New release in the works...

The grand opening and fashion show were quite the project to complete. It's a thrill to be open for business again, to see Spirit City free of ban lines and open to the public. But in the wake of so much clothing design and event preparation, like eating too much of a good thing, my "designer's palette" needed a bit of cleansing. So I returned to a project that I've been working on for a quite a while now, one that has at times left me alternately yearning, frustrated, depressed, and resigned. Skins. You hear often from skin designers how difficult skins are to create, and I'll admit that before embarking on a line of my own, I sometimes wondered if those designer remarks were a tad bit of overdrawn artist postering, lol. Well, I am here to tell you emphatically and soul-baringly honestly that the skin designers weren't lying, weren't postering, weren't overstating the case even a bit.

Designing skins is HARD!

I began designing my own believing it would be a breeze to do, that perhaps they wouldn't turn out perfectly right off the bat, but like clothes, my skin designs would start off fairly well and improve the more I practiced. Ha! Time and again I spent days working a layer, only to throw my hands up in frustrated despair and give up for a while. Designing skins takes every bit of skill ever learned from designing clothes, plus much, much more. Because if you choose not to photosource your skin, you are choosing to be in effect a true artist. Every muscle highlight and shadow, every ripple in the skin, every line and curve of the eyes and nose and mouth, is a digital brushstroke resulting in guesswork and decision based on countless hours of studying photos of real people in every pose imagineable. I couldn't even tell you how many uploads I ended up making, testing and retesting, tweaking, lightening, darkening, moving a single shadow higher or lower over the body until it looked right in-world. Only to hear from my rl family that what I thought looked great was definitely not and needed to be fixed fast, lol.

And after ALL this dramatic prelude, all this explanation of the sweat and toil that truly goes into a designer's first skin... I am happy to announce that I have completed a skin I am finally happy with! It's not perfect, and I know I will be adding to it continually before I release the first line for sale. But for my first skin, I'll confess I'm pretty darn proud.

Want to see it? No, I will not be putting up pics here, at least not yet. It's not ready to be released for sale. I still have tons of versions of hair color and freckle layers to make and alternate makeup options and skin tones to complete. So you'll have to wait a while for all of that to be posted here. BUT if you're a member of the SPIRIT Fan Group, you'll receive the very first SPIRIT skin, one created especially to go with the Nutcracker Sugarplum Fairy set released last week, completely FREE! I would appreciate all feedback offered on this first skin, but do try to be constructive in your criticism so I know specifically what needs improvement and what you'd like to see in the form of options, changes, etc. The freebie release to the group will be going out momentarily, so don't miss it!

New Reviews!

Check out Teagan Blackthorne's review of the new hairstyles for the Nutcracker Collection over at the Savoir Hair blog! Thank you Teagan for the review and kind compliments!!

And Cherlindrea Lamont at the Fabulously Free in SL blog was extra sweet and wrote up the quickest blog post I've ever seen so more residents could take part in Monday's Freebie Gift Hunt at the Spirit City grand opening. Click here to see her showing off some of the free goodies from Spirit that were featured in the hunt!

Ads and details about the Nutcracker Collection release coming soon!

The Hunt is ON!

Don't miss today's Freebie Gift Hunt at Spirit City! With 10 numbered, red and gold presents hidden around the city, you're sure to find at least something you love. Be sure to find all 10 gift boxes to get all the items shown below! All items are supplied by SPIRIT, and include the following...

* Snow Queen Ballgown with corset, skirt, and glitch pants

* Snow Queen Hooded Cloak

* Snow Queen Freebie Tiara

* Snow Queen Gloves

* Snow Queen Ballroom High Heels

* Cheer Pink Plaid Pajamas with tank top

* Dance Pink Plaid Pajamas with tank top

* Pink Cheer Varsity Letter Jacket

* Face Lights

* Cropped Dance Hoodie (not shown)

(Hair shown is the SPIRIT Graceful II in Light Blonde, not included in the freebie gift hunt.)

The gift hunt ends TONIGHT at midnight SL time, so don't delay in searching for your freebies! Some of these items might be gone forever after tonight! Here's the landmark to the new store...

