I took the train to Hogwarts and checked out the stunning mesh build today. The beautiful sim is open to the public for a preview from 6th July 9PM SLT to 13th July 9PM SLT. During this preview there will be no role play and everyone can simply walk around and explore the current exterior of the castle.

I took a few pictures of the build, but I was having a hard time rezzing everything and also my shadows were coming out all weird (you can tell in the last picture in this post which I posted raw and unprocessed). I’m also not very good at taking pictures of just builds, I’m better at plopping myself in front of the builds and showing off what I’m wearing, so I guess I’ll just stick to that. lol But I am going to try and go back there again later today or tomorrow and explore more. I was having fun in the castle.

I’m also thinking of creating a new category on my blog called “Amazing Presents from Mr. Jefferson.” I woke up this morning to another gorgeous gift from him today, this mesh sweater/shirt combination from a new store. I am just in love with it. This store is called Chemistry and they have some very nice mesh stuff, check them out on marketplace. Thank you Mr. Jefferson, ily. You are my fashion guru! <3

(This is a raw shot from SL, just cropped)

For more information about the Mischief Managed sim, check out the following links:
Website: mischiefmanagedsl.com
Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/hogwartsmischiefmanaged
Flickr Group: www.flickr.com/groups/hogwartsmischiefmanaged
Plurk: www.plurk.com/mischiefmanaged
Slurl: maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/expecto/87/200/3004

What I’m wearing:
*Skin: -Glam Affair- Roza – Natural 01 D by Aida Ewing @ Collabor88 for July
Hair and Hairbase: booN KBO906 hair chocolate & boon hairbase by boo Nakamura
Glasses: bitch. – MESH BC Frames/Clear by Maxwell Graf
Top: Chemistry ZOE SWEATER SHIRT (Untucked) – Yiska (S) by Kimberlee Miles
*Jeans: Maitreya Flare Jeans (for flats) * S #8 by Onyx LeShelle
*Watch: Kari – Nato Watch – Coffee (F) by Menno Ophelia
*Shoes: [Gos] Triumph Boots – Fem – Fatpack – Foot – XXS by Gospel Voom
Bag: {mon tissu} Straw Tote Bag – Dark Brown by Anouk Spot
*Poses: Built into the bag + my AO from Vista Animations

So, I was a bad girl this week and totally goofed off instead of learning something new in photoshop. Therefore I thought this time I would share a skin smoothing tutorial that helped me a lot a few years ago. This is the technique I still use to smooth skin. The tutorial is by Ryker Beck and can be viewed at this link. I get asked a lot how I smooth the skin in my pictures so I figured I’d go ahead and share that. And while I’m sharing tutorials from other SL residents, this is another great one by Elysium Eilde showing us how to get rid of those pesky grid lines you get in shadow pictures.

Today I’m wearing a new skin by Shai Delacroix of Casa Del Shai. It’s a very realistic dark skin. I love the warm tone and the makeups it comes with. You can check out the Casa Del Shai facebook page for more pictures of the skin and all the makeups. Then take the slurl to straylight to try on a demo yourself.

The light and summery mesh top I’m wearing is a new release from Zaara Kohime of {Zaara}. This is Zaara’s first mesh release with a lot more to come in the following weeks. I am so excited for all the stuff she’s about to release so make sure to add her blog to your readers and like her facebook page to keep up with all her upcoming releases. Zaara has also put all her new releases on marketplace.

I also wanted to share this last picture as well which I blogged on the iRez blog earlier this week. I love the mesh sunglasses from Maxi in this image that I picked up at Fameshed this month. Check out Seraphim for all the details on what’s available there this month.

Credits:
1st & 2nd picture:
Skin: *Shai* Jamaica Skin – GREEN by Shai Delacroix
Hair: booN KBO906 hair chocolate with booN hairbase by boo Nakamura
Eyes: Mayfly – Deep Sky Mesh (Desert Dawn, w4) by Arkesh Baral
*Blouse: Zaara : [Mesh] Ashima Blouse *fire* by Zaara Kohime
*Shorts: Zaara : Mitya shorts *red* by Zaara Kohime
*Headband: LaGyo_Catalina headbend gold by Gyorgyna Larnia @ Collabor88 for July
*Earrings: Intrigue Co. – MESH Sandcastle Earrings @ Collabor88 for July
*Poses: Geez by Grazia Horwitz

