Announcements at Enchanted of Elven Realm!

I've recently been updating and adding some new additions to our lovely art gallery over Enchanted of Elven Realm (slurl.com/secondlife/Elven%20Realm/126/125/245/ ). I've just added 7 new wonderful artists to our already fantastic collection of talent. All of them are true fantasy artists and produce exceptional work continuously. Please stop by the gallery to see their works and some other new updates too :)

A WORTHY CAUSE

In celebration of our new gallery artists and updates, I'd like to announce a couple things going on. First, any and all donations given to the sim or gallery from now until October 4 will go to a children's charity called, First Book. The organization helps children in need by giving them access to books so they can also listen to wonderful bedtime stories and create lifetime memories like other children. Thank you in advance for your donations for this cause :)

FEATURE ARTWORK DISPLAY

Please be sure and stop by the gallery and see our Feature Artwork display at the landing point, along with all the new pictures in the main gallery. The pictures at the landing point are one or two pieces chosen from most artists’ works within the gallery representing the Storybook theme and concentrate on fairy tales and reading in general. It’s wonderful to see all these together in one place!

PHOTO CONTEST

We are also incorporating a photo contest to go along with the Storybook theme, so use your imaginations, dress up your avie, and have fun! Here are the guidelines:

1. You have until Wednesday, September 26 to submit all pictures.

2. Pictures can be taken at any sim or setting as long as it's a storybook theme.

3. You may submit 2 pictures.

4. Pictures can be submitted to Natalie Montagne in game as a texture or photo in a notecard in the Flickr group link: http://www.flickr.com/groups/2092071@N23/. If you submit in game, please be sure and put your avie's full name on the submission.

5. No nudity allowed

Prizes will be based on originality, creativity, and staying within the theme. They are as follows:

First Place - 5000L
Second Place - 3000L
Third Place - 1000L

Please message Natalie Montagne either here or in game if you have any questions. Good luck and have fun!

Merry Christmas!

I wanted to first thank each and every one of you for your wonderful interest and support of my blog, it's greatly appreciated! Here's wishing you and yours a lovely Christmas holiday! Hope it's your most magical yet :)

Storybook Magic: Red Riding Hood

I decided I wanted to do a storybook/faerie tale look for the blog this time, and specifically wanted Little Red Riding Hood. There are many different costumes for this particlar character, but I thought Wisp Jinn's version was the most classy and beautiful. Yes, I know, I know, Little Red Riding Hood didn't really wear sexy lingerie with garters, but again, as I always say, this is Second Life right? :P This outfit is made of gorgeous, deep red velvet and comes with many optional pieces including a hood and cape, bra and panties, garter and stockings, lace-up corset dress, and a basket full of lovely items. the Mary Janes are also from Wisp Jinn's store, Wishbox. I wanted to include a short version of the tale of Little Red Riding Hood, so found the one below on the net (it had no author's name listed). May all your wishes and dreams come true and may you live happily ever after!

Clothes: Little Red outfit by Wisp Jinn of Wishbox
Shoes: Dark Fairy Bridal Mary Janes in Black by Wisp Jinn of Wishbox
Skin: SilkGirlXian in Tan by Leena Ying of DrLife
Hair: Fiorentina in Ebony by KateForster Akin of Tukinowaguma
Location: Enchanted of Elven Realm

Long time ago, in a little village, at the edge of the forest, lived a little girl with her mother. Her name was Little Red Riding Hood. She was sweetest and cutest child in the whole town. She always wore a pretty red cloak and hood that her mother had made for her. All the forest folks knew her well. Particularly a wicked old wolf had often watched her and thought she looked good enough to eat.

One day, Little Red Riding Hood's mother said, "Take this basket of bread and goodies to your grandma as she is not well these days and cannot cook for herself." Her mother strictly instructed her not to talk to any stranger on the way. The wicked old wolf was hiding behind the bushes. He was listening to all the conversation carefully. Ahhha… this is a great chance for me to eat the lovely girl, said the wolf. He planned to reach granny's cottage before Little Red Riding Hood could reach.

Little Red Riding Hood skipped merrily along the forest path, enjoying the bright sunshine, the blue sky and the birds singing in the trees. Meanwhile the wolf reached her granny's cottage and managed to enter inside. He frightened the old lady and pulled her in a dark room. Then he took her gown, wore it and eagerly waited for the little girl to come. Soon the doorbell rang, the old wolf opened the door and welcomed Red riding hood. The girl was quite surprised to see her grandma covered in a shawl she also found her granny’s voice a little different so she asked her, "Are you ok Grandma?" The wolf replied, "Yes my dear".

