Monday, November 07, 2011

Sweet Tooth

Sweet Tooth

Since the I Love Cupcakes Hunt is full of things which aren't really my style, I enlisted the adorable Annika here to help me show you some of the items offered in this month-long hunt. For a more complete preview of the gifts, you can visit the SL Freebie Hunters blog. (One of the most helpful SL blogs out there, in my not-so-humble opinion.)

I Love Cupcakes Hunt - Ends 11.30.11
Hair: Pink Frosting by Draconic Kiss (5 colors)
Dress: Pinkie Cakes by Lethe (1 of 3 gifts)
Shoes: Cupcake Heels by Pink Promise
Background: Cupcake Wallpapers by RO!ACT Designs

iTouch Hunts Perly Touch Hunt - Ends 11.15.11
Shape: Story Tale Collection - Tinkerbell by Anatomy ($1L)

Miscellaneous
Skin: Alice by Rotten Toe ($15L)
Pose: Poofy Dress Pls by Long Awkward Pose

Sunday, November 06, 2011

Moving Day

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Initially, this entry simply started out as a way to show off my new SL home and avoid struggling with writer's block over a new fashion post. However, once I began writing, it decided it wanted to be an article on how to have an affordable, low-prim home that looks fancy - so that's what it is.

Since joining SecondLife in 2006, I've moved sims at least eight times. That doesn't even include the multitude of times I decided my SL living space needed a complete makeover, nuked everything, and started again from scratch - I've lived in in castles, mansions, seaside homes both posh and grungy, various airships, and a bayou shack complete with an alligator in the front yard. Thankfully, moving is a lot easier to do in the virtual realm than in the one of flesh and blood!

After a luxuriously long period of not really having to worry about prim count, I'm back to having to be a bit more frugal. I knew this day would eventually come, so I'd been picking up nice cheap and free skyboxes when I found them. (One good place for such deals is A.S.S., who frequently offer beautiful, low-prim skyboxes for $100L or less. You can even view full-size demos at their store.) As seen in these photos, my home weighs in at 169 prims, and even that could be significantly reduced by picking up or editing one or two higher prim items.

This is the Hookah Lounge, a gift from The Sea Hole in the Stash Bash Hunt which took place earlier this year. (April 20th, of course. *wink*) It's 67 prims, including the beautiful garden you see through the windows, a shelf for decorations, functional hanging lights, a hookah, and a myriad of cushions containing a ton of animated sits. It also came with a bit of art baked into the wall textures, some of which I've covered up with art from my own collection. (Mostly by one of my favored artists, Trindolyn Beck. Trindolyn's artwork can be viewed and purchased at India Ink Gallery.)

Because I feel my talents in SecondLife home creation lie more in the realm of decorating than building, I usually rely on prefab homes or, if I'm really lucky, one of my multitude of talented friends will generously offer to build me one. (I'm spoiled and I know it, but I'm also greatly appreciative of those who've spoiled me.) So let's move on to how I made this prefab, partially-furnished skybox feel like home...

The plate of Deceptively Delicious Cupcakes (24 prim) - which dispenses a variety of fatal pastries - was a $50L Woeful Wednesday item from Relics of Kadath. This weekend's Super Bargain Saturday sales yielded a cute Thistle Homes copy/mod chair (13 prims) for only $60L, the absinthe table (41 prims) is something I put together using past hunt gifts from The Fooding and Post, and the round cushion (4 prims) beneath the hanging lights is an adorable texture-change chair from Cheeky Pea. (I think it was a gift or sale item, but I sadly failed to make any notes about it.) Finally, at $230L, the skulls and candles from New Trails were a bit of a splurge, but the pack is well worth the cost. The entire set is copy/mod and includes the following items:

~ 35 skulls in 6 different colors (3 prims each)
~ scripted on/off candles in 5 colors (2 prims each)
~ 2 scripted color shifting plants (single & patch options - 1 prim each)
~ stone wall with skulls and color-changing lights (24 prims)

It's early days yet, so I still have some more decorating to do, but I'm pleased with how things are coming along so far.

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Sale Alert!

Hoorenbeek Sale 01

Sale at Hoorenbeek (June 25 & 26, 2011)

It's sale time at Hoorenbeek again! Just look for the red "special offer" tags scattered throughout the store. (The sale tag is very similar to their Fat Pack icon, so please exercise caution when making your purchases.) Hoorenbeek offers quality footwear for both men and women as well as many unisex items, including the Boots seen here. Make sure to check out the sneakers and sandals at the back of the store as well. (Hoorenbeek also makes clothing, but the majority of it is for men, so I don't have any personal experience with it.) As I mentioned in my Thrifty Tidbits post, sales like this are one of the primary methods I use to stretch my Lindens.

Sadly, today (11.06.2011) is the last day of this particular sale, so you'll have to hurry over to Hoorenbeek if you want to take advantage of it. While you're there, consider joining their subscribe-o-matic group to receive timely announcements about sales like this and gain access to group freebies.

Hoorenbeek Sale 02

Wednesday, November 02, 2011

Día de los Muertos



Information about Día de los Muertos can be found at dayofthedead.com.

This photo was one of the winners of the Halloween sim KMADD Flickr contest.

Hair: Amy by Alli & Ali Designs ($175L)
Skin: Sugar by MiaSnow (Mini Mania Exclusive)
Shape: Fresh - Petite by MiaSnow ($120L/4 Shapes)
Dress: Skulls, Tulle, Red by PixelDolls ($99 at the outlet on MIA Island)
Eyes: Witch by Insufferable Dastard (Zombie Popcorn Hunt 2011 - No longer available.)
Braclets: Layered Bangles by Sigma Jewels (Zombie Popcorn Hunt 2011 - No longer available.)

Location: KMADD Events Sim