The sky broke through the clouds and the sun shined down on the valley, signs of spring are in the crisp air. Today, I wanted to style a garden room featuring Park Place Home Decor items at Gacha Good The Best Is Yet To Come Event until February 15, 2017. The event offers exclusives items and 2 gacha pulls; one for home decor items ($40/pull) and the other for fashion items ($60/pull). The exclusive home items available for individual sale are the Touch of Spring Bench, Floor Pillows and Flower Houseplants (Yellow Hibiscus, Pink Frangipani & Purple Hibiscus). Some of the home gacha collection shown above includes Basket of Yellow Roses, Liberty Planter Arrangement (trio) and Flower Basket Pink. 
Another exclusive item offered at The Best Event is by Park Place Casuals the Elena Slacks Outfit in Chocolate/Beige. The outfit features a brown leather vest style front detail on a cream shirt with taper leg beige pants. The classic slacks are also available in dark red and black. And if you’re looking for a more laid back style, jeans in two colors are for sale. I’m wearing Lamb Dissolved Girl hair, a past group gift and Modish Nadine Gem set, free group gift from the Ultra Event. To the right side of Park Place Touch of Spring bench is Serenity Style Love you country frame, a free gift for the All About Home Group. Also shown is StoraxTree Vintage Plant Stand Rose Bush Pink, the hunt gift for Love Me…Love Me Not Hunt from 2/1-2/28. 
The last item I want to highlight is Park Place Casuals gacha item Becca Spring Sweater & Skirt in Purple Plaid. The sweater is loose-fitting and tucked in the front with a soft drape in the back. The plaid mini has a cute side cut-out detail. I’m wearing Lamb hair new group gift, Lovesong. There are some cute finds at Gacha Goods The Best is Yet to Come event with loads of Valentine’s Day and romantic items. Hope you enjoyed my touch of spring blog post!
Category: Hair
Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree!
The fifth annual Second Life Christmas Expo will run from December 3 to 14, 2015 and is a mega event that raises funds for Relay For Life of Second Life (RFL of SL). 100% of registration fees, sponsorship fees, kiosk donations, hunt, raffle, auction, and vendor donation items are paid to Relay For Life of Second Life. Relay For Life of Second Life is a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society and is a virtual version of The Society’s signature real life fundraiser – Relay For Life. You can find more information about RFL of SL here: http://relayforlifeofsecondlife.org/ .
The 2015 Second Life Christmas Expo will consist of both holiday and non holiday items from some of the best creators and designers in Second Life, spread across 8 sims! The Expo will feature special events, including live performances, djs, skating parties, a Snowman Building Contest, Hunt For the Bells, Naughty Or Nice, a Christmas Tree Lot, holiday raffles and gotchas, and of course photos with Santa! The Holiday Of Hope Ball, for the 5th year running, will be held at the Christmas Expo. And returning to the Christmas Expo as a special event this year is the Avi Choice Fashion Awards.
Since there are so many activities happening within the Expo, I wanted to highlight a few in today’s post. My dear friend, the jolly elf Earth Nirvana of Whimsical Happenings is participating in the Christmas Tree Lot with an exclusive festive and spirited upside-down garden pot tree complete with presents under the tree. The Lopsi Tree is a modern, unique and whimsical approach to Christmas Tree! 100% of the proceeds of the sale is donated to Relay for Life of Second Life, check it out.
Another fun event at the Expo is the Hunt for the Bells ’15, a $10L hunt with 100% donated to The American Cancer Society. This year there is a photo contest (12/5-12/15) for the Hunt for the Bells hunt, with a grand prize of $10,000L giftcard with other prizes for runners-up. To enter you must use at least 10 hunt items, submit a NC listing the items to Earth Nirvana and send full perm picture to Leala Spire for voting & social media placement. Please keep the picture PG & tasteful. Good luck! In my photos above I’m using Spyfalle Holiday Party Paper Lanterns in the windows from the Hunt for the Bells (hint: “let it go”).
