Tag: The Arcade Gacha Events

The Story Of The Season

The Story Of The Season

by Lisa Millar ♥ 1 Comment

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The problem with September is a VERY skint Kitty. Why? Well this is because there are way too many wonderful events going on in world at the moment. It’s driving me mad, but in a GOOD way.

The Arcade is still busy and bustling, but there’s also the fantastic latest Collabor88 collection and a new kid on the block, The Seasons Story.

The Seasons Story was incredibly busy upon the first few days of opening so that I couldn’t actually get in, but when I did I realised why it had been so popular. This is a real quality event, the theme being Autumn (of course)and each stall is arranged around a beautifully decorated sim featuring trees, fruits and flowers of the, erm, season.  It’s delicious to look at and walk around. You can practically smell pumpkin soup and warmed cider as you meander down the pathways investigating  each vendor.

There’s a vast array of fashion, hair, skins and furnishings on show for the fall-addicted avatar. I confess that I was like a kid in a sweet-shop once I managed to get in, because there’s some truly wonderful shopping to be had here.

In the photograph I am sporting the fabulous flannel shirt from SHEEP DOOR, and I really like it,  although I do wish the demo had included examples of the textures rather than it being a demo for fit. Still, as you can see it looks perfectly snug and wears really well.  Ripe for layering in this cool September sun.

I also really fell in love with this glorious hair and beret combo from  INK.  It’s a great unisex style, available in a limited selection of colours but an absolute bargain at L$150 a pop.  Not only that, each style comes replete with hud for beret colour-change happy, and includes a couple of hairbases, one of which is specifically aimed at the male avvie and includes a beard.  I love thoughtful touches like that!

I combined my choices from The Seasons Story with some quality purchases from Collabor 88.   I cannot get enough of this Belleza ‘Leila’ skin which is the perfect choice for the season. I’m wearing combo 3 ,which features a winged eyeliner against a palette of golden hues and a lovely warm red lip. The colours are just breathtaking, and I’ve realised now that Belleza probably draw my favourite brow in SL; it’s *perfect* and frames the face beautifully. I can’t get enough of it.

I’m also sporting this delicious jumper from TEE*FY  in  ‘Pumpkin’ shade. I’m really loving this brand at the moment.  This is a brilliant example of a wardrobe staple being perfectly re-created in Second Life. It features a generous roll-neck collar and comes with both a no-sleeves (for wearing under jackets) and long sleeved versions plus  alphas layers to suit. Another example of a designer actually giving thought to how something will be worn, and again it’s a touch that’s truly appreciated.

What do you think to my foxy tail? This beautiful brush is  available at Collabor88 from AUXILIARY, and even better no beautiful foxes were harmed in the making of it! You can purchase it pre-attached to a denim skirt, or you can buy separately to add to your own items.  It’s available in a variety of shades and is a really unusual enhancement to your wardrobe.  I really love it!

The Seasons Story is a perfect environment for taking photos.  The backdrop above is actually comprised of the Gacha items that virtual design Goddess Sienia Trevellion (the name behind the LARK label) has at The Arcade this round. The books have been enlarged to create a really effective display, and they demonstrate the awesome imagination and skill that Sienia possesses. She is one of those people in-world who is a constant source of wonder to me and I cannot praise her work enough. In fact, all the designers I’ve featured here today are an absolute joy, and one of the reasons why I love my Second Life so much.

And finally let me tell you about the pose.  This is from a pose maker that I discovered at The Seasons Story called MODEL POSESand I am really impressed!  There are two packs available of five poses for L$60 each, and they’re excellent quality with a natural grace and finish to each movement.  I’ll certainly be keeping an eye for this brand in future! (The pose in the photo is number four from the ‘Martina’ collection)

Have I wet your shopping appetite? Good, I am pleased to hear it! CLICK HERE to visit The Seasons Story, and HERE to visit Collabor88.  Enjoy!

 

 

LOTD: The light is changing and Autumn is on her way..

LOTD: The light is changing and Autumn is on her way..

by Lisa Millar ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

ImageSo here I am taking a breather behind a rock and having a think about a few things. (This is my intelligent thinking face, stop laughing at the back!)

I’ve actually managed to get into The Arcade a couple of times now (although not for long sadly, I maxed out at five minutes before I was unceremoniously booted out.) As a result of my swift sojourn there  I have a superfluous amount of oars in my inventory because the Apple Fall Gacha clearly hates me. (I’m desperately trying to get the rare sideboard!) I was lucky enough to get the tall cabinet and believe me it is a thing of sheer beauty, but then, so many items in this round of The Arcade are, and it’s hard to know where to start once you do get in. I’ve actually taken to sitting outside, behind the venue on the chairs and camming in which is a useful tactic if you don’t want to be bamboozled by busty avatars and unceremoniously booted out of the way by toddlededoodles or whatever the child avatars are called these days.

