Witchy Wednesday – The Wizarding Fayre 2013

October 16, 2013October 16, 2013 by Lisa Millar ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

There is so much Halloween goodness hitting the grid at the moment that it is incredibly difficult to keep up! However, it’s a Wednesday, and I haven’t posted a Witchy Wednesday in ages, so I’m going to feature an absolute corker for you today.

Watch out for tons of Witchy related activity, spooky surprises and ghostly goings on in every corner of the grid, with hunts, events and sales galore celebrating the Halloween theme. Be wary and wise by making sure that your eyes are glued to the blogosphere for news on the latest events. I also recommend keeping at least one eyeball fixed firmly in a Mad-Eyed Moody style on Elysium Hyne’s Pinterest boards. Ely seems to moonlight as a pinning whirlwind and is doing a great job of keeping a record of all the festivities. Last but not least, Seraphim SL offers a myriad of event catalogues that are well worth a browse.

So let me tell you about The Wizarding Faire 2013. This has been going on for a while already and is due to end on the 20^th, but it’s an absolute must-see! (I realise I am late to the blogging party on this one, and I’m playing catch-up. Real life, what can I say?) The Wizarding Faire is of course a celebration of all things ‘teenage boy-Wizard’ related, but even if you aren’t a fan of the series of books this event is styled after you will still find lots of interesting items on sale, with some of them more Witchy than others.

There are 48 designers in attendance, and each one has contributed something very special. Gachas, clothing, poses, furniture, the list is endless. Not only that, the sim is beautifully designed and fabulous for visiting and taking tonnes of photographs. Look, you know it’s going to be special when you have to open a wall of rocks to step inside!

I spent a happy hour here exploring and shooting pictures and buying lots of nice things..

I absolutely fell in love with the ATOMIC cauldrons and potion-making supplies. Ivy Graves is a veritable mesh Goddess, and these look fabulous. They’re a great shape, a little different to the cauldron norm and are beautifully textured to perfectly capture a worn feel. The little jars of essential spell making ingredients really look the part too. Love it!

I also need to give a shout out to LARK as well, because Sienia has done it again. ‘It’ being making mesh magic all on her own. I am constantly blown-away by the work that Sienia does. She is blessed with a talent for great design, teamed with an astonishing imagination making Sienia’s creations an important force in Second Life design.

Her latest works are these are these awesome ‘Towering Tomes’ that fit in very well with the Imaginarium Librairium that was such a success at The Arcade this year. These books are actually able to be worn, or can be rezzed to great effect as a furnishings, which is what I have done with mine…

You’ll find lots of clothing items at the event. It’s well worth checking out the astonishing Damien Fate’s FATEPLAY label because not only will you find some fantastic clothing, but also the BEST mesh Witch Hat, called ‘Damadore’, that I’ve yet seen on the grid: nice and plain and simple and best of all A FREEBIE! Whoop! There is so much to enjoy at The Wizarding Fayre. It must be said that the team behind this event have produced a corker; rather than fill it to the brim with items that are of dubious quality, each item is a winner. There’s just enough to enjoy with bucket-loads of original mesh items to splurge upon, and the environment is, excuse the pun, simply enchanting. It stands up so well to repeat visits with so much to enjoy. In a grid that is often teaming with events and occasions it takes just one quality themed event to truly show how it’s done, and The Wizarding Fayre meets that brief head-on.

I’m NOT going to blog all of it in the hope that this will encourage you to fly on over there and see for yourself. Check out the list of designers below, how could you not want to visit knowing these guys are taking part?!

As a final nudge to elbow you over to Diagon Alley, I must tell you about the frogs.

Yes, you heard me, frogs. What Witch is worth her salt without heartfelt affection for these amphibious critters? I love frogs, and I automatically fell in love with THIS Gacha when I saw it:

Yup, it’s full of every kind of frog to fulfil all your ribbety needs! What drew me to it was the inclusion of the Desert Rain Frog, which is featured in THIS video, which I love. But readers, they are all equally fabulous. I’ve bought a few of these to decorate the landscaped areas at my new home (more on that coming soon!) and each one of them is an absolute joy to behold. They’re beautifully created and textured, and I have no idea how BEETLEBONES has crafted them, but I am so pleased that they did! They’re AWESOME. Oh, and yes, Gacha prizes. Damn those addictive things! Snapshot_014

This is Sylvia, she’s my pet Moon Frog and she lives on my fireplace:)

So, tempted by The Wizarding Fayre? Better hop on your trusty broomstick and zoom on over to the event faster than you can exclaim ‘Expecto Patronum!’

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And if you like my broom, this was a group gift from Dutchie this month, and it is great fun! I’m practically already set for Halloween! See you at The Wizarding Faire!

Even More Astonishing Arcade Happy!

August 28, 2013 by Lisa Millar ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

The more photos that are added to The Arcade Flickr Group, the more I realise that the majority of my September will be spent bouncing off sim walls wearing a low-lag avatar. Dear me, are we in for an absolute TREAT!

I featured some, but absolutely not all, of the animal-themed items that are going to be available yesterday. Today I’ve spotted a few wearable’s that I want to share. As I go to press more pictures are being added to the group, so don’t be under any impression that what I’m posting will be the entire selection because this round of The Arcade is going to be HUGE with even more vendors than usual. You may want to consider selling a kidney.

