Fantasy Fair 2010

This is a day late because I'm currently away from home, so my apologies!

Fantasy Fair has just kicked off, and there are over nine themed sims of amazing awesome stuff. I've been granted a lovely stall on Elvencourt, and so in honor of the elven theme I have something appropriately elegant and regal.

Elessia is a flowing piece you can imagine being made by Elven craftsmen in Lothlorien. It's scripted as most of my jewelry is these days, to change to six different metals and the same selection of twelve stones as the Orinthia set. It includes a circlet and necklace, so your ears are free for certain elfy necessities. Since I'm away from home, there was a problem with the scripts to change metal in these, but I was able to get on for a moment on a borrowed laptop in order to fix it. However, if you bought this set yesterday please contact me for an updated version.

Fantasy Fair is dedicated to raising money for the American Cancer Society, so I've put together a limited edition color of the Dama and Primo di Carnivale masks.

Dama di Cielo Notte means "Lady of the Night Sky". It was painted by yours truly and will only be available for the duration of the the fair. 100% of the proceeds go to the American Cancer Society, and the same goes for her partner, the Primo di Cielo Notte.

These are not scripted, what you see is what you get. They can be yours for a donation of 375L. The skin in these are a couple of (possibly retired) beautiful skins by Munchflower Zaius of Nomine, and are from her Aether collection.

I apologize for any delays in my getting back to you for customer service this week, my only internet access is currently through kind relatives giving me a few moments on their systems.

For a little while now I've been so quiet because I've been working on a new store build. I finally solidified a plan, and after plenty of "inspiration time" playing Assassin's Creed 2 (the game was frickin' made for me! love love love it) I sat down and carved out what had been forming in my imagination.

I have a big thing for cathedrals, grand open spaces, decadent and detailed architecture and floating high arches. I've been paying a lot of attention to what exactly it is about these things that I admire, picking and choosing my favorite elements and assembling them into a carefully planned pile of loveliness.

I'm still working on some holes, filling in the edges, finalizing and problem solving with some tricky areas but the current store build's days are numbered. It's been around since 2007, and has served me well for almost three years. It actually isn't that badly made, I have to say I've stayed pretty happy with the construction, but it has its issues and it's gotten to the point where I've let the walls get rather crowded. Soo... it's either bring out the scythe again and cull the herd of my creations or make a new, easily expandable and decadent store build. If you've visited the new event hall, you might have an idea of what sort of thing to expect. But it's even prettier than that.

Taken with the new 2.0 viewer with shadows enabled for maximum awesomeness

Several months and over a year of mental planning well spent, right? :D

I'm not sure when I'll be making the switch, I won't be able to get on for a week after this Saturday. I also intend to change to the new branding on all of my vendors for a unified look, as well as finally switch over some of the older scripts and update the pricing on some older items to reflect their age. It's the all around sprucing up and house cleaning I've been putting off for over a year!

I'll keep you guys posted on an actual day and of course a grand unveiling, but for now, just know it's coming... eventually.

Some budget issues

So it turns out I owe quite a lot on my taxes unfortunately. I wasn't able to pay estimated tax over the year so I even have a withholding fee. It's steep, and so I'll be having to make some changes on the sim.

I have to cut back, so the stone and luxurious tile has to go. I sold it to a nice Pakistani man who told me it would be used to build a library in Tucson. In the meantime, I've replaced the walls and floor of the store with an all natural, bio-degradable material which should be temporary.

I'm also opening up a few stalls right outside my store which will be available for rent. These are luxurious, deluxe stalls, painstakingly made by me and I can customize them for your store. Rent starts at about 10,000L a month, I need the money so I'm hoping you guys will be willing to help out by taking one of these beautiful, detailed and elegant stalls.

I can add crayon and sharpie drawings, or crenelations upon request. If you need more space, I'd be happy to duck tape two or more together to create a MegaStall. I really appreciate you guys being so supportive at this difficult time in my store's history, hopefully this new look won't change my store's image of decadence and luxury.


Let's just hope it doesn't rain.

