Blog Challenge!

Okay - this is not my usual type post, but it was irresistible, and will actually have some good tips (I hope :\ ). My good friend Uma Ceawlin posted a challenge on her blog to go for a surreal/goth/circusy/artistic type look - to stretch yourself outside of your normal comfort zone.

I was inspired by a combination of the incredibly beautiful circus girl skin from lessthan3 (yeah it's just about the only skin label you'll see me in these days. JOIN this group!!!! and staaaay. You won't regret it. She is so generous to her group, and is always coming out with some new kind of amazing creation to make your mouth water) and Pixel Dust's grand reopening in Festivale hair gift (Effing Clown Shoes Hair - was 1L - and may still be available, but I'm not positive). Not to mention ~silent sparrow~'s insanely beautiful Midnight Circus ensemble. I bought this LOOOONG ago, like over a year ago, when Hya had a sale, and I think it was only like 150L, but I'm unsure of the price now. (BAD BLOGGER!!) I can't get over how her quality of design has only increased - from an already amazing starting point.


I've also got on KISSME piercings from Sn@tch (50L - she's having a half off sale this week though so RUN!!!!) AND the way fun Dilly Dolls Midnight Mania entirely scripted texture/size/color change Floral Buckle Shoes. They change their board gifts often, so HURRY down and click to join. It's the easiest free thing in Second Life. Most stores have these, and not only is it fun to log on the next day and find folders waiting for you, it is also a great way to find out if this is a designer you will actually make more of an investment in. I think pretty much MOST of your favourite designers will have one.. Go on a Midnight Mania hunt and post what you find here! Let's have fun with this!


All shot @ the incredible Festivale sim - this is a MUST SEE, people. Not just because of all the awesome designers, but also just to PLAY! Remember playing? Exploring sims and DOING something in SL that didn't involve just sitting around? There's not enough childlike glee happening in Second Life, these days, and I think the experience is all the poorer for it. Go ride the carousel, or have the ferris wheel make you seasick. And most of all? LAUGH WITH YOUR FRIENDS. Things have been too stressful all around us, in RL and in SL - let's take some time to enjoy our friends, and just play.

Pixel Dust @ Festivale - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Festivale/135/163/27
lessthan3 - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Vodou/163/42/34
~silent sparrow~ - http://slurl.com/secondlife/silent%20sparrow/189/92/22
Dilly Dolls - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Illusion/63/63/25
Sn@tch - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Pulse/172/207/30

Blog Backlog ^-^

Today is going to be another grab bag of stuffs - mostly cos I've got to get these out of the way for a new (really awesome) post I'm working on next. This is a whole mishmush of styles, and obsessions, and fun times that all 6 of you who read my blog have come to expect. I'll break it into parts to give it a little bit of order:

1) A Continuation Of My Current Uncle Wiggily Infatuation

I'll keep my words short - as I think I've pointed out how much I love Esme's work. I've been wearing variations of the same theme for over a solid week now: Uncle Wiggily skirt, Uncle Wiggily shirt, with some kind of sweater or jacket, cute socks and my edge grafica engineer boots (0L - 15 min camping). Add to the mix the Uncle Wiggily patchwork antlers, and voila! That's what I've looked like all week. The only word I can find for it is "whimsical" or maybe just "me".


I'm wearing hair from bOOn (0L), Uncle Wiggily patchwork antlers (1L), Uncle Wiggily Gloaming Shadows skirt (1L -gloaming is my fave time of day/word so this is aces with me), She Swallows cardie by Sn@tch (200L for a giant fat pack on every layer), tank from Sisters (1L), stockings previously blogged, skin is lessthan3's Vain Inc Hunt giftie, and the usual boots. My necklace is a SECRET (forthcoming post I swear!). Pics @ Balderdash in Oubliette



Next up, I'm in Uncle Wiggily Indian Paisley skirt (1L for set of 5), Wiggily Hedgehog socks (which you can't see cos i am dumb - 50L for a 6 pk of colours), Ombre Shirt (Wiggily group gift), Spring.. sweater is from Thimbles (95L), hair from lamb (breeze - 300L per 4 colour pack definite investment piece). Pics taken @ HMPD



2. Grid Hunt Capitulation

Next is all about me conceding defeat and doing portions of the gridwide hunts that have plagued us all. I love them, but my only-in-sl-ocd hates me for them. I did not complete them, by any means, merely went to the stores I like. The worst part is? I've forgotten whether these were from the Vain Inc Hunt, or the Greatest Love.. so many stores were in both. (besides, too much pink is like pepto bismol for me - makes me vomitous every time)


I've got on BOOM's hunt gift, Tokeo Plastik's hunt gift corset underneath, with Gypsy Soul's Betrayed Heart gift scarf, Sh*t Happens zebra jeans dollarbie, lessthan3's vain Inc gift skin, CaLLie cLine's happy girl gift flats (she had pink ones submitted for whichever hunt gift this one wasn't), and Exile group hair gift, and my usual Aitui Armtubes. Pics taken at Uncle Wiggily's, Dilly Dolls, and the Vinyl Cafe, respectively.