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Plush%20Tau/81/83/22/

Opening dates are set!!!

WOOT, the opening dates have been set for Spirit City, and by extension the new main store for SPIRIT!!! Here they are...

- Spirit City is now open to all invited designers who have cheer/dance themed designs (if you didn't receive an invitation, send me a notecard in-world with the title "Cheer/Dance Items for Review" with pics and descriptions of your cheer/dance items you want to be considered...if I don't respond, IM me too because I might not have gotten the notecard); ban lines still effective for everyone else who hasn't received an invitation

- Saturday, Dec. 8 through Sunday, Dec. 9...sneek peek for invited members of the fashion press and for members of the SPIRIT Fan Group (no invitation necessary for this group, just be a member and have this group activated when you teleport in; look for the landmark in an upcoming group notice!)

- Monday, Dec. 10...open to the general public

- Dec. 15-16...fashion show (specific date, time, and featured vendors TBA)


I am SO EXCITED, I can barely sit still!!!!! Off to make more freebies now. :D

-- SavannahAnn McMillan
Owner, SPIRIT...for everything cheer and dance!

SPIRIT Now the Official Costumer for SL Ballet!

That's right, you read that correctly, lol. SPIRIT has recently been honored to become the official costumer for SL's one and only SL Ballet! This company produces amazing ballets that are held twice a week. Admittance to a SL Ballet production is free, and all donations to the company go to charity. These ladies and gentlemen work hard on a completely volunteer basis. Perhaps most impressive of all is that they aren't simply playing one animation for the entire performance...just like real dancers, the members of this ballet corpe have to time their dance steps to the music and each other, as well as go through several costume changes in just one performance!

SL Ballet proves that the emotional journey produced by real ballets can also be produced in Second Life, and SPIRIT is extremely honored to have the opportunity to help costume these talented individuals for their performances. Don't miss the upcoming holiday ballet for a look at some of SPIRIT's latest creations in beautiful, graceful action!

Spirit City Grand Opening Pushed Back

I'm sorry, everyone, but the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday here in the U.S. and the hectic rush of rl events that will be coming with it for me and my family forces me to have to push back the grand opening of Spirit City and SPIRIT's new store. Instead of opening this coming Friday, Spirit City will open in 3 weeks. This gives me time to get all the releases ready that I have planned, as well as the freebies and fun gala events.

The good news is that you can add a LOT more new items to the list that will be released at the grand opening! I'm also working behind-the-scenes to bring you some exciting events to help make the grand opening even more fun for everyone. Stay tuned for more info soon!

The New SPIRIT Main Store...Opening This Friday!!!

The new SPIRIT main store will be opening along with all of Spirit City on this coming Friday, November 16th, early in the wee hours of the morning (because that's when I do my best SL work! lol). To celebrate the grand opening, I will be giving away a few new freebies, as well as releasing a new cheer clothing line, a ballroom dress in two colors, and possibly a new ballet costume or two!

Stay tuned here for the landmark to the new main store and pics of the new releases coming SOON!

New Review!

Work continues at Spirit City, and the new location for the SPIRIT store will open in two weeks. Also, Spirit City now has a blog of its own where you can find all the latest news about the opening day date, time, events, vendors, and more!

In the meantime, here's a link to a review at Fashion Notes of the Bring It On cheer uniform collection! Thank you Tanya for the review!!

SPIRIT Has Moved!

SPIRIT is expanding in a HUGE way, and has moved to Spirit City, a soon-to-open small city full of nothing but cheer, dance, and ballroom dance vendors, events, sights to see, and more. Check back soon for updates...SPIRIT shouldn't be closed for long, and when it reopens at Spirit City, I think you'll find that the new location will more than make up for the wait. ;D

New Review at Fashion Victim!

In honor of the upcoming Halloween occasion, I created a torn, dirty, and blood stained version of the Heroes Cheerleader Claire uniform, called (what else?) the Battle Bloodied Cheerleader Claire Uniform. It's available without poms or shoes at the SPIRIT shop. :D

And Furiae Blackthorne reviewed it at Fashion Victim! Check out her review here (scroll to the bottom to see her picture wearing it and its review following the pic).