She gave the basket of goodies to her. The wolf thanked and asked her to come closer. As Red Riding Hood stepped forward, she could see the big ears of the wolf. "Grandma", she said, “What big ears you have". "All the better to hear you with, my child", replied the wolf. "What big eyes you have." "All the better to see you with, my dear."

The girl was realizing that she was not her Grandma. She saw the big teeth and said, "What big teeth you have”. "All the better to eat you with," cried the wolf and jumped on the little girl. Red Riding Hood turned around and ran out of the cottage. She was crying for ‘help’. A forester passing by heard her cry and came near the cottage. Little Red Riding Hood told him about the wicked wolf.
The forester entered the cottage to kill the wolf. He was lucky that the wolf was busy removing the clothes. Without wasting any time he killed the wolf with the hammer. Then they both brought the grandma out of the dark room. The girl explained the whole incident to her grandma. The grandma kissed the little girl and took her inside the cottage.

Three Enchanted Mermaids

Left to right: Natalie, Xia and Selene
Multipose Mermaid Rock by Sula Snook of KH

Yes, I'm normally an elf, but yesterday I was in the mood to be a mermaid, so I was! That's the wonder of Second Life isn't it? You can be who and what you want to be whenever and however you want. I think when I saw Surreal LeShelle's new mermaid outfit it inspired me! It comes in 9 beautiful colors and you can get 3 colors for the price of one...they come in packs. Of course you can get all 9 in one pack and then 3 other packs with 3 colors in each, the Tropical, Floral and Aquatic packs. The tails and tops are sold separately within these packs and you can mix and match the colors. What's so nice is her store can be found on Enchanted too, so you can shop AND visit the sim at the same time. I drug two mer friends with me and we dove into the depths of Enchanted's beautiful waters and swam with our many colorful fishy friends and just hung out for some much needed mer talk!

Natalie's outfit: Mermaid outfit (shell top and tail) in Water Lily (Floral pack) by Surreal LeShelle of Deviance
skin: Layla in Natural #8 by Aida Ewing of Glam Affair
Eyes: Sunrise in Caribbean Blue by Fashism
Elf Ears: ICED elf ears with diamond piercings by Scarlet Chandrayaan
hair: Water Goddess headpiece AND hair by Precious Restless of Vita's Boudoir
Poses used by Natalie below are by Wet Catz



Selene's outfit: Lumina Mermaid in Pale by Evangeline Miles of Evie's Closet
Eyes: Sunrise in Egyptian Blue by Fashism
hair: Rachel in Silver II by AngelCross Skinstad of Cross


Xia's outfit: The Passionate One by Cane Sutter of Skinthesis
Hair by Kiki

Location: Underwater Mermaid Cove at Enchanted of Elven Realm

Selene in Evie Miles' Lumina

Xia in the Passionate One by Skinthesis

Nat in Surreal LeShelle's Water Lily Mer

Water Goddess headpiece and hair by Vita's Boudoir

Jaded Warrior

I hadn't been to the White Armory in a while and decided to go by and see their new items and any others that caught my eye. I was in the section labeled "Warrior" and that's where I found this beautiful outfit called Jaded Eclipse :) As all Bee Dumpling's gowns do, this one has so many options as far as skirt styles and pant pieces. It may be warrior gear, but it's truly a lovely and feminine choice.

Clothes: Jaded Eclipse gown set by Bee Dumpling of the White Armory
Skin: Yum in Petal light with Freckles by Gala Phoenix of Curio
Elf Ears: ICED elf ears with Triple Hoops by Scarlet Chandrayaan
Hair: Eden HP in Blonde by Tabata Jewell of Vanity Hair
Eyes: Sunrise eyes in Absinthe by Ikon Innovia of Fashism
Location: Snow Palace over Elven Realm

Elven Snow Angel

I recently finished my home above the Enchanted sim and opened it to the public. I decided to find a beautiful outfit that would go well with this land of snow so I could do some pictures there. Yes, I know it's summer, but this gown can be worn year round, plus, it's Second Life after all...and thought it would "cool" you all off! lol

