to put something like that together. I believe there are hiking boots in my house than I can use, as well as gloves, and I can use my Chi wig.

I'm still trying to figure out my cosplay schedule for Fanime. I'm all over the place with it. Because I'm going to be putting together Terra, I might not make Panty and just take Terra instead. I have a backup dress for the Black and White Ball (which I originally wanted to wear Panty to). I'm also still trying to figure out if I'm getting an Artist' Alley booth, which will determine my cosplay for Friday. I will figure this out!

On a side-note, our Magikarp panel went rather splendidly at AoD, so we're going to submit it to Fanime as soon as we can. Fingers crossed!

READ MORE - AoD (Days 468 - 479)

Franziska and Pikachu (Days 457 - 467)

11:20 - So considering the amount of time that's passed since my last post, I haven't really done a lot. I made another online sale, but the person's PayPal isn't verified, and they payed with an "echeck" (or something to that effect) so I'm waiting for it to clear before I send the hat. I'm a little upset because they seemed so eager to get the hat, I made it as soon as I could and contacted them as soon as I was finished, and now I have to wait. Ah well. As long as they don't start sending me angry e-mails, it's alright. I told them that I was waiting for the payment to clear before I sent it.

I tried to buy a riding crop for Franziska on ebay, but I hit a little snag. Despite it saying "Ships to: Worldwide", apparently in the description, it said "Ships to UK only." Apparently my misunderstanding was enough to prompt the seller to send me not one, but two what I felt were very rude and condescending e-mails. I can understand her frustration at the mistake, but since her settings were officially set to worldwide shipping, ebay did not notify me at any time during the checkout process that it was UK shipping only. The whole experience left a bad taste in my mouth.

I have also contacted someone on Cosplay.com about a wig they're selling that I would like for my boyfriend's Magikarp and Matt cosplays. I need it by next weekend, and the seller hasn't responded yet. I know that it's sort of my fault for waiting so long and that people are busy, but I'm getting anxious about it. At this rate, it doesn't look like he's getting a wig. I feel like it's my fault, but in my defense, he never looked for a wig either.

Speaking of people not responding, I found a second place that sold brown riding crops, but the style that I needed appeared to only come in black, even though it said "assorted colors". So I e-mailed the seller and, you guessed it, no response. Granted, the automated e-mail that I got said it may take up to 48 business hours to respond, and I only e-mailed them yesterday, but I'm getting anxious!

So I bought a different riding crop, with a buttload of shipping costs (okay, only like $7), but it's the color I want, I'm hoping the size I want, and it will be here in 2-3 business days, so by Wednesday. My backup plan is to buy leather from JoAnn's and a wooden dowel from Micheal's and just wing it from there.

Also, I figured out why it was ridiculously hard to find the right style of riding crop in brown. It's an English riding crop. For those who know nothing about horses, horse tack(equipment) comes in two styles; English and Western. From what I remember from when I used to ride horses, in the Western Hemisphere (where I live, of course), English riding gear is mainly used for show jumping. Western tack is used for everything else. So the only riding crops I could find were either around $40, because they're for show, or the black fetish gear. Now, I'm not above buying from a fetish shop. It's whatever. But the fetish shops only sold in black, because black is "sexier" or something.

The crop I ended up buying was from a tack shop in Florida, and only cost $13, plus shipping, for a total of a little over $20. I was only looking to spend about $15, but for express shipping, I decided that I'd pay more. I just hope that it's the right size. It'll look silly if it's only like.. a foot long. Should be at least 15" to look right. So we'll see what happens.

I finally bought the foam I need to make a new Pikachu tail with the female Pikachu "heart" indent. However, for some reason, I can't seem to draw the tail correctly on paper to transfer onto the foam. I don't want to buy any more, so I can really only cut it out once, maybe twice based on the amount of foam I have. I also can't find a single female Pikachu cosplayer with the heart indent tail, so I have no one to ask about it.

This weekend is the Pokemon Black and White Tour in San Jose! (Which is why I need the new tail.) I'm so ridiculously excited, and I don't even know why. They're giving away Celebi on Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, HeartGold, and SoulSilver, in addition to the Celebi that they're giving away on the 27th in GameStop, so I'll get two! So excited...

READ MORE - Franziska and Pikachu (Days 457 - 467)

Wheeee~! (Day 456)

10:45pm - I'm so happy! I made moneys! Mom was babysitting her friend's son's dog, and I helped, so I got some of them money. Then Mom's friend bought $80 worth of hats from me. And I sold a hat online. My first online sale! Thankfully, the buyer was very understanding when I told them that it would be shipping late because the post office is closed most of the weekend (closes early on Saturday and closed all of Sunday). They payed immediately, but I told them that I wouldn't accept the payment until I shipped the package. I felt like that would be the polite thing to do. PayPal, however, doesn't care, and keeps bugging me to accept the payment. How rude.