Thank you for the review, Furiae!

New Release: SPIRIT U Animations!

A new line has come to SPIRIT...SPIRIT U Animations! And I've started it off with a bang.

In the cheer room (which is becoming quite crowded, so look for a second floor or something here soon!), you'll find 28 poses and animations, all created with the utmost attention to authentic detail. Want to look like a real cheerleader? Here's how!

15 Basic Standing Poses let you perform cheers and chants any way you want. Sold individually or as a set with a convenient HUD (more about that shortly), each pose holds until you tell it to stop, so they're also perfect for photo shoots. Modify and copy enabled so you can put them into poseballs.

8 Stunting Poses add to your cheer move repertoire. Sold individually or as a set with a HUD, you won't need a stunting group or partner to hit these poses! Each pose holds until you end it, so they're also good for photo shoots. They're modify and copy enabled so you can put them into poseballs too.

Also available (but not pictured in this post) are three sitting poses (including one splits pose), a standing pom shaking animation, and a toe touch jump. These are all sold individually, but look for them to eventually become parts of new sets with their own custom HUDs.

And now for the details on the SPIRIT U Animations HUDs!

See that small gold and black rectangle in the upper right corner of the above screen shot? That's one of the SPIRIT U Animations HUDs!

I wanted a really fast and convenient way for you to be able to hit your cheer poses and animations for performances and photo shoots. And I think the new SPIRIT U Animations HUDs do the trick! They're small so they don't take up much room on your screen (for anyone unfamiliar with HUDs, they attach to your screen so only you can see them and you don't need build rights to wear them while travelling around SL). Unlike most HUDs with those pop up blue dialog menus that require you to know the name of the pose you want to use, SPIRIT U Animations HUDs use pictures on the buttons. Simply click on the picture of the pose or animation you want to use, and it'll animate you! It also doesn't ask for permission to animate you each time, so no additional delays there. Each pose or animation continues until you click on the SPIRIT U logo to make it stop. And these HUD's are NOT animation overriders...they only animate you when you tell them to. Otherwise, the script isn't running, so there's less lag than using an AO!

Best of all, every SPIRIT U Animations HUD is FREE with the purchase of a complete SPIRIT U Animations set! You'll get a new version with each set, customized to fit that set's poses and animations.

And I have even MORE news coming up in a new post, so stay tuned!

Animations Coming Soon!

I've been working on poses and animations for a while now. Yesterday I wrapped up the cheer poses I had planned. Now I'm moving on to jumps, motions, and a HUD to control it all easily. Look for a release post coming soon!

New Release: Bring It On Complete Collection, and SPIRIT Renovations

WHEW! I finally completed the SPIRIT store renovations with all new textures and many new vendors and displays that should make your shopping much, much easier. But first, let's talk about the huge new release this week!

This week's release is a combo new and retextured cheer uniform release to complete the entire Bring It On movies replica cheer uniform collection.

From Bring It On #1, I've retextured the Torros uniform with new shading, highlights, and seams for a more realistic look, plus replaced the old system skirt with a modifiable flexi skirt and glitch pants for a much better fit with no gaping at the waist. Now comes with large red and black poms and white Cheer Sneakers for a complete outfit! Also from BIO #1 is the all new Clovers uniform! This green, gold, and orange outfit features a crop top and modifiable box pleated flexi skirt with large green and gold poms and white Cheer Sneakers. Includes bust enhancing highlights and shadowing, plus realistic seams on the back.

From Bring It On Again (#2 in the movie series), we now have the all new CSC Stingers uniform with blue and gold crop top and modifiable box pleated flexi skirt, plus large blue and gold poms and white Cheer Sneakers. We also have the edgy, super sexy black leather Renegades crop top and flexi skirt with large blue and gold poms and black Dance Sneakers. The Renegades glitch pants come on two layers in case anyone wants to add something on the pants layer (such as black fishnet hose? lol).

