Category: Landscaping

The Reaper

Posted on by cejalaval

http://The Reaper

OK, so we’re far enough into October now where fall has begun in earnest. That means two things… it’s now officially fall, to the point where I’ve ripped out all spring/summer flora from my SL land and have put in all kinds of autumnal glory and fallen leaves.  I have to admit that it’s not only a nice, refreshing change, but it’s gorgeous! The fact that it actually uses less prims is a welcome bonus too lol! But more importantly, October means Halloween. I’ve been seeing lots of absolutely AMAZING Halloween decor this year, and I plan on featuring quite a bit in this blog.  First up is this fun item that can fit on just about any size lot to add that perfect touch of Halloween dread!

  • Halloween Arch –  TYLAR’S TREASURES – Reaper Garden Entrance, with animated bats.  Features a fall branch tunnel with fall leaves, bats flying above, all decorated with a standing reaper at the entrance — a reaper with flaming eyes! — & a creepy pumpkin on hay bale. Perfect for your Halloween decorating! Copy/modify, this fantastic item is EXCLUSIVELY available at Heathen’s Court, October 5th – 31st.
  • Location:  Pendle Hill

Do You Believe in Magic?

Posted on by cejalaval

http://Do You Believe in Magic?

It’s funny, but no matter how old I get, I never forget all the little fantasies and fairy tales and stories I’ve read and seen throughout my life.  Little everyday things may suddenly bring one to mind, totally out of the blue.  Like when a bell rings, I might think of Clarence getting his wings in It’s A Wonderful Life.  When someone complains that they have no idea what to pack (including myself lol), I laugh to myself when I remember that the most important thing is a towel (A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy).  And when I suddenly see a light or a candle brighten in a certain way, I always think of Tinkerbell in Peter Pan.  I know that some people will sneer at this.  But for me, I think that the ability to not only remember but to continue to see magic in the world around me is a gift, one that in today’s world I believe is increasingly valuable.  Of course I know it’s not real; but that doesn’t mean that the thoughts, the possibilities, don’t bring a smile, a lifting of the heart, a lightening of the step, in what can be a heavy, exhausting, depressing world.  And the fact is, magic comes in many forms. There’s magic in a beautiful sunset, in the night sky, in a brisk autumn afternoon, at dusk in the summer as the fireflies gather.  So believe like I believe, or don’t… go ahead and deal with things in your way, and I’ll deal with them in mine. We’ll see who smiles more!

  • Dress:  !!smesh – Felicity.  As much as I love fall, a part of me is still clinging onto summer.  With exceptional little outfits like this, it might become an endless summer! I love the cute teeny little shorts with the gorgeous lace panel that runs all the way around, but the top is what won my heart…  the bra cup with the lace overlay & the hanging ties with little beads.  And the color picker lets you not only choose a color from 24 starter choices but the whole color spectrum as well for the lace top, the bra, & the shorts so you can find the absolutely perfect mix of customized tones that you want.  You can adjust the transparency of the top &/or shorts too. Sized for Slink H/P, Belleza F/I/V, & Maitreya. 
  • Skin:  7 Deadly s[K]ins – Maze, worn in Maple browless.  Because this pack of Omega face/body skins also includes BOM skins & yesterday’s experiment worked perfectly, I again mixed a BOM skin for the head with an OMEGA skin for my body.  I love, love, love the result, especially with Maze’s smattering of freckles (I still add my own of course!)!  Fatpacks of 5 dark or light tones are available EXCLUSIVELY at the Dubai Event until Oct 20th.  A We Love to Blog Designer.
  • Hut:  Nerenzo Design – Little Shelter.  A great little item for the beach or the garden, the Little Shelter adds a great touch to your landscape, day or night.  Just see below! Includes 54 single & couple animations (I’m posed in one in both shots!), as well as 6 wood textures & 9 fabric options.  Available in both cuddle & adult versions.
  • Head:  Akeruka (AK) – Cleo (deluxe bento, now with BOM)
  • Body:  Slink – Hourglass Mesh Body Original, Full Version including Hands (Dynamic) & Feet
  • Hair:  Argrace  – Nanao
  • Brows:  Izzie’s – BOM Layers Eyebrows Curved
  • Freckles:  Izzie’s – Heart Mole & Freckles (System Layer); DS’Elles – Body Freckles (Omega)
  • Makeup:  DS’Elles – Series 6 Eyeshadow
  • Eyes:  IKON – Triumph
  • Nails:  Encore – Shades of Blue
  • Pelican:  Animania – Standing Pelican, Brown
  • Location:  my home at the Hideaway Collective (private)

 

