Hi, all! :)
...So in the middle of December, The Havens put out a notice for a holiday decorating contest that I participated in...
*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:..
THE HAVENS HOLIDAY DECORATING CONTEST
.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:..
Come try your hand at decorating a gingerbread home! The top 3 houses will win cash prizes!
You don't even need to know how to build to participate!
PRIZES to be awarded Dec. 24:
FIRST PRIZE: L$2,000
SECOND PRIZE: L$1,000
THIRD PRIZE: L$500
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Easthaven/224/137/35
HOW TO PARTICIPATE:
1. Go to the Holiday village and buy a house for L$100. ALL PROCEEDS WILL GO TOWARD THE PRIZES. You have until 1 a.m. PST on Dec. 23 to decorate.
2. The houses are mesh, you can drag and drop textures from your inventory on the parts of the houses to decorate them.
3. You are allowed 100 prims to also decorate the houses and their yards. Please keep any prims within the candy cane boundary lines. You can go up to the walkway if you want in front of each house. You can use premade prims for decorating if you want. DO NOT link anything to the houses.
4. You need to join The Havens group to rez prims for decoration. If you don't want to join the group, you don't have to -- you can still buy a house and texturize it.
CONTACT Serina Juran or Edborough Kellie to join The Havens group...
If you have any questions, please contact SERINA JURAN.
Looking forward to seeing all the creativity!
And one also could've gotten it by clicking this sign inworld, at the beginning of the holiday village. :)
...So let's take a tour, and look at everything up close and personal! :)
Starting at entry #1...
...Here's a more detailed look at the textures used on the house, in Midday view...
...Here's some more detail on the window texture, and the happy snowman's sparkily staff...
...Twinkling tree...
...Peppermint candy stepping stones...
...And yes, that's a fence of Ed too *giggle*
...Merry Christmas, & "ho, ho, ho!" it's Santa Claus!
Switching back to Midnight view, up next, we have entry #2, which is a veritable cornucopia of sugar, done by Sara Pudles (sairalindeelensar.pudles), who is also the 3rd place tie winner!
...See the shiny medal hanging off the side of the house? :)
I temporarily derendered the medal so we could fully appreciate the detail put into this house, here...
...And so pardon me while I eat this right up! XD
*NOM*
Switching back to Midday view, more of the house's detail...
Back into Midnight view, this quaint #3 wintery treat entry is from Pammie Venkman...
...And here we have the side view as well, in Sunrise view...
Back to Midday view, up next we have entry #4, by Aleea Soulstar, who is also the 3rd place tie winner...
...See the medal hanging off the roof, there?
...Sit a spell, and check all this detail out with me...
...Oh yeah, and I wanted to point out the back of this fire-roof texture that wraps stars around the whole thing...
(BTW, yus, this is Sunrise view)
...Here's a closer look with more details, including the side of the house...
...You can sorta see the medal hanging on the door in the background there...
...But first, I jam-packed this with *SO* much detail, let's start at the beginning...
...Against the #6 sign is my "Nightmare/Bats" ornament, complete with the blue-violet "INFO. ^♥^" float text... so that when you click it, it gives you an "INFO: 2019 Majik's THE HAVENS Holiday Decorating Contest" NC:
"Greetings!
"I just wanted to say thank you for inviting me to THE HAVENS, and for doing such cool events like this contest! Not only is it wonderful to be a part of something great again, but I thoroughly enjoyed spending as much time as I could decorating everything (around that troublesome RL, you know, LOL)!
"Each year, it always comes down to some panic like, 'Oh, geez, the holidays are here again - what am I gonna do for celebrating or gifties to friends and whatnot? OMG!' But this year, THE HAVENS made it pretty simple ...Didn't have to worry about a thing, just followed my heart and put everything into this little artsy display I got to participate in. So, thank you very much for this fantastic opportunity and canvas! ♥ :)
"Also, I would also like to take a moment to thank all the kind folks at Builder's Brewery who helped me with ALL my stupid and annoying building questions with sincerity & professionalism. You guys have helped me since the beginning of time + seriously rawk! Thankies! ;) ♥
"...So anyway, now I will talk a little bit about this art project I did for the contest...
"I chose the roundy house because I knew I wanted to make an ornament scene (like a bunch had kinda maybe fallen off the tree from the heavy house, or maybe like someone was getting ready to decorate it - in an effort to capture the "overwhelmed" sense I mentioned earlier): the eye is in the beholder. ...Also, as an interesting tidbit, if you're a fairy (or other small creature), I thought it would be fun to build this so you could actually have the tiny experience). ;)
"Now, there are about 7 ornaments on this lot...