And to round out the collection, from Bring It On: All or Nothing (movie #3), we now have the all new PVS Pirates all star style competition uniform with long sleeved crimson and white crop top with metallic gold trim, matching tiny micro mini skirt, large dark red and gold poms, and white Cheer Sneakers, plus their arch rivals, the Crenshaw Heights Warriors with their more demure blue and gold shell top, faux pleated skirt, large blue and gold poms, and white Cheer Sneakers.

All BIO uniforms are no modify/copy/no transfer except for the skirts, which are modifiable. Gifts can be sent for you to another SL member upon request by IM in-world to SavannahAnn McMillan.

And now for pics of the SPIRIT store's new look!

I had more interior pics, but Blogger won't let me upload them tonight. Sigh. So I guess you'll just have to come to the SPIRIT store and see everything for yourself! Also, some changes...the Latin Ruffles Ballroom Dress in Lemon is now regular price, but you can still pick it up for free by joining the SPIRIT Fan Group and checking in the Notices archive for it.

Coming Soon...A Plethora of Cheer!

WHEEWWWWW! I have been hard at work, my cheer and dance darlings, working on a ton of SPIRIT things, which has delayed delayed delayed my usual weekly releases. But I promise I will be making it up to you quite soon!

Here's what's in the works or completed...

1. The SPIRIT Main Store has a new look. Again. The old one just wasn't what I wanted. The four separate entrances for four separate shops plus the central building to display the new releases in was too confusing for everyone. So now we have a MUCH better store layout. It's an upside down U shape around a mossy stone courtyard with brick and column arches in the front, plus dancing ferns and lovely autumn oak trees for that fab fall feel. This is where you TP in at. When you go in through the one and only entrance, you'll see three texture change signs that will show the latest releases in the cheer, Diva Dogs, and dance categories. Turn left to go to the Diva Dogs room and beyond that the Cheerleader's Locker Room, or turn right to go to the Ballroom and beyond that the Dancers' Dressing Room. All items in all four rooms have been massively scaled down for a more realistic feel, and the ceilings have been dropped for a more cozy, realistic shopping experience. This also let me display the entrance area's chandelier in all four rooms! :D You'll also notice a ton of changes soon in the Cheerleaders' Locker Room and Dancers' Dressing Room to make display areas for this week's HUGE release!

2. Want to know what's coming this week to make up for weeks of no releases? No less than 6 cheer movie uniforms (with poms, shoes, and the much-requested FLEXI SKIRTS), plus the cheer and dance practice outfit items sold as individual pieces so you can mix and match to your heart's content with no need to know how to modify anything.

3. And look for 3D style displays of previous releases, all coming just as soon as I can get tonight's four hour long photo session pics turned into textures. :)


Keep your eyes peeled for the goods coming in the next few days, with updates and pics here to follow!

SPIRIT Won! And a new review!

Wow, lots of news for you this week! SPIRIT won this year's Savvy Best Rising Star Award! Thank you to everyone who voted for SPIRIT, there were a lot of great designers in this category and it was (not surprisingly) a close race. The award came with a really neat certificate and trophy, both of which I feel incredibly honored to display at SPIRIT.

Which leads me to my second bit of news. SPIRIT has a brand new layout! The various collections (Ballroom, Diva Dogs, Cheer, Dance, Moulin Rouge, etc) were getting to be a bit disorganized all in one shop. So we've expanded our land and spread out a bit. Now you can find SPIRIT in four stores (Cheer on the front left, Diva Dogs beside it on the back left, Dance on the front right, Ballroom and the Moulin Rouge collection beside it on the back right), plus a center building for all new items just for convenience (in case you only want to see what's new all in one place). This should help reduce rezzing lag, spread out the traffic a bit on those crowded release days, as well as make it easier for you to find exactly what you're looking for in less time.

And my last news to share... we've got a new review! A BIG thank you goes out to Anastase Rosewood at the Aspire blog for her review of SPIRIT in general and two of the Ballet Class Outfits specifically! Thank you Anastase!!! You can check it out here.

Things in my rl are a bit nutty this week, but I'll get into SL as soon as I can and get pics taken of the new store layout and the awesome Savvy Award to post here. The next release, which will be an all cheer themed one with TONS of stuff, will be out in a few days, so look for news here about it as well!

Ballroom comes to SPIRIT with a freebie!

