Mishka & Elizabeth Released @ Temenos!

Yes, I have finally released the first two dolls in the collection for sale...just in time for Christmas. It's been a long time coming since I first announced the new doll store, Heart of a Doll, Dolltopia, and set Mishka and Elizabeth up as advertisement. No, Dolltopia isn't open yet, but I felt the first two dolls should definately be released before Christmas...so here we are...finally! Both Mishka and Elizabeth can be found in the central lobby of the Temenos Island Temple.
Just right click on the displayed doll box you wish to purchase and select "Buy".

Gift Certficates are also available for both dolls if you wish to give as a gift!

Each doll includes: Shape, 2 Skins, Hair, Eyes, Full Clothing Outfit, Shoes, Unique Accessories, Retail Display Box, Biography and Birth Certificate!

Happy Holidays!

Victorian Ankle Boots

Yeah, these are a little different from my normal style, I know. But I got inspired while making a variation of them for the doll Elizabeth and decided I needed a different version to release generally as well. So, here they are, available with the brocade spats in 7 different colours sold seperately, or as a complete set at almost half off.

I am always the harshest critic of my own work you could imagine, hating most of it completely and often wondering why anyone would buy it...but I was kinda happy with how these turned out. They matched the antique pair I was working from a picture of pretty well once I figured a way to do the spats that looked nice. Took me weeks to get it all down and tweaked, but it's not too bad now I guess.



So, if you tend towards the Victorian periods, visit Caledon a lot, or just like a bit of formal antique look to your wardrobe, you can check these out at the New Releases area for Boneflower Designs....first floor, back wall of the main Temple store above the volcano.

Hope you enjoy em. :3

Sneak Peek - What to Wear While Waiting for Santa

Nope. These are not up yet. But I decided to post em here so folks who are not part of the Boneflower Designs Update Group can see what they missed!

That's right, last night I sent these adorable kittie jammies out to everyone in my update group totally free, and a week before anyone else will be able to buy em. This is something I plan to do more often. So, if you wanna get in on the goodies, gossip, and free stuffs, next time, better get into that update group. :3

These Jammies will be up for sale next friday at the main Boneflower Designs New Releases area on the first floor of the Temenos Island temple. For now...no touchy!

P.S. - Group Notices were not working for me yesterday, so I had to manually drop these into everyone's inventory. If you missed the announcement in group, look through your inventory for "Retro Kittie" and you will find em!

Peasant Blouses Released

I know, I know. While I have been playing with my dolls, I have rather ignored and neglected my other brands and product lines here recently. I know, and I do feel terrible about it. Honest. That's why I now make you all a peace offering in the form of Peasant Blouses.

Bohemian seems to be in this season, so these will fit right in. Cute, casual, they go great with jeans or that long skirt. Funky and ecclectic, which is just my thing. They come in an Autumn colour set of 7 and a Spring set of 7 colours...and as a complete set of all colours for a discount of course!

So, drop into the New Releases area of the main temenos Island temple store...first floor, along the back wall...they are up top. Hope you enjoy.

Dolltopia Update

I know it's been far longer since my last blog update than I had intended, but I have been working on the sim of Dolltopia the last month or so, and I am rather the obsessive type. =P

No, unfortunately, Dolltopia is not finished or ready to open yet, and isn't likely to open before Christmas as I had originally hoped. =( It's been a LOT of work, and I have been at it feverishly, but there is still a lot to do. Not to mention, the deciding factor in my difficult choice to delay open of the sim itself...most the other stores and store owners I have offered space for in Dolltopia aren't ready either. So, we will keep at it and open when it's actually done.

I do plan however to open a temporary store for The Heart of a Doll before Christmas to allow people to get the dolls I have made so far if they wish. That much I can definately do.

So, although Dolltopia is not open yet and still under construction, I thought I would give a small peek at things as they are so far. The pictures below are some of the attractions in Dolltopia as I have them built now, all made from scratch just for this sim, using a lot of custom painted textures (part of what is taking so long on this place...so many seperate builds and so many textures for them).

For those of you who may not have heard about Dolltopia before, the sim is designed as a child, toy and doll friendly and oriented space where the joys and wonders of childhood can be relived, roleplayed, and the wounds that many of us experienced as real children can maybe be healed just a little. It's a PG sim, and designed as a safe and positive space for all...but I do plan to keep it that way and have a theme and rules in mind to facilitate that.