WILD.Released Stamp Hunt

Have you heard about WILD.Released yet? If not, allow me to illuminate you. I've just gone through my store and included stamp cards in some of my vendors. If you buy one of the marked items, you'll be able to redeem the card you get for an item only available as a prize for this event. All you need to do is go around to the stores that are participating and collect their store stamps. You can even do a bunch of cards at once! There are twelve of us participating, including my fabulous friends from TRAP, silent sparrow, Evie's Closet, Schadenfreude... the list goes on. Every prize is worth it, and you won't want to miss them. Here's a peek at mine :D


This item won't be available in the store, you can only get it through redeeming a fully stamped WILD.Released card at Moonsong. And if you think your mind is already made up, you haven't seen the other prizes.

The cards are available now, but stamping begins on March 20th. Hold on to them until then! And if you're still a little unclear about how the whole thing works, there's more information on the WILD.Released blog :)

Happy St. Paddy's Day!

Even if you don't really care or wish to celebrate it, if you're favorite color is green St. Paddy's day rocks for freebies. I don't wish to be an exception, and so I passed out a St. Paddy's Day bowler to the folks who wish to be hatted!

While you're wearing it, you can be the one doing the pinching. *peench peench*

Don't get too wasted, otherwise you'll go to hell and burn for a thousand years, and then they'll take you out and flip you over for another thousand. You'll make the holy mother cry if you sleep with a protestant while you're intoxicated. There, that's some authentic Catholic guilt for you.

Ovis Horns

My collection of horns has a glaring omission. I've been missing a truly spectacular pair of ram's horns that makes you want to reach out and touch them. I'm lucky enough to have touched a wild mountain goat's horns (they were very comfortable around tourists, no I didn't feed it) and I wasn't willing to release something that didn't remind me of that warm dry roughness under my fingertips. I was finally able to evoke that memory :)


I had a very specific vision in mind for how I wanted the texture to be, the amount of shine, the delicate ripples, the bumps and crags and cracks and roughness while still having a polished health to them. It took me forever, carefully modeling the high definition horn to follow the ripples and growth rings of a real horn, adding bumps and wear and tear on them and then finding the right amount of shine, but I finally did it. And now that I've made the perfect pair of ram's horns, I might as well make a few more!

Ovis Nivicola is the "snow sheep" of Siberia, and theyhave beautifully curved horns that frame their faces. I took some liberties with the shape to evoke the same frame, and these are one of my favorites. Perfect for demons!

Ovis Aries is one of those classic ram's horns that are probably what you first think of, they're lighter and not as thick as the Canadensis and so less likely to result in a headache.
The Dallis sheep has a more open horn, which also looks sharper than other mountain sheep. I love these as faun horns, I shrunk them down and put on my faun hooves and I felt like skipping around through the woods with a pan pipe.

They all have the same collection of horn colors and metals you should be plenty familiar with now, and I would definitely suggest you grab some demos to see how you like them. Currently, they're only available at my booth at the Accessories Fair, and you should swing by anyway and grab the freebie I put out :) It's a simple choker for women with a texture change stone.

Illusions @ Accessory Fair 2010

I'm in the Accessory Fair which is kicking off this weekend, hosted by Glance. It features other designers like myself who fit into the "other" category of what you can wear on your avatar, and will be going until the 27th of March.

I wanted to have something new released especially for it, but most of my projects weren't anywhere near ready. I found there was something simple I'd been wanting to do and just lacked the timing, so I took the opportunity :)

Sometimes I'm in the mood for the primmy splendor and display of the original Orinthia, but sometimes I want to have a simple pendant that's still romantic and feminine. Orinthia Puro is the reconciliation of those two moods, and if I'd known it looked this good on its own I might not have bothered with the frustration of dealing with all of those chains! In fact, I think it even brings out the lines and delicacy of the pendant better. But after all that work on the original, I'd rather offer this as an option instead of a replacement. Plus, it's significantly cheaper ;) (250L, compared to the original's price of 450L)

The set is only available at my Accessory Fair stall for now, but after a week I'll be adding it to my new releases wall in the main store. My next few releases are going to be the same story, released at the fair first and then added to my main store after a few days :)

STEAM Hunt #110 (Illusions)

In the interest of keeping you guys updated, I'm sick and down for the count with the nastiest son of a bitch cold I've had in a while. I was awake for all of five hours yesterday, so that's something me and a hibernating bear might have in common. However I did need to log on last night because the STEAM hunt starts today.