As you can tell by the picture I got my paws on some CURIO OBSCURA boots and I think they are nothing less than extraordinary. In fact, my mind is completely boggled by the Gachas this round. I knew that they were going to be good, but blooming heck, they’re outstanding! In fact,it’s really hard not to completely lose your way on them and just throw all your money at them.  You know, the content creators who have worked on this event must be making an absolute fortune, and quite right too. The effort that has gone into the whole enterprise is there for all to see, and everyone involved deserves to do well from it. I actually find myself just staring at the creations I see on the screen before me in sheer wonder at what has been made.  It’s almost meta-wonder too; I’m staring in wonder at something in a virtual world that someone in the real world made for it. Kind of makes the brain boggle a bit doesn’t it? 

So, the reason for this post.  I happened across a really useful blogpost during the week that features a listing of various yard sales which is very handy to have  if you’re keen to hunt down a particular item. I actually had to put a plea on Plurk for said blogpost too, because I thought I had bookmarked it and was seriously alarmed when I realised that I hadn’t.  (Amazingly enough someone identified exactly what I was looking for by my asking if anyone..”Knew of a blog post by a lady-blogger that features a list of yard sales..”  Plurk really is a clever wee community when it wants to be!)

So the blog post can be found here, and it’s rather blinking good as a comprehensive yard sale starting point. I realise that more locations will have been added since the post was published, but even so it’s a more than adequate way to plan your yardsale tour.  It’s on a blog called ‘All About The Little’, which is a blog aimed at the child avatar community, and even though child avatars are not my thing I do recognise the very important role that they play in many a person’s Second Life. It’s actually a really nice blog too; professionally laid out and very informative too. It’s clearly a labour of love for Addison Faye and aims to keep the kids community up to date with events on the grid, and in my opinion does a cracking job of it.  And if Google docs are more your thing, get your eyes on THIS LIST too! LOOK AT ALL THE SALES, CAN YOU EVEN?!

A final thought, if you’ve had your fill of all things Gacha,  let me frustrate you even further by telling you that this month’s round of Collabor88 has started and it’s a flipping corker.

But don’t despair too much, at least you might be able to get into The Arcade now! 

Kitty Wears:

Hair: Boys & Girls 46 in Sienna by DURA

Eyes:  Ascension Eyes in Sahara (M) by IKON

Skin: Leila (#7) by BELLEZA (The Arcade) 

Nails: Nail Polish from ADORE & ABHOR (Fifty Linden Friday, 6th September)

Scarf:  Skull Burgundy By MILK MOTION (previous Arcade round; you may be able to find at Yard Sales)

Dress:  Oversized Sweatshirt by CYNFUL

Boots:  Mish-mash Carnivale Abomination Boots by CURIO OBSCURA (The Arcade)

…Oh, and pile cream from Preparation Ouch, I knew I shouldn’t have sat on this draughty cold floor for so long! 

 

The Arcade Is Coming!

The Arcade Is Coming!

by Lisa Millar ♥ 5 Comments

September is my favourite month.

Why? Well, it’s my birthday month for a start, and this year is going to be a special one, it’s my 40th. But what has made it even more ruddy fabulous is that The  Arcade gacha event will be hitting the grid again,  and if you have been living under a rock for the past few weeks then you’ll have missed the teaser images featured on Plurk and on various Flickr pages.

To be perfectly honest, it would have probably been more beneficial to my health if I had been living under a rock, that way I wouldn’t have seen any previews of what this round has in store for us. The last round was amazing enough, but bloody hell, when I first saw some of the pictures of what this round had in store for us, well, I am embarrassed to admit that I actually cried!

Seriously dear reader, I blubbed. 

I confess that I am cringing as I write this, but my emotional response to the goodies on offer was nothing short of visceral. I sobbed when I saw the collections of critters, furniture items and accessories that have been promised to us for this round.

Why? Well, I could say it’s hormones seeing as I officially hit middle-age in a few weeks, so you could forgive me if I was feeling a little mid-life crisis like. But I actually don’t have an excuse, other than I was totally moved and completely blown-away out of the park astonished by the creations that I saw.

Bear in mind I’ve only seen these on the official ad posters, too, so goodness knows what condition I will be in when I actually hit the machines!   Unfortunately, I have no doubt that this round will be jam-packed 24/7 for days on end, which will drive me round the twist. I’ll be one of those poor dots that you see on the map hovering pathetically at sim borders, pleading at my monitor for someone to leave so that I can get in!

So what am I especially looking forward to?  I’ll post some of my favourites over the next few days, but first of all I want to tell you about some of the fantastic animal-themed items that I have seen and simply MUST have. 

