100 days, 23 hrs, 58 minutes left! *_*

so the countdown begins!!
100 days left till toma-chan's birthday neeee.

i'm glad i remembered to post up the countdown clock starting f/when there's 100 days left. (last yr i was not as early, it was 80something days left) and the text is purple right now for majosai, but i might change the color later...and again, the countdown clock will have to be 7 hrs early or else it'd be 7 hrs late. cuz it can only countdown to 12am that day instead of 7am PST (12am JST).

i'll post up the TL! bday project i came up with soon... ^_^

i'm back~
and here's a very long post about the bday project(s)!!
i'm a little nervous/confused about sending in fanart, even after
enshinge's translation, but i'll still give it my best shot!!

so~ even though it's still over 3 months away, i wanted to start thinking of something to do for toma's bday. and 100 days is a good number and a long time, during which A LOT of fans will be able to participate if they want to.

of course, last year's first TL! bday project is still at the DearToma blog. =) i think i won't ever delete that post, cuz dunno if toma's seen it, and more importantly, i (and other fans) put a lot of time/effort/and thought into making it/writing messages to toma!

ano...i've started brainstorming about this since a couple months ago!! lol. but only recently did i come with what i think is a really good idea. :) i've thought it over a lot, and this is what i came up with. i hope many of you can participate, but if not, that's alright too. last year it was like that. but this year i think quality over quantity is maybe a better way to go. though of course, the more the merrier!! toniaku (in any case), i think this year's bday project will be better than last year!! toniaku, please take part in it!! yoroshiku~

this year, i came up with several ideas, so u can pick 1 or more to do. if not enough ppl participate in #2, i might have to do it myself...hmm... toniaku~ here they are (in the order easiest to most difficult/time-consuming to do):

1. THE BIRTHDAY CARD FULL OF LOVE!
(deadline to participate: 9/13/2009)
i will buy 2 nice bday cards and send 1 each to toma's winkup and JE fanmail addresses. i will buy some nice tissue paper or some kinda pretty stationary/decorative paper. and i'll cut small hearts out of it. and i'll write on the card "from Kate and your fans...". i'll write "kate" on 1 paper heart. and whoever wants to be included, u can post a comment here, and i'll write your name on 1 heart. =) if a lot of ppl participate, the envelope can be full of hearts for toma-kun neeee!! IT'S A WAY FOR US TO SEND TOMA SOME LOVE, A PIECE OF OUR HEARTS... i'll choose a thin paper if possible, so even if there's a lot of hearts, the envelope won't get too bulky/heavy.

actually, your name, age, and country would be ok, i think...age and country will be optional. maybe i'll write yr name on 1 side, and yr age and country in the back. i can only write in english, so toma might not understand what country, but at least he'll know how old u are.

(edit: u can also write a short message to toma in english, i'll write it on 1 side of the heart. and i didn't think about what to do if ppl have the same names...eh, if this happens again, u can just add the first letter of yr last name. like, if there's another kate, i can write it like: Kate M. or something...)

[credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/just4pics/2449756110/]

2. THE FANTASY TRIP AROUND THE WORLD!
(deadline to participate: 12am on Oct.6 (japan time))

i've read that toma wanted to go on a trip with his family since last year, but he was too busy, and of course this year there's also no time. so i thought it'd be cool if we could give him like...a fantasy vacation. haha. it's a silly idea, but i really wanted to do something ONLINE for him, so...

i thought that we could find a bunch of really pretty pics from countries all over the world (especially the United Kingdom, cuz toma always says he wants to go to the UK and europe). send me the flickr pic link (preferably a pic with the name of the location so he will know where it is) and i'll favorite it, and then link to the slideshow, so toma can see it. umm...each person can send me 1-3 links. this is to make sure u choose carefully and we only want the BEST OF THE BEST pics for toma. =D i've already made an account for it:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/happybirthdaytoma2009.

if anyone actually wants to upload your own photos of beautiful or cool or interesting places u want toma to see, that's fine too. just create a flickr account and upload it, give me the link, i will favorite it. the good thing about this is u can also write a message to toma if u want underneath it, saying the location's name and happy birthday toma, or whatever u want...