Below is a Sanu group giftie Salmon Love Sushi! It does the hitting on of others for you!! Just clickety-click and whammo - SL date! (0L but I think it's available to buy for 50L)


3) Jennie The Typo Killer In Wonderland


This is me wandering around BlueBlood's sim - psychedelia at it most wonderfulness. I've got on OMFG's Pencil O' Doom (1L - fully scripted for damage!!!! muahahahahahaha), and OMFG's goggles (1L), tattered shirt from Sn@tch's Gun Bunny outfit (lucky chair gift), Fishy Strawberry's Butcher cargos (Halloween lucky chair gift - complete with noob fingies in the pockets), the ubiquitous edge grafica boots, Sprawl gloves (I forget how much I paid, but I wanna say 50L or so?), T. King's steampunk watch (part of a really expensive set, bought as a gift for a friend a couple years back, before I realised it was no trans, and also that I didn't much like the person I was buying it for anyhoo XD)and my gorgeous bruised skin is from lessthan3's Ghostbuster Gridwide Hunt gift.



My friend Meta popped in while I was exploring to burn his retinas out (really - this sim, at midnight, in Ultra graphics, is bright like WHOA). Here he is playing Mad Hatter at tea..

Uncle Wiggily = Whimsy

I don't remember how I first discovered Uncle Wiggily, but I do remember the second I saw the name, I knew it was a store I would love. I was given an Uncle Wiggily board game as a child from a Santa who was at a special Christmas showing of Bambi in the theatre. I loved that game, and still do. Esme has grown her designs exponentially from her first little store showcasing just a few of her watercoloury beautiful creations, to her now dreamlike HQ. I decided I was far overdue showing you her wonderfully whimsical wearable art (say that 3x fast!), and for all you new or thrifty shoppers - she makes a LARGE portion at 0-1L, and fairly prices everything else she offers. This post WILL be heavily picture-laden because honestly I could not help myself!


All of these were shot at the Uncle Wiggily mainstore (and yes! there are bunnehs ^-^). I know I should have featured many more of her designs, but I was having too much fun flouncing around as a pretty little fey girl to remember wardrobe changes. I am incorrigible. I will break down what I'm wearing throughout the post with pricing, and I'm fairly certain it will blow your mind!


First up my lovely peony crown (1L!!) - the kind I always tried to make as a little wren, but that always fell apart and never looked the way I thought it should from my fairytale books. The wings (again 1L!) are colour change with three different options, all of which make me think of the 70s patterns, but softer colours.

(Benjamin Bunneh blinked midsnap)

I've got on the lessthan3 Vain Inc hunt submission (0L), Anelo hair from fascino (everything is 50L - RUN!), the pottery necklace (0L) is TOSL's gift from the Starlust Litter hunt awhile back, engineer boots from edge grafica (0L 15min camping), and *an* multicoloured tights (1L, but I'm unsure if they're still available). The bangles are both Uncle Wiggily group gifts (0L, but now can be purchased for 1L each I believe) and the choker is a set of 5 different colour combinations (1L).


The dreamy patchwork skirt is just 1L, as is the autumn shirt. I love Esme's deft hand with soft natural colours and themeing.


My bubble is from the lucky chairs at HPMD (set of 5 with different poses) and check out my HANDS! These are bunneh and bear typing animations. When you type in public chat, they appear and you put on a handpuppet show for your friends (0L, much blogged about, yet still beloved)


And finally, one last bunneh!