I have a roleplay background story written up for Dolltopia and the Queen of Dolls which I have also begun writing as an actual children's book I hope to publish, and I will be posting more on the story before the sim opens. The castle is the home of the Queen of Dolls and the Great Child, the village below it is the main store and shopping area. There is a doll school where dolls learn how to play with children, and a doll hospital for dolls that got played with a bit too roughly. There is a dock and a boat that brings dolls and children to and from the island, and a train that runs around most of the island. We have a doll adoption center where child avatars can be matched to dolls, and a lighthouse, and even the Isle of Misfit Toys of the west coast of Dolltopia where dolls and toys that are a bit...different...live and can be found.






Once the sim opens, and the businesses are running well, I hope to start holding or organizing a number of events and roleplay opportunities centered on children and dolls and toys as well. So many ideas, so much excitement...so little time in a day.

Meet Elizabeth...She's a Real Doll

Well, as I wrote about last week, I have a new store on the way that focuses on doll avatars and accessories. The Heart of a Doll will cater to people of all ages, styles, and tastes, offering over time dolls of many different varieties. The first doll I previewed was Mishka, a 16 year old Russian Gothic Lolita doll avatar in a cute little babydoll dress and pigtails. After much inner debate, stress on my poor brain, and a good deal of stomping about and throwing of many prims in frustration...I have finally completed the second in the forthcoming doll series.

Meet, Elizabeth, a 24 year old Victorian period porcelain doll from London.


With Elizabeth I went back to the basic skin and tried to make a paler, more porcelain look, changing some of the joints and removing the back battery panel. I made her dress, boots, hair and hat all from scratch and was rather pleased in the end with the look.

Like Mishka, she is currently on display in the lobby at Temenos Island as a sneak preview before The Heart of a Doll opens...hopefully in a week or two.

Now I start on the third doll, a cloth ragdoll type with a gothic horror bent hopefully still in time for halloween. I am finding it so hard to settle on which dolls to work on next as I have so, so many ideas fighting for dominance. In time they will all come into being, but for now they are each scrambling to be the next one I make, and that keps me in a constant state of confusion...well...more confusion.

In additional Doll-related news...

I placed an order for Dolltopia last week. Dolltopia will be a new sim entirely devoted to my dolls and the fun ideas they inspire. I have some special people in mind to help me with Dolltopia, and hope that once the sim opens and The Heart of a Doll and our other doll stores move in people will enjoy the fun, off-beat, and child-like atmosphere that we hope to give it. The entire Dolltopia team is very excited and eagerly awaiting delivery of the island so we can start playing...erm...building.

I will keep those interested in The Heart of a Doll and Dolltopia updated with sneak peaks and information here as things develop.

A New Song from Tweet

Sumire Mochi is probably the freshest, most unique new designer in all of Second Life. I have watched her work on her outfits since the start and I have never seen anyone so meticulous about every detail. Her imagination is truly a marvel and I envy her her vision.

So, it's always a huge treat to see her release something new, even if I have seen it slowly taking shape over weeks before. To see the finally product up and for sale gives me a nice jump start and inspires me.

So, it was nice when I woke up a week or so ago and found she had finished not only the next two outfits, but also had made a set of gorgeous prim umbrellas and scarves that are just delicious. Candy colours and off-beat prints like all her designs, these new looks are as fresh and different as it gets folks, and the umbrellas and scarves are just in time for late fall.

So, if you love originality and funkiness with a J-pop flavour as much as I do...drop in and check out Tweet. These newest songs from this songbird are music to my ears...and coming from a deaf woman, you know that means they are special.

Going Wild at Paperdoll Designs!

Okay, as I mentioned in my previous post, I like to encourage and offer help and sometimes store space to new designers that need a hand up and some morale boosting. Most of them are new to Second Life when I meet them, but usually they are not new to art in general. Gabee Story of Paperdoll Designs is one of those amazing exceptions that I can't help being amzed at...a true natural with no previous background.

