MAY THE GACHAS EVER BE IN YOUR FAVOUR!

MAY THE GACHAS EVER BE IN YOUR FAVOUR!

It’s June, so that means a new round of THE ARCADE. Of course, getting in is nigh on impossible, and once you do you have to wait for everything to rez before you can go on a Linden spending frenzy, but it is utterly worth it.

THE ARCADE is probably the most popular event on the Second Life calendar, and let’s be honest here, with good reason.  The items available are just outstanding and I get some of my most treasured items that I own each round. The creators must spend an absolute age on the wares that they contribute, so I really do hope they make a small fortune in returns from this extravaganza; it’s completely deserved.   This month will break me because the furnishings and knick-knacks are just utterly glorious, and don’t even get me started on the skins and the hair and, well, let’s just not go on about it eh?   Sadly for me I have to keep a close eye on my Linden spending, but even on a restricted budget I find I can treat myself to a few awesome items, and that’s just what I did earlier.

There’s a yard sale at THE NEST which is looking promising, and it’s pretty ethical too. It’s free to use, but  the items on sale MUST be sold at Gacha cost price, even rares, which is brilliant in principle.  However, I don’t  think we’ll be seeing many of those this round sadly. Already  lots of people on Plurk are reporting that they’ve spent absolute fortunes on the machines without even a sniff of a rare. I’m hearing that the scripts have been changed this round, and I do wonder if that’s to try and curb some of the ridiculous prices that rares were selling for at many of the Yard Sales across the grid. I can sort of understand that, but at the same time if someone has dropped an absolute wad of cash on a Gacha to get a rare I can sort of understand the need to try and get some of that back.

That said, I can’t help thinking that if you were prepared to do that in the first place, then why not just keep a hold of the rare rather than sell it?  I dunno, but it’s easy enough to NOT buy something that originally cost L$50 and is now being sold for thousands if you just bite your lip and walk past it very quickly! No, it is, honest!

Lark_0614

Lucky for me I’m good friends with the wonderful Sienia Trevellion who kindly gifted her Arcade items on me this round, and they’re fabulous. Sienia is just one of those people that oozes creativity out of every pore. She’s so ruddy clever, and makes utterly fantastic items, and her ‘Magnet’ range for The Arcade is no exception. Honestly, where does she get her ideas? It just astonishes me! Anyway, the prizes are some pretty outstanding fridge magnet sets as well as worktop style mini-polar fridges to display them on.  Guys they’re chuffing awesome; textured to absolute perfection and really adding the finishing touch to your virtual kitchen, as you can hopefully see from my snap below…

arcade_001

Doesn’t this look nifty? I absolutely adore it!  I love the fact that Sienia has been so on trend with her colour selections too; there’s a fantastic orange fridge in the collection, and the magnets are just sublime. I think the Kitty and Russian Doll magnets are my faves, and  I can see the picture-pegs being incredibly popular too; they will definitely be a much sought-after rare.  Incidentally I picked up my PIXICAT lilac kimono and the utterly squee TRUTH hair at THE NEST YARDSALE too.  I can see myself getting rather a lot of these outfits because PIXICAT just happens to be one of my absolute favourite brands at the moment, and as for the TRUTH ‘Sakura’ hair?  Well it matches perfectly:)

Could I be any happier? Well, yes, if I had a squillion Lindens to splurge at THE ARCADE, but that’s just being greedy! Be sure to check out THE ARCADE SHOPPING GUIDE and enjoy the month-long madness.  

May the Gachas ever be in your favour!

SUPER SECOND LIFE READS AHOY!

SUPER SECOND LIFE READS AHOY!

Even when I can’t log-in to Second Life, I’m still seeking my fix of all things virtual.  At the moment in RL I’ve just started a new job, which has meant my time in-world has been slight, but through the power of internet publishing I can still get my pixel-fix by reading some of the many virtual publications that are out there.  

Some of them are truly amazing, with exceptionally high standards of photography and some great copy making them just as much fun to read as shop-bought glossy mags. In fact, I actually think they”re better, and of course they’re free!

 I like nothing better than curling up with my Ipad and a cup of tea and enjoying a read of some of the latest magazines.