This week's new release is two basic ballroom dress designs inspired by ballroom dresses worn in the hit ballroom dance competition tv show Dancing With the Stars!

First up is the Ballroom Peasant Dress.

This outfit features a gathered peasant print flexi skirt that ties into a wide leather belt with buckle (painted on the glitch pants layer to free up your attachment points) and leaves the left leg bare at the front, side, and back, all the better to show off the strappy gold prim ballroom heels included with this outfit. The top features a sweetheart neckline trimmed in peasant print ruffles, plus handpainted puffed prim sleeves also trimmed with tiny ruffles at the cuffs. The back of the top features a corset-style criss-crossing ribbon tie. The outfit comes with the top in three colors, Chocolate, Wine, and Cream, and each color is included on three different layers to increase your wardrobe options.

Next up is a staple in every samba and rhythm ballroom dancer's wardrobe, the basic Ballroom Latin Ruffles Dress (shown below are the Crimson and the Everything Pack).

This rhinestone-covered, halter top style dress features painted on armbands, a daringly cut open front revealing a rhinestone covered bra, an open back style for extra sexy style, and an asymmetrical flexi skirt trimmed with ruffles. Also included are a pair of strappy gold prim ballroom heels and a pair of prim dangling earrings. The Ballroom Latin Ruffles Dress is available individually in 8 colors (Lemon, Pink, Tangerine, Lime, Crimson, Hunter, Twilight, and Ebony), in two 4-packs (Brights and Darks) for a $200 discount, and all 8 colors together in an Everything Pack for a $200 discount. You can also pick up the Lemon version of this dress as an almost freebie for just $1 in-store!

New Review and Free Hair!

Check out the new review for the Spirited II Hairstyle at Savoir Hair...thank you Teagan for your kind comments about this latest SPIRIT hairstyle!

Also, to celebrate the Savvy Award nomination for SPIRIT (and hopefully entice you to go place a vote to help SPIRIT win!), I gave out a copy of the Satine I Hairstyle (the hairstyle that was nominated for the Savvy Best Rising Star Award) in medium red to all members of the SPIRIT Fan Group. To get your free copy, join this group for free in-world (just do a Search under the Groups tab for SPIRIT Fan Group, then click the Join button to instantly become a member). Once you're a member, right click on your avatar, choose the Groups option in the pie menu, then click on SPIRIT Fan Group in the list and choose Info. That will bring up the group's menu for you. From there, click on Notices and look for the one with the free hair in the title. This will let you read the notice and pick up your own copy of this freebie!

Enjoy! And don't forget...SPIRIT needs your vote for Best Rising Star! You can click here to find a list of places in-world to pick up your voting ballot for this year's Savvy Awards.

SPIRIT Nominated for a Savvy Award!!!!!

OH MY GOSH!!!!!!! SPIRIT's Satine I hairstyle has been nominated for the Savvy Best Rising Star Award!!!!

Okay, all you SPIRIT fans, please please please show your support and pick up a voting ballot in-world before the voting deadine of September 14th, and vote for SPIRIT! Here's the locations where you can pick up a voting ballot in-world starting on August 31st...

LaynieWear - House of Zen

LaynieWear - Luna Eclipse Mall

LaynieWear - One World

LaynieWear - Pamran

SYD: Style Your Destiny - Pamran

SYD: Style Your Destiny/LaynieWear - Kidd

Be sure to check the Savoir Hair blog for full details about placing your votes for each category. You can also see front and back views of each nominated hairstyle in each category. Don't forget, the deadline for voting is September 14th!

New Reviews!

SPIRIT's in the media! Did you see already? If not, take those cute little tushes on over to Fashion Notes to read the first review about our Diva Dogs by Tanya Book!!!!!

Also, I searched the blog, just KNOWING I did a post on this, but couldn't find it anywhere, so I'm posting about it again. Style Disorder's Willow Caldera wrote about the SPIRIT Watches! Check out her awesome comments about these working mechanical watches here!

Thank you for the reviews and kind comments, Tanya and Willow!