Before someone says it, as they did with Sumire Mochi when Tweet first opened, Gabee is absolutely not an alt of an older player or another designer. Gabee is the real life girlfriend of my friend QuietlyCharmes Vega of Playful Kitten. Gabee and Quietly live in an area hit bad by hurricane Katrina last year, and Gabee had to take her son and leave for most of the past year until things got better. But recently she came home and joined Quietly in SL when she did.

Gabee is no stranger to online worlds. She has years of time in Everquest and Star Wars Galaxies and the like. But, she had no previous background in art or running the type of virtual-based business she decided to start when she came into SL and started hanging around Quietly and myself just two short months ago.

Within days of being here, Gabee was trying to learn to use Quietly's copy of photoshop and had uploaded her first outfit. Since then she has made a mind-boggling amount of offerings, and with each new one I see her skill growing exponetially. I am truly and totally amazed.


She has gone in a few short months from total novice in art and prim work to making prim clothing that is totally astounding. She has mostly gone in a tribal direction with her prim outfits...but wow...you have to see em to understand how far this lady has come.


Moving from a small corner space downstairs I have since given her the 4th floor store space in the temple at Temenos because her volume of work was growing so rapidly. I can't keep up with all she is making anymore. And I know for a fact she has a lot of unreleased work sitting up in her skycave too.

Gabee is one of those rare stories that inspires me. A struggling mother who has weathered so many trials and problems, disasters, and heart-break...but can still have the drive and energy to start her life again in a totally new direction and not only do well with it...but excel. She is friendly, positive and helpful, and I have never seen anyone more happy to talk with customers. I am so proud to call her a friend and to have her at Temenos Island.

With how far Gabee has come in these few months she has been home and in SL, I can't wait to see where she will be in 6 months, or this time next year.

Frosty Treats for Kids

Over the past few months I have offered store space at Temenos Island to several new, up-and-coming designers in Second Life. Sumire Mochi's Tweet being the first, and now the widest known and talked about. But other new and aspiring designers are always out there, and I like to encourage them as much as possible. Yes, I know that seems odd maybe. They are competition, aren't they? Well, I don't look at stuff that way.

Making a living from art is tough in a society that no longer values art as it did in ages past. I have lived that struggle for decades myself, and I know how hard and how discouraging it can be. In my mind, new artists are my brothers and sisters in a cultural struggle for the value of art and imagination, and they need all the boost and help I can give them. So, when I see a new talent whose work I like...someone I see potential in, or something fresh and different, I like to encourage them. Obviously I can't offer store space to everyone. But, those that I do invite to Temenos, I see something special in. Snowy Cone's Frosty Treats is a good example.

Snowy focuses primarily on making children's clothes, though most of her outfits work as well for the older gals too. bright colours, simple patterns, but cute and perfect for that young...or young at heart...look.



Snowy hasn't been here for long, and yet she already has quite a few outfits up and available, and I see her skills growing and maturing with each one. I greatly look forward to what she comes up with in the next few months in Second Life...Keep up the great work, Snowy!

For Those With "The Heart of a Doll"...

We all grew up playing with dolls to some extent. Baby dolls are one of the first toys given many girls, and even stuffed animals are dolls really. Barbies, Dollfies, collectable dolls, fashion dolls...we know em and most of us loved them. Even the guys had their dolls, though they will usually insist on calling them "action figures". *grins* Dolls are everywhere in our society...and it's only natural they end up in our Second Lives as well...

The idea for doll avatars first developed for me out of an idea I had while working on a steam-powered Victorian period suit of mech armour. The steampunk genre is a neat one and I love the Victorian period. I was planning on, and even started, a brass and copper, steam-powered victorian automoton avatar. basically an old fashioned robot with gears and tesla coils and steam valves instead of computer chips and fiber optics. I started the skin for it, and planned to make an AO as well...but I got side tracked and never finished that project.

But the idea for robots, androids, and dolls stewed in the back of my head for over six months while I was busy working on opening Temenos Island, getting neko skins and ears done and finally finishing my human skin line. It was an idea whose time was about to come...

Okay...that sounded silly and overly dramatic. Sue me.

Still, it was true the idea was about to resurface for me, and it seems not just for me either.

