Newbie Style Challange-Get your newb on

As we all know I adore blogger challanges. I especially like a challange of making an avatar from scratch using a budget. If you haven't guessed by now I am a huge lover of anything cheap or free. I do spend money in stores but I also thing a healthy amount of gifts entices someone to spend money as a 'Thank You' as well as allowing a person to sample items without wasting money on something that might not be quite what they had hoped.

That being said when I saw Gogo of Juicy Bomb had started the Newbie Style Challenge II, I was Super excited. You can read the rules and such -here-

If you have spent any time in SL with me then you know I have an alt addiction. Most recently I cut back to those linked to anything I still do in SL. There was a time when I would create an alt just to 'make her/him over'. I would hunt all over SL just to prove I could make an avatar that cost 10, 20, 30L..even free. SO the 550L limit for this challenge sounds like a fortune.

I started out as a brand newbie with a new alt I made. I decided to make not one but three looks in total.(I may do more in the future! keep posted)

Look 1:

 

Worn:

           Hair: D!va- Group gift (there are tons here + free group join!)   = 0L

Scarf: Mr. Poet- Store Freebie (Boxers also + 2 Lucky Boards   = 0L

Dress: Riddle (+ 2 shirts Gift @ Fab Free HQ-TONS of goodies) = 0L

Boots: Vinyl Cafe (Dollarbie a day location- past  are 50L now)  =50L

total: 50L

Look 2:

 

Worn:

Hair: D!va- Naomi 20000 members (Group gift)    = 0L

Necklace: Milady's -  (Marketplace)                       = 0L

Dress: Entre Mares - (Fab Free HQ)                       = 0L

Shoes: Maitrya- Subscribo Gift                               = 0L

Total: 0L

Look 3:

 

Worn:

Hair: D!va - Haruka (Group Gift)                       = 0L

Sweater: ~Sweet Poison~ - (Marketplace)        = 0L

Skirt: JANE - In store Gift (Tons others too!)     = 0L

Boots: COCO- Group Gift (Tons more!)              = 0L

Total: 0L

About My Body!:

Shape: Made by me :)                                               = 0L                    

Skin: Mamboo Chic- Lucky Board       = 0L

           Eyes: TechnoLati- Hazel Blue on Marketplace         = 1L

 Total: 1L

Over all Spent: 51L !!

Additional Notes:

I also snagged some great things that aren't sp easy to see! Oracul offers one of the BEST freebie AO'S I've seen. You can snag it at the Fab Free HQ. It comes with a male AO as well and it's Copy/Trans!

The poses I used were freebies from Fab Free HQ and D!va (upstairs)

When making my looks this time around I wanted to focus on quality. Any old person can find a free outfit (If you can't then you deserve a smack upside the head ala Gibbs on NCIS.. :D). Rich textures and decent attachments make an outfit better than the system layer snoozer! The hardest things for me to find was decent hair (I tend to be ultra picky normally) and shoes. I never did go gaga over any of the shoes I found but oh well. Granted I could have used a chunk of that 550 to buy shoes or hair but I was more focused on an actual newb shopping.

Also noted: I could have made this super easy by doing hunts and current sales but I thought it smarter to show items that may still be around months from now!

Taking it one step further:

One thing we most often overlook is something as simple as a profile pic. Often spending 10L to upload is a big deal to someone new. (This is for anyone not using SL V3). During my quest for poses or photo studios to make a profile pic I found a rare gem. Studio Focus is a new photography location just getting started. As a special offer to new patrons they are doing one free shot to new group members. You can join the group - here-  and contact Sunnyboi Canis or Savannah OHare! (I'll be doing a write up in the upcoming days on these two so stay tuned if you are interested!

Check out the pic Savannah did for me:

 

Until next time! XOXO

Happy Halloween, but I'm feeling a bit Blah

Hey lovlies!

I had originally planned on showing something ghoul-tastic today in honor of Halloween butttt.. I ended up being introduced to this adorable store called Blah!

The stuff in this store is a bit out of my comfort zone but everything was so cute I couldn't resist sharing it with you all! It's a very 'American' store dipped in sugary sweetness. Imagine bright colors mixed with baseball T's, sweater dresses and  a great assortment of eyes, piercings and tatts! I am a total sucker for rich textures and cutesy items. You all really need to get over there and check things out!