The first images that made me misty-eyed were the pictures of the INTRIGUE CO. Puppy Pals….

Puppy Pals

..see what I mean?

Why did I blub? Well, first of all, PUPPIES! But also because I’m a big fan of the INTRIGUE CO. plushies collections, and these are without a doubt in my mind the best examples yet. I love the way that these guys are crafted.   Not only do they look like the breeds that they are representing, they are perfectly coloured and feature irresistible breed-unique detailing, like the bow on the Yorkie’s hair. It must have taken ages to make these, but what an absolute joy they all are to behold.

Do I have a favourite?  I do have a few to be honest, but I’m going to try my hardest to win all of them!

Now, let me introduce you to the SILENT SPARROW ‘Pwnies!’

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Now, if you know me in real-life (unlucky!) then you’ll know that I have a bit of a thing about a little show called ‘My Little Pony-Friendship is Magic’.

Yes readers, Kitty is a Brony, with no fucks given.

I have a collection of ponies on my desk, as well as an ever-expanding  (like my waistline) family of plushies courtesy of my local ‘Build-A-Bear Workshop’.  You could say therefore that I’m a bit of a fan, and I’d barely finished wiping  my eyes when I saw the poster image of the pwnies, and started blarting all over again! I mean JUST LOOK AT THEM! They are utterly perfect; a multitude of poses and colours and patterns and you would have to have a heart made of the coldest steel to not fall into a messy puddle of happiness at the sight of these.

They are just so much fun, and I am especially taken by Dash (for obvious reasons) and of course, Matt and David (seeing as I’m a bit of a Whovian as well!) To be honest, yes I want all of these as well, and I’m already starting to panic about how many prims I’m going to need to free up to accommodate all of this Gacha awesome. (My house is pretty darn near perfect for me in-world, but I’m going to have some epic rearranging to do to accommodate all of these wonderful things!)

Yummy Fish

But let’s not stop there! It looks as though I am going to have to find the room for an aquarium too, because YUMMY! have created a piano-shaped aquarium and a collection of fish to inhabit it and boy are they are super-cute.

I don’t have the space or time for a  fish tank anymore so this will be the next best thing for me.  I’m looking forward to seeing how these fish work too,  because apparently each one is animated with unique movements so I’m anticipating something very special indeed. I haven’t really selected a favourite fishy, but I am very taken by the ‘Spotted Weirdo’, as I feel that I have a lot in common with it. (I fear that the acquisition of this tank will lead me into ridiculous games of ‘Find The Fish’, which is sure to drive everyone around me bonkers, but no shits given!)

Not only that, but the packaging for this particular Gacha prize is pretty special too!

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Last but not least are my absolute critter must-haves from this collection. They are, of course, cats, and this is when my tears REALLY fell. Because just LOOK AT THEM:

Cats

 

Now, a fact that you possibly don’t know about me, apart from my obviously being cat obsessed, is that I collect Maneki Neko and images of the Egyptian Goddess Bast.  In fact, I am completely Bast-obsessed.  I have statues, jewellery and books about the cult of the cat in Ancient Egypt, and I also like to make trips down to London to see the Gayer-Anderson cat in the British Museum. (Mine in a previous life, obviously 😉

So you can imagine that when I saw this collection and  spotted ‘Isis’ the Egyptian puss, as well as not one but three Maneki-Neko, I almost had a heart attack from excitement.  But there’s more; there’s a chibi-cat for everyone in this set; for example there’s ‘Pumpkin’, who obviously appeals due to my Witchy persuasions (and also because I had an amazing cat called Pumpkin too!) and ‘Sweetie’  is another Whovian reference and an absolute must for my in-world Doctor Who collection. There are so many fabulous felines here to adore, and then there is ‘Fatman’, who reminds me of my much-missed ginger lad (for whom I confess I am still mourning).

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Allegory, if by chance you’re reading this, I thought your ‘Voubou’ collection was outstanding and have them proudly displayed in my home, but these are on a whole different level. Every one of these cats is perfection.  They’re shaped so sweetly and decorated so perfectly. I cannot wait to get my paws on them; I just hope that I don’t have to wait too long because I know EXACTLY where I’m putting them. Well, I *think* that I do…GAH!

The Arcade opens on September 1st (that’ll be Sunday then) and I shall be clawing my way into that sim with all the strength and power I can muster so that I can get my mitts on all of these wonderful  creations, and I expect that you will be doing exactly the same!  I fear it will be a battle, but so long as I can get my critter-fix within a reasonable time frame I’m sure I’ll be fine!

Do check out the official blog and Flickr groups for updates on this event, and tune in tomorrow when I’ll be sharing some other favourite picks of mine. (These didn’t make me cry, but they are just as outstanding!)