I feel like this was a very good online selling experience, and I hope that there are many more this way. I'm going to try my best to be a good online seller and ship things on time as best as I can. Not leave people hanging, always answer e-mails promptly and clearly. You know, the good stuff, haha. I'm sure I'm bound to slip up and piss off a couple of people eventually, but I'm going to try my hardest to avoid that.

Anyway, I actually had to make one of the hats that was bought today (by Mom's friend). So I did sew today! It was just a Link (Legend of Zelda) hat, so it only took about 45 minutes to an hour, but I did enjoy sewing again.

I think I've been subconsciously putting off working on Franziska just because I don't want to work with that fabric again. It's horrible to work with, but so pretty! Ugh. One day when I'm feeling extra patient, I'll do it. Before AOD for sure still.

I'm also in the process of setting up a few photoshoots with a few different photographers. Not for cosplay, but so that they can help me learn how to pose and use facial expressions better. I'm really self-conscious, especially about my facial expressions, but I'm gonna have to get over that, haha.

READ MORE - Wheeee~! (Day 456)

New Hats! (Days 396 & 397)

So I put my fleece hats on sale for Christmas, $15 each, with some exceptions. For example, a friend of mine is buying nine hats, so I'm selling them to him for ten dollars each. 'Cause I can't ask for that much money from a friend. =[

Anyway, my sister requested a kitty hat, so I made it for her as a Christmas present. =] I'll ship it to her once I get her a couple more things (she lives in another state D=). My friend that wants nine hats wants all of the Eeveelutions, so I made one of them (an Eevee).

It didn't go that splendidly, first I cut the base piece too small. I probably should've just stopped there and cut another piece, but, no, I am persistent! Then I cut the ears too small, but it's alright because they turned out alright anyway. Then I sewed half of it inside-out -.- That was just dumb. Once I got it all together, I realized that not only is it so small, but it has no tail! Guh. So I'll be making another one. The first one is adorable anyway, and would be good for a kid. ^-^

READ MORE - New Hats! (Days 396 & 397)

Cosplay Survey II

Most Accurate Cosplay
Franziska von Karma (Ace Attorney)

Most Difficult Cosplay
Amaterasu (Okami), so much foam and fur and cardboard and hot glue guns and razors and PAIN! (Totally worth it)

Easiest Cosplay
I think Lady Mario. It just sort of fell together.

Most Out Of Character Cosplay
Chi (Chobits), I don't think I'm capable of being an airhead. D=

Most Fun-to-Cosplay
Franziska von Karma, so fun and easy to get into character.

Sexiest Cosplay
Swimmer Girl (Pokemon Platinum), it's a bikini for goodness sake.

Most Comfortable Cosplay
Clyde (Pacman), believe it or not. Sure, the head is a bit awkward, but it's not that bad at all, and the rest of it is just normal everyday clothes.

Least Comfortable Cosplay
Amaterasu (Okami), with the wig and the wig cap and the mask and the teeth (which make it so that I can't close my jaw all the way), I get a major headache by the end of the day. Chi is a close second, because the elastic for the ears cuts into the backs of my ears.

Costume with longest hotel room prep time
I think Chi (Chobits), because I have to lighten my eyebrows and get the ears, wires, and wig on.

Costume Garment you wear out of costume
The undershirt that I use for Chi

Favorite Wig/Hairstyle:
Franziska von Karma (Ace Attorney), it's so blue and beautiful.

Favorite prop
Pokeball beach ball, it's lots of fun =D

Favorite accessory
My ocarina for my Link cosplay, even though I bought it way before I decided to cosplay Link. It still counts, right?

Ever been in a group cosplay?
Eh, not officially. I've run into people cosplaying from the same series, and I cosplay with my boyfriend, but I've never followed through with a plan for more than two people.

Ever cosplayed a pairing with someone?
All the time =D Hideki/Chi (Chobits)

Pairing support=y/n?
Sure, why not?

Ever been to a photoshoot?
All the time =D So much fun.

Ever entered a contest?
Five times, Super-Con, Comic Arts and Anime Teen Expo, Kin-Yoobi Con, Holiday Anime Faire, and Animation on Display.

Ever won an award in a contest?
Four times, Comic Arts and Anime Teen Expo, Kin-Yoobi Con, Holiday Anime Faire, and Animation on Display.

