Tuesday 1 July 2008

PAN & AGAPEE Islands - The Garden of Afterlife

Hi,

So I recently Visited the Islands of Pan & Agapee and was quite impressed and so this week I'll be posting about them. So the Islands are very well laid out with regular guide boards to lead you around the build. First a bit of background the Islands of Pan & Agapee are designed as a glimpse of the afterlife (Or because I don't wanna offend anyone I should say at least the designers interpretation of it). It is the ideal build for a photo shoot or a romantic walk as there are numerous spots for couple to sit and enjoy one another's company.

So as visitors enter the build they will find them selves in an area entitled the Gateway to Heaven on a side note I have used numerous windlight settings as I moved through the build, for here I used the Fine Day setting.

This area features a lovely field of golden flowers, with a few trees for effect and is a taste of things to come. Before moving on don't forget to take a read of that guide board for a little more info.


Following the path will next lead visitors to The Astral Realm for here I took note of the guide board and switched my windlight to the Night setting for the dramatic effect. This next area features a mixed field of yellow and pink flowers, with lovely Sakura trees and in a very impressive effect low dense misty clouds and little rainbows. Couple these clouds with the night windlight settings results a a pretty stark yet beautiful result.

This area also have a few poseballs to allow to drift asleep amongst the clouds or you can sit on one of the flower shaped chairs and watch the world go by.

Once again hit that guide board for more info then continue along the path to The Realm of the Good. For here I switched to Midday1, this area is a large space featuring a small field of white and pink flowers a Japanese style house and numerous corn style fields, and a small pond and bridge. Surprisingly there very little of note in here and you will find yourself drawn to the Dome of enlightenment in distance which is the final section of this island, before you move on hit that guide board again.

On to The dome of enlightenment which sits in the middle of a circular pond and is a place for quiet reflection, the inside of each pillar has a different meditative and motivational phrase to the other side of the dome is a small boat which when clicked will teleport you to the scenic south island.

Here on the south island is 4 separate styles and visitors will find them selves amongst numerous rose bushes, there is also a sunflower field with unicorn rides, a tropical beach with waves crashing upon the rocks and my personal favourite a large Sakura tree forest complete with blossoms floating on the wind. This island is relatively lacking in any other large features.



So there you go, short but sweet.

The lovely Victorian maid styled outfit featured is the Shirley Set from *Edelweiss* by Moeka Kohime, it's priced at L$600. Which may seem pricey but the pack does contain 2 Types of blouse (with or without apron) in Long, Short and Rolled Sleeve varieties, Apron Frills, 2 types of skirt (with or with apron), Socks and a headdress. All parts are Modify and Copy enabled.

But what really makes this outfit special is the Guarantee, which will allow you to when presented to the clerk in the main store will get you a new copy of the outfit. Thus allowing you get the latest update of your outfit, or replace it should you loose a part, etc. This guarantee works multiple times as well.

Which in my opinion makes it more then good value for money.

*Edelweiss* Shirley available at the *Edelweiss* Main Store:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Zero%20Style/220/70/29

So until next time,
Katherina

Sunday 29 June 2008

New Clothes @ *CG* and Umi Usagi

Hi,

So since its a good opportunity to review/display outfits, any new releases of note that I'm made aware of via update groups I'll try and post up here in my blog. Depending on how things are released will affect how often this feature appears.

So to announce a few new outfit releases that have occurred over the past few days, firstly *CanalGrande* has released *CG* Carolina and *CG* Felicity, priced at L$70 and L$80 respectively.

These outfits while not been completely new designs, they appear to be outfits that Canal kept for her own use as they are in some of her model shots for other items in the store. I myself haven't decided if I like *CG* Felicity, but *CG* Carolina is a nice and a bargain at that price.

Next up is another favourite brand of mine: Umi Usagi by Jeter Jun. Most of her designs features rabbits in some form and although they only do a few Lolita outfits, the other outfits they have available are excellent and worth a look at.

Which brings me to the new collection released, the Rabbit Tiered Tunic Set priced at L$500 for the bulk pack containing all 7 colours and 2 pair of Jeans. Or each tunic separately for L$100 and the Jeans priced at L$50. Which is excellent value for a good quality casual outfit, should you require a change of non-Lolita clothes.

And that's it! Now I'll take this time to explain a few other regular posts I'll be intending to make on this blog, as well as weekly ones showing places I've visited and the outfits I've worn.

Hopefully time and material allowing I would like to do a monthly feature, I'm thinking of been original and calling it something like Spotlight of the Month each one focusing on either a Brand, Outfit or a fellow Second Life Lolita, the latter been more of a little interview to expand that community spirit and bring us all a little closer, an idea I got after meeting Saika Kohime who had hardly met any other Lolitas in Second Life.

So let me know what you guys think.

*CG* Felicity and *CG* Carolina available at:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/SuginamiKu/48/225/22

Rabbit Tiered Tunic + Jeans available at:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/UmiUsagi/183/200/22

Til next time,
Katherina

Thursday 26 June 2008

Victorianna Castle and Grounds Pt. 2

Hi and welcome,

This is the second part to my coverage of the Victorianna Castle build and due to the very size and the nature (no pun intended) of the garden means there is not much to cover and therefore you'll be glad to hear that this post will not be as long as the first part. So I found that been an outdoor garden area the windlight setting midday1 fits this best but once again play with thoses sego with what catches your eye.

So resuming from that bridge mentioned after the carp pond in Part 1. crossing this bridge leads you across the road and into the gardens proper. It goes without saying that due to other builds around it the gardens space has been limited, but as a nice little place for couples to wander it serves its purpose.

Head up the ramp and once again there are couple pose balls for walk around the garden. The upper most area appears to be some sort of promenade with a second level just a few steps down flanked by square ponds this area features a few seats and the first of the Garden's numerous dance balls.

Looking towards the castle from the second level down seating area give a spectacular view of the sheer scale and planning that must have going into the build. The view is a definite for any avid photographers and models wanting a fantasy/castle back drop for a shoot.

Behind all this and dominating most of the garden is the large waterfall which serves as a nice focal point as well as a way to hide the builds behind it out of sight. It flows into a large pond at the bottom which has a few seating areas near and some nice little bridges, this can be accessed via the rocky path to the left of the square ponds.

Follow these bridges along a path will lead the visitor pass a few duck feeding, swiming and paddling pose balls, and through the spray generated by the waterfall to a small private gazebo at the end of the garden, which also contains a couples dance ball set.

And with that it brings us to the end of this build summary, I hope it has peaked your interest into taking a look at this build. I know I'll certainly be using it for a few more photo shoots myself.

The Outfit featured is the pink version of *CG* Sherrill from *CanalGrande*, the details of which can be found in this post here.

See you next time,
Katherina