So many creators have designed 100% RFL donation items including the Sage Nice or Naughty Sweater dress (pic #1 & 2) available for males & females. Sage has also created the exclusive Noel Sweater Dress (pic #3) for 50% donation available in a variety of colors. Gloria is wearing Oceane Body Designs Pretty 1 pack eye make-up and lip color also a 100% to RFL. Finally, the Cookies for Santa green snowflake draped table is from Outside the Box, with 50% donation to American Cancer Society. The SL Christmas Expo offers daily live entertainment, tons of events, hunts, freebies, exclusives all for a great cause. You have until December 14th to stop by and explore all the wonders of the season!
Picture #1:
- Sage, Nice or Naughty Sweater (100% donation)
- Oceane Body Designs, Pretty 1 Pack 12 (100% donation)
- ZOZ, Snowflake Glitter 2 (Slink nails)
- Tantalum Jewelry, Epiphany Ring
- Semi-Precious, Noel Earrings (color change HUD)
- Truth, Louisa (Group Gift)
Picture #3:
- Sage, Noel Sweater Dress (50% donation)
- Oceane Body Designs, Pretty 1 Pack 13 (100% donation)
- Semi-Precious, Xue Snowflake Earrings
- Entice, Christmas Slink Nails
Teahouse of the August Moon
A new round of The Challenge has started for June with the theme Asian. There are seven designers participating in the monthly themed event offering everything from a tea house, to sushi, to Asian cabinets. The Challenge is a bit different than other monthly home & garden shopping events where themed products are available for sale at one location. With this event you can sneak peek the items on The Challenge site and then if interested in purchasing the creation, you teleport to the different stores.
I personally love incorporating Far East pieces in home decor. My childhood home was mainly furnished with Oriental antiques from my families travels. The refinement of clean lines, balanced simplicity, natural materials, and hand painted lacquer furniture are elements of Asian style. When I saw the June designs for The Challenge, I couldn’t wait to create a Japanese tea house in Second Life. Traditionally, the tea house (as known as chashitsu) is free standing structure designed exclusivly for tea ceremonies. Typical features of chashitsu are shoji windows and sliding doors made of wooden lattice covered in translucent paper. I’m very fortunate that I’ve participated in many tea cermonies and its truly a beautiful experience.
I utilized [ht:home] little tea house as my building and styled a traditional tea ceremony with Cleo Designs tea table, chairs and tea accessories. Cleo’s gorgeous luminous screen and floor lantern are flanking the side wall. Apple Fall’s Chinese Credenza serves as a buffet table for Jian Sushi & Sashimi Time trays. On the side of the buffet is 22769 ~ [bauwerk] My Zen Corner birdcage, cherry blossom, small buddha head, incense burner and zen stones.
Pull the shoji screens closed and both sides of the doorway have Asian cabinets (22769 ~ [bauwerk] My Zen Corner & Newchurch Kaidan Mission Tansu) and customary artifacts from porcelain temple jars, to bonsai trees, to miniature Japanese zen garden. You can easily incoporate any of these furnishing into your SL home creating layers and nuance. Don’t be afraid to experiment with unfamiliar styles, after all virtual interior design is easier on your back!
I also wanted to highlight Prism Moira, a sexy Asian printed outfit available for free on the Summertime Fun Hunt (June 1st – 30th). Although you couldn’t wear it to a tradtional tea cermony, it will serve as the perfect inspiration for incoporating Asian style in your home.
