Self-Promotion Sunday!!! BIG NEWS!!!

Hello Fellow Readers!!! A LOT to report today! I'm fresh off of LockCity Comic Con (more on that on my Tuesday Con Review), and now it's time to prep for BronyCon! And here's the big news! First off, ALL of my Art Show submissions were accepted. Definitely make sure you check them out! Here's my blog link to ALL the art show items: BronyCon Art Show Items

Next up, my former partner will be selling buttons with my Spike Hamilton inspired design, which I know has been a big hit before. He will also have 5 of my mini princesses at his table up for sale. Definitely make sure you check those out, as well as all his creations. I owe him for his help with making the paper crafts while my hand was injured. Check out his booth on the map below.

Last, a good friend of mine, Kitty Sapphire, found out she got in last minute! She's been super pumped, and I've been doing my best to help her. She's letting me display a few items at her table as well! I'll also be helping her out from time to time, although I will have some other obligations during BronyCon (specifically, the Cosplay Fashion Show!!!) Check out her booth on the map below.

Now, onto some new items! Some of which will be at BronyCon, some will be at TerrifiCon, which is the week after BronyCon. I will be at booth A65, and it looks like I will be right next to a convention friend of mine, so I can't wait. This is going to be a much bigger con, so I am super pumped up. I will have a friend of mine selling with me, although it will primarily be my items. And speaking of items, check out my newest pieces! (Map of TerrifiCon layout is below!)

First up, I am working on these Mario Princess (and Bowsette) stained glass paintings. Honestly, I came up with this idea on a whim, and it's actually turning out pretty cool. I like it so far. I need to finish up the borders, but otherwise these guys are just about done.

Next up, I have three new pony inspired designs. I have two Nightmare Rarity Cutie Mark Crew pieces, and two Fluttershy Cutie Mark Crew pieces. Lastly, a piece that I have been working on for some time, my Hamilton Autumn Blaze! She took FOREVER, but she is super epic!!

Con Review Tuesday!

Good morning my fellow readers! Hope everyone is surviving the summer, wherever you are. To any readers who might be in Cali or NoLa, I hope you are all safe! Readers who might be gearing up for TrotCon, I hope you enjoy and I hope to join you next year! In the meantime, since I am still doing my internship, I have been doing smaller conventions, mostly one-day conventions. I remember in my last SPS post, I mentioned how big a supporter I am of smaller conventions. I still stand by this statement, especially because I am seeing more and more one day conventions being run by libraries, which I think is awesome. Libraries are becoming a forgotten resource to everyone in this day and age of computers and internet. But honestly, these places are where some of these smaller, local conventions can start before they get bigger and bigger. As I said last week, smaller conventions are a great resource for those who want to go to conventions, but are unable to for whatever reason. There are people who might have some sort of physical disability that might make it hard to deal with larger crowds, or they might have a fear of large crowds or get claustrophobia. One thing I have noticed at smaller cons are usually also kids who might have some other kind of disability in one way, shape or form. But these kids get SUPER excited and it's great for them because they get to feel like they are taking part in something, without getting overstimulated. So, make sure you all support your local cons! No matter the experience, they are worth it just to see the kiddies!

So speaking of local cons, this past Sunday was MinCon for me. This was one I hadn't attended before, but I saw it was free, with the only cost for artists being to donate an item for their cosplay contest. I'd say that's a pretty easy fee, and I was able to donate one of my Kirby figurines for the contest. It was in Long Island, which is normally a slight hike for me (no worse than when I go out to Mohegan Sun for CT Gamer Con), but since I was already in the city last night, it wasn't horrible. Now, any sales for this would be seen as a win, because I didn't have to pay anything. But I was a bit disappointed. Despite a LOT of foot traffic (I say this again, SUPPORT LOCAL CONS), I didn't make much, barely breaking $45, which was a disappointment. I honestly thought I would have an advantage, given that when I did a lap around the AA, I saw I was the ONLY ONE who had figurines. Everyone else had prints, stickers, and things like keychains or pins. Now, while I DID have my buttons, I didn't bring much by way of 2D stuff because I was unsure of the set-up and how much room I would have. When dealing with a new layout, I always believe to just stick to what your bigger sellers are, and for me, that's my figurines. Makes sense, right? So, I was a bit sad to not get a lot of sales. I also realized that for a smaller con, I need to get a smaller table runner--my banner ran ALL the way around my table, since it was so short. Might not be a bad investment in general. However, in general, it was a slight disappointment. I didn't take a pic of my set-up for this time around, which I know I should do for future reference, especially since I got two one day cons coming up in the next few months or so.

However, the lesson of this should be for everyone thinking of a small con: while keeping stock limited, make sure you have a tiny bit of everything, and keep supporting your small cons!

Happy Fluttershy Friday!!!! (#124)

It's been a while, my fellow Fluttershy Fans! I have been trying to find some new Fluttershys, specifically the one I am about to show you, which was a B**CH to find! But also, I know a bunch of places are gearing up for cons, including those who are going to be at the last BronyCon. While I might not be selling, I will have a fair amount of artwork up for sale in the Art Show, as well as two items in the charity auction. More on that on a SPECIAL Self-Promotion Sunday edition this week, so stay tuned!