Just a word - please people when you find a good group, with a generous lovely designer, don't smash and grab (ie., join the group for the gift and then dash) Yes, I do have one slot open and am guilty of that myself from time to time, due to the unholy 25 group limitation, but when you find a truly worthwhile group such as Uncle Wiggily's STAY in it. And not just stay - BUY. It is so important these days to help support the designers we love on the grid. They get SO much grief for every petty little thing you can't even imagine, and the only way to keep the SL economy fluid is to keep our builders and designers in the red. Look, I know it is difficult to spend a lot of money (well it's easy as heck, but I think you get what I mean), but even if all you can afford is the free gifts, or the occasional small gift, it is often good form to put a tip of any denomination in the jar for them. They will be grateful, and the majority recognise that a lot of us are po'. That small generosity of yours will truly come back in good karma, and may help a designer who is having a particularly thankless, harried day feel like what they do is appreciated. *gets off of soapbox*

Uncle Wiggily: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Magi%20Island/56/168/2
Fascino: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Bashamichi/118/95/22
lessthan3: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Vodou/171/44/34
Happy Mood (HMPD): http://slurl.com/secondlife/HappyMood/179/161/26

EDIT - I took a couple more shots of my Uncle Wiggily outfit over at the mecca of bunnehs and you can see them here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenniewren1976/

Hi, My Name Is JW..

and I'm an addict..

I think everyone who knows me at this point has noticed my slight infatuation with bunnehs. You know, the big kind you can sit on and cuddle (*coughs* scroll down in my blog for the exact moment my addiction solidified) Whenever I'm feeling lonely, or in need of a hug, and noone is around to appease the ache, I go and find one of these, and always feel better. HMPD is the creator of most of these awesome, eye-blinky, nose and ear twitchy BFFs, but there is also a sweet little calico patchy huggy version of unknown origin I've seen about and love equally. I've decided that my next few blogs will feature these wherever I find them on the grid - mostly cos I am of the Traveller family and own no land of my own (though I lust for a sweet little vardo somewhere like Hya once had on ~silentsparrow~ back in the day).

My first installment will be from Sanu's new home in Scribble - where I finished maybe the most fun, magical hunt I've ever done in SL. The gifts were mindbogglingly stupendous, and while I didn't take any shots of the actual gifts (cos A) I'm stupey and forgot to before I logged and B) everyone else and their sister blogged about them already so it's not like I'd be breaking any new ground there.) I DID take some that show just a touch of the beauty that is Sanu's new home.

This first shot is what I first saw when I tp'd into Scribble - Radio had changed her colour scheme for Valentine's day! The contrasting colours are just so striking. She is an artiist I admire greatly. (NOTE: I will be doing a Scribble product entry soon, cos I've been long amiss in my showing the incredible gifts she gives to her peeps). Hullo Valen-ghostie!


I then headed over to Sanu and gasped at how pretty her new store is! While getting sucked into the whimsy that is Sanura's hunts, I couldn't help but play on all the neat things she has around, including bunnehs!!


My hunt outfit consists of Rock Candy's Bambi hair (100L for a 6 colour pack), Thimbles' Henry Hybrid plaid shirt (20L for two versions, but only for a short time), Bingo's starry leggings (0L 5 pack), socks from Sn@tch's F'n Colourchange Leggings (lucky chair gift), flats from Kookie's (45L V-Day special.. so sweet!), and denim cutoffs from Project Kiwi (20L).


Waiting for Sanu's Lucky Chair..


Look at the ingenious way Sanura links in all the important information.. *le sighs over the storybook romance of it all*


Exhausted by all the hunts (and the ginormous mochalattecino caffeine crash) I take a much needed snooze on the soft paws of my friend here.. Right next to Sanu's gift in the Greatest Love hunt oddly enough ^-^

Where to get stuffs:

Sanu @ Scribble: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Scribble/220/43/21
Thimbles: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Floyd/39/148/23
Kookie: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Cupcake/156/55/36
Rock Candy: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Phoenix%20Unlimited/240/138/22
Sn@tch: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Pulse/172/221/29
(I lost the lm for Bingo - anybody have?)

A Gypsy Soul Day

Today I had a mini shopping trip over at Gypsy Soul, fueled by the notice of her outfit Trio being marked 50% off til the end of the week. So, this blog isn't about free stuff entirely, but these outfits are well worth the money you spend, as you can mix and match and blend with endless other outfits. While I was there, I snapped up Bittersweet, which I'd been eyeing since I saw it on her blog, and also found Daisy, a new creation. Cackling over my goodies, I skittered out into the wide wide world of SL to go play. Regrettably I was by my lonesome, as everyone else was working. Pffft.


The first outfit I put on was Daisy (300L).. I love Solitude's skillful hand at soft wrinkles and texturing. There is a ruffle that comes with this outfit that is too cute, but I wanted to pair it with my *en svale denim jacket (280L), and then I forgot to put it on when I took the close up shots. I'm lame *rolls eyes*. The first two shots were taken outside of Rebel X's mainstore and the other two were while I was playing in the sunflower garden @ Starlust.