STEAM is a completely steampunk themed grid-wide hunt that includes over a hundred stores. It's also probably going to be my last grid-wide hunt. I prefer to let the deadlines I live my life by to be my own, not someone else's. I'd much rather live on my own schedule unless it really pays off, and so far it hasn't. I might be expecting too much from them, but I haven't seen any real increase in traffic or notoriety or e-fame or had someone show up at my door with five million Internetz, so clearly they're not worth my time!

Maybe I'm just sour about giving away something as awesome as this hat.

For free. That's right, you guys are spoiled. Spoiled like the pedigree showdog of a has-been TV sitcom star. And you can nab it for free from a golden gear somewhere in my store. I think I heard something ticking when I was lounging around.

I'm particularly proud of myself for not giving in and buying gear sculpts. I hate doing geometric sculpting but I forced myself to give it a try and success! I'll be using these on something else in the future, you can be sure of that ;)

Dama and Primo di Carnivale

My event masks are always my chance to do something truly outlandish, and work freely without worrying about going back and doing colors. Usually I'm conservative about the amount of unique textures needed for a mask, since for every one I do it increases the amount of total colored textures exponentially. Event masks like the King and Queen of the Dead are my chance to go all out and create an art piece. Unfortunately, this sacrifices their versatility and sometimes their popularity, as I'm less likely to please everyone if it's not available the way they want it.

With these masks, I couldn't let myself condemn it to only one day a year. I found myself wanting it in my own colors as undoubtedly you will when you try it on.

My first Volto in years, this is probably the best I'm going to be able to do for a full face mask without meshes. The lips are still a separate prim, but now blend better than ever. However, SL's object shading will still make the seam visible, but not if you have a no-shader WL setting (a setting that removes the lines on your face, like a face light did back in the days). If your computer can't handle WL settings, setting the mask full bright can work as well. But honestly, it's not really that bad.


These masks are the first event masks to be scripted, and they include the same palette of colors as my more recent masks. The lips change to complimenting colors, but you can also choose contrasting ones if you like, and play around with different effects. The white base of the mask is the only part that does not change, for the sake of better blending with the lip prim.

I've been wanting to make a lot of little changes everywhere, like my blog header and profile picture etc, and just freshen everything to feel more current. You might notice that I changed my vendor template a little. Nothing drastic, just a little touch up, but I think it seems cleaner and fresher. I eventually want to redo my entire store build, but trying to not do anything extreme yet!

These masks are available now at Carnivale for 375L each :)

Mardi Gras Masquerade 2010

I completed the new event hall just in time for the Masque! We gave it a hell of a christening.

I tried very hard to make the interior ornate and detailed while still being rez-friendly, and I wanted to have as many picture friendly places as possible. I also wanted it to feel grand, and able to hold a full sim's worth of people yet still able to actually hear chat on the other side of it. I'm so proud to say I succeeded!

The way people work within the rules of the outfits never fails to impress me. I love to see people get creative and the time they spend planning pays off. You guys are always unfailingly and impeccably well dressed!




As always, there was a vote to determine who would be the Mardi Gras King and Queen, and be awarded the two unique masks made especially for the event. Aceius Hax was a clear favorite, looking very dapper with his cane and tailored, colorful suit. Kala Lunasea turned heads with her golden skin and vibrantly colored coat. In the end, they turned out to be a very good match!

The King and Queen masks will be released soon, I have a few tweaks I'd like to make, but I'm very proud to have made an elegant Volto after all this time. Took me long enough, yeesh.

Everyone was very good company, and six hours flew by! Before I knew it, it was just me and few other folks dancing, listening to the music, and quietly being busy at hour eight o.o No matter how long you stayed, your presence was enjoyed. This was my fourth annual Mardi Gras masquerade, and I'm so happy to continue this tradition. It was the best yet, and I want to thank you for being a part of this celebration of masks and fabulousness. I hope to see you at the next one!