Name that Pokémon! A Fun New Game for Cutoff Crafts' Pokémon Summer Celebration

Cutoff Crafts is hosting a Pokémon Summer Celebration this July! On Saturday, July 12th, 2025, Cutoff Crafts will be at the Rathdrum Craft and Farmer’s Market from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. hosting a Pokémon Celebration. As always there will be tons of free coloring pages, activity sheets, games, contests, giveaways, and of course, packs of Pokémon for sale! 

One of the new games we will be playing is Name that Pokémon! Name that Pokémon is a tricky guessing game where contestants have to correctly identify a pokémon whose name matches the requirements each round. Each round a new pokémon is chosen by Michelle and clues are provided. Some rounds may have more than one correct answer. The first correct answer earns the player a point. After all of the rounds are done, the points will be tallied. The players with the top three scores each win a prize.

There are three main styles of questions; First and Last Letter, Word Scramble, and Letter Count.

First and Last Letter is where Michelle says, “this Pokémon starts with the letter “C” and ends with the letter “D.” (The letters change depending upon the pokémon, of course!) Players familiar with the classic 151 from Kanto may immediately think of Charizard. Players familiar with the newer regions might guess Capsakid. Ceruledge is also a tempting guess because of that hard “d” sound near the end, but it actually ends with an “e” and so does not count. Either Charizard or Capsakid is correct and will score the player a point.

During a Word Scramble round Michelle will hold up a sign with a pokémon’s name that has been scrambled into an anagram. Players must decipher which pokémon’s name has been scrambled. For instance: “Azaryuaq” would be Rayquaza. The first player to successfully identify the pokémon gets a point.

Letter Count is a type of round where Michelle will provide the first letter of the pokémon’s name and the number of letters in the name. Players have to guess a pokémon that matches those requirements. There may be more than one correct answer. For instance: This pokémon’s name starts with the letter “S” and is four letters long. Either Seel, Snom, or Sawk would earn the first player to identify the pokémon a point. Skrelp and Starly are just a bit too long and would not fit the four letter requirement, while Xatu does not start with an “S” and so also does not earn a point.

Players with the top three point scores will be awarded a first, second, or third place prize at the end of the game. Name that Pokémon is free to enter. Players must answer using only their own knowledge, using an electronic device to solve the puzzles will result in disqualification.

What to Expect at our Pokemon Summer Celebration!

Cutoff Crafts is heading to the Rathdrum Craft and Farmers Market to host our Pokémon Summer Celebration on July 12, 2025 from 9am to 2pm! There is so much awesomeness happening that we have decided to write a blog about everything fans can expect to find!

At the Rathdrum Lions Club, the Rathdrum Craft and Farmers Market is throwing a huge kids day event, complete with corn hole games, karaoke, and a Pokémon Summer Celebration! Yup! We were asked to bring all things Pokémon to kids day and we agreed!

This is going to be our biggest 5 hour celebration yet! We will be bringing back our much loved games but also bringing in new games we are hoping fans will enjoy!

Our Pokémon Summer Celebration will be starting at 9am inside the Rathdrum Lions Club building. The first 20 people to arrive will receive a free Pokémon Swag Tin! These tins have sleeves, stickers, a random Pokémon card, Pokémon fruit snacks, and more! Don't worry, if you miss the freebie, we will have Mystery Loot Bags for sale!

Just like before, we will have coloring pages, activities, and crafts for all Pokémon fans to color and create! These are free to make. Just sit down, crab a crayon pack, and start having fun! Be sure to collect your art at the end of the day to take home and show off to your family and friends.

We will also have a small booth at the celebration featuring our Pokémon collection! Fans can buy, booster packs, ETBs, CCBBs, tins, pins, earing, keychains, lanyards, plushies, and more1 It is a one stop Pokémon Shop. Note: we are bringing some massive booster pack names including Destined Rivals, 151, Prismatic Evolutions, Evolving Skies, and more!

GAMES

Throughout the day, Cutoff Crafts will be hosting poke-tastic games where players can win amazing prizes! Promo cards, booster packs, posters, and more are all up for grabs! Many of these games are Cutoff Crafts Exclusive creations! Please Note: Not all of these games may occur. 