The Costume you'll never finish
Navi (The Legend of Zelda and the Ocarina of Time), even though I want to so badly!

The Costume you've always wanted to make
A mascot suit, though I haven't decided what yet.

The Costume you'd wear if it weren't for your body type
It'd like to think that I don't like my body type stop me, so I'm gonna say pretty much any male character. =[

The Costume that you can't make for lack of money
Harley Quinn (Batman), unless I make the body suit on my own, which I'm not ready for.

Show us your best cosplay photo
Franziska von Karma (Ace Attorney), taken by [visual pie] studios at Yaoi-Con

READ MORE - Cosplay Survey II

The Overlock (Day 394)

I made another cat hat today, a plain pink one meant to look like the Pokemon Mew's ears. It's still going to only cost $10. As mentioned in the last post, plain cat hats will be $10, but instead, Pokemon hats with only the ears and maybe a head decoration (like Meowth's coin) will be $15 (with a few exceptions), cat ears with eyes will be $20, and Pokemon hats with eyes, ears, tail, and identifying details will be $25 - $30, depending on the amount of detail and the number of pieces. Hair ribbons will remain $3 each or two for $5, and clip-on cat ears (if I ever get around to making them) will be $5. I figure, the more range of price I have, the more likely I am to make money.

I noticed this a lot at Kin-Yoobi, but I've noticed that I do it too, People would be drawn to my booth by the Pokemon hats, but when they heard the price, they'd be discouraged, and usually buy one of the hair ribbons instead. When I'm drawn to a booth, but can't afford what drew me there, I still feel compelled to buy something from that booth. So if people can't afford $30, they go for $25, if they can't afford $25, they go for $15, etc., etc. So the more price range I have, the better off I'll be.

I also cleaned up my sewing area. I guess this would be a good time to let you know what exactly my "sewing area" is. It's an add on / alcove in the front bedroom of the house. It's probably about five feet by twelve feet, I've never measured, but it's tiny. In it is a sewing cabinet, an ironing board, and a desk. A giant desk.

For the longest time, it was just a sewing machine on the sewing table. The ironing board was in the closet, and there were a bunch of papers and my mom's awards on the desk. Then the ironing board became a permanent fixture in the room. And today, Mom and I cleared off the giant desk and put the surger/overlock machine on it that was given to us about a year ago. It's a big desk, the surger only takes up about a tenth of it, even when it's fully opened, but in all fairness, it's a small surger.

Setting up the thing was a pain though. I actually set it up on the sewing table first, with my poor sewing machine balancing precariously on the edge. I decided that a good thing to do would be to un-thread it, and then re-thread it, just to teach myself how. The instructions were really easy to understand, up until one part, but at that one part, not only was it hard to figure out what to do, it was also very hard to do it. I can't explain exactly what I had to do, but imagine threading a needle through a toilet paper roll, it was pretty similar to that.

One I got it threaded, I messed with the tension a bit (it still needs work) and got it to work on a scrap piece of fleece from one of my hats. The main reason I keep smaller pieces of fabric is so that I have something to test on when the sewing machine acts up, and now I can use them for the surger too.

The surger is also kinda dirty still, it could use a once-over with a damp cloth, and I'll have to *gulp* re-thread it. Because the thread it was given to me with is all different colors. I left it that way to learn how to thread it so that I wouldn't get the threads mixed up. Turns out it was fairly easy to thread, and I could have used all the same color, but.. That's life, I suppose.

Prior to setting up the surger, I re-organized the sewing cabinet for what feels like the thousandth time since I started sewing. I somehow cleared off several shelves inside, but most of that was because there were empty boxes in there that I was able to put stuff in that I rarely used. Like the thousands of buttons we have. No, really, I'm pretty sure there's thousands. Found some cool stuff, stabbed myself on some super sharp scissors, and organized the different kinds of pins that I have. It's probably not much different, other than the fact that my pins are now on the left side of the cabinet instead of the right, but it feels a lot cleaner, and that's always a good thing.

All my little sewing alcove needs is a dressform and that rack that you hang clothes on to steam them. I already have a steamer, I just don't use it. Oh! And a sleeve ironing board and a ham. (No, not the edible kind of ham, the sewing kind.) Oh, and I also need about twice the space that I have now. My mom has been talking about getting rid of the bed that's in the front bedroom, but it doesn't seem to be happening any time soon. If I want more room, I'll probably have to get rid of a ton of stuff in my bedroom or something, but there's a double-sized bed in there, and only a twin in here (and the computer, four chairs, two tables, and two desks). So I'm stuck for now.