I was rather at a low place, both emotionally and creatively. My entire life I have stuggled with severe chronic depression and at times when it gets at it's worst my creative abilities vanish under the hopelessness and lack of motivation that ensues. The past month has been like that for me. So low I didn't want to do much except lay in bed and just disappear. I had done most of my main ideas for Nekos, and had finished some of the exciting clothes ideas I had for Boneflower Designs. I have a list of projects 9 pages long, but none of them motivated me at all, and the idea of starting any of them seemed daunting. I needed something new to stir things up...a electrical jolt to get me going again. That was when the dolls came in.

After a small, innocent few remarks by my friend about dolls, boom, I was inspired. The idea took off in my head like a brushfire in Texas and within a few hours I had hatched plans for a whole new store brand, a line of doll avatars, AOs, accessories and more.

Over the next two days I worked feverishly on a jointed doll skin that I could use as a basis for many of the dolls. I looked at some of the more popular doll lines in real life and finally settled on the joint style from a popular Japanese doll that I liked. The pictures here show the basic joints I ended up with...though not every doll will have the same exact joint configuration...


Each doll will come with two skin versions. One that is purely doll-like, and one that is anatomically correct, such as the one below. Best to appease everyone...I know some people get upset if they are deprived of their bits and parts...


After I had the skin template finished, I started one doll shapes, hair and clothes.

The idea is to have each doll be special...but not one of a kind. Obviously while having and owning a one off doll avatar would be cool...I make no money that way and it isn't a very viable business model. So, what I wanted was to make each doll special, but not limit sales of it. The plan I decided on was to make the shape, skin/makeup/joints, hair and clothing for each doll unique to that doll only. If I make hair for a doll, that hair can only be bought with that doll. It will never be reused for other dolls or sold in any other way. That way every doll is unique and special, but I don't limit potential revenue.

That decided, I started on the first doll in the series...a 16 year old Russian Gothic Lolita doll named Mishka. It took me only two days to complete her hair, shape, clothes and shoes. In the end I was very happy and very optimistic about it all. Mishka was everything I had wanted her to be.

In order to draw attention and start advertising the store (which I hoped to open before end of month with at least 3 dolls), I set Mishka up in the lobby at Temenos in her box with accessories and an information sign.



She had only been out for all to see for one night when I got up and found a whole group of "dolls" already waiting for me near her box. Seems I was not the only person who believed the time of dolls was upon us. hehe. They were all very nice people, and it gave me even more hope that the idea might really take off in Second Life.

So...that is where we stand at the moment...Mishka is finished and the second doll, Naomi is started. I want to finish at least three dolls before I open the store, as well as the Doll AOs and Doll Control panel I have pondered. I am hoping that once word gets around and people see the doll avatars in action, they too will let out their Inner Doll and join us in the ranks of those who have "The Heart of a Doll"...which is the store name BTW.

Feedback and ideas are of course wlecome. I am very interested to know what others think of the doll idea.

And the Mice Will Play...

Most the time the items, skins, clothes and projects I work on are things I have had on my BLOTTD for months or more. Things I have wanted in Second Life myself but haven't found or haven't found versions of that quite fit what I was wanting...so I make em. But, on rare occassion, I get an idea on the spur of the moment and run with it. Inspiration from the muses, lightning flash of insight...whatever ya wanna call it. When it happens, it's usually one of the faster and more fun projects, and I tend to enjoy it more even if it isn't a big popular seller.

Well, these Mouse Girl Avatars from the Jungle Voodoo line are such a project.

Thursday night as I laid in bed, waiting to fall asleep, I pondered the next days work, as I usually do. But this time, something someone had said lingered in my mind, stewed and became something. I lay there and turned over this idea in my head. If wild nekos ran a society...like at Temenos Island...who would be the natural submissives, slaves and workers for such a cat society? Well...the mice, clearly! *giggles*

So, with the idea of submissive mice scurrying about the neko temple and village, I woke and set to work.

In short order I had a black and a white mouse skin roughed out. I reworked em a few times to get the pink subtle but noticeable on the nose and belly, and decided against doing more detailed fur on thses skins after trying it out. Next I converted my Neko ears and tail to work for mice. It was surprisingly simple, and in the end I had a cute mouse tail that flicked back and forth and adorable mousy ears that used the same script as my neko ears. Some pink mouse eyes, a set of little whiskers and all I needed was clothes.