3rd picture:
Skin: [Aura] Helena – Love Notes – Caramel by Tyr Rozenblum
*Hair: >TRUTH< Ashlee Streaked - fairyfloss by Truth Hawks
*Sunglasses: MG - SunGlasses - Milano Cats-Eye 40's by Maxi Gossamer @ Fameshed for July
*Necklace: [HANDverk]Coral Pendant Necklace by Daphne Klossovsky @ Fameshed for July
*Blouse: Zaara : [Mesh] Ashima Blouse *ivory* by Zaara Kohime
*Shorts: Zaara : Denim shorts *ivory* by Zaara Kohime
*Pose: Magpie by Echo Davi
Location: {Zaara}

When I heard about Harper Ganesvoort’s blog challenge, “fictional characters from your favorite books” in my heart I knew right away that I had to find a way to portray Jane Austen’s Emma.

Most people know that I am a huge Jane Austen fan and Pride and Prejudice is one of my favorite books. However, there’s something about Emma Woodhouse that always resonated with me. I think it’s because she’s flawed and reminds me so much of myself. She’s a bit immature, quite naive, so stubborn and very attached to her father.

A few months back I took this test, “Which Jane Austen Heroine Are You?” and I really wasn’t so surprised when the results turned out to be: Emma: “You are Emma Woodhouse of Emma! You like being the queen of your social circle (small and provincial as it may be), and feel it’s your duty to help those less influential than you. You often meddle in the affairs of others, though you do it with a pure heart. You are often deluded in your flights of fancy, but your good intentions and creative spirit make you someone anyone could like.”

I don’t know if much of that is true about me, but I will say that with age I’ve gotten wiser and much less of a meddler. But, at least it was always with good intentions.

I think y’all should do this challenge too. The most difficult thing was finding the right dress. I was trying to find something similar to the one Gwyneth Paltrow is wearing in this picture. I know it’s not exactly the same, but it was still fun trying to get the look.

I recently discovered the BBC version of Emma. I’ve never seen that one and I hear it’s very good. I’m trying to get my hands on the DVD, can’t wait to see how close it is to the book.

I hope you guys also do this challenge, I think it can be a lot of fun and something a bit different than the standard fashion posts.

Credits:
*Skin: -Glam Affair- Amelie Light – Bl – Clean by Aida Ewing
Eyes: Mayfly – Deep Sky Mesh (Desert Dawn, w4) by Arkesh Baral
*Hair: [Shag] – Pretty Please – bombshell by Sebastien Aries
Necklace: lassitude & ennui Ophelia Cameo pendant by Jackal Ennui
*Ring: Zaara : pearl cluster ring by Zaara Kohime
Dress: [Kouse's Sanctum] Glimmer – Gown – Snowy Gold by Kouse Singh
Umbrella: ::TGIS:: Dahlia Blanc Parasol Sheer [Whipped Cream] by Freya Olivieri
Pose: Storin (no longer available)
Location: Wanderstill Ode

Raw shot from SL, just cropped and used my “original” windlight setting.

On April 12th 2011, I wrote a post asking people to share their digits. I was feeling a little insecure about my shape and wanted to see how I measured up against others. I got a terrific response to that and I wanted to thank all those that participated.

Now, a year later, I’ve realized my shape has changed quite a bit. It is all because of mesh. The introduction of mesh on the grid has caused a lot of commotion about body shapes and how to deal with fitting into mesh clothing before the mesh deformer is out.

I thought the idea of Standard Sizing was a brilliant one. I know a lot of people have issues with the sizing, even I did not fit perfectly into any one particular size. But it still gave content creators some direction when creating sizing for their mesh clothing. For me, I noticed I would be in between a small and medium, depending on the creator. I didn’t like how some items looked on me in the medium size so I purposely shrunk myself down a bit in certain areas to fit into a small, or sometimes, an extra small.

Anyhow, I figured since I changed so much, it was time for me to share my updated numbers. This time I am also including the numbers that were used in standard sizing.

Here are my updated numbers:
Height – 66 (6’6″ using the Avatar Ruler)
Body Fat: 1
Head size – 58
Torso Muscle: 24
Breast Size: 30
Arm length – 75
Hand size – 20
Torso length – 55
Love Handles: 35
Belly Size: 8
Leg Muscle: 49
Leg length – 56
Hip width – 58
Butt Size: 25
Saddle Bags: 30
Foot size – 0

Please note: You DO NOT need to share all the numbers I have, just whatever you feel comfortable sharing. I don’t however recommend sharing facial numbers as that is what sets you apart and gives you a unique look.