"There's the 'Nightmare/Bats' ornament, obviously inspired by Tim Burton's 'Nightmare Before Christmas' (I love claymation, and I think Tim Burton is fabulous at it), which you touched to get this information (thankies!). This is made from a sculpt kit I got to decorate my old wings for the holidays, a couple of years ago ... + being a dark fae / succubus, I just L♥VE bats!!! ;D
"Then there's the 'Dark Forest' ornament. The deer inside was from Townies: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Townies/117/213/149 ...When I saw that there, it inspired the whole ornament.
"Also, a lot of textures are from Sanna, who I met on the Renaissance Hunt, way back in the day, and we've been friends ever since. :) She has a whole sim dedicated to all these fabulous animated textures: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/HalluciNation/111/126/3000 ...When I saw both these things, I just knew this ornament was kismet! :)"
((Yup, the ornament "ground" + the deer's horns twinkle in this ornament))
"Also, you will find the 'Bow (or crash) Before The Spirit - Bat-Heart Ornament,' a tribute to my infamous infatuation with Bat-Hearts -that encompass my two favorite holidays- Halloween AND Valentines' Day! ;)"((Back to Midday view))
((Yup, animated flapping wings + it hovers))
"I had a LOT of fun with the 'Oops, I Broke It! --Er, I Mean, I Didn't Do It!!!' ornament."
((Sunrise view))
"This is made from an egg sculpt I got for Easter + one of Sanna's textures."
((This is the view of one broken half, at the top of the snowy hill, from behind ... And, yup, back to Midday view))
"Now, if you sit on it, I put in a few AvSitter poses, so you can look around at everything (sorry, it only seats one for now, but maybe if I keep it around long enough, I can get more serious about it, LOL)."
((Rocking pose with Estate Time view))
((Rocking pose camera view @ Midnight view))
((Hang Out pose))
((Hang Out pose camera view))
((Dangle pose))
((Dangle pose camera view))
((Celebrate pose = twirl up into the air and then back down over & over again))
((Celebrate pose camera view))
"...In one of the broken halves, you will find some presents, so go ahead and help yourself! ;) ♥"
((This picture was taken with Midday view.
The gift boxes are the Horrorfest Edition of 2014 from Bliensen + MaiTai.
Presents contained a 2019 Holly-Date card that gives a News/letter NC when opened & the inside face = touched ... + a box of *ALL* Holly-Dates gifts I've made since 2014.
However, I could not link all the presents, I was at exactly 100 prims, and linking them actually put me 1 prim over! ...So clicking the present with the knife and blood, makes it say into nearby chat, "Sorry, I'm not in a good mood, try the other gifts!" + give a NC called "Oops! ***READ ME***" that reads, "Sorry, I'm the present with the bad attitude, please try clicking the other gifts!" *GIGGLE*))
"'Fallen Star Topper' (not really an ornament-ornament) was meant to look like it had
either fallen hard into the ground, or someone spiked it in there. This was a sculpt I got for a star build kit, and who knew the pave-stones I had on Zamargad would come in so handy! ;)
"The texture is from a mesh tree-hand involved in an art project I like to call 'The Artsy Dome' - and when Zamargad is done with the $ saving downsizing, I'd love to show it off to all of you. It mimics a bit of what Darkstar had to offer (and OMG, it's not around anymore, but Simon Linden still has his Pick for them).
"Last, but certainly not least, is the main focus, the house itself (in 2 parts) 'Holiday house 1' and 'Fairy house' (which is the door). The main message with the house is that no matter what is going on out there (space, inwardly, whatever), when you put it all together, there's the spirit of Christmas (or the holidays, depending on what you believe).
((I temporarily derendered the medal to show the details of the twinkling/color-changing star texture on the window & door))
"It's made to look like it's hanging from the nearby pine tree (to which I added some special hidden branches to, to help with that).
"...As for textures...
"I put a color changing + twinkling star texture on the door and the window (which is one of the reasons why I had to unlink it, sorry about that, but the rules only talked about linking things *to* the house, LOL --Don't worry, I took building notes, & I'll be happy to put it back the way it was found, if need be). :) See, the house itself, was not round-round, and I really wanted it to be a spinning sort of globe to represent Earth, so I textured it transparent, and built another ornament shape, 'Bulb,' with another one of Sanna's animated textures. The roof/chimney textures really tie in the whole holiday spirit theme I was going for: Christmas, winter, vintage, and time + space (alpha/omega).