Prices are absolutely reasonable and there are a ton of goodies to grab as well! hOshi is an incredibly generous designer who is active in hunts as well as offering 2 cheap gifts for Halloween and 3 lucky boards. Be sure to join her group as well because it's absolutely free as well as needed it to stalk the lucky boards and to get that free group gift in stores!

 

Pic 1: Top- Halloween cheapie (there is also a lingerie set offered as well!)

Pic 2: Top-  Lucky board item

Pic 3: Top- Group gift item!

The skirt shown in all three pictures is another lucky board item I snagged at Blah!

What are you waiting for?! Get on over there and snag some awesome deals!!

Baby it's cold outside

Hello again lovelies!

I just wanted to take a moment to show off my newest chilly weather look!

DCNY just released an adorable cable knit mesh sweater dress! I can't even begin to tell you how much this means to me! One of my favorite looks for the chilly seasons consists of sweater dresses and tights. In the past I've never been fully satisfied with the final look of any sculpted bottoms as the skirt portion never seems to full match up. Currently the dress is offered in a multitude of colors! You can find it in-world or on marketplace! Be sure to try out a free demo and obviously be using a mesh enabled viewer!!

Also worn:
Hair & boots- [elikatira] - Currently having it's 1 yrs Anniversary (70% off) until Oct 30th
Tights: Jane's subscribo gift

PS: Does anyone remember the store Wrong?! It was one of my first find way back in the day. There was a time when it was the best and most affordable clothing out there for my newbie self. The items were a little bit punk/grunge and totally awesome. Anyway where was I going with this?

Oh right! Wrong is back baby! There is a 24h 100L sale going on  starting at midngiht so stop on  it and take a trip down memory lane! hugggles

DollCoco- let's chat it out

OKay, has anyone else been to DOLLCOCO? I've heard some whisps of convo and decided to try it out when I saw that the owner had set the light and dark body parts as a free group gift.

I was actually really excited about all this because I happen to have what I consider my "broken dolly" alt. Pretty much she's got something of a cracked skin, a cutsey dress and hair and she reminds me off a neglected doll. I love her look so much I've never found anything to replace her outdated skin or other items. When I heard about the new "doll" avatars popping up I figured I would test drive them before I did the real deal.

Here's the thing. While I think the concept is new and exciting I don't love the end results. For one, I'd hoped for more body styles. The tall lanky model look isn't really what I would hope my dolly looked like. Another thing is the issues with mesh when removing the parts later on.

When I first removed the parts and got back to my normal self there was something horribly wrong with my avatar. No matter what shape I tried I was stuck in some sort of stretched out and squished old school "Ruth". Thinking it was just me I rebaked and eventually had to relog. I ended up relaying the message to my husband who in turn tried it himself (on a totally different PC) Again upon removal there were some serious shape errors. He also noticed that the eyes were displaced with the wonky shape and therefore were always following the camera. It was a bit creepy to say the least.

All in all I have to say I was pretty disappointed. However being me I always have to find some of the good in things. The idea in itself is pretty awesome and the store left me feeling like I had stepped into "Build A Bear". Also the outfits and added items were pretty neat as well :D

Creativity: A
Execution: D

As an update: I worried that it was some sort of SL meltdown with mesh itself. This seemed to not be the case. I was able to wear all my mesh goodies with no issues except for the DOLLCOCO items.

Thoughts, comments? Has anyone had this happen?

The Amazing Downfall of Khloe

Hi darlings!

First off, feast your eyes on this:

Isn't that the best picture EVER?! Yeah, that's what I'm seeing upon login. Supposedly that would be Truth's mainstore. Clearly something is amiss here. I've been crashing, freezing, and just plain sucky all afternoon! It took me a half hour just to get a group gift and only becasue I was convinced I had to have it in the event SL decides to die.

I'm having flashbacks circa 2007-2008 when the grid totally went down and there was a scant 1000 of us still clinging to life as "Ruth"'s. A few of my friends and I rode out the great death of SL after a party. We ended up marooned on an island and we all had tiny boobs and  big feet, even the guys. Those were the days. However this horrible slow death is just NO fun. Is it just me? Or is there something more going on that I'm not clued in on yet?


Update: Truth finally rezzed bt that group gift from elsewhere I wasted all that time on? GONE.