I did not include my male shape numbers as I have pretty much retired him and his numbers remain the same as last year’s post, so I figured there was no point in posting him again. But, I would love to know how men are adapting to mesh and if they are willingly changing their shape to fit into standard sizing.

I know when I did this last year I upset a few people (especially some shapemakers) because they were concerned that people might be sharing numbers of shapes that they did not create on their own. Please keep in mind that I am not requesting anyone to share all or any of their numbers if they don’t want to. I am assuming everyone that shares whatever numbers they wish, have created the shapes themselves and/or have permission from the person that did. I’m not doing this to create drama, I am just looking to get into a discussion about mesh and how it has affected our behavior towards our avatar’s shape.

Like last year, I am going to keep the Digits Flickr Group open for those of you that would like to share your numbers again and also those that didn’t get a chance to last year and might want to join in.

Now I wanted to share a few links:

1. Avatar Ruler – Last year I had used a different avatar height measuring tool, but I noticed that it disappeared from marketplace so I had recently updated my previous post with the new Avatar Ruler. I liked the concept of the avatar ruler and how it measures actual height using a proportionally scaled pole. You don’t have to use it in your post, but it’ll be great to see the height it shows for everyone. You’ll notice a drastic difference in numbers if you’ve used height measurement tools before. It’s free on marketplace!
2. Vaki Zenovka’s Average Numbers – The lovely Vaki had taken all of last year’s numbers and found the average of each. You can find the average numbers for females and the average numbers for males on her blog.
3. Average Shapes on Marketplace: Vaki has also very graciously created shapes using those numbers and made them available on marketplace for free, with full perms.

Finally, I got a few questions for you guys which you can answer in your posts or flickrs or wherever you decide to share you numbers, if you do:

1. How has the introduction of mesh affected your SL, if at all? Are you open to wearing mesh often or do you still shy away from it?
2. Have you changed your shape to fit into mesh? If so, did you go bigger or smaller?
3. Do you think the mesh deformer will resolve a lot of the issues people seem to have with mesh and will it encourage you to wear mesh more often, if you don’t already?

I know a lot of you probably haven’t changed your shapes for mesh at all, so I’m assuming most of you still have the same numbers. I’m just looking to see how everyone is adapting to mesh. I am coming to the point where now the only thing I want to wear is mesh and I’m willing to change whatever I can to fit into it. Quite a scary thought for me as I was not as flexible about change last year.

Anyhow, I think I’ve rambled enough for now. Thank you for taking the time to read this and also if you decide to participate. <3

Credits:
*Skin: PXL Faith Olive By Hart Larsson (not released yet)
*Hair: Discord Designs -dDx- Mackenzie (Brunette) by Kallisti Burns (MESH)
Lingerie: One Bad Pixel ::1bp:: Babytux Small Plum by Siddean Munro (MESH)
*Pose: Diesel Works by Rogan Diesel

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I am really happy and excited to announce a new project I’m going to be taking part in, “The World Today” on iRez.me. Basically it’s kind of like a “Photo a day” challenge except in my case it will be more like “Photo a week.” Vaneeesa Blaylock is a performance artist who runs a phenomenal blog which focuses on art, culture, activism and identity. iRez.me has a total of ten authors at the moment and now they are adding a new feature with the “The World Today” which will encompass photographers sharing snapshots of “today” across the physical & virtual worlds: London, Melbourne, Second Life, etc… Vaneeesa was kind of enough to ask me to be one of the Second Life photographers on the site.

So I’m not going to say much about this photo as I’ve already said lots in my post, which you can read here: http://irez.me/2012/06/30/the-gift
All of my posts on iRez.me will be posted at this link: http://irez.me/author/strawberrysingh

I will not always blog the images here that I post there, but two places I will always share them will be on my flickr and my facebook page. So you can follow me on those two networks if you’d like to see what I’m up to.

I am not planning on sharing any credits of what I’m wearing in the photos in my posts over there, but if there is something you like and wondering where I got it from, feel free to leave a comment in the post and I’ll let you know. Since I blogged this image here as well, I thought I’d share here that the dress I’m wearing is from ISON.

One more thank you to Vaneeesa for asking me to do this, as I’m really looking forward participating in this challenge often! <3