Crayon Colour Challenge: Week 44, Smashed Pumpkin

Smashed Pumpkin

Smashed Pumpkin

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

This colour isn't too far different from last week (which I posted literally minutes ago, lol) as that was peachy-orange and this is orangey-orange. If you want to be fancy, it's almost 'persian orange'.

In the spirit of the season, I went a bit wild and just threw things on all over the place. A fair bit of modification and photoshopping of the pieces themselves, so I don't claim these are particularly accurate representations.

(Usually in photoshop I don't touch the outfit unless I'm trying to correct a mistake I've made, like a bracelet sticking into my arm etc.)

Anyway, with that rather hastily-taken photo, I think I am now finally up to date with Softpaw's crayon colour challenge.

Trick or treat?


Top, sleeves, hat, choker: The White Armory - Storybook Legend Gown Set - Hallows
Mesh corset: The Plastik -  Yvaine Corset [XS]://Octane
Black transparent overskirt: Mocha - Tulle Tiered Skirt [Black] Skirt (modified)
Mesh underskirt: The Plastik - Misfit Skirts ://Morocca
Mesh overskirt:  The Plastik -  Reverence Skirt://Glitz

Hair: LeLutka -HELEN - Bournville
Shape: Self-made Skin: Izzie's - Lucie Bloody Mary fair DB (currently at The Dressing Room Fusion)
Eyes: IKON Lucid Eyes - Coffee (L)

Pose by bang
Photo taken at  Alirium

Music: Kate Bush - How to be invisible

Crayon Colour Challenge: Week 43, Big Foot Feet

Big Foot Feet

Big Foot Feet

Okay, two quick crayon colour challenge posts tonight to get caught up - and make sure I'm on schedule with next week's colour, which seems to be the Halloween edition.

This outfit (Bugaboo from Evie's Closet, a prize from a previous Moolto hunt) has a lot of different colours going on, but I figure the wings and that peachy shade in the skirt and elsewhere should hopefully match?

That's the closest I've got to this colour (awkward peachy-orange!) so it will have to do!

PS See that butterfly in the background? He's a BIG JERK


Outfit: Evie's Closet - Bugaboo(Moolto Hunt S/11 )
Hair: TRUTH HAIR - Qopi - Gingers02Shape: Self-made
Skin: Izzie's - Lucie Pumpkin Pie fair GB (currently at The Dressing Room Fusion)
Eyes: IKON - Ascension Eyes - Dusk (L)
Pose by Squeek
Photo taken at Wildfleur

The winter queen

It's late, so a very quick post tonight.

You'll probably recognise the crown and feather collar as GSpot's 'Nell' set for Enchantment. The cream option is shown here, but it's also available in black and gold.

Enchantment opens to the public on 1st November at 12 noon SLT - but you can join the Enchantment update group to take advantage of 12 hours early access.

Like the legend of the phoenix

I hope this post doesn't sound all braggy, but I'm kind of stunned to find out that I won The White Armory's fall photo contest. The reason I'm so surprised is because there really were so many wonderful entries, and any number of them would have deserved first place.

The photo started out as a representation of the phoenix (I blame Daft Punk's 'Get Lucky', playing everywhere all summer long). However, as I was working on it, the idea evolved and I created a Melisandre character (from A Song of Ice and Fire).

Like the legend of the phoenix
All ends with beginnings

25L Tuesday trick-or-treat round at Soedara

Today is 25L Tuesday's trick-or-treat round, when all participating merchants will be putting out a gift cauldron for you!

To claim the gifts, you'll need one of the special buckets. Mine landed in my inventory this morning, so if you're not on the subscriber list already, join the 25L Tuesdays Connection group and check notices.

The silk pictured above is Soedara's gift - the sinister silk.

Regina

Understandably, quite a few designers at the Enchantment event have been inspired by various movie adaptations. The Disney-inspired versions are easy to spot, with the bold blues, reds and yellows.

The Library's outfit is named Regina - is this for the evil queen in Once Upon a Time? I don't watch show, so can't comment on any visual references to the costumes!

Regina consists of a mesh jacket, skirt, and boots, plus an optional 'collar extender' and clothing layer pants. There's also a matching hat, not shown here.