I'm also wearing Truth's Rachel hair, part of the 50L sale which I believe is still ongoing, and caLLie cLine group gift flats again, because they just compliment Sol's colours so sweetly..


Look at the pretty daisies trailing up my torso..


After a quick change, a jaunt across the Starlust/Horst sims, and popping over to the new, nearly opened Free*Style mainstore, I needed to take a small break while wearing Trio (160L til week's end).. I think you readers have noticed my addictions to layers by now, and this feeds that itch nicely.


You'll notice the scarf is similar to her holiday group gift, with my favourite poofy tassels. I'm still wearing the flats, but the hair is now = Hal*Hina ='s contibution to Energy Green Island's AMAZING (and eco-educational) prize camping trail. I modded it slightly to add strands of chocolate here and there.. After being rejuventated by a hot cuppa, I paused on Marlys' porch.


There are details all over this outfit - the soft waffle texture to the thermal undershirt, the scattered bustline polkadots, AND, the thing that I just love - the pockets!!! Look at how cute they are (warning: gratuitous butt shot, but really.. it's in the interest of sharing)


Next I slipped into Bittersweet (300L) - and I knew just what hair I needed. Velvet by Philotic Energy (199L). It's crazy and fun and has the graphic pop the outfit itself displays. So after a quick stop to snap up this style, I skipped over to Festivale for a moment and got shackled to a knife throwers wheel. Damned clowns..


As soon as I could get the heck out of there I went to a derelict house in ~silent sparrow~. I love the soft warmth of the sweater, so it made being in the snow was a must.


Look how awesome the cords are! I love that she gave socks, and always includes a layer option to have either tucked in or out cuffs.


This look is all about textures and the visual. It might take awhile for me to take this one off..


So there you go - "the many sides of me". Well, at least just a couple of them, and just today's. Sybil ain't got nuthin' on me!

Where to get stuffs -
~gypsy soul~ - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Tully/127/98/25
Philotic Energy - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Imogen/210/78/251
Truth - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Truth%20Island/152/145/25
*en svale - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Thisbe/8/117/22

A First Time For Everything..

Okay.. SO - let me start off this one with a disclaimer: I don't do ballgowns. I know SO many of you ladies love prancing around in ornate, puffy skirted creations, but it's just never been my thing. Really. I admire the people that can carry them off, but have never felt I could, and my tomboy nature would rebel against it anyways, I've always suspected. Especially as I'm a smaller avi - the gowns tend to drown me and often you can't mod the size. THAT said - when I saw these gowns dropped in my inventory, I was apprehensive, but game. After much giggling by my friends, I opened the first dress, called "Heart Breaker" - this one here -

I had my best friend OP with me for moral support as it rezzed.. and once I shortened the skirt, we were both stunned to realise "hey this is pretty COOL!". There were no flouncy bits anywhere, no yards and yards of tulle to make Scarlett puke.. Just dense luxurious velvety blue colour, and a myriad of fun little details like the daggers piercing the cold blue hearts on the gown hem and repeated on the corset. I also realised that I could use pieces of this with other outfits. Which, gown novice that I am, I think is really rare. To me? This one screamed Lady Macbeth..


My initial success made me eager to try on the next - called "Cold Baby Blue"... And while this one is not remotely my style, it brought to mind all the old musicals I love to watch, think "White Christmas" with Bing escorting this elegant woman around the stage as they sing, then ripping up the boards with her moves.


Notice the fluffy feathery trim.. it's quite lovely!


I've saved my favourite dress for last - the "Bleeding Heart". I can't say enough how much I love this one - between the hand drawn pleats and ruching in the corset and camisole, and the silky long ribbons trailing down my arms, not mention the wicked broken hearts pattern scattered asymmetrically around the hemline, I think I may almost be a convert. Well, that's going too far - I will make an exception to the no ballgowns rule for this special case. (and a secret? I had on my engineer boots from edge grafica and over the knee tube socks the whole time.. *sings "I just gotta be meeeeee"*)


I won't say much more about this so you can admire the gorgy dress.. but at the end of my post I'll tell you how to go about snapping up one of these lovelies for FREE. Yes I said it - FREE. I took the bulk of these pictures at the Magic Of Oz sim, because it is too lovely in any season not to visit, not to mention the wide range of top notch labels that have shops here. The first three, however, were shot @ DollyRock, which is a romantic must visit for all you Valentines couples out there.