3. THE SUDDEN FLOOD OF TOMA FAN ART!!
this was actually my idea of what the tomalicious forum could do. but then i figure for this idea, it's best if A LOT of ppl participate, so i'll talk about it here too. (and dunno if any1 there is interested in doing this, anyway.) thanks to paige, who thought of flooding winkup with toma fanart, instead of my original idea, which was have a contest at the forum and choose the best 10, and send those in and hope that it's printed in the magazine's bday fan art section.

u see, winkup and potato magazines always have a page full of fan art sent to them, and also a page for bday fan art. i've only got 2 winkup's and 2 potato's, but i've only seen 1 toma drawing. i'm guessing that they don't often get a lot of toma fan art? so wouldn't it be cool if we all sent winkup toma fan art from now until october?? 1st of all, cuz if we wanna send bday fan art, we have to send it at least 2 months in advance anyway (at least this is potato's policy), and 2nd of all, cuz there would be more chances of them printing some toma fan art if we do this. especially if they suddenly see so many ppl sending them in, it would really get their attention!! maybe they'll even mention how they're getting so much toma fan art suddenly!! that would be awesome!!! *__*

it doesn't matter if u live in japan or overseas, u can still try sending fan art (Potato & Winkup don't list any specific location restrictions, but then again, maybe they assume only ppl in japan are sending anyway...)! above is an example of the kinda fan art u can send in. thanks to paige for this! and HERE'S what winkup's bday fan art looks like. they don't say anything in the POTATO instructions, but seems like most of the printed artwork are drawn by hand and not made using the computer...

http://enshinge.livejournal.com/263159.html
many thanks to enshinge for the POTATO and WINKUP instructions HERE!! check it out...though it might be kinda tough if u can't write in japanese, but u can always screencap and print out those words...maybe i'll post up the scan of the addresses in japanese too...and the corner title, u can write in yourself, "Happy Birthday". =) but i'm kinda confused by winkup's instructions. so don't put it in an envelope, it has to be on a postcard? or just postcard size. eh...probably just postcard size, and IN and envelope, right?

it would be best if you could send a different toma drawing to BOTH winkup AND potato, to double the chances of it being printed. REMEMBER TO WRITE TOMA'S NAME IN JAPANESE OR ENGLISH NEXT TO YOUR DRAWING! (if u can write in japanese, u can write him a very short message, next to yr drawing, too!!) it can be a happy bday toma drawing or a regular toma drawing. actually, it would be best to send 1 regular and 1 bday drawing, probably...remember, u can't send the same drawing to 2 different magazines. but if u can only send fan art to one place, send it to WINKUP!! toma has a monthly journal page in winkup after all, there's more chances that they'll print toma fan art there, whether it's bday or regular drawings. =)

this is the toughest of the 3 things u can do for toma's birthday, and not everyone is good at drawing, so i understand if not much ppl wanna try this. BUT!! IT IS ONE OF THE ONLY WAYS THAT U CAN GIVE TOMA SOMETHING, ESPECIALLY FOR HIS BIRTHDAY!! i think toma probably often looks thru the winkup or potato magazines in his spare time, and he'll probably check out the fan art section to see if there's any toma fan art, right??


DAKKARA~ IF YOU ARE A KINDA GOOD, GOOD, OR VERY GOOD ARTIST, THEN PLEASE PLEASE, DO TRY TO SEND IN FAN ART!! just think of it...if they do print your fan art...that would be SO COOL, RIGHT?? ~_~
the drawing u drew for toma will be in a magazine, and your name and country will be printed right next to it. TOMA AND ALL TOMA FANS AND EVERYONE WHO BUYS THAT ISSUE OF WINKUP, ALL OVER THE WORLD, WILL BE ABLE TO SEE YOUR DRAWING!!!!! TOMA WOULD FOR SURE BE SO HAPPY TO SEE THE DRAWING, ESPECIALLY IF IT'S A BDAY TOMA DRAWING. ^_^

**REMEMBER TO SEND BDAY FAN ART ASAP, SINCE WE'RE SUPPOSED TO SEND THEM IN 1-2 MONTHS BEFORE HIS BIRTHDAY!! SO EARLY AUGUST IS THE DEADLINE. (and remember if u're far f/japan, it might take a week or more for your envelope to get there...at least that's how long it takes from the usa to japan, usually.) SO PPL IN THE USA OR OTHER PLACES FAR FROM JAPAN, PLEASE SEND IT AT THE END OF JULY, JUST IN CASE...but if you're just sending REGULAR FAN ART, probably fine to send it in end of august/start of sept., too...**

actually, if everyone that is gonna send fanart could scan it/take a picture of it first, before u send it...then upload the drawing somewhere. then i could save all of them and make them into our own page of toma fan art, to share with everyone here. that way, even if your fan art is not printed, i'll post it up somewhere and link to it, so toma and toma fans will still be able to see it!! :D of course, this is optional, u don't have to show it to us if u don't want to.