The hair is Blanka, from Mina, in special edition colours. The pack contains black, white, and two ombre shades. Again, there's also a crown, not shown. I guess I felt like going bare-headed!

Sorcery

More from Enchantment... this time, instead of Snow White, it's her wicked stepmother. Her enchanted mirror is not to be seen, so we can only imagine she must be about some other sorcery - crafting a poison perhaps, or casting a spell on the king to keep him in her thrall.

Enchantment will open to the public on 1 November at 12 noon SLT.  Members of the Enchantment update group can attend the event earlier as a perk - starting from midnight on the first. (I'll post the slurl nearer the time!) All items are exclusive to the event, and won't be available afterwards.

Moving sale at Sweet Poison

Sweet Poison are moving or re-decorating (not sure which) and have a 50L sale on at the moment.

Discounted items will not be carried in the new in-world store.

There's lots more than in the picture above - there are three walls of discounted items including silks, camisks, dresses, homewares, accessories, even some faun legs and horns. Some mesh outfits feature in the sale too.

Note sure when the sale will be over, so if you're interested, don't delay!

Slurl to Sweet Poison

Crayon Colour Challenge: Week 42, Shadow

Shadow

Shadow

This was another difficult colour for me! I've been finding quite a few of the colours difficult recently - maybe I've become less patient in searching through my inventory and trying on umpteen outfits to get the closest possible match.

So I took a bit of a scattergun approach again, and figured that with the scarf, the gloves and the underskirt, surely I'd hit the right colour somehow :)

A quick note about the hair. The style is called Sidhion, and it's from new-to-me hair designer Underscore.  Judging by this, they are well worth a look. The hair is unisex (really useful if I dress up as a boy again!) and the braid to the side is a separate add-on, which is a lot like getting two styles for the price of one.

They're trying something a bit different with the range too - when you buy your hair colour pack, you can choose between three different kinds of texture; realistic, smooth, or fierce. Comparing to real hair texture, realistic would be fine hair, smooth would be normal, while fierce has quite a coarse texture - good for tough guys and wild girls!

(Another shot of the hair after the jump.)

Hunt at the Shack - free stuff!

*Shack* Andora (S) Lagoon

Shack are participating in the Femdom Hunt, and their hunt prize contains lots for anyone roleplaying as a slave girl. In the box you'll find a set of dancing silks, a pretty camisk, and a work tunic. Also - not shown here - are a box of 'Whipped' tattoos, if you've been punished recently. Ouch.

A quick word about the hair - I do love a fabulous swishy ponytail style - which is from Mina and available now (discounted!) at We Love Role-Play. This round will be open until the end of the month, when it closes for a few days before re-opening at 3pm SLT on 4th November.

Snow White's enchantment

There's a new event coming soon, and even though I am actually all-evented-out, I couldn't help but squeeeee as it sounds just... so... fabulous.

The event is Enchantment, and doors will open for the first time on November 1. It's to be a quarterly event, and each round will focus on a different fairytale. The first story to be featured is Snow White, the tale of the princess with skin white as snow, lips red as blood, and hair black as ebony.

Items featured will be exclusive to the event and only available during the event, so if you see something you like - grab it! Find out more at the official Enchantment blog.

I've been lucky enough to get a sneak preview of Junbug's Snow White gown, which is just stunning. I love the skirt part of the gown especially - it has a subtly pattered texture and a sheer overlayer. It will be available in seven colours (bring your own dwarves)... and it will be available when Enchantment opens.

Crayon colour challenge: Week 41, Alien Armpit

Alien Armpit

Alien Armpit

This outrageous lime colour (I'd call it "limey punk"!) wasn't too difficult thanks to a fabulous sale at The Plastik some time ago. I think fatpacks were redueced to 500L or something like that... So whenever there's a colour that isn't very me, I have a rummage in the bottom of those packs and sometimes turn up the perfect option!

The jewelry in the photo is another Horrorfest release, this time from AZE Designs by Amilia Zabaleta. It's the Yum Kimil Maya jade and gold set, and it's inspired by a tale of travellers exploring ancient Mayan temples... and the mysterious dark curses that await them...