Featured items available from The Challenge:
- [ht: home]: little tea house
- Cleo Design: Asian Dining
- 22769 ~ [bauwerk]: My Zen Corner
- Jian: Sushi & Sashimi Time
- Newchurch: Kaidan Mission Tansu
Other items used:
- KIDD Creations Bamboo & [DDD] Zen Bamboo
- *bbqq*: The Ming dynasty China scroll painting B (Past Arcade gacha)
- Apple Fall: Asian Art, Chinese Credenza, Temple Jar, Bonsai Tree & Cherry Blossom Branches
- Alouette: Miniature Zen Garden
On Gloria:
- Prism: Moira (**FREE** on Summertime Fun Hunt)
- Soonsiki: After School ($50L sale)
Summer Ready!
Super quick post to spotlight a few Fifty Linden Friday items offered today, June 5, 2015 till 11:59pm SLT only. Does the Valentina E Sail Away With Me Gown look familiar to you? Well it should, it was released at the May round of FaMESHed for $325L, so the deep discounted one day only price is a steal! I paired the gown with Molichino Tri-Necklace Gold also available for $50L today. My hair is from *Soonsiki! (Diamond March Group Gift) who has rebranded and all hairs are on sale for $50L. And, behind me is a sneak peek of Sway’s Rowboat Bench available at the upcoming LTD the Event, starting June 10 (anchor decor available at The Arcade). Get ready for summer with great deals!
Asian Futurism
In the past few weeks I’ve been honored to judge the 2015 Colour of Couture Top Model Competition. COC, founded by Reign Congrejo and Sequoia Nightfire, showcases the talents of Women of Color in Second Life Fashion across the grid including: Aboriginal, African/African Diaspora, Alaska Native, Asian, Caribbean, Latin American, Maori, Native American, Indian, South Sea and Pacific Islanders, and Indigenous heritages throughout the world.
One need not be a woman of color (in RL) to compete in COC. The goal is to bring awareness and celebrate the different cultures and ethnicities of women across the global community. Candidates embrace world cultures, have the spirit and cooperative nature to celebrate beauty, intelligence and creativity of Women of Colour, and honor these women for their contributions and achievements.
Saturday, May 9, 2015 at noon will be the 3rd runway show with the theme Junko Koshino, a Toyko based fashion designer who draw inspiration from “Taikyoku” balancing contrast and harmony. Significant in Junko designs is the juxtaposition of the individual and the group, dramatic theatrical costuming, futurism, technological innovations, and industrial products. Koshino work ranges from designing costumes for the opera “The Magic Flute” and “Madame Butterfly,” the Broadway musical play “Pacific Overtures” (Nominated for Tony Award), to designing sport uniforms, and interiors. 
Koshino challenges almost every preconception about fashion materials available for clothing, her garments feature geometric asymmetrical shapes, bright and contrasting hues, various lengths, and unusual fabrics such as: metals, helmeted figures, sculptural forms, cocoons and spirals, concentric circles, ribbed construction, and materials from plastic to metal to cloth. The circle is most important to Koshino, who sees the form as complete and eternal, both ancient and futuristic.
One of the best parts of judging a styling contest is you learn about real life global fashion designers that you were not familiar with and since you studied the designers inspiration you can create your own interpretation. I greatly enjoyed Koshino artistry and wanted to design an outfit that merge traditional theatrical geisha with avant-garde futurism coupled with industrial metals playing with textures and shapes. In the Junko’s Spring/Summer 2014 Poland Fashion Week runway show, the color palette was primarily silver, black, white, touches of hot pinks/neon lime and metal with large sculpted hips. Since the circle is the central element in Koshino designs, I selected a collar that framed the face and traditional geisha styled hair with fan completing the form. Hope you liked the styling and if you have tomorrow, stop by the show and see the COC candidates interpretation. Taxi please…
- Hair: Sys, Hanayo
- Skin: Belleza, Ria Pale 4
- Make-up: Madrid Solo, Killing Me Softly (Eye) & Saturn Spoke (Lips)
- Dress: Legal Insanity, Phoebe
- Collar/Cuff: Zibska, Varushka (Collar) & Alcmene (Cuff)
- Shoes: Azoury, Cordelia
Gloria Silverstone 