Garden City Relief

Recently, Christchurch New Zealand was the victim of a terrible earthquake. For more information on this devastating event, you can read here: http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2011/02/24/new-zealand-earthquake-recovery.html

To help raise relief money for those affected, designers from around the Grid, myself included, will be offering goods, of which 100% of the proceeds will go directly to Garden City Relief. You can read about the project here: http://gardencityreliefsl.wordpress.com/

My offering (pictured below) is a special recoloured edition of the Destiny II gown, in the favourite colour of one of my Kiwi friends.

The event runs from Feb 26th-March 5th. You can teleport to the vendor area using this link between those dates to view all the offerings from the various merchants.

~Sophie~

The Sophie gowns are now available at Kouse’s Sanctum in their full range of colours, and my sincere apologies for the delay in blogging it. I’ve incorporated whimsical curls and butterflies into this design, keeping it fairly simple, but also interesting. There are a number of rich colours you can choose from, in either gold or silver trim (thanks to a nudge by a friend of mine, the silver versions exist). Each set includes three skirts, a full ball gown skirt, an evening gown skirt, and a short skirt as a bonus.

I was visiting the Garden of Dreams whilst capturing these images. I suggest paying a visit if you haven’t, there’s beauty to be seen there in every corner. I’d like to mention that the jewelry shown in these pictures is not yet available, but will be released -very- soon, so if you’re interested in it, please keep an eye out for release notices. The set is called Margaret, and will include tiara, necklace, and earrings.

As I work to prepare for the coming year’s events and releases, I’ll leave you with more pictures of Sophie. There are several below the cut, as well as a link to the complete set on Flickr. Safe winds!

~Melody~

The second new release in this brand new year is Melody. You may have gotten a taste of this gown from the ruby red and emerald green versions in the Advent Calendar. Now, this gown is available at the main store in it’s full range of colors. I’ve chosen to make the regular release contain more muted tones as a change of pace, and I find the result to be very pleasing.

Melody is a fairytale gown. With a full prim skirt that moves beautifully with you, and optional lacy prim sleeves, as well as chest ruffles for that extra touch of detail. I’ve paired the Melody gowns with the soon to be released Altheda jewelry set, which includes a necklace and matching earrings.

To view more pictures, please look after the jump!

~Victoria~

I’m still catching my breath from this Holiday season, and it’s not quite over yet! Everything on the Advent Calendar is still there at very low prices. After New Years it’ll be moved, and the prices on the items will increase, so if you want to pick them up while they’re still a steal, now is the time!

December was a pretty quiet month for me release wise. Why? Because most of the time I was working, it was either on goodies for the Calendar, or on one of the three gown sets I’ve been working on concurrently. Two of those are now out: Victoria, and Melody. In this post, I want to give you a glimpse at Victoria.

I paired this gown with the Fiona circlets, which were first offered in a limited edition for the Celtic Magic hunt in November. The circlets are now available in the main store in silver, gold, and wrought iron varieties, all of which have texture change, allowing you to choose from many pearlescent textures.

The Victoria gowns, and the circlets, will both give you points on your customer appreciation HUD when you wear it for shopping. Also, I’ve managed to find time to install the scripts for the system into just about every vendor in the front half of the store. The exceptions to this are the items on the Advent Calendar, and the cheapies at the front that run under 100L.

Victoria gowns are available in 10 colors (not counting the Holiday themed ones in the Calendar). Some of the tones are vibrant jewel tones, while a few are a little more muted. Each set includes top on jacket layer, glitch pants, prim skirt, and chest prims. The chest prims may need slight adjustment, depending on your shape, but I’ve made every effort to make editing it as easy as possible.

More pictures and info about the first customer appreciation reward after the break.

~Artemis~

Artemis is one of two new releases out at the Sanctum now. Though I originally made the textures for Artemis over a year ago, various attempts at prim work left me very dissatisfied – until this carnation. The sets include system layers, prim sleeves (upper and lower), an over skirt of sculpted prims, and the traditional flex prim underskirt, as well as the sculpted drape sash that falls from left to right.

There’s more than new releases at the Sanctum this week, though. I’m proud to announce that the second annual Christmas Advent Calendar is now up! Due to time constraints, I’m only able to let you see the first week’s worth of goodies in advance, but I’m working overtime to get everything else ready as soon as possible. Just like last year, one new item will be made available for purchase each day from now until the 25th! You can find the Advent Calendar in the same area that the Halloween countdown was.

Also new to the Sanctum is something that’s been in the works for a long time – a customer appreciation program. Atzel Congrejo of ACD has been an excellent help in bringing it into being, and now it’s ready for you to enjoy. For those who are either in the in-world update group or have joined the Subscribe-O, you’ll have been sent a box which contains the release note, as well as the HUD and information about this new system. You can also get one by clicking on the sign in the front of the store.