The Yum Kimil Bracelet Set is the100% donation item and it's 200L, with proceeds going to The Epilepsy Therapy Project. (earrings are 150L, necklace 250L). Find them at Horrorfest!
(Close-up after the jump.)

Crayon Colour Challenge: Week 40, Gargoyle Gas

Gargoyle Gas

Gargoyle Gas

Yellows are difficult. This one in particular. I wasn't sure I had it in my inventory -  pale yellows, lemon yellows, sunny yellows, yes... screaming yellow? No.

However, this might be the second week that accessories have saved my ass. Because, if the colour isn't quite in the camisk, it's almost certainly in the jewelry!

The outfit consists of the Softly camisk from the Shack, and parts of the Slave Jewelry outfit from May's Soul (which also includes a belt and nipple covers, not shown here).

The hair is Vlodovic, brand new from Tableau Vivant, and available in male and female versions. What I really love about TV hair is the range of colours in the 'mix' pack (Equinox) - 14 different shades, running the usual gamut from white/blonde to black, but also including some ombres and wilds! Another plus - it's the same price (300L) as the other colour packs.

PS - YELLOW, I HATE YOU!!!

Camisk: Shack - Softly camisk Yellow
*Jewelry: May's Soul - Slave jewelry gold
Hair: Tableau Vivant~ Vlodovic Hair - Female S - Equinox
Shape: Self-made
Skin: DeeTalez -  Elly red lips black smokeyes COFFEE
Eyes: IKON - Ardent Eyes - Pewter (ML)

*Pose by Musa at We <3 Role-Play
Photo taken at Sands of Time


*Review copy

Don't forget to grab your gift from Soedara!

Just a quick reminder to pick up your gifts from Soedara as they won't be out much longer!

To celebrate the opening of new stores at the Serena Gardena sim (home to home to Soedara, Arwen's Creations, Elegance by Elysa, and House of Alcott), Soedara have put out some free gifts.

There are three different versions of the camisk pictured above - varying from revealing to more modest. I'm wearing the modest version with a pair of PG pants from another outfit! Also, two texture-change belly jewels, one silver and one gold.

There's 40% off  newest Soedara release, Quanah of the Plains,  too.

Other stores in the "Serena 4" have offers on as well - Elegance by Elysa have a gift of a free chair and Arwen's Creations have a Free Woman shawl, and a group gift of boots for members (join fee applies).

Outfit: ~Soedara~ Freebie Camisk Isah
PG pants: ~Soedara~ Niyukan Midnight-PG
*Hair: MINA Hair - Josje at We <3 Role-Play 
Shape: Self-made
Skin: Curio - Downtown - Sundust [Light] Downtown-City Lights 1
Eyes: IKON Ardent Eyes - Pewter (ML)
Pose by Musa at We <3 Role-Play
Photo taken on Alirium sim

*Review copy

Spirit of Autumn

I was really excited to open the box containing Paper Moon's exclusives for Horrorfest - four beautiful headdresses. The one I'm wearing in this picture (Autumn Moon) is probably the least 'horrific', but it is the 100% donation item, with all proceeds going to The Epilepsy Therapy Project.

The others in the range, called Sisters of the Wood, combine beauty with elements of the grotesque in the shape of animal skulls. The narrative behind them is that they were pieced together by the mysterious sisters... Sister Crow, Sister Deer and Sister Rat.

New release special at Soedara

There's a special opening weekend at the Serena Gardena sim - home to Soedara, Arwen's Creations,
Elegance by Elysa, and House of Alcott.

To celebrate, there'll be some free gifts, and Marbella Pronovost of Soedara is offering her brand new release at 40% off for a limited time.

Quanah of the Plains could be used by panther or slave and comes in two styles - the plainer colours or the fabulous 'exotic' pattern.

Alternative geisha

This evening's rants brought to you by Grumpy Geisha

I've been having an absolute 'mare with viewers lately. Firestom starting being really slow and crash-y, so I switched to the official Second Life viewer.  It ran a bit more smoothly... but not especially well - still slow and maybe it crashed once.  It has this ridiculous quirk though - textures don't stay rezzed. They blur and unblur continually. What is that about?!