Listening to A Summer Song

Posted on by cejalaval

http://Holding onto Summerhttp://Goodbye to Summer

I really can’t believe how quickly that nip in the air appeared.  In the space of just a few days I went from wearing shorts and tank tops to jeans, 3/4 sleeves, and even a jacket at certain times of day. The trees have felt it, too, and are just starting to turn.  And although their autumnal color is very beautiful and the fall air is refreshing after the oppressive heat, it’s also bittersweet…  I’ve always found fall to be a little sad. All the beauty of fall is actually a form of death (of course, much of it is reborn in spring, but still).  And although it doesn’t mean as much as it once did, when there was a real break in life between summer and the rest of the year, there’s enough of a holdover from childhood for it to be a bit melancholy.  It’s the time of all the “lasts”… one last summer barbecue, one last swim in the lake, one last bonfire, sometimes it’s one last kiss… whatever your summer is about… whatever made it special to you.  The weatherman says we’ll be back in shorts for a couple of days midweek, but I know that’s just a delaying tactic by mother nature… summer’s end is coming, if not already here… and it’s time for that one lasting look around before it’s gone (at least until next year!)… and to turn around and head into the next season with its own beauty, its own pleasures…  They’re already selling Halloween candy in the RL stores and Halloween costume here on the grid… can pumpkin spice latte be far behind?  😉

  • Dress:  Graffitiwear – String Kini Fatpack.  The perfect way to bid farewell to summer, this bikini comes with a matching half-on/half-off jacket that is sliding off your shoulders in a very natural but oh so sexy way.  The detail is fantastic, down to the way the little drawstring cords hang at the bottom of the jacket. Available in two color themes, dark & light (I’ve shown one of each), both with 10 tones for the top, the bottom, & the jacket separately. Sized for Tonic, Slink H/P, Belleza F/I/V,  & Maitreya.  Available at the Designer Circle 18/19 Sept 8th – 21st.  Demo available.
  • Campfire:  Nerenzo Design – Awesome Campfire, full package… includes the log with pillow (3 different colors wood; texture change menu for the pillows), the campfire (turns on & off), the radio, the backpack, the stump with candles, mushrooms, clover, grass, & a 7 rock arrangement.  It’s all copy, so you can set up a scene however works best for you… for me, trying to hang on to that last piece of summer, listening to the radio play A Summer Song, is the scene that came to mind.  Available in both cuddle & adult versions as the “full package” with the rezzables & the fire, or as a “log only” version. The fire itself can be bought separately too. Both the cuddle & the adult version have a 100% bento menu of 131 single & couple animations (but no facial expressions except the oral animations in the adult menu). The full package (both versions) currently has a promo price of 30% OFF until the Sept 22nd.
  • Head:  Akeruka (AK) – Cleo, one of the new deluxe bento heads from AK
  • Skin:  theSkinnery – Giulia (Freckled version)
  • Body: Tonic – Curvy Beauty + Booty Control… truly the most natural curves on the grid with the ability to add that extra oomph how & if you want it!
  • Hair:  Doux – Pink
  • Eyes:  IKON – Triumph
  • Lashes: SLACKGIRL –  Thay Deluxe Lashes
  • Freckles:  Izzie’s – Heart Mole & Freckles (Omega)
  • Standing Pose:  STUN – PosePack Collection Bento ‘Cindy’
  • Location:  my home in Blake Passage

Once Upon A Time

Posted on by cejalaval

Once upon a time, many vibrant subcultures lived in a wonderful virtual world called Second Life. Fairy folk and elves had land stretching across many sims, filled with art, song and creativity.  After dressing as fae and elf one Halloween and finding pure joy, Ceja and her partner decided to leave the human world behind. They created fantasy alts, and together as fae and elven prince they built a home in a marvelous treehouse near an open sea. Their home was a joyous one, full of color and fantastical flora and fauna.  But the time came when the elves and their kin departed SL for other words and the elven prince often had to travel to faraway lands on business.  What had been a rich and varied life became one of loneliness.  The two decided to return to living as human, and found that after such a long absence, it was once again fresh and exciting. Soon their fantasy lives faded into memory.  Life went on.  Then suddenly, a dragon appeared. His beating wings and breaths of fire rekindled those lost dreams and fantasies, and Ceja couldn’t resist building a glen for the dragon, full of the colors and richness that her elven home once held.  The road ahead is unclear… but for right now, it’s simply wondrous to have a touch of fantasy brought back, even if just for a little while…

THE SCENE

Just about everything you see is from TYLAR’S TREASURES, including:

  • Animated Dragon with Fire.  Dragon hovers over the perch (in itself a fantastic item), flaps wings & breathes fire every 4 seconds (just touch to start the animations).  Only a video could do this justice!  The detailing is simply awesome… just look at the “ribs” in the wings! Available in 7 colors: Blue, Gold, Purple, Magenta, Green, Red & Teal.  EXCLUSIVELY at the All Things Event, Sept 5th – 30th.  See below for both a closeup & a pullback for the full scene. (Just a note: looks AMAZING in some of the scifi windlights, but tried to keep colors as close as possible to a “normal” windlight)
  • Fantasy Stream Decor.  Features a lovely stream with animated water, & fantasy plantings along each side. There’s a rock dam at each end with a fantasy arched tree, together with some butterfly flowers. 
  • Fantasy Grass Hill.  The perfect “foundation” for a fantasy build!  It’s a very low mound on which to place some of your fantasy scenes to transition from green grass to fantasy building.  Not only is it copy, so you can add as many as you need, it has a 4-color texture change menu — blue, pink, purple, white — to liven up your landscaping. A must-have for the fantasy landscaper!
  • Fantasy Trees, Small.   A sneak peek at an upcoming new release that’s perfect when you just need a little more to “fill in” the scene.
  • From Inventory:  Flower Arrangement (Huge & Large), Leafy Wall, Gold Ibara Bush