Now, on to Fluttershy! I am up to 124 of these girls--I know, I know, I've slowed down a bit since I hit the big 1-0-0! But, this girl I was looking for in particular, because I saw similar versions of the other Mane 6 at Target and thought they were adorable. But every time I went looking for Flutters, she was nowhere to be found. In fact, for the longest time, she wasn't even on Amazon! Come on Hasbro! What's the deal? Why did it take so long to get her out? Either way, here she is! This brand on Equestria Girls minis. She's more rubbery than the other EQGM, but she's still adorable. She's got the same sort of style as the last EQG I got, which was a look I really liked. She has a shawl, which seems fitting for our girl, and her eyes seem a bit bigger than the other minis, but I like that style.

Who will be next? What will BronyCon have in store for me? I guarantee I will have more Flutters after that convention! So stay tuned!

Movie Review Monday Swinging In!

Welcome readers! It's been a while since I got a chance to do a movie review since "Rocketman" because there hasn't been much I wanted to see. But, this week, we finally have the closure of Phase 3 with the new Spider-Man movie swinging in, "Spider-Man: Far From Home." This is one of the shortest MCU films in the entire franchise, which after the long-haul of "Endgame" is probably a relief to some of us. Regardless, after that emotional rollercoaster, "Far From Home" is what we all needed. So spin that web and take a seat! Let's review!

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"Spider-Man: Far From Home" is the second solo film that features Tom Holland as the webslinger Peter Parker ("How many spider-people are there?" "Save it for ComicCon, kid!") and it basically brings us full circle in the MCU. We start off with a bit of catch-up via student news, and giving an official name to the events of the snap, now known as the Blip. We also see a homage to the fallen Avengers, most notably Parker's mentor, Tony Stark. And there is a lot of Stark/Iron Man homage in this film, which is probably meant to mirror the fact that Peter still feels he is standing in Tony's shadow. Fun fact: the first "Iron Man" movie and this one are only 3 minutes apart in length, with "Iron Man" being 126 minutes and "Far From Home" being 129 minutes. There's a part of me that doesn't believe this is coincidence, to try and show that Peter is OVERCOMING the shadow that Tony cast. 

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In this movie, we see Peter's internal struggle with being torn between being a superhero and being a normal kid, which is a switch than when we first saw him in "Homecoming." Remember how he was all gungho about being an Avenger? I guess being Blipped out gave him a change of heart.

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Peter tries to enjoy some time being a normal kid while on a European trip with some of his classmates, but things keep happening that prevent that, not the least of which is Fury hijacking the field trip in order to see if Peter will help new guy Quentin Beck aka Mysterio. And Beck TOTALLY seems like he's just there to help, almost becoming someone who Peter can talk to. Oh ye of little faith...

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Overall, this movie was perfect to close out Phase 3. After the emotion that everyone felt from "Endgame," this was what we needed in order to get us going again. While this definitely did not give away future plans for Phase 4, the end credits (which include some great cameos) give us hope for something epic to come, and still leave the audience in suspense. It will be hard, however, for the future to live up to "Endgame." The throwbacks help complete the cycle by showing us things we remember from multiple movies, especially bringing us ALL the way back to where it began, "Iron Man." There are some FABULOUS one liners, and the awkward romance makes you feel nostalgic for your own high school experiences...maybe...

This is definitely the summer film we have been waiting for, a great palette cleanser for the MCU. It's definitely one I would go see again.

And one more thing: I AM WAITING FOR A BLACK DAHLIA NECKLACE!

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Self-Promotion Sunday, CON COMING!!!!

Hey everyone! I hope everyone had a lovely 4th of July (if you celebrate that holiday) and, like me, are pretty much gearing up for your con season. Summer seems to be the time when cons just are non-stop. I got two cons in July that I will be selling at, both are one-day cons. Given that I am doing my second (AND LAST) internship for my graduate program, I am fine with this.

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Anyway, so the two cons I got coming up are MinCon and LockCity ComicCon. I've never done MinCon before so that will be interesting, but LockCity and I have a little history. This con is great, even for a one day. The guy who runs it is a nice guy, always takes care of his people. I heard he is stepping down, which made me sad, but he says the con will continue and it's being taken over by someone who he has been training and working with to take over. So, that's a good thing. Honestly, both of them are worth looking into. I believe in one-day cons with a passion. This is how cons get started, this is how you build more fans, and honestly, for those of you who can't deal with bigger crowds, small, local cons are a life saver. Because you get all the fun of the convention and not have to deal with the huge crowd.

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So make sure you check out the cons! Click on the links!:

MinCon: July 13th

LockCity Con: July 27th

Now, onto the merch. Not too much of an update since last week since, like I said, I just started my 2nd internship for my graduate program. This is the 2nd one I have to do, and it's the last one. And this year, oh my goodness people, my school DIDN'T SCREW UP MY ASSIGNMENT!!! (Last year, it was a TRAINWRECK! I had to threaten to SUE to get any sort of result.)

But! I do have a few minor items to share. First, I added more purses, two more princess designs (Bonnie and Derpy), and then I made a Fluttershy G5 alicorn variant, with two different backings. All of these bags are up on my Etsy page, and are great little pieces for those who might want a purse for a convention.

Also, I have finally finished up my second Mablecorn figurine and another Dr. Who figure. I've been so wrapped up with the internship, as well as finishing a few items for the BronyCon charity auction and art show, that I have been a bit preoccupied in trying to finish a few pieces. I am still trying to finish up a Shuri doll and my Aurora knight doll.

Next, FINALLY finished this love Care Bear, meant to be a representative of Valentine's Day. I think I need to stop these bears, because despite the cuteness, no one seems to be big on them. I hope there is some love for these guys at one of my next cons.