Game 1: Find the Energy
Find the Energy is a game where players circle a table. Ahsoka will drop a pile of energy cards face down on the table. Players will place one hand behind their back. When Ahsoka yells "Search", players will turn over one card at a time. If they find an energy they don't have, they place the card face up in front of them. If it is one they already have, they place it face down back in the pile of energy cards. The goal: Find 9 different energy cards from the pile ! When a player has all 9 energy cards, they raise their hand and yell, "Gotta Catch Them All!" Everyone will stop collecting. Ahsoka will come over and inspect their pile for all 9 different energy cards. If they succeed, they win a prize!

Game 2: Find Pikachu
Find Pikachu is a game where players circle a table. Ahsoka will drop 500 cards face down on the table. Players will place one hand behind their back. When Ahsoka yells "Search", players will turn over one card at a time. If they find Pikachu, the player will raise their hand and yell "PIKACHU!" Everyone will stop collecting. Ahsoka will come over and inspect the card. If the player found Pikachu and not a Ditto, that player wins a Pikachu promo card!

Game 3: Who's in the Pokeball?
At the beginning of the day, we will show everyone a pokeball. Inside is a Pokémon card. Players will be given a chance throughout the day to guess the Pokémon inside the ball. Occasionally, we will give hints about the Pokemon in the pokeball and allow players to make another guess. This game will continue until someone guesses the Pokémon inside. The person who guesses correctly wins the card inside! If no one guesses the Pokémon, no one wins the card.

Game 4: Name That Pokemon (NEW GAME)
Name That Pokemon is a game where players have a chance to win a fun reverse holo, holo, or cool art card! Michelle will provide a word scramble, first and last letter, or other word puzzles players have to solve. The person with the most correct answers at the end of the game wins the first place prize card! We will also have a second and third place prize card!  Must be present to win!

Game 5: Don't Say Pokeball (NEW GAME)
This game is simple, Ahsoka and Michelle cannot say "Pokeball". If we say it, the first person to raise their hand and call us out gets a random Pokeball sticker. Players must collect different Pokeball stickers to win a prize! The more you collect the better the prize!

In order to play: Make a purchase at our booth and receive the Pokeball Card. Then start listening and collecting. Cards are while supplies last.

Game 6: Pokemon Pack Battle (NEW GAME)
Pokemon Pack Battle is a special game for all the Pokemon fans. This game requires a ticket to play. Tickets can be purchased here: https://cutoffcrafts.square.site/product/cutoff-crafts-pok%C3%A9mon-pack-battle-tournament-ticket/868

How this works:
1. Purchase a Cutoff Crafts' Pack Battle Tournament Entry Ticket. Every Battler needs a ticket.
2. Come to the Rathdrum Craft and Farmers Market for our Pokémon Summer Celebration.
3. At 12:45 we will start checking tickets and preparing for the Pack Battle Tournament! All players must be checked in and ready to battle by 12:59pm. The Battle will start at 1pm!

How to play Cutoff Crafts' Pack Battle Tournament:

Cutoff Crafts will supply the packs for each battle. 

1. Players will sit across or next to each other.
2. A member of Cutoff Crafts will give each player a pack. Packs will be featuring trick or trades, with the final battle featuring a fun Japanese pack. (Packs are subject to change)
3. Once a member of Cutoff Crafts says "Battle", players will rip open their packs and display their cards. A member of Cutoff Crafts will decide who is the winner using a ranking sheet we will have available. The player with the top card wins the battle and moves onto the next round. The player who did not win, steps away but keeps the cards they have opened.
4. The next round will be the same. Players will face off with a sealed pack of Pokémon cards. This will continue until one player remains. The last remaining player will be declared the Winning Battler and receive The Grand Prize, which is One Prismatic Evolutions Booster Pack!

There is so much happening at this event with surprises, games, giveaways, and more. It will be a okemon Summer Celebration like no other! We hope to see you at the Rathdrum Craft and Farmers Market at the Rathdrum Lions Club, July 12, 2025 from 9am to 2pm!