Mom says she's going to try to get me a dress form for Christmas! I'm so ridiculously excited, anyone who doesn't sew (and some people who do) can't even comprehend how excited I am! If all goes as planned, I'll be getting a Dritz® Twin Fit Dressform in the Petite size. The Dritz® and Singer® dressforms are on sale, but only the "normal" sizes (small, small/medium, medium, medium/large, and large), and the small is one inch too big at the bust. It's a little upsetting, but on the bright side, I'm one inch away from being "normal" sized! I was shocked when I measured my waist and found that it was twenty-five inches and not twenty-four anymore! I'm so excited and proud of myself! A little upset, honestly, because, in theory, a twenty-four inch waist is "ideal" but that must be a lie, because a twenty-four inch waist is no bueno.

ANYWAY! If I don't get a dressform (*tear*) I'd be almost as happy to get a sleeve ironing board. A tiny one because i have tiny sleeves for tiny arms. I am so tired of trying not to make creases in sleeves and pants when ironing them. Below that, a ham would be awesome, because I hate darts enough already, so at least ironing them should be easy.

Whee! I feel like my little sewing space is almost complete! Only missing *counts on fingers* four more items! And more space... Lots more space. I'll figure something out when the time comes. Currently, my sewing area fits together like a puzzle. In order to have room near the surger, the ironing board has to be pushed to the left, but in order to open the sewing cabinet, the ironing board needs to be pushed to the right. A rolling chair will eliminate one of the chairs in there, and we have one in the garage. A dressform would most likely sit in the middle of the sewing area, and be brought out into the middle of the room when in use. I also cut my fabric in the middle of the room, haha.

As for actual planned cosplay progress, I looked more into wigs for mine and my boyfriend's Magikarp cosplays. Originally, we had budgeted for $50 wigs, because that's what the local store always charges me, but I looked at Cosplay.com's wigs, and they're a lot cheaper, even accounting for shipping. At the moment, we're considering Cosplay.com's S-02 Medium Bob Wig in dark red, and we'd take it to the local wig shop to get bangs cut into it, because I know I can't cut bangs for the life of me. Last time that I only wanted bangs cut into a wig, it was free, he also thinned the wig some, and game me a free wig head. So even if he charges a little next time, I'd still like to go back. =]

READ MORE - The Overlock (Day 394)

Day 338

I forgot to mention yesterday that the panel that my boyfriend and i want to do for AOD was approved! YAAAAAAAY! I've never been this excited to give a presentation before, HAHA.

So anyone going to AOD, you should totally come check out our panel, Magikarp: A History. "A survey of the history of the Pokemon Magikarp, including in-game capabilities, anime appearances, and physical changes throughout the years"

So today, I went to the mall with some friends. It was really good to get out of the house and see people. Well, people other than my boyfriend and mom. Don't get me wrong, I love them to death, but I see them all the time, so it was good to see more people =]

So. Yeah. No progress. WHEEEEE~!

READ MORE - Day 338

Challenger Defeated! (Days 331 & 332)

I actually did finish the Cheshire cat ares and tail Friday night. I sold them to my cousin on Saturday, along with the four heart plush things I made. Yay, money! Unfortunately, on the same day, I was introduced to the fun of playing a 12-hole ocarina, and now I want one >_< Bye bye money....

My birthday is coming up, on which I will be getting a DS, Pokemon HeartGold, and a Pokewalker, all thanks to my boyfriend and his mom o.o I feel so spoiled now. I may purchase an ocarina and a songbook before then as well, but I like my money! And I need to save it for Fanime! D= I'm so torn...

The good news is that I've given up on my secret Fanime cosplay (which shall still remain a secret)! I'd like to do it some day, but I'm not ready for it yet. I don't possess the skills, money, or tools to make it, so it will be put off. This is good news though, because the replacement cosplay cost much less. My boyfriend and I are going to cosplay Magikarp Gijinkas! They're so cute! ^-^ And, yes, we do totally and completely plan to hop around in potato sack-like bags all day. Thursday (in line) and Saturday. Yeah, we'll probably going to be too tired for the rave Saturday night, but it'll be so freakin' worth it! (And I actually haven't chosen which night I want to go to the rave...)

I'm also making my boyfriend into Ashchu, because, well, it needs to be done. I'm sure he'd much rather be Magikarp all weekend, but.... >_> He'll thank me... Someday. So he'll basically be Pikachu with Ash's hat (ears coming out of the top), yellow/blonde bangs, and Ash's vest. I'd like him to get yellow pants, but from what I've seen, they only make yellow skinny jeans >_< So, erm.. We'll see how that goes.