I adapted my Cute Kitty Bell Collar for a mouse girl, and added the "Cat Toy" labelas a cute extra touch. Since the collar is modifiable, a user could change the label to something else...but I thought Cat Toy was a nice generic and appropriate Mouse Girl title. *grins*

Lastly I made the flexi silk top and skirt, different colours for each avatar and it was done. Half a day in total work from start to finish and yet it was still so adorable and I was so pleased with it I haven't been able to make myself not wear it since.

So...if you are a Neko Mistress or Master, or if you just like cute avatars or mice...this new complete set may be just right for you or your subbies. Could be a cute Halloween costume too, for a change of pace. *smiles*

Each Avatar is sold seperately. You get:

Mouse Girl Skin
Mouse Girl Hair
Mouse Girl Eyes
Mouse Girl Whiskers
Scripted Flexi Mouse Ears
Scripted Flexi Mouse Tail
Mouse Girl "Cat Toy" Collar w/Bell
Flexi Silks (Top and Bottom)

They are available in the Jungle Voodoo New Releases area on the first floor of the main Temenos Island Temple.

I adored making it and had such fun with it...I hope other people will find it as fun.

=^.^= Squeek!

Sheer Naughtiness!

Yeah, I am kinda cheating this week, I know. Two new releases in one day and both are just revisions of previous work. Lame-o, huh?

Well, this set was actually created many many months ago and I kinda sat on it until now. Partly because I was too laxy to put it all together, do photo shoots and make ads...and partly because I figured I already had the original lace camisole, panties, bra, and stockings out there. Yeah, these are different, and sexy too. But, I still kinda thought maybe I should knock off the 9 bajillion versions I tend to do of stuff and just leave this one out for once. Well...willpower isn't my thing really. =P

So, I finally decided to do an ad for these collection and let people have it if they want it. More choices is good, yes? I hope so anyway, since I tend to offer lots of choices on most stuff I make. In this case, the camis, bras, panties and stocking are identical to the previous set, in all the same colours...but very sheer. this is the set for those who like to hint at a little something...or more than a little.

Unlike the previous sets I decided to bundle these up all together (mainly as I am outta room at the store...one box = less room than 4 boxes) and offer them for a 25% discount.

So, you get:

Sheer Lace Camisoles
Sheer Lace Bras
Sheer Lace Panties
Sheer Lace Stockings

All in 8 colours...Black, White, Beige, Grey, Lilac, Rose, Sky, and Mint. The stockings come in Knee Highs and Thigh Highs, and the Camisoles are on both undershirt and shirt layers.

Just a little something extra for those who like some naughtiness. As always...available in the New Releases area of the Temenos Island main temple...

Thrift Store Rummaging Part Deux

I happened to mention in passing to a friend that I was gonna make myself some Asian fabric variations of the Thrift Store skirts and blouses...just because I adore Asian fabrics. I was promptly battered with demands for them and threatened with vile and evil things if I didn't hand them over post haste.

So, due to popular demand...and threats upon my Second Life...I am releasing a second set of Thrift Store Skirts and Thrift Store Blouses, this time in 10 different Asian fabrics. As with the first set, the skirts match the blouses, and they are even more mix and matchable than the original sets were!

They can be found in the New Releases area for Boneflower Designs on the first floor of the main Temenos Island store as always. Hope you enjoy em.

Tweet @ Temenos Releases New Outfits!

The adorable and shy Sumire Mochi of Tweet has finally released two new outfits at the store in Temenos Island...after much needling, pressuring and tickling. Woot for new Tweet goodies!

I have been poking and prodding Sumire for her new stuff since the day after she released her first few outfits months ago, but she is a perfectionist and tends to rework every outfit 5000 times before she is willing to let it go. Well, last night I poked and prodded even harder and told her I expected to see some of em up today. No more hiding em, no more excuses! They are gorgeous, unique and totally fresh, and it was time the SL world saw em.

So, I was happy to log in today and see two of em at least waiting and ready. Dressy, springy Emiko, and the more casual, sunny Fukiko. If you are a fan of cute, anime, original designs, retro fabrics and looks, or just plain love unigueness and originality...Tweet is for you and these two new outfits won't disappoint.