We are heading to Lilac City Comicon!

This weekend, you will see us at a LARGE booth at the Lilac City Comicon! We will be hosting a 20x10 endcap near the Batmobile! Da na na na na na na na CUTOFF CRAFTS!

Like always, we are heading in with amazing geeky handmade jewelry and crochet!. Need Vaporeons to wear to the next Pokémon Game or a crochet Pikachu? We have you covered! All earrings are on sterling silver hooks and nickel free! Crochet is made from carefully selected yarn and crocheted with love by Ahsoka.

We are also heading in with a large selection of Pokémon cards and booster packs! We will be featuring Destined Rivals, Glory of Team Rocket, 151, Prismatic Evolutions, Evolving Skies, Journey Together, Temporal Forces, Obsidian Flames, and many more. There will be a wall of this amazing collection. We will also have a limited number of ETBs and our ever popular CCBBs.

What is a CCBB?

A CCBB is a Cutoff Crafts Booster Box. These CCBBs contain one (1) Evolving skies, 151, or prismatic evolution booster pack. The CCBB also comes with one random Japanese booster pack, 6 random booster packs, 4 Trick or Trades booster packs, 1 pack of sleeves, and 5 fun Pokémon themed stickers! We have limited sets of these and it is first come first serve.

While Pokémon will be an awesome find, we will also have other single trading cards and booster packs featuring One Piece, Solo Leveling, Sword Art Online (SAO), Bleach, Yu-Gi-Oh, My Hero Academia, Black Clover, DC, Minecraft, and more! If you wish to see the single cards we have for sale, be sure to ask to see our binders full of amazing cards.

Of course, trading cards are not the only items we will have at this large booth. Be sure to pick up a fun bag clip at our booth to commemorate your time at the coolest Spokane Comicon! We will have Hello Kitty, Solo Leveling, One Piece, Bleach, Spider Man, Stitch, Dragon Ball Z, and more. These Bag Clips are perfect to place on backpacks and keychains to show off your love of all things geeky.

Continuing the geeky theme, we are also bringing our huge line of RPG dice! From our name brand mystery loots to our gemstone collection, our dice will be feature at the head of the table, sparkling in the beautiful light! We will have crackle, liquid core, inclusion, glow in the dark, hollow, solid metal, gemstone, and more. We are also bring a new mystery loot! We will be selling d20 loots with a chance to get a really epic D20! One lucky person may even find a stone D20 in their mystery loot! Good luck!

These highlights are a small selection of what you will find at our booth! We will have so much more! There will also be our amazing pin collection, keychains, lanyards, stones, fossils, and crystals, as well as other geeky items and toys. We will even have a $5 Tower filled with mystery loots featuring Sonic, Stitch, Monster Hight, Nightmare before Christmas, Lord of the Rings, Avatar the Last Airbender, Deadpool, Five Nights at Freddy's, Pokémon, Star Wars, and more!

Also, let's not forget the amazing SpongeBob SquarePants 300 Episode DVD Giveaway!! The drawing for this collection will be happening on June 7, 2025 at around 2pm! We figured this will give you plenty of time to get this autographed, if you so desire. So be sure to get your name in the drawing. You must be present to win! 

Note: this is for the collection only. The autograph is not included.

Lilac City Comicon is June 7, 2025 from 10am to 6pm and June 8 from 10am to 4pm at the Spokane Convention Center!  We hope to see you there!!!

SpongeBob SquarePants DVD Giveaway

 

The introverted cynic, with selfish tendencies, brings his sassy tentacles to Lilac City Comicon June 7 and 8, 2025! Yup! The voice of Squidward. the iconic stick-in-the-mud from SpongeBob SquarePants, will be signing autographs for all his adoring fans. We all welcome Rodger Bumpass! I will be honest, I just wan to hear him laugh. :D

Lilac City Comicon will be held at the Spokane Convention Center on June 7 and 8 . More information about Lilac City Comicon can be found on their site here.