And I still need to finish Franziska and Miles for Yaoi Con! Barely a month away! Ahhh! I haven't even started on Miles! And my boyfriend's out of money and can't fund it! Ahhhh! Officially freaking the F* out!

READ MORE - Challenger Defeated! (Days 331 & 332)

A New Challenger Appears! (Days 329 - 330)

So I made another Snorlax hat. A friend asked if I could make two, and I already had one, so I just made another. It didn't turn out as well as the other one, and while I have some guesses as to why, I'm still not entirely sure what happened. I thought I had cut the band too small, but it looks like it's too big. That's the most puzzling part.. In addition to that, I sewed the face on the wrong way, now the super fuzzy part is on the inside, and the flat part is on the outside. Makes it more comfortable perhaps? I wouldn't know... At least it's one of those mistakes that you only notice if someone tells you.

Also, my cousin asked me to make Cheshire Cat ears and a tail because Alice in Wonderland is her school's Homecoming theme. I'm going to finish them tonight to take to ehr tomorrow, since we're visiting anyway (she lives two hours away) and I don't know when the next time we'll visit is or when her Homecoming is.

READ MORE - A New Challenger Appears! (Days 329 - 330)

Kin-Yoobi After-Party (Day 317)

The after-party went pretty much as I expected. Small, mostly people I actually knew, and a lot of fun. If there were more people (like a lot more) I'm not sure how we would have managed.

My boyfriend and I were supposed to show up at 11:30, as the party officially started at 12, but I think we got there at like 11:55 xD Oops. However, it didn't look like much setup had been done or was even needed, other than the volleyball net, which they didn't set up until after we got there anyway. We didn't help with it either, though.

The first attendee showed up at the same time as my boyfriend and I, the same attendee who was the first to show up at Kin-Yoobi, about 10 minutes early, or more, if I remember correctly. I can't for the life of me remember ever showing up early to a con that I wasn't staffing or volunteering for, but to each his own.

A couple more people showed up shortly, at most I think there were 11 of us, with at least 6 of us being staff, heh. Not our best marketing technique, but hopefully it gets better. It wasn't advertised much anyway.

We played volleyball with my Pokeball beach ball, and it went over the fence twice >_< At least it went to somewhere where we could get it without climbing the fence (we had to go around). Then when we got too hot from playing, we got in the pool and played Marco Polo. Or as we called it, "Alphonse-Edward", "Haruhi-Tamaki", "Jenny-Brock", or something else that I seem to have forgotten. Personally, my favorite was Alphonse-Edward or Haruhi-Tamaki.

There was another party going on at the same place at the same time as ours, and they thought we were crazy, and didn't get in the pool until we got out. Heh.

Eventually, we got cold in the pool, and the food was ready, so we hopped out. There were burgers and hot dogs, leftovers from Kin-Yoobi, haha. We ended up just sitting and talking, and then slowly people started to leave. I think my boyfriend and I were some of the last to leave at around 6 or 7. The party was originally supposed to go until 8, but all the attendees were gone by 5. These things happen, I suppose...

As far as cosplay goes, one girl was dressed as "Chick Pit", a variation of Pit from Kid Icarus / Super Smash Bros. Brawl, I wore a yellow shirt, jeans, and my Pikachu ears, but later changed into Swimmer Girl from Pokemon Platinum when it was warmer. My boyfriend went as Biker Guy from Pokemon Platinum, but I forgot his hat at home =/ Chick Pit later criticized me via facebook for being "half-assed" because she "will always see Pikachu" when she looks at me, and admittedly, that Pikachu was rather half-assed. However, Swimmer Girl is really a complete and accurate cosplay, except my hair, but it was a pool party, so what do you expect?

READ MORE - Kin-Yoobi After-Party (Day 317)

Franziska Jacket (Day 305)

Now, I suppose I can't really call Franziska's jacket a jacket because it has no sleeves. What it really is is a redundantly long vest. Because, really, who needs a vest that goes down to their knees? And why?

Anyway, I finished the lining for the long vest, and worked on a lot of the outer part. I sewed together the pieces except for the shoulders, and I added the yellow around the sides and bottom. I'm using thin yellow ribbon and no-sew iron-on seams. I prefer the iron-on seams because, well, you can't see any thread.. Because there isn't any! It just looks cleaner to me and you don't have to worry about the edges sticking up. But I ran out of yellow ribbon! I'm going to JoAnn's tomorrow to get more ribbon to add around the arm holes because sewing everything together. I figured it would be easier to iron on the yellow while the fabric was flat, though around the sides and bottom, it didn't really matter and I ended up sewing the pieces together before I could finish.