Check em out at Temenos Island now...oh...and Sumire...I know you have others hidden. I will tickle em out of you, girl.

Hoodies from Hell!

Can I scream now?

Okay, so hoodies don't seem that scary on first glance I don't suppose. Still, by the time these creatures were released yesterday afternoon, I was pulling my hair and biting my lip in frustration and insanity. Sometimes, a simple idea can become just plain horrific and a bad day can only make it worse.

I had hoodies on my BLOTTD for many months now, and kept putting them off time and again. I am an expert at procrastination, and my big list grows daily, becoming an ever more daunting monster to slay it seems. But, finally, the day of the hoodie came, the muse whispered, and I was inspired.

Sitting down and painting the textures was the easy part. When I have the muse to guide me, such things go fast and simply and the textures are ready before you can blink. When the muse is absent...as she is far to often these days...doing any painting is torture, takes forever, and the result is way below par. But, I caught a break this time, and she was ready to help. I had waited until Friday to even start on a release for this last week, but despite my procrastination, these textures were ready in short order. That left the harder part...building the hoods in world.

Saturday went something like this: Zoe logs into SL. Zoe is attacked by IMs. Zoe fends off IMs and tries to build hoods. Zoe crashes or SL falls down and breaks a leg. Zoe logs back in in frustration to find rollback of her work. Zoe redoes work on hoods. Zoe is attacked by IMs. Zoe fends off IMs. Zoe looks at hoods and hates em. Zoe starts over. Zoe crashes or SL falls down. Zoe screams.

By Saturday night I was tired, driven to total insanity, and frustrated as all fuck. I had decided to not rework the hoods for the millionth time and finally added hair to the up hood. Next came the task of texturing all the variations of hair possible on the hood. 14 hair colours were choosen from my standard hair textures and in a while, I had a passable grey hoodie with down hood and 14 hair colours of up hood.

This was where I did the stupid thing I always do. Yeah, that thing. I decided to do "variations" of the hoodie. A single, simple grey jersey hoodie wsn't good enough for me...no...I had to do like I always do and get carried away and make 9 colours of the bloody arsed thing instead. Nine colours of hoodie doesn't sound bad at first. Until you realize you have 14 different hair versions of the up hood to do in 9 colours. 9 X 14 = insane Zoe.

So, I work on this tedious, mind-numbing prceedure well into the night and get 4 of 14 versions done. >.< Time to sleep. I get up and finish the rest on Sunday morning. Yay. They are done. Now I can package em and sell em, right?

*sigh*

No, next comes the part I hate most...the photo shoot. This excrustiating hell is made worse recently by the wonderful "crash everytime you take a screenshot if using scripted objects" bug. But, I want this done. I am nothing if not totally obsessive about finishing a project once I finally get one started, so I press on. The shoot doesn't go well. But finally it's over. I move to making the ads.

Since I use a template for my ads, plug in text and pictures is fairly simple...assuming I took the needed screenshots. Which I discover I didn't. Some colours are missing...back to SL to take them. Back to Photoshoppe to finish ads.

Finally, I am standing in the store, staring at a blank vendor, ad textures in hand. Should be down hill from here, yes? Well...no...not if you are Zoe.

I get attacked by Ims, customers, friends, and griefers all during this process of loading and texturing and naming the vendor...it akes me almost 2 hours to do. As if that isn't bad enough...the current copy bugs make loading the vendor an exercise in self torture.

So you say, "You are done now and can rest, right, Zoe?"

No.

I decided I wasn't offering enough options, and needed to give the customers some more for their buck. So, the one tee shirt I had turns into 5 tee shirts...wait...add a few more. Then I decide to add a pair of basic low-rise jeans just to boot...and wait...need to make a plain version of the hoodie with no Mew Uni logo...some may not like logos...and wait... *sigh*

So, I stand here, bombarded by Ims and attacked and mauled by customers and friends as I try to photoshoppe up some more stuff to include.

Finally, it's all in the vendors, it's all set up, named, priced, and for sale. Can I die now?

No. Gotta blog it. Fuck. That can wait until Monday.

Neko Madness!