Here are some that are currently on my reading list, why not check them out? 

http://http://issuu.com/feroshsl/docs/ferosh_ss_2014?e=1749275/8086161

First up is FEROSH, which is just that. This magazine features 452 (!) pages of virtual fashion inspiration, with some amazing photography and some fantastic imagery to behold. It’s an absolute feast for the eyes, and will probably make you want to go shopping immediately. My favourite feature is ‘Asian Inspiration’ that begins on page 50, but there’s so much to love about this magazine that it is incredibly hard to choose! I cannot recommend this one enough, make yourself a brew and settle down to see Second Life in a whole new way. I promise you will LOVE this.

Next we have ‘LTD-The Magazine’ which is the companion piece to the always amazing blog (which you MUST visit daily if you’re a fan of Second Life virtual interiors) The magazine is published bi-monthly, which is just as well, because it takes me so long to visit all the content creators featured each issue! This month is an absolute feast for the eyes. There’s a wonderful feature on a Kittywitchin’ fave, Atelier Visconti, and every single page will make you want to redecorate your virtual home again and again. I absolutely adore this publication, and when you consider it only launched in January it’s fast become the style bible for all things virtual home.

The May edition of STYLE KINGDOM is definitely worth a look if you love all things animal! They’ve gone for a really unique twist on Spring fashion, with models sporting animal prints and accessories galore. It’s really unusual and works really well and will leave you with the kind of longing that only an epic Second Life shopping trip will fix!   It’s the kind of magazine that you need to read with a notepad beside you so you can make a note of all the SLURL’s you’ll be visiting once you’ve finished.

FUSION Magazine is a well established favourite of mine, and each month has a great variety of articles and features with photographs that leave you drooling.  Well, they do me anyway! The May edition is no exception, check out the feature on Goatswood (starts on page 19), featuring photographs by Rylan Carling. It’s absolutely sensational and will make you want to investigate this RP sim immediately! There’s also a feature on ‘It All Starts With A Smile’ which was Kaelyn Alecto’s fabulous sim that gifted SL residents with a myriad of photography opportunities. Sadly the sim has closed, so this serves as a somewhat poignant but worthy reminder of an absolutely epic place.  There’s also a cracking inventory management series running that has given me a few ideas, and the ‘Get That Style’ feature is always a must see!

Last but most definitely not least is VISAGE.  This was a new one to me but has already become a favourite because I absolutely adore the layout of the magazine.  Unfortunately there are only 22 pages to enjoy, but that’s turns out that this production from Autumn Ashdene was for a university project. She asks that if we enjoy the magazine that we head on over to her Flickr page to comment, and I don’t know about you but I would really love to read this one on a regular basis, so please support Autumn in her endeavours and let’s hope to see more from VISAGE in future!

Do you have a favourite Second Life magazine that isn’t featured here?

Why not share it with us in the comments below! 

Zoom Over To Zinnias!

Zoom Over To Zinnias!

While you’re banging your head in frustration because you can’t get into THE ARCADE, don’t fear, there’s plenty of wonderful stuff in-world to coo over, and throw your Lindens at! 

Here’s an example; how stunning is this? This is the latest Zinnia’s release, ‘La Chinesca’.  It’s a red round table and chair set featuring Mexican lacquer-ware that really evokes Chinese furniture design. It’s a beautiful piece, and  I thought it looked utterly stunning in this corner of my home.  It’s just $200L this weekend only. (Normally it’s $325L, so don’t miss out!)  

Image

Oh, and while we’re talking about Zinnia’s, be sure to stop by The Cookie Jar Home & Garden 10L Sales Garden! It’s open for a month and features a vast array of items from some of your favourite designers for a mere 10L each.  Not only that but if you wear your group gift tag there are a TON of freebies for you to grab as well.  

Of course, Zinnia is participating, and here is what you’ll find at her table: 

Image

 Here’s your TP to The Cookie Jar Sales Garden; Zinnia’s store is just behind it. Have fun treating yourself to all these lovely things!

(Oh and check this page out too, there’s a hunt starting there tomorrow as well!)