To begin, it’s the new releases that are compatible with the system, but I’m working to add more to it, so that every purchase you make will gain you points whilst wearing the HUD. It’s as easy to use as possible – promise! All you have to do is wear the HUD, and make sure you use ‘pay’ instead of ‘buy’ when shopping – that’s it!

When you get your HUD, you start with 3 free points. Most of the forthcoming items you can redeem the points for will cost between 10-20 points, so before long, you’ll be able to redeem for exclusive items that won’t otherwise be available for sale.

With that said…Happy December!

Credits below the cut.

~Ivyana~

The Ivyana gowns have a history behind them. In preparation for Miss Virtual World 2010, Ivyana Szondi approached me regarding a custom gown for the competition. What she envisioned was an elegant, simple and clean cut evening gown with a form fitting skirt, that flared below the knee.

After a long, long time of fiddling with the skirt to try to make it just perfect, I’ve decided finally to recolor the gown in eight new colors, and release them.

Ivyana includes top, glitchpants, system skirt, and prim skirt (six attachment points worth to ensure the best possible movement) and prim brooch. It’s available at the main store now, in seven pastel shades, and in black.

~Johanna~

Johanna is one of the newest releases from Kouse’s Sanctum. It’s one of three gowns made available today, the other two will be discussed later. Johanna isn’t just a gown – it’s also a jewelry set. Both are displayed on the first image. Utilizing vibrant colors and intricate primwork, it’s a labor of love that I hope you’ll enjoy!

I made Johanna with a key thought in mind – versatility. Wear the belt and matching jewelry for a more role play oriented look, or take off the belt itself and you’ll be left with a striking formal gown. The hair roses are included, and match the sculpted roses on the belt, with silver leaves and stems, and petals of fabric.

The gowns are available in several deep jewel tones, and the jewelry, sold separately, is available in both silver and gold, with gem change scripting. More pictures and credits after the cut!

~Celtic Magic Hunt~

As you may know, it’s been some time since I’ve participated in a hunt as a merchant. However, this small hunt was too special to pass up! I made the Fiona circlet especially for this event. It has never been sold in store before. Not only that, but its stone is a lovely, brand new blue stone texture that I’ve never used on anything else. To pick up this exclusive circlet absolutely free, look for the small Triskelle in the main store.

Need a hint? Here it is:

Keep your eyes upon the ground, near some furnishings is where I’ll be found.

I hope you’ll enjoy not only the circlet, but the entire hunt and the goodies therein. It may be a small hunt, but it’s a good one! Stores include yours truly, Avilion Mist, Emo-Tions, Trident, Mikki Miles, and more! The hunt began on November 5th, and will run until the 15th. Enjoy!

~Charlotte~

I made something new! Well, not really new, not to me, anyhow. The textures for Charlotte were originally made months ago, but somehow, I’d forgotten all about them, until stumbling on them again a few weeks back and deciding “Hmm, I really need to make something with this.” What followed is what you see before you know, the Charlotte gowns.

I wanted to create it with a Victorian kind of bustle, but I also appreciate that not everyone cares for that. The bustle is hence -optional- and is part of the belt attachment. Charlotte is available in nine regular colors, mainly deep jewel tones, but also a white version. There’s also a wedding version in the Bridal section of the store, which includes puff sleeves and a veil as bonuses.

And for those who love to accessorize, I’ve also made a matching  jewelry set, also named Charlotte. You can see it, and more pictures of the Charlotte gowns, and info on how to get yourself a 500L avatar, after the break. 🙂

~Rose~

I do hope you’ll indulge me for beginning the post with a dreamy image I captured while on the embryo sim. October seems to be slipping through my fingers, and I’ve got so much I want to show you…oh so much…but I’ll limit myself in this post to a new release – Rose.

Rose is a gown that began more than a month before its release. After what felt like endless considering, tinkering, and testing, I’m in love with the result. Rose is adorned with exactly that – roses on her textures, and sculpted roses in her prims. Not only on the Basque waist of the skirt, but also on the chest ruffles, and arm bands.  Subtly, elegantly, but very much there upon close inspection.

There’s a train option with the skirt, so you can choose whether you want the fuller, or the more sleek look. The prim sleeve are, of course, optional for wear (though I the whole outfit is much cuter with them worn). You can find Rose at the main store in a range of deep jewel tones, and in a couple of refreshing iridescent shades.

So, if you’re looking for a more modest gown for your collection that still boasts beauty and charm, you might consider Rose an option. In this pictures, my hair is from fri.day, skin from LAQ, and eyes are by Rosie’s Thingies. The sims are Alirium, and Embryo.

Also don’t forget, the Halloween Countdown calendar is still running, most of the items are now available, so if you haven’t had a chance to take a look, I encourage you to do so, you might just find that perfect Halloween outfit or accessory you’ve been searching for!