To celebrate the greatest character in the SpongeBob SquarePants universe, we here at Cutoff Crafts will be hosting a massive giveaway! Thanks to SKGaleana.com, one lucky winner will receive SpongeBob SquarePants: The Best 300 Episodes Ever on DVD (msrp $50)!

How to Enter for a chance to Win:

Entries are so easy, even Patrick Star could do it! Simply comment on our posts! There is a possibility of earning four Entries into the SpongeBob giveaway.

• Earn one Entry when you comment on this blog. Be sure we know your name or we won't be able to place it in the lot as an entry.
• Earn one Entry by commenting on our Facebook Post.
• Earn one Entry by commenting on our Instagram Post.
• Earn one Entry by placing your name in the box at the event.

Online Entries end on June 6, 2025 at 11:59pm. In person Entries start at 9am  and end at 2pm on June 7. At 2pm on Saturday June 7, 2025, we will begin the drawing!  Many will enter, only one will win. Good Luck!

NOTE: For this drawing, you must be present to win. Meaning you must be at our booth at 2pm during the Lilac City Comicon. If you are not present and your name is called, you forfeit your win and another person will be chosen.

Follow the map to find our booth near the Bat Mobile"

Please be sure to read the terms and conditions before entering.

10th Anniversary of the Inland NW Toy Show Classic

Inland NW Toy Show Classic has announced their next event, May 10th, 2025 in Bay 3 at the Spokane Interstate Fair & Expo Center! They will be hosting special drawings and giveaways at the show to celebrate their 10th anniversary! Yup, they have officially been supplying the area with an epic place to buy vintage toys, recent toys, and all sorts of collectables for 10 years!

The Inland NW Toy Show Classic 10th Anniversary Spring Show boasts almost 100 different vendors with hundreds of tables! And among all these epic vendors, Cutoff Crafts will be there with several fun toys, keychains, pins, and trading cards! 

We will be featuring Pokémon Booster Packs and single cards from 151, Evolving Skies, Prismatic Evolutions, and more! Simply ask to see our single card collection or purchased the booster packs displayed on our trading card wall/ Of course, Glory of Team Rocket will also be making an appearance!

We will have Anime Bag Clips from Solo Leveling, Dragon Ball Z, Bleach, One Piece, Hello Kitty, and More! These official licensed mystery loot bag clips are large vinyl figures on a plastic clip. Basically they are epic keychains!

We will also have Mystery Loot Bitty Pop Funko Pops from Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Five Nights at Freddy's, Disney Princess, Avatar the Last Airbender, and Nightmare Before Christmas! These Bitty Pop figures come in an adorable case and stand only 7/8th of an inch.

All of our items will be displayed on three tables at the show on May 10th from 9am to 4pm. We will have so many cool finds that you will not want to miss our booth! From Star Wars action figures, to Legos, to trading cards, there will be something for everyone! 

And speaking of everyone, the first 750 costumers who attend the Inland NW Toy Show Classic10th Anniversary event  will receive a free Toy Show bag! These bags will be handed out to attendees, while supplies last. These will be perfect to carry all the cool stuff that you will buy. Also, if you buy a lot of toys, the Toy Show will provide a place to check in your items to keep them safe while you shop more booths!

In addition to their special anniversary edition bag, multiple prize drawings, and White Elephant ride, there will be a FREE PRIZE WHEEL for kids 12 & Under! Of course this is only while supplies last, so early bird entry is recommended for all the freebies and giveaways.

Come find that collectable you're looking for at the Inland Northwest's largest toy show!!

Admission Fee (at door only):

9-10am Early Bird $10.00

10-4pm General Public $5.00

Kids 12 & under are FREE

We look forward to seeing you there!

How to Make a Pokeball Planter for Easter

Easter is right around the corner! Easter baskets are a wonderful tradition celebrating the joy of spring and the return of all the growing things. Easter baskets are given to children on Easter, loaded with chocolate and spring-time treats. When I was growing up, we would make our Easter baskets up the night before to look like empty inviting nests. We left the baskets loaded with colorful “grass” in prominent places. That way when the Easter Bunny came by the house, he would be encouraged to leave chocolate and candy in the baskets! In the morning we would race over to see what the Easter Bunny left. All the candy was gently pulled out and set aside. Then, we would use our Easter baskets to gather up all the dyed Easter eggs that had been hidden around the house and the yard by the Easter Bunny. After the Easter egg hunt, we would ravenously devour the candy.