After months working on getting Temenos Island built and open, and even more time working on new releases of clothing and accessories to expand Boneflower's offerings, and the even longer working on my skin line, I recently had a chance to sit back and work on some new items for the Jungle Voodoo line that I had been promising for some time.

It was a nice change of pace, hectic as it was, to work on the new Neko stuff for a while, and we have released a lot of new content for that brand in a very short time...but, for the most part, I failed to advertise it, post about it or blog it. So, now that I have a moment, I wanted to take a bit of space to mention some of the new goodies for cat girls and bois we have put up at Jungle Voodoo in the last month.

Male Neko Skins -



Okay, these were rather long in the coming I will admit. The initial female skins were released many, many months back and almost from day one I had cat bois showing up, IMing and mewing for a male version. I was at first very surprised at the number of requests from guys for these skins, but soon opened my eyes to just how many cat bois SL really does have. So, obediently...and in fear of being eaten alive if I didn't follow through...I started work on a male counterpart. Well, it wasn't as fast or as easy as I had hoped.

Many things tried to conspire against me and make me set aside these skins, including the purchase of my first island and the time involved to build and open it and move all my stores. But, as often as I thought of giving up on this project, I always had the thought of sexy cat bois running around in them to cheer me on, and the horror of what they would all do to me if I didn't deliver to light a fire under my lazy ass.

So, literally the moment I finished Temenos Island and had the grand opening out of the way, I turned my full attention to these skins. With the female skins I had used the early draft of my Divine Mystery human skin line as the base, but with the cat bois, I had no male skin in the works to use, so I first had to create the underlayer. That required a male model to test it on, and as much as I would have enjoyed taking screenies of some other sexy cat boi naked in my clutches for this, I work weird hours and on a whim, and it's best I do all my own modeling, etc. So...I made a male shape, hair (I am neurotic about being seen without hair) and turned myself into a cat boi.

Ebony Leopard
Golden Striped


Yes, that is me in the pictures on the ad, and yes it was hard getting the pictures taken with me drooling over myself so much...but I finally managed.

So, in a whirlwind week of flying fur and overloaded photoshoppe sessions, I finally got these skins where I was mostly happy with em. Enough anyway I felt I should release em and offer em up as a sacrifice to the restless and impatient neko guys pounding on my door.

All I can hope is that they like em, enjoy making mischief and catterwalling about in them...and that they don't decide to eat me anyway for being so late with em. =/

Neko Ears and Tails -

These are another project I put off forever and finally have completed. For the longest time I had no plan to make ears and tails to match my neko skins. Anisa Naumova of Outland Tech and Curious Relics had already made what are undoubtably the most comprehensively done, amazingly scripted neko ears anyone could do...so why should I try when I will just be second best at the highest?

But, over time, the requests for ears and tails that specifically matched my skins got to me, and I decided...second best or not, I should make em anyway. But, then I had the next problem...how to design them and make a cute set of scripted neko ears and tail that didn't just look like a clone of Anisa's. Anisa is a friend of mine and someone I highly respect creatively. The last thing I wanted to do was copy her design, even unintentionally. I needed to make something cute, neko appropriate, realistic and matching my skins, but that was unique and not just my own interpretation on Anisa's work. That plagued me for months. Nothing would come to mind. I had no ideas on how to 'improve' upon her ears since they were already so damned, bloody perfect.

So...I kept putting them off. Time and again. People kept asking, but I would send em to Anisa for ears and ignore the project. A few times I started a set of ears and scrapped em...too much like Anisa's, despite using totally different shapes and prims. Why did she have to make such a perfect look? Pfft.

Then, while working on a script for a flexi tail for my friend and business partner, QuietlyCharmes Vega of Playful Kitten, I was struck by an idea. My ears needed to be flexi.

Once I had that revelations, it took me all of one day to make them, script them, and get them up for sale. It was like I became possessed. A twistie flexi shape here, a few tufts of flexi fur there, and a script to pose and move em in a few simple animations, and poof...ears!

I textured em in all the colours and designs of my skins, finished the flexi tail I was making and got em up.

In the end, I am very happy with my ears and tail. They are less detailed than Anisa's, use far less prims, and are really kinda simplistic in a way. The scripting is very basic compared to hers and doesn't offer any of the cool advanced features hers do...but they were what I had wanted...cute, unique, different, and they matched my skins to a tee.