It's funny, putting the ribbon on the vest really reminded me of when I helped my mom make my Riza Hawkeye (FMA) costume. Probably because I was using the same yellow ribbon and applying it the same way on a similarly-colored fabric. I was actually thinking about working on that cosplay again, fixing it up and buying a wig, but I don't have the money, or anywhere to wear it, so I don't know.

I'm a little concerned about my Franziska wig, I left the bobby pin in overnight to hold the bangs up. I was hoping that I could just leave it in until the con so that it would be pretty stable the day of the con, but it seems like the weight of the pin pushed it down more than the pin actually held it up. I repositioned it and am going to check on it again tomorrow. If it holds up, I'm going to take it out during the day and see how long it holds up without the pin, to see if the bangs will last a day at a con.

I would also like to correct yesterday's post, I said that I learned to hang the wig upside-down from the Cosplay.com forums, but I remembered later (as I was trying to fall asleep) that I actually learned that trick from a ridiculously good Hiei cosplayer at Fanime. My boyfriend and I were in the elevator with her and I noticed her ridiculously amazing wig and complimented her on it and asked how she styled it to be so perfect. She said she hung it upside-down and gelled it and let it dry overnight. I really wig I could find her again to link to her from here, that wig really is worth seeing.

Also, an update on my friend's Lolita Pokemon cosplay. She decided that she doesn't want to do it. I had previously warned her that she may have to pay for fabric, but when I reconfirmed this today, she said she'd just rather not at all because she isn't in the position to be spending money. Would it be wrong of me to make the cosplay (or even just the Lolita outfit) for myself after I refused to pay the full amount to make it for her? I'm in love with the design and would really like to see it happen, but if I made it, I'd be wearing it the day she was supposed to wear it. My only argument is that she's bigger than me (as is everyone over the age of 12 >_<) and it would've taken more fabric and more money to make it for her. Ugh, I don't know what to do. =[

I'm not sure if I've done this yet, but I've figured out my costume schedule for Fanime already. I'm pretty dead-set on this one, especially since I only have three new costumes to make for it (one for me and two for my boyfriend), and one is super ridiculously easy. The only issue is that the other two are in a completely new territory for me, I have almost no idea how I'm going to make over half of them. *sigh* Anyway, this is what it looks like:
Thursday - *Secret Cosplays*, Friday - Pikachu(Me) & Ashchu (Bf), Saturday - *Secret Cosplays* (again), Sunday - Chi(Me) & Hideki(Bf), Monday - None
If all goes according to plan and I finish the secret cosplays, the only things that may change are the costume for Sunday, we may do something else during the day and save Chi and Hideki exclusively for the Black & White Ball, and then maybe we'll cosplay something simple on Monday.

READ MORE - Franziska Jacket (Day 305)

Of Hats and Wigs (Day 304)

(Random fact that no one cares about: The Day number, 234 today, finally matches up with the actual number of posts I have.)

I actually worked on cosplay today! I'm so proud of myself. My friend came over, originally so that I could start on her Pokemon Lolita outfit. We're going to make her into Mijumaru (pictured right). Unfortunately, the English name isn't out yet. Or if it is, at least I can't find it. I found a Lolita outfit that I really, really liked in New People yesterday, so we're tweaking it and changing the colors.

Unfortunately, we had no one to drive us to the fabric store, so we couldn't start on the outfit. So instead, I made another Pokemon hat! I plan to sell at Fanime if it's possible to only sell one day. I'd like to only sell Friday, but who knows. Anyway, I made a Totodile! He's quite adorable. I don't have a good picture though. He has little teeth that come down over the sides of the wearer's face =] So cute! I'll get a picture, ehh... Soon.

I've been asked a ton of times if I have a website. Am I allowed to have a website that sells things if I don't own the, umm, inspiration(?)? Anyone have any advice on this? As far as I know, I can only legally sell through places like Deviant Art or where it's abundantly clear that I am an artist and not a commercial brand. Otherwise copyright gets really, really messy.