anyone who wants to do one of these things for toma's bday, u can participate by adding a comment below this post. u can add just your name (and age, country, if u want) if u're doing #1. u can give me 1-3 flickr links if u choose #2. if u choose #3, just tell me how many drawings and what kind (bday/regular) and what magazine u're sending them to. of course, u can do all 3 if u want. yappari, i will definitely take part in all 3, and i'll also scan and post up any fan art i am planning to send in, to share with everyone here.^^

umm...there will be a deadline to participate for #1 and #3, probably around early august should be the deadline...and for #3, the deadline should be 12am on toma's birthday, october 7 (in Japan time).

arigatou!!
toniaku~ i'm looking forward to all your comments. :D
i'll leave it to you!

sore ja, that's all for now. i will update this page later with the scans of the 2 addresses...if u have any questions/comments/suggestions, please also post them in a comment below this post. thanks.

itekimas~

kate♥

[wouldn't it be cool if toma could see your artwork??]

[so~ let's all pretend we're hagu-chan and draw, draw, draw!! or paint, paint, paint!!]

............................7.14.2009 update:

0) preview of the bday card (ORANGE ENVELOPE!! yappari, cuz toma is orange-san in majosai) and tissue paper 4 the paper hearts that i bought recently. ~_~ i will also buy another bday card, 1 of those really pretty ones at mitsuwa...

i really really love what it says on this bday card. it really describes him so perfectly neeeeee.♥ though i know toma won't understand what it says, but the card is still pretty, right?? (and i'll also write HAPPY BIRTHDAY in both eng. and japanese on the card~) i like the card cuz of the subtle, blue-ish watercolor background and the butterflies on it. TFS's logo has a butterfly on it, so i kinda associate toma w/butterflies now. haha. also, cuz toma and butterflies...both are so beautiful, delicate!!

anyway, here's what the card says:
In a world that does its best to make us a little fuzzy around the edges, some ppl still manage to have bold outlines. they know who they r, what they're about, what they alone can give. and just like them, the gifts they share r bold, bright, beautiful.

(inside the card): u're some1 who doesn't compromise in being the person only u could be, some1 who doesnt hold back on sharing the gifts only u can give. and especially today, i, for one, just want to say thank you, thank you, thank you...
have a wonderful birthday.

(on the back of the card): i'm thankful for the gift of you.

1) ** if u have an artistic friend, try asking them to draw toma for u. lol. only if they are also toma's fan, though. =P **

2) winkup drawings have to be on postcards [read the comments below enshinge's post for more info.]!! this is kinda hard cuz they're not sold everywhere...

if u live in the usa, i searched online, they say u can buy them at JoAnn fabrics or Staples.

or better yet, make one! u can buy a blank birthday card and cut it in half and glue/tape a piece of paper to one side of the half. =) but wherever u live, just in case, check your mail service's website for official, acceptable postcard sizes. for example, in the usa:

http://www.usps.com/send/preparemailandpackages/measuringtips.htm

Postcard:
• Maximum size is 6” long X 4 1/4” high
• Minimum size is 5” long X 3 1/2” high

3) though toma's hair is permed now, by the time it's october, his hair will probably be back to how it was when filming voice, straight and cool. =) so keep in mind, if u draw toma, better to draw him with straight, regular hair. unless u really wanna draw him w/permed hair...it's up to you.

4) i think it's better/faster to write the address of winkup/potato in japanese when u send it. but since a lot of us can't write it, i've uploaded the scans of each magazine's addresses/corners. with enshinge's translation, u will be able to know which corner title to add to the address. u can print it out or try to copy it by hand...
here are the links to the scans:

http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/9/8/209169/POTATO%20info%20img260.jpg
http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/9/8/209169/winkup1%28address%29.jpg

5) remember to draw toma clearly/big, cuz if it's published, the size will be reduced quite a lot.


6) 7.19.2009 update: edited the section about WHEN u should send in fan art above. basically, the sooner the better!! ^_^ but it's best to send bday fan art by the end of july/start of august!! regular fan art, maybe by the end of august/start of sept. is still ok, so that it can be published in the Nov. 2009 issue (which will be released around the start of october).