"...I sure did have a lot of fun warping all those Christmas stocking images in Photoshop to fit on the texture alignment grid! ;) WheEeEEee! --->"
((...Let me just take a moment to explain to you how/why this is useful, via my bell-bottoms...))
((...So you have your pants original map in Photoshop...))
((...And then you apply your Texture Alignment Grid to the pants inworld...
...See how the seams line up?))
((...Now you can take that Texture Alignment Grid into Photoshop as a new layer...
...Duplicate the original map, & I cut holes in that to see what I'm working with more clearly...))
((...Now, eventually, you're gonna come up with something cool for the pants...))
((...And see, that is how you can use a Texture Alignment Grid to make something awesome inworld!!!))
"...Oh, also, the Christmas particle smoke was generated with some trial and error here: http://particles-lsl-generator.bashora.com/"
((Switched to Sunrise view))
((Switched to Sunrise view))
"Now, inside the house is a little holly berry + fir tree wreath I made, with a star-shaped tray (yes, I'm aware this also makes a Wiccan pentacle). In the middle of this center-piece are color-themed candles that I also textured (and they can be lit or blown out by touch)..."
((Back to Midday view))
"...And...
"in the center of it all, is what I refer to as the 'Spirit of Christmas' (was just easier than calling it the 'Spirit of Christmahanakwanzika,' LOL) ...which is the frolicking fairy, pure and innocent of heart, just like the wonder of this season. So, hopefully, now you can see how everything has a purpose and how it all comes together. ;)
"
: ҉
⊱ ✴ ⊰
✴♬✴
✴*♥*✴
✴⊱〠⊰✴
✴.*⊱*⊰*.✴
✴ • '*♥* ' • ✴
✴ '*•♫♫♫•*' ✴
✴' *, • '♫ ' • ,* ' ✴
✴' * • ♫*♥* ♫•* ' ✴
✴'* , • ღ☆☾☯ • , * '✴
✴* ' •♫♫*♥*♫♫ • ' * '✴
✴' '*'•.ღ☆(☯☯).☆ღ •'*''✴
✴' '* •♫♫♫*♥*♫♫♫• *' '✴
*~~Merry Holly-Dates~~*
&
"Thank you for looking, thank you for reading, and thank you for the really cute THE HAVENS title I've been wearing all week as 'Santa's Helper,' LOL! :D
"...Don't forget to get some gifties!!!
"-Majik♥Phew! :D
Lilith of Zamargad
BlueVioletVixen Lorefield"
...Well...
Back to Midnight view, next we have entry #7, from Starhawk Starostin, but it seems untouched, so we can probably assume this was just a very nice donation. :)
Then there's entry #8, which seems untouched as well, so we can probably assume this was also another very nice donation from Corkie Houston. :)
...BTW, I also found this style of house for sale ---> on MP!
Next is entry #9, a real licorice candy dream, from Anigma Eulenberg, winner of 2nd place!
...I've moved the camera backward a bit, so then we can creep back in on this...
You can see the medal hanging off the window to the left, and look at all the yummy and festive detail we have to joyfully consume!
Back to Midday view, you can really see the sweet goodness on the detail, here!
Here's a view from the path where you can get more of a feel for the themed decor in Sunset view...
Back to Midday view, here's the reindeer on the other side of the Christmas tree :)
And the last entry is #10, from Inanna (Entry #9 - Anigma Eulenberg, 5).
...Hello, cute Christmas mat!
...Well, hello, snowman... wow, that cake looks yummy in this beautiful Sunset view!
...Run, run, Rudolph, Santa's gotta make it to town...!
...And that is it for this tour of The Havens Holiday Decorating Contest, 2019...
...If anyone (especially one of the participants) has any more pictures or information, please feel free to let me know and I'll update this post ASAP! ;)
...If anyone (especially one of the participants) has any more pictures or information, please feel free to let me know and I'll update this post ASAP! ;)
Serina also sent out a NC notice:
WE HAVE WINNERS!!!
It was VERY DIFFICULT to pick them...
But congratulations to the winners of the 2019 Havens Holiday Contest!
FIRST PLACE:
MajikVixen
SECOND PLACE:
Anigma Eulenberg
THIRD PLACE (TIE):
Aleea Soulstar
Sara Puddles
Thank you to everyone who participated! Come on over and see the entries, they are very creative!
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Easthaven/224/137/35
Keep an eye out in notices for more contests and events! And always, if you have any suggestions, please don't hesitate to reach out!
**hugs**
...Alrighty, well, I'm going to say goodbye for now in Midday view...
...I hope you enjoyed this as much as I certainly did!!! ;) ♥
But in the meantime...