I also styled my Franziska von Karma wig!I didn't cut it myself, had that done a while ago. I just used hair spray and gel to make the bangs stand up and fall the right way. In the picture to the left, she has a belt around her neck because I had her hanging upside-down on the shower curtain rod so that I could gel the top part of the bangs and let them dry in such a way that clearly defies gravity. I little trick I'm sure I picked up somewhere in the vast forums of Cosplay.com. They're almost perfect. I'm glad that I got them cut longer than I thought I needed to. I may have to clip them back to get them to stay exactly where I want them to, but I may be able to do it in a way that hides the clip. That would be really awesome. If not, I can just push them out of my face all day >_> Really. Not annoying in the least. -.-

READ MORE - Of Hats and Wigs (Day 304)

Kin-Yoobi Con 2010 (Days 296 & 297)

Ah, I'll try to keep this as cosplay-related as possible, but I didn't do too much cosplay-wise because I was staffing.

I cosplayed at Pikachu for both days, and as usual, it got an amazing response. I still never expect it though. I'm like "It's just Pikachu!" and they're like "PIKACHUUUUUUUUUUU!" o.o

I did get my Artist's Alley booth, and had people to watch it while I staffed. Luckily, it was also in a place where I could see it from the stage and keep an eye on things. I made a nice bundle o' cash, which I intend to put toward Comic-Con 2011. Back to stalking the site every day for registration to be up. I also got a lot of commission requests for hats, e-mails have been sent out for those so that I can start compiling a list of things to do. However, I'm not starting work on any of them for a couple of weeks because I need a break!

During the date, I got to see a bunch of my cosplay friends, one of whom I got to meet in person for the first time ^-^ It was pretty funny, since I didn't even recognize him when I first talked to him, I just wanted a hug from the Roy Mustang cosplayer >_< I've noticed that I'm a lot more social when my boyfriend's not around =/ This is probably not good. He's just over-protective, and I don't want to make him jealous, so I just don't talk to people as much.. This needs to be fixed.

I don't know how well the Cosplay Cafe went, because I decided not to participate in it, I only helped set up. I know that we made a nice amount of money off of selling the sweets though, so at least there's that.

I got to run the cosplay contest, with the help of my mommy and aunt. The judging panel didn't turn out exactly how I wanted it, but pretty darn close. I believe that the best and fairest cosplay contest judging panels consist of three different people: A celebrity judge who knows a minimal about of both anime/tv/games and cosplay, a judge who knows a tons about anime/tv/video games, and a judge who knows a ton about sewing. We kinda had that planned out, but something went wrong and we lost our sewing expert somehow (seriously don't know where she went). So we ended up with two of my cosplay friends (acting as one judge), Robert Axelrod (voice of Lord Zedd from the Power Rangers), and my aunt "who just likes to look at cool stuff." =] Of course they didn't judge exactly how I wanted them to, and people ended up winning multiple awards (I asked them to avoid that, but oh well =/). In any case, the audience and most of the cosplayers seemed pleased with how things turned out. I of course wanted my friend Foxberry to win, because I know exactly how much time and effort she put into her costume, and how amazing it is, but that's exactly why I wasn't a judge =/ I'm not impartial enough. Two of my other friends did win awards though, so that was kinda cool ^-^ Somehow the prizes for the cosplay contest disappeared though, so that was really upsetting to both me and the winners. Ugh..

The Cosplay Dating auction was ridiculously fun, as usual. The emcee was hilarious and really good at getting people to bid, lol. I actually got to buy someone and be auctioned off, since my boyfriend wasn't there to protest. I told him I was going to participate, but I'm not sure he believed me >_> Showed him. I bought a Lieutenant Surge (for $9), which was hilarious and ridiculously appropriate, as I was Pikachu. I didn't get to hang out with him much though, since I was also bought. When I went on stage and was asked to tell a little about myself, I Pika-squeaked into the microphone lol. The audience "Aww'ed" and "squee'd" for a little while. I went for $40 and was tied for the highest amount o.o It was ridiculously flattering, really. The bidding was started at $3 for everybody, and it flew up to $11 for me in a matter of seconds. It went up slowly after that and then flew up, it went from $25 to $30 to $31 to $40. The guy that won me said he would've gone up to $100 =O I wish he did, because I really wanted to break last year's record of $100 >_< Oh well. I was disappointed at how low some people went for though. A couple of really cute and pretty girls, and one of the models from the fashion show went for the starting price of $3. I was just in shock. They definitely should've gone for more, I don't know what happened.

Afterward, there was an unofficial anime party in the back hall, and it was ridiculously fun. Then the Anime Ball started, and while trying to teach my buyer how to Waltz just for the heck of it, I fell and hit my knee and my chin. The traction on the heels of my shoes had completely worn off somehow. We got off of the dance floor and went to play Brawl with a couple of my friends instead >_<

And that's about it cosplay-wise. I'll have a full-report on my Convention Blog soon. =]

READ MORE - Kin-Yoobi Con 2010 (Days 296 & 297)

More Hats! (Day 292)

Trying really hard to get back into posting again.