I found a beautiful gown at Evie's Closet called Muse. It's of soft fabric that drapes over the body and has a great fit. It has several parts like glitch pants, the skirt, arm wraps and a few other lovely touches. I chose the Tuala Collar and Crown to go with it, along with a pair of gorgeous sculpted angel wings by Kala Bijoux. I showed the Muse gown two different ways, one with the crown, collar and wings, and the other with no wings and a different headpiece of snowdrop garland also by Evie's Closet. There are so many different looks and styles you can put with this gown, it's the perfect choice for those who want a versatile, but beautiful wardrobe. Please click each picture to see it larger and please come visit the Snow Palace any time! :)

Clothes: Muse gown in white by Evangeline Miles of Evie's Closet
Headpiece: Both the Tuala Collar and Crown in green by Evie's Closet and the Snowdrop Garland headpiece
Angel Wings: Raphael Sculpted Angel Wings in White by Kala Bijoux of Material Squirrel
Skin: Jadis skin, Yuki edition 02E by Aida Ewing of Glam Affair
Elf Ears: Sad elf ears-Snow by Kioko Kumaki of Panda Express
Eyes: Light Absinthe eyes by Ikon Innovia of Fashism (the best eyes I've seen in SL)
Makeup: Makeup layer Yuki 10 by Miamai
Hair: Seraphina in Swedish by Truth (hair while wearing wings); Orchid in Swedish by Truth
Poses: Ballet series by Glitterati
Location: Elven Snow Palace above Enchanted of Elven Realm

Seraphina hair by Truth

Orchid hair by Truth

At the Cottage Boutiques: Deviance

Deviance, another high quality shop within the Cottage Boutiques of Enchanted, has a great variety of fashions, their specialty being costumes of all kinds. They carry Snow White, Rose Red, Alice in Wonderland (and a dark version), princess gowns, Tinkerbell, and many other choices for your avatar. Designer Surreal LeShelle is excellent with every detail, from the presentation of the style to the purchase and the way it's boxed. Each style itself is beautiful, high quality, has a great fit and contains many options! She has a knack for giving each creation classic styling with just the right amount of "sexy" along with it. That's what I love about alot of her designs! In this blog I am showing one of her gorgeous gowns in the Deluxe Fairy Tale Princess collection. There are two different sytles within this collection, the basic and the dark, and they each come in 9 wonderful colors. This particular style is within the basic collection and the color is called Morning Glory. Please stop by the Cottage and see all Surreal's stunning fashions!

Clothes: Deluxe Fairy Tale Princess Gown in Morning Glory by Surreal LeShelle of Deviance

Skin: DrLife Silk Girl Xian in Tan by Leena Ying

Hair: Early in Black 05 by Elikatira

Location: Enchanted of Elven Realm (my home above the sim)

Deviance blog: http://deviancesl.blogspot.com/

At the Cottage Boutiques: Mae Fairy Tale

Mae blue butterfly twig (wear) and Mushroom Drop necklace

I'd like to recognize another shop at the Cottage Boutiques of Enchanted, that is Mae Fairy Tale, by Maena Tammas. I visited her store not long ago and ended up spending about two hours there taking in all the magical delights. I also ended up spending alot of Lindens! Quite a few of Mae's products can be found on the Enchanted sim. What I love about her items are how unique and interactive they are. One thing I noticed throughout her whole store was BOOKS. Mae Fairy Tale is definitely a book advocate! That's a good thing, because I love books :) She just has an amazing and creative imagination, which truly shines when you visit her main store. Not only does it have wonderful products for sale, it is also worth a visit just to see the store setup and magical touches here and there. Mae is also very artistic and has an art gallery there displaying her very own artwork, and it is for sale. She does beautiful work with all her many venues!
The pictures in this blog are some of the items I've purchased from Mae's store and most are displayed on the sim. Be sure and visit her store at the cottage when you are visiting Enchanted, but also be sure you see her main store :)
Here is a link to her blog: http://maefairytale.blogspot.com/

Galadriel's Mirror Pool/Scrying Bowl (interactive)

Animated wishing well (you can leave a wish and it's displayed in floating text)

Mae fairytale books (pose prop)

Fairytale refuge (pose prop)

Mae Mushroom couch (pose prop)

Some other objects seen on Enchanted by Mae are, Galadriel's Magic Mirror where you can look in the mirror and make animated faces and gestures (several different ones from a menu), a lilypad you can sit on, and particle emitters.

