AMBIANCE has just released the Athena Living room set, so I've decided to upgrade my living room so it would match my AMBIANCE kitchen. Like other AMBIANCE furniture, this set includes a texture-changing menu, built-in poses, and tons of accessories.
The Athena Living Room set has 4 different themes (Black, Blue, Cream, and Earthtones), changeable via a menu. I really love this feature because I change my mind constantly, so it's nice to know that I have options to go for a rich dark theme or a light and airy theme.
(view from the double french doors)
*Not shown here is the matching book case & matching fireplace because my living room is too small!
Luster, the new brand from Lo Jacobs (formerly Church of Luxe) is incredible. I’ve been watching teasers all week with anticipation, and the items are even more incredible in-world and in color! I am wearing three of several newly released outfits.
From Left to Right: Giada Trench Coat (Navy) – Tulip Riding Hood (Red), Tulip Dress (Ivory) -Valentina (Noir)
I adore this Tulip Riding Hood, and incredibly, it’s a FREEBIE!! You can get a free copy at the Luster main store (find the vendor on the wall). The hood includes a scripted version so you can wear it up, or down. It was so hard to find a hairstyle that would fit neatly under the hood without having to stretch it too much. I finally settled for the Juliet style from LeLutka.
If you go to LeLutka in search of the hair, don’t forget to pick up this gorgeous new LeLutka Ife ‘Haiti Editon’ skin. It is only $500L, priced well below the usual price for a single skin. The makeup is only available in Light tone, but includes all options. I typically wear Light, so I’m beyond happy about the makeup selection & skin tone. All proceeds are donated to charity, so if you’re an Ife lover like I am, go get it!
As most people who read the news know by now, the Linden Endowment for the Arts is closing. LEA provided a space for many artists in Second Life to express themselves. For them to shutter is something truly sad, but I’m also happy to note there’s an effort to begin again–a LEA 2.0, possibly! A group in-world has formed pooling suggestions on how to change the arts program so that it lasts longer this time. I’m so happy to hear of this!
As someone who’s gone through a serious roller coaster with the last LEA council, I’ve seen the uglier side of their machinations. Hazing, bullying, and power struggles are what I experienced and saw in the short time I’ve sat on their roster. After quitting, I wrote up my experiences here on this blog. It was met with both praise and criticism, but you know what? I spoke my truth in an earnest effort to bring about change, and there’s no way I would ever let anyone invalidate my experience. And as we all know, it’s the truth that will set you free in the end.
So what’s the one simple trick I think that can save the Linden Endowment for the Arts? It’s one I’ve suggested all along.
Brrrrrrr! My avatar is getting ready for chilly Autumn weather with cozy cardigans and adorable beanie hats. Tiny Bird has just released two short new hairstyles that includes a color-changing Beanie! I really love the short wavy curls on the Have You Forgotten style, I wish it came without a beanie too *hint hint*!
It took me awhile to come up with my outfit today cos I simply could not pick which color cardigan to wear. The new Reek Papercut Cardigan is unisex, includes collar, collar with hood down or up, and two sleeve options (regular & rolled).
What I’m Wearing:
Tiny Bird – Have You Forgotten (Platinum Blonde)
Laqroki – Nellie 05 (Fair) Glow Skin
Zaara – Mishi Tank (Ivory)
Reek – Papercut Cardigan (Coal)
Decoy – Dana 76 Jeans (Black)
Kookie – Nyox Boots (Noir)
I redecorated! I used the Ispachi bedroom set for one and a half years, and I still love it but I wanted spruce up the room a bit with new decor and furnishings. I stumbled upon this Sallie / Body Language bedroom set from ages ago, but it’s new to me! I was highly disappointed that it’s a gacha item, but several thousand lindens later, I own all the pieces that I need to make a complete bedroom set. I went with all white furnishings so that my knick-knacks from Tres Blah would stand out more.
Decorating is relaxing, when I know that I’m only decorating for myself. It’s comforting for me that my home in SL rarely ever changes. It would probably give me a lot of anxiety if the decor and furnishings changes all the time. I don’t consider myself the best decorator in SL, but I think my home reflects my taste pretty well.
Blog readers always ask me for tips on enhancing Second Life photos with AI tools, and honestly I don’t think I’m very good at it. Still, I decided to dive back into Krea.ai and see if I could enhance my avatar with ultra realistic hair and skin texture. I’ve tried a few other AI tools, but I personally think Krea is the easiest.
Have you ever seen a Second Life ad where the face looks almost real and the hair texture is so good that it can’t be Second Life? That is usually AI enhancement. It can be deceiving, even when people say the product is untouched. Once you add AI, your eyes get tricked and the product does look slightly better.
Don’t get me wrong, I think Second Life has come a long way. My avatar has never looked better to me, but I rezzed into system hair and system clothes back in the day, and I think I was even wearing system skin. So maybe my idea of amazing is a little skewed, but I also think Second Life avatars have peaked. Can we even get any better?
I don’t know what process or tools other people are using, but I think the easiest way to add detail is to enhance with an AI tool and then blend the two photos in Photoshop. You don’t have to keep the entire AI generation, just blend enough so it still looks like your avatar.
AI tools are still too expensive. I like to play around with video generation and I can burn through a month of credits in an hour. I paid $10 a month to test different models in Krea, but you can use the free version too.
Even if you don’t love the deception of AI, it’s here to stay. I’m not encouraging anybody to do this, but I wanted to share since so many people have asked me for tips.
Jewelry Fair is ON! The Jewelry Fair can be found on these two sims: JewelryFair 1 and JewelryFair 2. I went last night, there are lots of gorgeous jewelry from some well-known brands and lots of new-to-me brands. I wanted to squish all of my finds into a single entry but I just have to show you these Rozoregalia items first. They're SO gorgeous!!!!!!!!
I'll be featuring 2 items I found from Rozoregalia that caught my eye: the Vinca necklace, and the Rosenkavalier BlackHat&Hair. These items are no modify but includes a resize menu (not ideal, but you can work with it).
( Vinca necklace – Back & Front view)
( Rosenkavalier BlackHat&Hair – also includes the hat alone, so you can wear it with other hairstyles )
I adore my Kyoot outfit, although it's very old, it was the perfect outfit to pair with the Rozoregalia items.
What I'm Wearing:
Kira Ahn Skins – Lilly – Pale/Brown Brows/Make Up 06 Rozoregalia – Rosenkavalier BlackHat & Hair (darkblonde) Rozoregalia – VINCA necklace Kyoot – Dead naga Mini (Black) Kyoot – Snake Charmer Shirt J's – Goth Ribbon LaceUpBoots (Black)
oh gosh…i love the fire place…could u tell me where u got it? thanks