New Release: Cheer & Dance Practice Outfit Sets and Spirited II Hairstyle

That's right, TWO releases this week! And for the second release...practice mix 'n match sets with matching hairstyle!

I wanted to give everyone a ton of options for customizing your own dance and cheer practice looks. So I created these sets with a lot of modifiable options, plus a new hairstyle that looks glamorous while perfect for any practice session under the hot summer sun.

First up, the dance practice outfit set: This set features a hand painted Dance Star t-shirt with optional prim tie at the back, a tintable pair of bike shorts with hand painted wrinkles (can be copied and tinted ANY color you choose!), and two pairs of modifiable pants/capris/shorts that can be made to be as baggy, tight, short, or long as you choose!

Next up, the cheer practice outfit set features a tintable sports bra with racer style back with hand painted wrinkles, shadowing, and seam lines (can be copied and tinted to any color you like), a tintable pair of bike shirts with hand painted wrinkles, and a pair of cheer shorts/capris/pants, with flipped down elastic waistband and CHEER!! lettering (on a separate layer) in two color options of white or black. Color your shorts/capris/pants any color you wish on the underpants layer, then leave as-is or add the flipped down waistband and lettering across the butt in white or black.

And finally, to finish off that "gorgeous while practicing" look, we have a new hairstyle, the Spirited II. This has to be my new favorite hairdo, as I LOVE to wear a baseball cap and pull my hair through in a ponytail in rl. This non-flexi style features a textured black and gray baseball cap to coordinate with any outfit, and a long, thick ponytail with flipped up ends. Available in the usual 16 colors, sold in packs of 4. Demo available in-store for a $1.

New Release: Diva Dog Collection, Chihuahua Cutie & Poodle Princess

Stripper...dogs? Yep, that's right! All Diva Dogs now have a new feature...the ability to strip on command!

Okay, minds out of the gutter, lol. When you click on your Diva Dog's command menu, you'll notice the new command "Clothes". Click on this and you can choose to make your Diva Dog's outfit invisible or visible whenever you choose. Now your Diva Dog can "blend in with fellow canines", or stand out as a fashion trend setter!

And now on to the new Diva Dog release!

This week, we introduce two new breeds to the collection with the Chihuahua Cutie and Poodle Princess. The Poodle Princess is a soft white poodle that stands a bit taller than the Scottie Girl, but still features all the great features of the Diva Dog, including the ability to change her collar to any one of 9 gemstone colors whenever you choose, say hello, bark and growl out a warning, chew her squeeky toy, and more. No flexi tail on the Poodle Princess, as her tail has been groomed to a soft ball of fluff perfect for flossing her stuff on the SL streets or winning the next dog show! Currently available in your choice of the Emerald or Sleeping Beauty Ballerina costumes, the BIO I or Claire Cheerleader uniforms, or the SPIRIT uniform.

And now for the tiniest addition to the collection...the Chihuahua Cutie! This tiny Diva Dog might be small, but every tiny prim of her is full of cuteness! Check her out in any of the above 5 outfit choices!

New Release: Diva Dog Collection, Scottie Girl!

Ready for this week's release? It's quite a bit different from anything I've created before, but OH what fun I had making things for this new collection!

Introducing the Diva Dogs Collection...fashionable, interactive dogs you'll never lose!

Diva Dogs are dressed in SPIRIT cheer uniforms and dance costumes (so they can match you!), complete with tops, skirts or tutus, shoes, and a megaphone or ballet slipper chew toy. Their flexi tails "wag" in the slightest wind, giving them a nearly constant look of animation, and because they are worn as attachments (they come with two different attachments to help avoid attachment point conflicts for you), you don't need any build rights to bring them with you wherever you go, they automatically teleport with you, they'll never run away, and they'll never get lost! Plus, they're copy-enabled, so even if a glitch in SL DOES make your attached Diva Dog disappear, you can always reattach from your inventory...AND you can also create copies to stay on your land to pose with the FREE Basic Dog House that comes with every Diva Dog (the Basic Dog House features a scripted door that opens and closes when clicked, plus a comfy pillow bed and a non-animated food and water dish set)!

Plus, Diva Dogs aren't just cute and fashionable...they're interactive! Each Diva Dog comes with an owner-only menu of commands that include...