So much for the official viewer as the be-all and end-all that some people make it out to be. Maybe it runs better on a PC, but on my macbook? Pff. I'll take the customization options and features that Firestorm offers me any day.  I love that I can right-click and derender any object that might be spoiling the in-world ambience.  Anyway, I've just deleted all my old Firestorm folders to perform a clean re-install, so hopefully that will help.

That's another thing - all those people who find it oh-so-easy to say bloggers are only in it for the free stuff are so wide of the mark. By the time I've put a look together, found a location, taken the pictures (with some really slow viewer performance and probably a crash or two thrown in), done a few small tweaks in photoshop, written the post, tidied up the credits... I've probably spent a couple of hours on a post. Doing all this just to get free stuff - in the form of review copies - must be one of the least productive and cost-effective ways to spend time ever!

Of course, I'm not suggesting everyone with a blog has pure motives. Yes, some people do it for free stuff. Others like to stir up controversy or to become "slebrities" (lol). But anyone who manages to sustain a blog for a reasonable length of time is probably doing it for other reasons, because photos don't take themselves and posts don't write themselves. It has to be a labour of love, or it won't last.

I started this blog because of a friend's suggestion - I had a huge amount of silks and gowns (that I bought) and was pretty good at finding freebies! Why do I blog? Because it's fun. Because I love creating a character, dressing her up, and finding a setting for her. Because I love sharing my finds, and especially sharing freebies and gifts for people who don't have any L$. I love being able to ping newbies, or people helping newbies, the link to my free page.  I love that I can promote and support reputable designers rather than shady ones. (If I ever have or do feature copybotted items, please forgive me - you can be sure it was because I had no suspicion.) I get a real kick out of seeing a new follower on my blog, or that someone has linked to me, or when someone tells me in-world that they like my blog.

Do I get review copies? Yes, now I do, but I can pretty much guarantee that for the first year of this blog I neither received nor requested review copies! I'm very grateful to all the designers who send review copies or accepted or invited me to their blogger groups as it helps me sustain the blog.

Do I request review copies or apply to blog events now? Yes, very occasionally, as in a couple of a times a year. I might send a request to a designer  I've already bought from (if I don't like their creations enough to buy, why would I want to blog them?) if I think they might be amenable to it, based on what they've stated in their profile picks. If they haven't put anything there, I ask what their policy is, if it's something they ever do.  As for events, I applied for We<3RP and Fantasy Faire, and there's an upcoming event I'd love to blog so I will make enquiries about that too. I don't have the time to do justice to lots of events, so I keep it to what fits best with my interests and to which I can devote a reasonable amount of coverage. Most of the time I'm splashing the cash like everyone else!

Am I a big ol' poopyhead? Yes, probably, but that's a separate issue.

RIGHT OK RANT OVER NORMAL SERVICE WILL BE RESUMED AFTER THE JUMP

:D  I'm pretty sure that extended rant was as a direct result of viewer hassles these past couple of days. It's very unlike me to write so much or comment on controversial issues.

Normal blog service, featuring this gown from the current Steampunk round of Genre, will be resumed after the jump! Congratulations if you made it this far :) and thank you for bearing with me!

Morgana gowns from The Plastik

The Morgana gowns are a recent mesh release from The Plastik.  They come in a range of prints - some grungy textures, strong florals or geometric prints, and a series of galactic options.

The grunge, floral or solid options would work for Free Women - just add undershirt or sleeves. The galactic prints are more science fiction or supernatural... could be a nice alternative option for a chic witch this Halloween! (Photos after the jump.)

Some of the makeups are relatively "subtle", like the Silver featured in these first photos, or the Noir, which is heavy on the black. For the most part, they're riotously colourful. At the moment these makeups are exclusive to the Body Modification Expo which runs until November 3.

I've included the contact sheet from The Beautiful Plastik Machine blog at the end of the post, just before the credits.

Slurl to The.Plastik 

Crayon Colour Challenge: Week 39, Mauvelous

Mauvelous

Mauvelous

I think I'm going cross-eyed. All pinks look the same to me now :/ Anyway, I'd thought this pink was kind of a warm pink (and wondered why it was being called 'mauve'!). Now, too late, I can see that it actually has a good dash of blue in it. Gah.

