Tag: The Arcade

Kitty’s Arcade Raves & Faves!

Kitty’s Arcade Raves & Faves!

by Lisa Millar ♥ 1 Comment

arcade_014

Odd for me that I haven’t blogged THE ARCADE so far, but it’s been publicised to death across the blogging landscape so please forgive my transgression thus far.  But of course, just like all previous rounds it is an absolute corker. Perhaps even more so this time; there’s a massive, gorgeous Christmas Tree in the centre of the build and underneath it you’ll find gifts from many of the designers taking part, and they’re all FREE. Which is bloody wonderful!

THE ARCADE is all about the gacha, and I’ve been hitting a number of machines especially hard. Naturally I couldn’t get in for the first few days, but I’m not having any bother at all now that the initial furore has eased.

Atomic_1214-1024x1024
It’s very hard to pick a favourite vendor this time around. My criteria is simple; does it have a cat on it? If the answer is yes then you may proceed! ATOMIC have pushed all my buttons in an abstract sort of way with their ‘Critter Comfort’ collection. Granted, it does look like you’re wearing animal pelts and naturally the idea of wearing a cat draped around my neck fills me with dread, BUT it’s very clear in both lives that these are merely novelty accessories and thank goodness for that, because they look ruddy fabulous:)

CasaDelShai_1214-1024x1024

The CASA DEL SHAI Crazy Christmas Sweaters are all kinds of fun. Naturally, I’ve been after the jumpers that feature a very grumpy looking cat on them, but no luck yet.  As I’ve said before, Gacha festivals of this kind are fabulous for picking up wee items and paraphernalia that really turn your virtual house into a home; and I’ve been collecting items from the SORGO Insomniak Geek Collection to scatter around my skybox work area.

sorgo_1214-1024x1024

I’m incredibly partial to PIXICAT’s collection of animal onesies, because I collect these in real life…

kigu addict

They’re called ‘Kigurumis‘ and I own a Lion, Lemur and a Kitsune (Japanese Fox) along with a couple of cats too (these are the only snaps I dared share with you of me wearing them though!)  I love them, oftentimes I get home from RL work and just throw one of these on and that’s me sorted until bedtime. They’re ruddy roasting as well so you don’t need your RL heating on so high when you’re wearing one.  I can’t recommend them enough so was delighted to see them in-world…

pixicat_1214-1024x1024

But I think perhaps my ultimate must-have items this round, apart from the PIXICAT onesies, are the bags from NYLON PINKNEY.  The reason I love these is because I am a super-huge NYLON OUTFITTERS fan.  I love Nylon’s quirky and original artworks and designs and when I saw these bags I almost died from excitement. They feature fabulous artworks by the great Nylon herself and include hand-holding animations too. I don’t usually bother with bags in Second Life, but I’m so in love with these that I think bags will be a part of my wardrobe for a long time to come! Naturally I’ve spent a small fortune trying to get the rare, which of course just HAD to be a cat didn’t it? No luck yet sadly, but there’s still time…

nylonoutfitters_1214-1024x1024

THE ARCADE runs until the end of December so you’ve loads of time to visit and gacha yourself into a coma. Kitty-tip, if you’re looking for a particular item from THE ARCADE try yardsales first. My Yardsale of choice is at THE PEA, where everything is nicely alphabetized and easy to navigate, but SERAPHIM has a comprehensive list.

Kitty Wears: 

Eyes by IKON

Ears by AITUI

Skin by BELLEZA (Eva Med Matte 8) (UBERSL)

Hair by LITTLE BONES (FROST)

Dress By FOXES (C88)

MAY THE GACHAS EVER BE IN YOUR FAVOUR!

MAY THE GACHAS EVER BE IN YOUR FAVOUR!

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!

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!

What’s Your Morning Routine?

What’s Your Morning Routine?

by Lisa Millar ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Image

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

Witchy Wednesday – The Wizarding Fayre 2013

by Lisa Millar ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

wizarding fayre_001

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 20th, 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!

wizarding fayre_002

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!

wizarding_001

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.

wizarding_002

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…

Snapshot_013 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?! 

wizfairelargetrans

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:

wizarding fayre_004

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!’

Snapshot_005

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!