WITCHY WEDNESDAY: ALL ABOUT THE ALCHEMY

November 19, 2014November 22, 2014 by Lisa Millar ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

This week’s ‘Witchy Wednesday’ is a bit special, because we’re not just featuring one item that has a Witchy theme, but an actual event. Not just any event either, but a quality affair with fans all over the grid that eagerly clamour into the sim and crash it every month upon opening day!

Of course I’m talking about Collabor88, which this month has ‘Modern Alchemy’ as a theme. If you’re an Alchemical Witch then you really won’t want to miss it, but even if you aren’t I am sure you’ll be pleased as punch to see this unusual concept celebrated at such a popular event.

Alchemy is associated with Witchcraft because it’s an Occult tradition, spanning at least 2500 years, with all the great civilisations counting Alchemists amongst their ranks. These were important, educated people often with influence upon society, and Alchemy itself was considered serious science, whereas now it tends to be thought of as whimsy or the stuff of fiction. But there are still ardent followers amongst Pagan folk.

But what is Alchemy? I found a great definition HERE: ” Alchemy refers to any process that might add value or usefulness to unrefined materials, although it is often thought of as a medieval philosophy and an early form of chemistry, and it usually conjures up images of a medieval “scholar” in his laboratory, surrounded by piles of rare books and manuscripts, test-tubes, retorts, alembics and other paraphernalia generally associated with chemical experiments. Over time, it has come to be used in popular language to refer to any magical power or process of transmuting a common substance, usually of little value, into a substance of great value…”

Transformation is the key word here, and that’s how it translates to the fashion, furniture and dwellings that you’ll find at this month’s showcase. I’m particularly impressed by how so many creators have approached the theme seriously and clearly done their research into the subject. Prime examples of this are LARK, with Sienia Trevellion demonstrating a total understanding of the brief with her ‘Elemental Bookcase‘, and the absolutely sensational ‘Digital Alchemy’ Necklaces from SCHADENFREUDE, that feature all the symbols and sigils that an Alchemist would use. Finally, any aspiring High Priestess worth her salt (tenuous alchemy link there!) must check out the ‘Bellatrix Dress’ from NOODLES.

Every Collabor88 round this year has proved to be an absolute phenomenon, and this one is no exception. Bring your elements into balance by clicking HERE to visit.

Kitty Wears:

Skin: NAR MATTARU – Zoe Skin (Tone 03), Zoe lipstick (Butcher Baby-Dark)
Hairbase: PAPERBAG ‘Twigs’
Hair: TRUTH ‘Sian’ (Gingers)

Eyes: Eye Make Up: MONS Black Eyeliner series (#8)
Eyes: IKON ‘Hope Eyes’ in Crimson
Lashes: GLOW STUDIO ‘Italia’ (Romantic) (TDR FUSION)
Ears: AITUI Gen 4 Heart Plugs

Jacket- EMERY ‘Hollywood denim Jacket-Dark’
Dress: NOODLES ‘Bellatrix’ Dress Nox (C88)

Jewellery: SCHADENFREUNDE ‘Digital Alchemy’ Moon Stacked Necklaces (C88)
ZAARA: Banjara Kada braclets (Reg) (C88)
XYZ ‘Tattoo Choker’
REIGN Chamber Rings – ‘Meow’

MAY THE GACHAS EVER BE IN YOUR FAVOUR!

June 1, 2014September 12, 2015 by Lisa Millar ♥ 1 Comment

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!

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…

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!

What’s Your Morning Routine?

March 9, 2014March 9, 2014 by Lisa Millar ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

In RL mine is usually waking up bleary-eyed, stumbling into the shower and then staggering downstairs, only becoming even remotely human once I’ve had my first cup of tea of the morning. In SL of course i’m a lot more graceful; delicately sliding out of bed in a radiant fashion before beginning my virtual day. And it’s just got even better too, courtesy of Sienia Trevellion’s ‘Morning Routine’ set for this month’s COLLABOR88. She’s thoughtfully included a number of nifty pieces that help keep your virtual life a little more organised, each one finished in her distinctive style.

There’s an entryway table (1LI) Phone Caddy (5LI) Coin Valet (1 LI) and Keychain (1LI). As you would expect each one is finely detailed and really looks the part. I’m especially enamoured with the Phone Caddy. It looks so effective, and really handy too. I want one in real life! Also the umbrella, key dangling from the hook and the spectacle case are perfectly finished, as is everything that Sienia creates. The key-chain and coins are perfect too, and it really looks the part in my Skybox, as I hope you can see from the picture. I added a few winnings from THE ARCADE, as well as some old favourites to create an entryway that’s a real welcome home.

Upgrade your morning routine by visiting C88 and purchasing one of these really fab sets right now; choose from Blue, Grey, White, Black or Red colourways. Here’s your taxi to C88!

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!