** "Change Collar" to one of 9 gemstone colors (Diamond, Topaz, Citrine, Emerald, Peridot, Ruby, Opal, Sapphire, and Amethyst)

** "Say Hello"...barks polite greeting to nearby people on the public chat channel

** "Give Treat" and "Pat Head" both create a shower of diamond and gold pave hearts to show your Diva Dog's love for you

** "Chew Toy" creates a squeek sound from your Diva Dog's permanently attached chew toy

** "Protect"...your Diva Dog will bark and growl at anyone nearby, a GREAT way to warn away scary strangers who get too close in the sandbox! :)

At only $400L for two attachment versions and a free Basic Dog House (all copy-enabled), that's quite a bargain!

The first Diva Dog release features the Scottie Girl, based upon my rl black Scottie dog, in your choice of one of five SPIRIT outfits...

--Cheerleader Claire Uniform

--Sleeping Beauty Ballerina

--Bring It On Cheerleader Uniform

--Emerald Ballerina

--Spirit Uniform

Also available in this first Diva Dog Collection release is the Deluxe Dog House, a larger version of the free Basic Dog House, but this one features a silk draped canopy bed for your Diva Dog, a tiny pewter and glass chandelier overhead, a rug featuring the official Diva Dog logo, and animated food and water bowls that actually refill and slowly empty individually when clicked!

Check out the Diva Dog Collection display at the SPIRIT main store, where you can try out a giant display version of the Deluxe Dog House's animated food and water bowl set, plus see demos of the diamond and gold pave heart shower that every Diva Dog emits (click on either of the display Diva Dogs to see this demo).

And look for MORE Diva Dog breeds, species, and even possibly some new outfits and male counterparts for this fun new collection...coming soon!

The NEW SPIRIT Main Store and New Release!

It's finally ready! After much wrestling with SL issues, custom scripts for the new menu-based vendors, a ton of setup for the new release, and more, the new, official SPIRIT main store is ready and open for business!


Don't forget to update your landmarks, click here to visit it in-world!

Here are pics of the new location, with this week's HUGE release of poms and working mechanical ballet and cheer watches to follow...

Now each area of the store is more easy to find with the use of signs...New Cheer Items, New Dance Items, Dancers' Dressing Room (upstairs) and Cheerleaders' Locker Room (downstairs).

Which brings us to this week's mega release! In center front of the above picture, you'll see the jewelry case with the new menu-based vendors and two giant working examples of...the new SPIRIT Watches! In this release, we have 104 watches (that number isn't a typo, lol), with...

** Cheerleader Claire in Blonde, Brunette, or Redhead featuring Cheerleader Claire with the Claire Hairstyle in your choice of one of three hair colors, and red poms in her hands that mark the time! Available in No Mod/Copy/No Transfer or No Mod/No Copy/Transfer for gift giving. The watchband is made up of a single row of pave prims shaped like mini megaphones (available in one of 9 gemstones).

** Sleeping Beauty Ballerina with Rose, Green, or Rainbow background featuring a ballerina wearing the SPIRIT Sleeping Beauty Ballet Costume and Ballet Pointe Shoes in Sugarplum Pink, which mark the time. Available in Copy or Transfer versions. The watchband features a double row of tiny gold prims shaped like ballet shoes, and ties into the watch with pave prims shaped like bows (available in one of 9 gemstones).



The 9 gemstones available to choose from are...Diamond, Emerald, Amethyst, Ruby, Sapphire, Topaz, Opal, Yellow Citrine, and Peridot.




And to compliment every SPIRIT cheerleader uniform, we now have our first set of SPIRIT Poms! These non-flexi, metallic poms come in two sizes (large or small) and in 15 different colors (Black, Silver, Gold, Bright Red, Dark Red, Dark Blue, Blue, Teal, Sky Blue, Hot Pink, Pale Pink, Dark Green, Bright Green, Purple, and Orange. Sold in pairs, no mod/copy/no transfer.

Pictures from the Runway

Got pictures from the Ambergris Fashion Show runway to share with ya...finally. :) Been so busy trying to get the new main store up and going and this week's release out that I've fallen behind on my blogging! Sorry about that, updates to follow now.