Never mind, if the gown from Emo-Tions doesn't quite hit the spot, the fabulous Vexillum of Bellerophon from GSpot in pink and white seems a really good match. It's at at this round of  We<3RP.  It comes in 9 different colours, and many of them are considerably more war-like than pink and white!

Mother of Pterodactyls

Dragons? So last season.

The shoulder pet to have now is a baby pterodactyl, as all the fantastical fashionistas know.

The Mieville Midway fair and gacha festival, featuring steampunk, goth, and alternative designers opens at noon SLT on Tuesday October 15th, and the cute Pteri shoulder pet from Unrepentant is just one of the gacha prizes you can play for.

Crayon Colour Challenge: Week 38, Chocolate

Chocolate

Chocolate

First of all, I'd like to apologise to Adobe and to anyone who can actually use Photoshop for my singularly lame attempts at crafting a ghost. Also, that background is pretty butchered, oops. Oh well, everyone has to start somewhere...

Anyway, when I was searching my inventory for options for 'chocolate', I came across Marie Antoinette decapit é, from Baiastice.

I've no idea how this got into my inventory, but I suspect it may have been a hunt prize.

The alpha covering my head means wonderfully short credit list for this post. Hurrah!

Outfit: Baiastice - Marie Antoinette decapite'
Pose: Ma Vie

We Love Role-Play: Junbug, Calico, Ellabella

One day, I was wandering around We<3RP just before opening, and I saw Calico Ingmann setting up her offerings for the round. The vendor hadn't rezzed yet, but I could see that she was wearing some really beautiful hair!

As luck would have it, it's this very same hair that she's put out for Round 6, so you can grab it at a discount while the event is on.

The 'Clara' style is a long hair featuring an intricate braid that snakes down and around the length of the hair, keeping the hair off your face shoulders. This means it's a great style for showing off jewelry, especially earrings which end up obscured by most styles which aren't updos.

Just a girl

- just a girl - bliss - haifa  (PG pants not included)

When I came back from a recent trip, I discovered two brand new items in my inventory which had been sent along by Clarrellae (Cara), who has launched a new fashion line to "celebrate the culture of the girl".

Look what's on the midnight mania board at Wishbox!

Super quick post to let you know about the fabulous new MM prize at Wishbox - the Arabella camisk in seafoam. Give the board a slap right here.

The board might be full by the time you get down there (almost 90 out of 110 as I'm writing this) so you might need to try another day.

There's also a Wishbox flash sale on, with various items discounted up to 50%. Yay! Shopping!

Slurl to Wishbox

We Love Role-Play... with Soedara's new silks and Bite & Claw's Arcane skin!

Celestial Bidadari Nymph in Black humble - at round six of We <3 RP

I'm off to the airport tomorrow morning, so yes... this post is a little bit rushed, but I wanted to give you a quick heads up on some cool stuff coming your way!

Tomorrow sees the opening of the sixth round of We <3 Role-Play , and Soedara have put out a colour (black!) of their latest silks at a 40% discount.

Don't miss this opportunity, as it's one of Soedara's pricier silks, the full price is L$799. However, the outfit can be worn in so many different ways, and there are so many different pieces included (well over 50!). I don't have time to show all the options, luckily Ms Pronovost has included a 'cheat sheet' which I've posted at the end.

The skin I'm wearing is from Bite & Claw - it's called the Arcane skin and features tattoos of glyphs and esoteric symbols. These are on the skin, not on layers. Each pack includes 8 skins - dark or light brown, and four levels of cleavage. Also included are a shape, brows, bare feet (not worn) and Lola's appliers.

The poses are from Musa, who have put out a set of eyeshadows, fantasy poses, and gown poses for this round.

More gacha insanity

Really quick post tonight, it's almost sleepy-time... Another couple of options from the Fantasy Gacha Carnival, this time an earthily glamorous gown from Black Pearl (only 75L per play!) and some grungily decorative shoulder armour from May's Soul.

I did make some time to very quickly pop over to the mainstream OMGacha event, where I didn't find much... except these masks, from Things. Must have... must have... the THINGS....