.........................late night of 8/6/2009 updates:

1) hi there! sorry, i said i'd upload more pics of my fan art drawing process "soon", but i guess i meant "next week"! lol. well, THEY'RE UP!! most of it is in order...wow. it's cool to see the result, all the stages of the drawings, all in one place...please take a look!! u can use the slideshow function and see how the drawings change as i draw more and more of it...

here they are:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/happybirthdaytoma2009/sets/72157621844359047/

and if u haven't seen them yet, i posted pics and talked about drawing the bday fan art here:
http://ikutatomalove.blogspot.com/2009/07/my-toma-fan-art-part-i-2-birthday.html


2) oh, i just thought of this yesterday. WOULDN'T IT BE COOL IF WE ALL WEAR/USE SOMETHING PINK ON TOMA'S BDAY?? CUZ FOR VARIOUS REASONS, THE COLOR PINK MAKES ME THINK OF TOMA. (even though he was orange-san in majosai. well, orange makes me think of him too, but i like pink better!) on toma's birthday, if u can, please wear something pink or use something pink (like a pink cup, post-it, pen, etc). but if you don't have anything pink, then orange, white (toma's favorite color), or red (Maou team's color!) is ok, too. haha. this must be the EASIEST POSSIBLE WAY TO CELEBRATE TOMA'S BIRTHDAY, RIGHT?? i hope you can take part in this. it would be cool to think of how on this one day, toma's birthday, toma fans all over the world are united in this way, wearing the same colors, showing some toma love in this way!! ^-^

3) pics of the bday cards i will use. i love the cool shiny white envelope that goes with the purple/pink card i bought from mitsuwa. ^_^ and i like how the writing of the first card is blue and shiny in the light~!





4) a sketch i sketched before i started to really draw. it only took 1 hr. yappari, it barely looks like toma. haha. all the time, i only used my pink japanese mechanical pencil and my old eraser stick to draw draw draw (and re-draw, re-draw, re-draw!) and erase erase erase. a lot, a lot of erasing going on then...


scans of my drawings, with my notes/scribbles/testing or choosing the colors stuff on the side.
(*CLICK ON THEM TO SEE THEM FULL SIZE.* u can only see it full size here, not at flickr.)




and the back of drawing #1 and drawing #2, back of the postcard and envelope, that i sent off last week. i used the japanese addresses to make sure it'd get there ASAP. it ended up looking a little, just kinda blurry cuz i got them from the scans from the magazines, but it still should be clear enough!! but next time, i'll edit it more so it'll look clearer. i don't want to include BOTH the japanese and english version of the address, cuz somehow, i think that might just confuse them and it will take longer to deliver...


5) addresses of POTATO and WINK UP in japanese and what u need to write in, the corner titles:


9/17 updates:

-PROJECT #3 D O NE!!! (since sept.8) go HERE for pics and info. (MORE TO COME DURING MID-OCTOBER!!)

-PROJECT #1 IS D O N E!!! ^o^ go HERE to see pics of the hearts and cards and me talking about them...

-i edited the 2 main addresses where u can send toma fanmail, a little bit. IF U WANT TO SEND TOMA CARDS OR LETTERS (NO GIFTS OR BULKY ENVELOPES ALLOWED!! AND BE EXTRA CAREFUL IF U DON'T LIVE IN JAPAN. I HEARD Johnny's OFTEN DON'T ACCEPT A LOT OF OVERSEAS FANMAIL/don't give their artists everything sent to them. =[ i think wink up might be more lenient and there's more chance of it getting to toma.), use these addresses. here they are:

JOHNNY'S:

〒150-8550　
東京都渋谷区渋谷1-10-10　
ミヤマスタワーB1F
ジャニーズファミリークラブ
生田斗真

JAPAN

---------------
WINK UP:

Toma Ikuta
Wani Books Inc., Wink Up Henshuubu
[Toma no Ikita Kotoba]
Ebisu Daikoku Biru
4-4-9 Ebisu, Shibuya-ku
Tokyo 150-8482

JAPAN

[for more info, and the 3rd address, go to Dear Toma. i'ved linked to a post where i talk about sending fanmail and listed the addresses. it's at the bottom of the 1st post at Dear Toma!]