So, first of all, I want ALL OF THESE:

Aren’t these simply exquisite? These cuddly Sci-Fi characters from HOPSCOTCH are absolute must-haves for geeks like me and I love every single one of them. I’m of course drawn to the Doctor Who dolls (who would have thought that The Silence could be cute?), but I’m also really taken by the Star Trek dolls too. I just started watching Star Trek TNG on Blu-ray, and watched a few episodes featuring Q (the wonderful John De Lancie, also featured in My Little Pony as the voice of ….) last week, so it’s cool to see that he’s included. Of course the Star Wars dolls are pretty astonishing too, as are the Harry Potter characters (especially Dumbledore) so I will be guaranteed many a happy return on my Lindens when I use this machine. I expect there will be queues and tantrums at this Gachapon!

Up next we have a collection that is deceptively simple but incredibly well executed:

My name is Kitty, I love cats, and occasionally I like to wear cat-ears.

Therefore I want ALL OF THESE from AUXILIARY. Especially the ‘Unicorn’ rare. ‘Nuff said!

In total contrast to the above is my next selection, which is a wearable nightmare!

These CURIO OBSCURA boots are completely mental and are, quite frankly, the stuff of too much cheese before bedtime. You’re looking at the Abomination Boots, and never has an item been so aptly titled in-world before! They look astonishing don’t they? Pandora Wrigglesworth has created some very special footwear here, perfect for stomping around the grid. The five different styles that you see above are available in twenty different colours, just in time for Halloween. What’s your favourite? I really like the teeth and the eyeballs, and I can’t wait to see how people incorporate these boots into their outfits. These ‘abominations’ are definitely the kind of imaginative awesomeness that Second Life should be applauded for. Nice one Pandora!

Last but not least are these amazing items that will be featured in the REMARKABLE OBLIVION Snow Gacha. Ten stupendous snowboards designed for carrying on your shoulder and looking cool can be made even more impressive if you are lucky enough to win the rares, which are goggles and snow boots. I already know my mate Mands has got her eye on these, let’s hope she gets lucky and wins the entire set!

Have I wet your appetite for The Arcade? I should ruddy well hope so, I’m drooling here! Remember to check out the Flickr group for more hints at the treats yet to come, and come back tomorrow when I will be featuring some of the astounding furniture items that are up for grabs!

Weekend At Kitty’s

March 22, 2013March 22, 2013 by Lisa Millar ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

..is going to be a relaxed affair. Slobbing about and eating nonsense while the weather plays silly beggars outside. At least the sun always shines in Second Life eh?

There are still LOADS of events to enjoy in world. The Arcade is still going strong, as is the Skin Fair, and you’ll find it a lot easier to get into both at the moment now that the initial hysteria has blown over. Both events are still busy though, and this pleases me. So much hard work goes into arranging and organising events such as these that it’s satisfying to know the contributors will be heartily rewarded with lots of lovely Lindens.

So, speaking of Lindens, I spied something nice and sassy to splash mine on earlier this week. It’s all Sable’s fault. She turned up at mine wearing a splendid shirt and sweater combo that it was all I could do not to kick her and her missus out of the house while I rushed off to grab myself one.

Quality meshwear is reassuringly expensive, and this ‘Cropped Double’ from Auxiliary is just that. But that’s because it’s entirely original, created using Photoshop CS5, Zbrush and Maya by the brand owners Ivy Graves and Tyr Rozenblum. No templates are used here. It’s all hard work, and the quality shines through, with the textures perfectly applied and the shaping made just right. Even though it’s a simple shirt and sweater combo it would be so easy to make a hash of it. Sloppy design and crude detailing are the undoing of many a mesh item, but no such worry here, it’s utterly spot on in the execution.

The plaid texture choice is perfect, the buttons and stitches are clearly visible and the shape of the jumper with its chunky cuffs compliments the attached shirt perfectly. Something else that impressed me about it, daft as it sounds, was the sharpness of the collar. It’s well defined and sits beautifully on the body, and here’s another thing, the back of the Cropped Double is just as impressive as the front. Where the textures meet at the back the item is finished well, and it sits in a pointed hem just above the centre of the buttocks. It wears very well indeed.

In fact, it’s not hard to picture wearing this in real life, and I also discovered when wearing it I could wear a size smaller mesh than I usually sport, which was interesting to me…quality counts!

Probably the best thing for me about this piece though is that it looks like it took time to make, and that’s always what I want to see when I wear something in Second Life. When I splash the Linden-cash I want to be able to love what I’m wearing and know that I got good value for money. I also want to make an impression for the right reasons, and Auxiliary is the kind of label that ensures that will always happen. Cropped Double is available in a number of designs at L$300 a pop, and I think I’ll be making a return visit to stock up…

But that’s no hardship, the store is a joy to wander around, filled with enticing items that are clearly lit and well laid out. I wasn’t the only avatar paying a visit to the store either, which is always encouraging. It’s impossible NOT to make a shopping list during your visit either; I’ve got my eyes on the Owl ‘Slouchy Tank’ for example, as well as the very ‘Alluring Mini’ skirt range. I’ve also fallen totes in love with the brilliant ‘Bunneh Hoodies’, perfect for Easter of course!

A final note, just because this is a virtual world it doesn’t mean that customer service should ever slip. When I purchased my Cropped Double, Second Life was having a fit, so I didn’t receive my item. I’m pleased to say that when I dropped a notecard on Tyr Rozenblum with my transaction history it was remedied in a flash, no quibbles at all. That’s something that I always find reassuring and makes me want to return to buy more!

So however you choose to spend your weekend, I hope it’s a corker. Mine as you can see will be spent raiding the fridge for wine and cooking up a nice juicy steak..although I should really be wearing an apron to avoid splashing my nice new top! Ah well…toodles!

Kitty wears:

Cropped Double by Auxiliary
Hair by Laviere
Skin by Belleza
Eyes by Ikon
Kitchen by Bazar (part of Kitty’s awesome Arizona house)
Wine, a nice full-bodied red. (But NOT a f*cking Merlot) Steak medium well done.