It has been a long time since I made an Easter basket. I was at a Walmart and saw this really fun Pokéball Easter basket. I try not to eat too much candy these days, so I didn’t want to fill it with chocolate bunnies or candy eggs. Those little Reese’s Pieces eggs are dangerously tasty! The Easter aisle was also full of all kinds of toys, fidgets, small plushies, activity books, and even trading cards to put in Easter baskets. I was quite surprised! Apparently, Easter baskets are now more like Christmas stockings, and often include toys as well as treats. It’s a neat change but was a bit of a culture shock for me.

I realized, I really wanted to make an Easter basket, but I wanted to do a fun alternative take on one. I’m a huge Pokémon fan and Oddish is one of my favorite Pokémon. The second I saw that Pokéball I thought, my goodness that would make the cutest planter. There were so many fun plastic Easter baskets that would lend themselves well to this craft project! I saw Minecraft, Bluey, Baby Yoda, and so many more on the shelves.

Planter pot secured, my next step was a Dollar Tree to get a bag of dirt. Planters should never break the bank. At the core all you need is a vessel, dirt, stones, and a plant. I wanted to use an actual potting mix since my little guy is a Rubber Plant (Peperomia Obtusifolia).

HOW TO MAKE A POKÉBALL PLANTER FOR EASTER

Step 1. Remove the Handle

I removed the handle from my Pokéball Easter basket. It is now a worthy vessel! The handle was secured by these little pressure fit hinges that popped right out.

Step 2. Drill the Drain Holes - USE ADULT SUPERVISION

I’m using my Pokéball planter for a living plant so it needs some drain holes to prevent waterlogging and root rot. I used a handheld drill. This step requires adult supervision. For anyone who does not have a drill, a great solution is to use plastic or silk flowers. Then the drain holes are not needed. I flipped the Pokéball upside down, and carefully drilled a random assortment of holes. They do not need to be perfectly spaced, they just need to let water through.

Step 3. Add Rocks

I placed a layer of rocks on the bottom of the pot. This is for a couple of reasons. The rocks help with drainage. Plants send their roots to the dirt where all the nutrients are, and are slow to attempt to root in rocks. Excess water can thus safely trickle into the rocks and prevent the dirt from getting too waterlogged. The other main reason is to weight the pot. This is especially important with pots that have a higher center of gravity like ball-shaped Pokéballs. The rocks prevent the pot from tipping over easily when fully loaded with dirt and plants.

Step 4. Add Dirt

Most plants need dirt to live. I added my Dollar Tree potting mix. I filled the Pokéball most of the way up with dirt, checking the level by placing my still potted Peperomia inside. I wanted to leave space from the rim to allow easy watering. I left about an inch of space from the top.

Step 4. Wet the Dirt

To prevent shock, I wet the dirt in my new planter as well as my little transplant guy. It’s important not to completely flood the dirt, but to just wet it until it is damp.

Step 5. Transplant the Plant

I gently squeezed the sides of the Peperomia’s tiny little seedling pot to loosen the dirt plug from the pot. He then slid out and I was able to set him into his new home.

Step 6. Tamp the Dirt

Using the back of my fingers I gently pressed down, tamping the dirt around the Peperomia. It’s important to be careful with this step, there are a lot of fragile little roots when transplanting young plants. They need to be secured and not crushed.

Step 7. Clean Up and Enjoy!

With that, my new planter was all done and my Peperomia was super happy to have a new home!

If you choose to make a planter out of an Easter basket, I would love to hear about it in the comments! I will definitely be hitting the stores after Easter to see if I can snag some cool baskets on sale to make summer planters and centerpieces.

Cutoff Crafts Watches A Minecraft Movie

Warning! Spoilers ahead for A Minecraft Movie!