Taking the broken hearted lover's leap...


Here's the goodness - these are available through February only, at the special camping sewing machines at Inara's Fantasy (http://slurl.com/secondlife/Perturbatio/112/237/23).
It's basically a camp chair set up so you "sew" your own creation. Now get to the getting!

OH! and here's some other information I think would be good to know, as posted in the accompanying notecard:

Gowns are between 100L$ and 800L$
Silks are 500L$
Uniforms sets are 300L$
Uniform pieces are between 75L$ and 150L$

At the back of the main section, you'll find a Sale wall where you can find silks for 1L$ or 250L$, 3 dresses at 1L$ and 1 at a 100L$. More may be added in the future.

P.S. I forgot to mention that I'm wearing the new February group gift hair from Exile. I am so in love with this hair - you'll be seeing it in my next blog as well.

Week Of Randomness

So really I don't even know where to begin with this blog.. It shows a whole lotta sides of me, and really had no coherency except that I'm in it. haha I've been trying to wrap my mind around how to make these all one post - as I am too lazy-feeling to split them up as I properly should. *gasp* I'm breaking blog rules!

Part 1

This first outfit is me channeling my inner Victorian Goth.. upscale stylie. It was inspired by the Domestic V skins that were offered for a very brief time for 1L each and based on different vampire classes. There were 8 in all offered, and I'm wearing the Nicolette skin. They are still avaialble for a reduced price, I believe, but not 1L that's for sure!


I just knew exactly what I needed for this look - The "Winter In London" coat I won from The Black Canary's lucky chair. I love the ornate yet simple flowing lines of his work - and I will soon be dedicating an entire post just to him I promise. ^-^


I'm also wearing the awesome boots I blogged about in my Scribble blog.. (I love these! So elegant.) Also - gloves from Sn@tch (part of an older group gift OL - join her subscribo. you won't regret it), whose brocade designs meshed so well with the detailing on my scarf, and a mini tophat from Izumiya - which I can't stop wearing! For 1L - to get such quality work in an accessory is rare! I also have the Kaori hair from Goldilocks - yet another Lucky Chair Gift.. AND best of all - an exquisite monocle courtesy of Sanu (0L group gift - word to the wise - join ASAP!! She may be closing the group to open enrollment soon and she offers so many group gifts and special sales on her teensytiny primmed masterpieces your head WILL spin)

All in all my outfit cost a grand total of 1L! Not too shabby eh? I can't stress enough how great Lucky Chairs are - and it's a good place to meet new people or do some inventory sorting while you wait for your letter to pop up!

Part 2

This next outfit, I think I'm channeling my inner riot grrl, Joan Jett even..
It centers around the new group gift from Worldwide Industries- the Kiss mini sweater, and the Raggedy socks from Sn@tch. I just love it.


Underneath the sweater I am wearing a sheer, tattered and bloody wifebeater from Sn@tch that I got as part of Lucky Chair pants set called Gun Bunny, along with these awesome arm tubes I got from Aitui (0L opening gift) in Shadow. I believe they're regularly 50L per colour, so, still, a good price for a neat item. Jelly bangles of retro goodness come from Woo's - and I couldn't find this store last time I looked for it! Sadness. These were 50L for both right and left, in matte and shiny black options - I've had them FORever..

My hair is a wicked group gift from Rock Candy, and I just have to say, I love ALL the hair from this designer. Very edgy - and it has to be special to pull me out of my usual brunette look. I also have on one of the first boots I bought in SL, the Thrashers from Darkstar Designs. It's a label that I think has folded since, but I miss them. Gaia's boots and other clothes were, and still are, very me! Awesome roughedged details, and perfect for grunging up a frilly outfit, or for tromping around the dingy areas of SL.

oh and just cos? Me on Bunneh! (haha Meta beat you to it! Still wanna see your version, slvain as I am. Next time stop doing the electric slide and we'll use you as a model)


Part 3

This next bit is just for the sheer fun of it. My good friend Roark (Clubhouse Designs owner - plugplug.. blogged him previously) went and made a great SL splurge of.. a JET!!! And I got to go on a flight!

Upon looking at this photo, you have to wonder why I don't have a safety mask or helmet or any other safety gear. Especially as the first time out Ro crashed into the ocean, and I got jailed by someone's security system til it crashed SL. The second time (and landing) were WAY more successful and the following shots are from that. Thanks Ro! Way fun!