Clothes: Confessor in Maroon by Elvina Ewing of Caverna Obscura

Skin: Layla #8 with makeup layer 16 by Aida Ewing of Glam Affair

Elf Ears: Animalistic Elf Ears by Aikea Rieko of the Plastik

Hair: Laleh in Swedish Blond by Carina Larsen of Amacci

Fantasy Art Focus: Yasmina Siamendes

Fairy Tale Forest

It's been a while since I've focused on a Second Life artist, and because recently I've discovered a wonderful fantasy artist whose work I love to follow, I decided it was time. I first saw Yasmina's work when I noticed she had done several pictures in Elven Realm and Elven Mist, my two sims. They were truly magical and beautiful and I really love the way she captured and brought out the best of both sims. Yasmina's work is amazing, and that goes for her ability to use colors and bring them out, lighting, composition, treatment and poses. She has the ability to play with all different "styles" when creating her art and has great talent doing anything from forest faes to modern landscapes. Overall, she has a knack for bringing out the magic in every picture and each and every one looks professionally done!

Yasmina comes from Germany and has been a member of Second Life for about four years now. She started out making quite a few friends and they would spend time in game chatting and dancing most of the time. She quickly got bored with this routine and wanted more, thus decided to become an elf and live in some of the beautiful forests of Second Life. Yasmina had always loved fantasy and thought the game was the perfect place to express this and live out her dreams of being a fantasy creature. She would take turns living in different forests, all the while still chatting and dancing while experiencing life in the woods. Again, she became bored with this and looked for more. She just happened to meet an exceptional photographer in Second Life named Alles Klaar while in the forest. Alles asked Yasmina to be her model for some photos, and Yasmina was happy to oblige....the rest is history. She started to become interested in photography within game herself and explored Flickr by looking at Alles' stream and several of the fantasy groups. Already having a background professionally in graphic art and design, Yasmina found that editing and using Photoshop became second hat. She started out doing unedited pictures, but wanted more. She wanted that creative and magical touch in her pictures, and you can definitely see that magic shining through in all her creations!

The first and second pictures posted are my personal favorites of Yasmina's work and both happen to be photographed at my sim, Enchanted of Elven Realm.

Colorful Fae - Anita Rakasta

Sad World

Forest Nightwandering

Helpfully

I asked Yasmina to tell me her own personal favorite pictures. She listed six total and I've posted them below with her MOST favorite first and so on. She stated it was funny because when she quickly worked on a picture and didn't spend much time on it, people tended to like those particular pictures the best. When she did spend alot of time editing one, those seemed to get less attention and not be as "faved" as the others. Overall, Yasmina likes the pictures she's done that have some kind of meaning behind them or statement to make.

I hope you enjoy Yasmina's pictures as much as I and many others do. I will have several of her masterpieces displayed at our gallery over Enchanted, so please stop by and visit! You can see many more of Yasmina's creations on her Flickr photostream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/61281993@N04/

Forest Nymph

Watersplash in the Elven Realm

Forces of Nature

Master of Magic Lights

Ocean Dream

Phoenix-Waterstart in Elven Realm

The Cottage Boutiques of Enchanted

As many of you may already know, we now have four amazing fantasy boutiques within the cottage at Enchanted of Elven Realm now. I plan to add one more, but would like it to be a designer that sells skins/fantasy accessories. Here are the shops we have now:

Caverna Obscura by Elvina Ewing
Deviance by Surreal LeShelle
Elvenbreath by Selina Forder
Studio Sidhe by Faery Sola

All the above focus mainly on fashion. Studio Sidhe focuses more on poses and pose props, although she also designs jewelry and fashions.

All are located at Enchanted of Elven Realm. Once you tp to the landing point, there is a tp door to the cottage right at the entrance :) Hope to see you there!

The Cottage at Enchanted

Deviance by Surreal LeShelle
Surreal specializes in lovely costumes and gorgeous gowns. For example, she carries a Snow White, Rose Red, Tinker Bell and Alice in Wonderland costume...all very well done!

Studio Sidhe by Faery Sola
Faery is the designer who created the wonderful unicorn pose prop you see out on Enchanted. She has several others too...like the Snow White prop, the moon, and many others that are top quality.

Caverna Obscura by Elvina Ewing
Elvina is one of the masters at creating true fantasy style! She has all kinds of designs that are colorful, beautiful and whimsical. You can't appreciate her work until you see it!

Elvenbreath by Selina Forder
Selina is one of my favorite fantasy designers. Her fantasy wear is lovely, classic and sexy all in one!

Each and every designer is wonderful and top notch at what they do! If you come visit the boutiques, I know you won't be able to resist spending a few Lindens while you're there :P I know I can't, and now I'm really going to have some problems, they're too convenient! hehe