Ahsoka and I went to the theater and we got a chance to watch A Minecraft Movie. I am absolutely an avid lover of Minecraft. I have played the game for a very, very, very long time. Back in my day, there was no such thing as the Nether. Yeah, it’s been a while. As well as building in Survival (…often in Hardcore), I also watch an absolute insane amount of streamers, including catching the regular MCCs (Minecraft Championships). I went into the movie theater cautiously optimistic but fully prepared to be burnt.

A Minecraft Movie perfectly and utterly matches the vibe of the video game. Period. It is clean, wholesome, fun that celebrates creativity, art, and friendship. For comparison, Five Nights at Freddy’s (2023) was objectively a decent movie but failed to capture the horror vibe of the video game series it was based on. A Minecraft Movie refuses to take itself too seriously and succeeds because of it. You can absolutely tell the writers and the actors leaned hard into all of the memes knowing that they were part of what the fans wanted. The opening hook sets the tone of the whole movie, “as a child I yearned for the mines.” Boom. That light-hearted twist on a meme (that highlights a rather serious modern controversy about child-labor) encapsulates the whole movie.

This is a movie that wears the guise of a fun adventure romp but at its core addresses several critical issues. I respect the writing crew for tackling these topics with care.

1. Economic Hardship

Times are tough, money is tight, and this movie does not shy away from showing it. Almost everyone depicted in this movie is struggling financially. The setting is a modern small town that is clearly reliant on a single potato chip factory to survive. The bombastic Garett Garrison the Garbage Man (Jason Momoa) runs a struggling video game store. His car is failing, he has no business, and his $900 gamble on a storage unit auction results in seeming defeat. Natalie (Emma Myers) and Henry (Sebastian Hansen) move to the town because rent is cheap and Natalie is able to land a job. Dawn (Danielle Brooks) is shown as a real estate agent with a whole slew of side hustles trying to stay afloat. This sets the stage for the appeal of video game escapism.

2. Creativity and Art is Important

Hands down this is the dripping, beating, heart of Minecraft as a game and A Minecraft Movie. My goodness, I don’t think I have ever seen a film restate in so very many different ways one singular core theme. Everything, absolutely everything, in this film is a celebration of creativity and it is a joy to watch. 

The pressure to forsake creative endeavors and dreams because people demand it of you is strongly rebuked in this film. The primary villain is Malgosha (Rachel House) an evil piglin sorceress who acts as the ruler (and thinly veiled allegory to a boss) for all of the piglins. She bans all creative pursuits and demands piglins mine only gold. It is only when the ragtag group of adventurers learn to embrace their creativity that they have a chance at fighting Malgosha. Other sources of pressure addressed are from characters’ peers, parents, jobs, and self. The true finale is all the sweeter due to everyone coming together to build a better future and strengthen their community while they do it.

3. Parentification of Children

I did not at all expect A Minecraft Movie to address this, but here we are. Parentification is when a child ends up in the role of parent towards others. When the characters are first introduced I struggled with Natalie since she appears to be younger than I would expect. If I met the character on the street I might guess her to be around 17. Originally, I thought perhaps I was just misjudging her age. However, it becomes extremely apparent later that yes, Natalie is quite young to be responsible for Henry and the stress that places on her is significant. I deeply appreciate that this topic was not glossed over but actually gets addressed in the film.

Is the movie still fun even with these heavy issues woven in? Yes, absolutely. This is positively a silly movie that also addresses serious issues in a way that hopefully helps people. I would absolutely recommend A Minecraft Movie for anyone wanting an uplifting fun romp with a bunch of jokes.

Some theaters have struggled with fans being a bit too enthusiastic in enjoying the memes. Our local theater, the Hayden Cinema, has a wonderful solution. For anyone wanting to cheer, jeer, scream, clap and have more rambunctious fun the Hayden Cinema has scheduled special Chicken Jockey showings this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Those looking for a more sedate movie going experience are advised to watch at one of the regular showings.

If you are a fan of Minecraft, watch this movie. If you are looking for some silly fun, watch this movie. I will definitely be adding it to my personal collection the moment it hits dvd.

Michelle's Final Score: 9.5/10 FLINT AND STEEL

Technoblade Never Dies. E