I'm a but cranky. It's been an odd few days. I spent yesterday in the hospital... again. It's starting to feel like this is my initiation into a new place. Move = ER visit. I will say this tiny town has a very decent hospital. For the first time in my life there was NO ONE in the waiting room. I was in, and with a doctor in under 20 minutes. Apparently someone thought it would be a hoot to give me McDreamy's younger brother while I was weeping in pain. I swear this kid was younger than me. But he took my pain away and for that I can't fault him.

However his free hand with the pain meds left me sleepy as all get out. INsert drowsy wakeup this AM and I had to go to the DMV to get my new license. Not a pretty site. However I did pass the stupid written test. Seriously who the heck makes everyone take a written test when they've been driving for years with no record? Annoyance.

Anywho: the moral of this story is... not a clue. SL has decided to dislike me. If it's not just me feel free to let me know. Until I can long in correctly -hugs!

Step into my dorky world

Hello lovelies! I wanted to share some excitement with you all! This is a bit of a step outside SL but it does have to do with the future of my blogging!!

I got a tablet! Or I guess I should say I've been loaned one (uhm yeah i'm not giving it up!) My Father-in-law was super kind to give me his barely used tablet. He bought it for work purposes, used it for less than an hour and completed the task he needed it for. I've been drooling over it for a while now.

I've read some good and bad reviews about how other bloggers and photogs with tablets feel about them. It seems a bit of a toss up. I happen to adore this one, at least for picture editing purposes. Sometimes I've wanted to get a bit artsy for the sake of a challenge or just for a personal picture and doing some of the things I've wanted just hasn't worked out with a mouse. SO yay, excitement. And please bear with me are I take the journey into something totally new for me :D

Oh and what's a blog without a picture! I'm not a great artist but it did giveme a better scale of what I could expect to do :D

I drew this completely by hand and then cheated with a but of autofill while i played around. I'd liken it to the work of a child but hey considering i couldn't even sign my name with a mouse I'm pretty excited to start advancing.

Also for anyone interested in how it would help them:

Editing or creating makeup especially delicate pieces is SO much easier.

Halloween Hunt-Ricielli Style

If you are like me the changing of the seasons generally means an overhaul of your wardrobe. I've made it no secret that I tend to dress myself ( for the most part) in whatever trends are popping up in seasonal wears.

As I mentioned in my last post I've been getting my hands into some of the large hunts again. While multi Sim hunts can be a blast and introduce you to all types of new things, I often enjoy a simple one store hunt. Ricielli is one of my favorite places to enjoy during a hunt. I happen to love the fact that the items can all be mixed and matched to make multiple high fashion as well as casual outfits.

Another great fact about Ricielli hunts is the lack of a time constraint. Granted no hunt can last forever but I've never found myself worrying about not finishing in the alloted amount of time. Add to this the interesting hunt layout. The items are generally easy to find but you also aren't going to always find things where you would expect. If you are looking for the shoes you might just end up finding them in the skin section. This coy setup allows for the hunter to truly look around the store while still being able to find the items they want at a fast pace. Of course some of you might be wondering how you'd even know what to be looking for or what gifts to be expecting. If you happen to be a Ricielli group member the hunt note cards are always send out and they always include a single picture detailing the hunt items as well as what will be inside. The hunt items are numbered to make it easier. If you aren't interested in a specific option because you already have it you can simply verify the number on the item with the number on the picture and voilà - no gift repeats!

Check out the latest hunt going on now! Also keep in mind unlike most hunts the items you will be getting are not necessarily 'Autumn or Halloween' colors! Sometimes it's nice to get something fresh!

I loved the colors in this hunt. I've never missed the opportunity to catch a hot Ricielli item :D

I will give you a few helpful bits of info and thoughts on the products.  Each hunt item costs 15L. So if you happen to be a freebie fashionista then this hunt isn't for you. However if you like to snag an amazing deal while checking out a hot store then what are you waiting for!?

Also in regards to the items themselves:
- The 2 sets of earrings are a great steal. Keep in mind the jewelry tends to be on the large side and a big chunky.

- Number 17 is a multi colored shawl type shirt. If you have an avatar that moved her arms or has any chest thrusting animations you might want to skip this. I personally had some issues sizing it to one of my other personalities.

- Number 18 is a one shouldered Little Black Dress. Be warned this is one of Fhara's first attempts with mesh. There are 2 size options but I found it hard to size on myself. If you are a bit busty this might be up your alley/ However if you aren't yet sporting a Mesh viewer than move right along to the next goody.

JUst to give you an idea of the wear ability of the items :D