-another way to celebrate his birthday!
^o^ TOMA'S BIRTHDAY METEOR SHOWER!!!

go HERE for info on how to see the annual meteor shower on oct. 7, 8, 9!!


.......................[10/5 updates]:

TOMA'S BDAY IS REALLY REALLY CLOSE!!!
toma mentioned his bday is coming in his recent tomagoto post!!
no, no, that would mean i'm 72?! lol.

-some1 said...was it cezie? (pls correct me if i'm wrong!) that she will light a candle for toma on his bday. ii ne!! i think we should all light one candle on toma's bday and maybe make a wish for him be4 blowing it out. ~_~ ALSO, OF COURSE, IF U WANT, EAT A YUMMY PIECE OF CAKE TO CELEBRATE TOMA'S BDAY!! i think i will. :P and u can also have some champagne (or whatever kinda drink u like). kampai!!

oh, here's a list to remind u of all the things u can do to celebrate toma's birthday. douzo!! (for the reasons/more info, scroll up, look at the previous updates to this post!)

1. what i said above: light a cande/make a wish 4 toma, and(or) have a piece of cake and a cool drink.

2. WEAR/USE SOMETHING PINK, red, white, or orange!

3. see if u can see any shootings stars on the nights of oct. 7, 8 the TOMA METEOR SHOWER (the draconids meteor shower).

4. (THIS GOES WITHOUT SAYING, BUT JUST IN CASE U FORGET):
TOMArathon!!! watch a lot of toma video clips/dramas. or just do anything toma-related....look at his pics, listen to his songs, his dramas' soundtracks, talk about/wish him happy bday toma at yr blog, spend some time at toma fansites/forums, etc. etc.!!!


------------PROJECT #2: TOMA'S FANTASY TRIP AROUND THE WORLD, DONE!! check out all 93 pics here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/happybirthdaytoma2009/favorites/

-almost 100 pics!! from 31 diff countries!
93 pics total. @_@ (3 of those pics, i actually took myself!! but i had to use another account cuz u can't fav yr own pics. haha. but i still have them at this account too. u can see which ones by going to my photostream. it's the Heisler Park set.) EDIT: forgot to say that yuko was the only person who wanted to participate in project #2, so thanks again, yuko!! so, her 2 pics from poland were supposed to be near the start of the slideshow, but i forgot the order would be reversed, so now it's near the end. i'm sorry, yuko!

-backwards slideshow!!
damn, i forgot that the earliest favorited pics will not show up first, it's the other way around. thus, the order of the pics has been reversed. the UK was supposed to go first, cuz toma has said many times be4, the first place he'd like to travel to is the UK, since it's the birthplace of stage plays and a pretty place...BUT u can play the slideshow backwards (check the options above), so that's good...

-HOW I DECIDED WHICH COUNTRIES TO PICK...well, it's the 31 countries from which i get the most visitors to this blog!! ^_^ only the top 10 countries get several pics. the rest (any country with over 100 visits) get 1 pic (except for some countries, that i happened 2 find more than 1 nice pic). most pics are of tourist sites, but some are random pretty places. =) AND they are all favorited in the order of most to least visitors to my blog. EXCEPT, the UK goes first, cuz toma wants to go there. 2nd is okinawa, cuz toma said he wants to go there in a recent interview. though japan is 6th place on the list, only used okinawa pics and not any other japan pics, cuz obviously~ toma lives in japan, so i don't need to show him the different pretty places in japan.

-took kinda a long time to find so many pics, but it was also fun and eye-opening for me to "travel" thru so many countries for this bday project. *_* and i'm reminded anew that toma's got fans all over the world, and knowing that a lot of them have been, are still coming here, to Toma Love!, makes me VERY VERY HAPPY!!! ~___~ imagining that ppl f/so many different locations have come to this blog, picturing a laptop with my blog on the screen, and in the background, is some pretty location in a country far away, i think that's just really cool....*_*


.......................[10/14 update]:

the last 2 toma fan art!! pics and explanation/descriptions here. douzo!
http://ikutatomalove.blogspot.com/2009/10/kates-toma-fan-art-part-ii.html


THIS IS THE REAL LAST UPDATE,
UNLESS MY FAN ART SHOWS UP IN ANY OF THE MAGAZINES THIS MONTH OR LATER MONTHS??? (i doubt it, though...=T)

this has been kate~
arigatou gozaimashita~!