Today I made two more Pokemon hats! ^-^ A Chikorita and a Cyndaquil. I decided that I'm just going in numerical order here, since sometimes I can't decide what to make next, and then I get overwhelmed and just don't work on anything. I have seven more to make and only four days to make them. I might be able to pull it off if I make two a day like I did today. We shall see >_>

Wig styling appointment is tomorrow! Yay! I found an adorable hair style that I think will work well (shown left). The wig I got is really blonde (as in near-yellow) and is a little wavier, but I think it'll work. (This wig is for Pikachu.) Also, I'm bringing in my Franziska wig to see how much it would cost for them to cut it, because they told me it might be free, since it's only bangs.

READ MORE - More Hats! (Day 292)

Gah! (Days 279 - 291)

I'm getting worse and worse about posting. Probably because I'm getting worse and worse about cosplaying. I've been really ridiculously swamped with Kin-Yoobi coming up in a week, as well as some other stuff. However, I have been making a selling Pokemon hats. To date, I've sold 5 hats (two Drifloons, a Mew, a Lugia, and a Squirtle). I really loved that Squirtle and that Lugia.. I made another Squirtle to sell at the con, but that Lugia was so much work (probably why I loved it so much), I don't think I'll be able to make another one for the con. We'll see.

Kin-Yoobi meetings this Tuesday and Thursday, wouldn't be surprised if we meet Wednesday too for goo measure. Somewhere in there I have to make a batch of sugar cookies, two cakes, and a bunch of cupcakes for Kin-Yoobi's cosplay cafe... Yup. This will be an interesting time management challenge. I also have to keep making hats. I have at least six more to make, but 12 if I still want to do all of the ones I originally planned to do (chyeah, not gonna happen). I worry that I may sell out at the con, but.. Oh well. At least then I'll have MONAY! Monay is nice...

Speaking of money, I just put down money for a wig at a local wig shop called Martin's Beauty Supply. this store is a personal favorite of mine for a few reasons. First, it's the only wig store I've shopped at other than the Halloween store (and we just won't talk about Halloween store wigs..). Second, they give me amazing deals. When I bought my Chi wig, it was supposed to be $60 - $70, but when I told them that that was a little out of my price range, they gave it to me for $55. Also, styling is included with the wig purchase, so essentially free. In addition to all of that awesomeness, I have a friend that cosplays whose name is Martin xD.

Anyway, the wig is for my Pikachu costume, which seems to be, err, well, evolving as time goes on (LOL). For those who haven't seen (which hopefully is most people), my Pikachu costume started out as a pair of jeans, a yellow t-shirt, ears, and a tail. I've since gone through three pairs of ears, and my newest Pikachu version is turning out to look something like a Pika-maid. And to think I used to dislike Pika-maids, though my opinion of them changed long before I became one myself. In all honesty, my Pikachu probably would've stayed at it's last stage (as seen at Fanime 2010) if it weren't for the fact that part of my purpose at Kin-Yoobi is, well, eye candy. Which is very flattering, and believe it or not, not offending in the least to me, haha. I rather enjoy being trophied, so this works out well for me. I don't think the Pika-maid will become a regular thing unless it gets a really good response from both guys and girls. I for some reason thought that my last version of Pikachu would get more negative attention from girls (mainly because it involves short shorts and heels), but the response was quite positive ^-^ So that's the version that will probably stay.

In other news, I'm addicted to Super Mario Galaxy. Yup. That's about it.

READ MORE - Gah! (Days 279 - 291)

Pokeballs Days 267 - 271

Eck, I have to get back into posting. It really is a good motivator, I've just been feeling really busy.

But today, I actually did cosplay stuff! I spray painted half of a red beach ball to white so that I can detail it tomorrow or Saturday to look like a Pokeball for my Santa Cruz cosplay beach gathering on Saturday, at which I will be Swimmer Girl from Pokemon Platinum. Yes, it's a really easy costume, but hey, it's a bathing suit, and I'm actually putting decent effort into the beach ball at least, haha.

Also, I made little regular-sized Pokeballs out of styrofoam, pretty much for the heck of it. I made a great ball, a net ball, and a dive ball. They're not perfect, but I think they're adorable.

Tomorrow, I'm having a party with some friends from my old Improv class, so I won't be doing anything.

Then Saturday is my beach gathering! I'm quite excited. There are more people going to the gathering than there are coming to my party. Heh. My friends kinda suck T_T Too busy for little ol' me. Oh well.

READ MORE - Pokeballs Days 267 - 271