I just hope other people like em as much as I do. *bounces around so her floppy ears floop and droop and bounce*

New Female Neko Colours -

I pondered the idea of adding some new...more unnatural...colours of neko skins when I was working on the leopard version, months back. I even made a pink Leopard at the time and offered it for sale then. But then I kinda forgot the idea in all the madness. Until I started getting requests for purple nekos, blue nekos, etc.

So, with the neko ears and tail finished and the long delayed male neko skins done, and Temenos doing well after the grand opening...just for the total "why the fuck not" of it, I went back and made 5 new colours of both the striped and leopard neko skins.

Berry Striped
Blood Striped
Blueberry Striped
Lavender Striped
Mint Striped

Which, immediately required me to go and make ears and tails to match and update the just released Ears and tail sets. =P But, in yet another whirlwind of activity (see a pattern here? Months of laziness followed by a few days of work...catlike, eh?) I messed in PS until I liked the colours and got it all out and photographed (my work part...someone slit my wrists so I don't have to do any more photoshoots please!), boxed and in the vendors.

Yay for colourful nekos!

P.S. - Yes...the new colours will be coming for the cat bois too...don't eat me please! <---is now nerotic about cat bois eating her.

Neko Clawed Feet -

This was a totally unplanned for and unexpected surprise, but one I can't rave about enough.

QuietlyCharmes Vega, my adorable kitten partner at Temenos Island, and owner of Playful Kitten is best known for her amazing hair. She was the first person to have flexi hair for sale when the servers came up after the great flexi update, and she developed a almost cult like following among those who were exposed to her tresses. But...I log in one day and here she was making neko stuff that wasn't hair! I was floored.

These Neko feet are just amazing. They aren't your mom's cutesey neko cat feet that people are used to either. These aren't anime or cartoony...these are wild, feral and oh so dangerous looking! Long, feral claws and toes and feet that use my textures from the neko skins, these feet fit so perfectly with my skins and with the wildness of Jungle Voodoo...I begged, annoyed and pressured her to release em under the Jungle Voodoo name.

You got to see em on...see how they match the skins, see the feralness of them to appreciate these wonderful works. I have never been prouder to beg someone to sell something in one of my shoppes as this.

Wonderful work, kitten, I adore em!

More Neko Ears -

Yesh, it's true...there are more than one brand and style of Neko ears and tails available at Temenos Island. Quietly started her ears before I started mine...same time she was making her amazing neko feet. She went a totally different route than me, but her results are just as wonderful and cute...totally adorable even.

Her ears are smaller, cuter, perkier, and more understated than mine or Anisa's, and they use her hair textures to make the fur...but the result is still kawaii! *purrs*

You gotta check these ears out. She offers em in all the same colours as her hair, so they match it perfectly in texture and hue. She recently changed from offering em in seperate packs to offering em in a single big bundle of neko cuteness, so for one low price (yes, cheaper than mine), you get em all, ears and tails.

The ears aren't scripted, but the tail is...same script as mine uses, though different textures. But when ya see em on someone, especially Quietly...OMG, the cuteness level is like total overload! So, be sure to check out her ears over in Playful Kitten too if you are a neko or cat girl fan, they are must haves.

Thrift Store Goodness!

This weeks new releases were inspired by one of my favorite places to shoppe in real life...the thrift stores. My daughter and I both adore thrift stores as you can find the bestest, freakiest forgotten and once-loved-but-now-disgarded treaures imaginable. Retro is always in for me, as is bohemian and funky clunky looks, and where better to find them than a thrift store, right?

So, I wanted to offer a nice bohemian long skirt...the type of I wear a lot of in real life and find very comfy...and a matching top or two. I started looking for fabric ideas and ended up finding so many cool, retro, and contemporary fabrics I adored, I just had to use em all...er...or at least some of em. My one skirt and blouse became over 11 different fabric, counting the freebie plain black I tossed in at the last minute. I ended up breaking the skirts and tops up seperately in case people just wanted one or the other as they are very mix and matchable with other looks and styles, and added the Thrift Store label to the old, clunky combat boots I was making too while I was at it, ending up with what we are offering this week at Boneflower Designs in Temenos...the Thrift Store Collection...