The show began with the SPIRIT Ballet Class Outfit in Lavendar, matching Ballet Pointe Shoes in Lavendar, and the Graceful II Hairstyle with color scripted ribbon set to (what else?) Lavendar. :)
Next came the Moulin Rouge Collection: Sparkling Diamond I outfit.

Then came the Emerald Ballet Costume. The model, Smokie Signals, has some of the best ballet animations! They were so graceful and a pure delight to watch her perform.

Then came the Cheerleader Claire Uniform with the Spirit Sneakers with color scripted sculptie letter S inserts set to match in red and gold, and the brand new SPIRIT Poms in dark red and gold.

And later in the show, Smokie Signals also chose to wear the SPIRIT Ballet Pointe Shoes in Black Swan to compliment Ambergris' fabulous Black Swan dress! The texture work on this dress was simply amazing, and the flow of the skirt looked fabulous with the ballet dances Smokie performed on the runway.

Thank you to Ambergris and all the lovely models who made my first fashion show such a wonderful event to be a part of!

New SPIRIT Review at Savoir Hair!

Check out the Savoir Hair review on the new Satine I hairstyle!

Thank you, Teagan, for the review!!!

SPIRIT in a Fashion Show TODAY at Ambergris!

I was extremely honored to be invited as a guest designer in Ambergris' upcoming fashion show today! The lovely ADF Elite and Top Models will be modeling the following outfits from SPIRIT at today's fashion show at 2 p.m. (SL time)...

** Moulin Rouge Collection: Sparkling Diamond I (regularly $500L, special fashion show price for today only is $400 at the runway!)

** Claire Cheerleader Uniform, Claire Hairstyle, and Spirit Sneakers (uniform will include a free pair of Spirit Sneakers for today only at the runway!)

** Ballet Class Outfit in Lavendar with Ballet Pointe Shoes in Lavendar

** Emerald Ballet Costume with Ballet Pointe Shoes in Cream (regularly $400L, specially priced at $300L at the show!)

** Ballet Pointe Shoes in Sugarplum Pink

Don't miss these great savings on SPIRIT's top selling items for cheerleaders and dancers! The show starts at 2 p.m. (click here for transport directly to the show!), but if you can't make the show, you'll also be able to purchase these SPIRIT items from the Shopping Wall both before the show as well afterwards until midnight. I'll also be there to meet everyone and answer questions (look for the redhead wearing the freebie Spirit Uniform Collection!), and if you ask me at the show about the Spirit Uniform Collection, you'll receive the Spirit Uniform Collection for FREE (or if you can't make it to the show, you can pick it up for $1L at the SPIRIT shop!

And finally, SPIRIT now has its very own land and official store!!!! Click here if you want a sneak peek...the grand opening will be this Friday and I'll be releasing a TON of cheer and dance items to celebrate! Look for more details about the grand opening plus pics coming soon!

New Release: Moulin Rouge Collection, Sparkling Diamond I!

Last week's release, which I neglected to blog about (shame on me!) is the first in a series of sets in the new Moulin Rouge Collection, called the Sparkling Diamond I! This is a replica of the costume worn by Nicole Kidman's character Satine in her first song and dance routine in the movie Moulin Rouge (where she is lowered through fog and falling glitter on a swing from a hole in the ceiling and begins to sing Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend).


The MRC: Sparkling Diamond I is the most jam-packed set I've released yet, and includes...
**a sequined replica corset and prim train with flexi beads in the front
**handpainted Moulin Rouge Black Satin Gloves (read more about these separately)
**black high heels
**prim Sparkling Diamond Earrings (15 prims per ear!) with no bling (also available separately, see below for more details)
**the Satine I Hairstyle in Light Red, with attached top hat and rhinestone accents (also available separately, read more about this hairstyle below)
**SPIRIT's first dance animation!
**the wearable GlitterFog particle effect, a script created by Electric Pixels exclusively for SPIRIT, which mimics Satine's entrance special effects

The Satine I Hairstyle is, as usual, also available in 16 shades, sold in 4-packs for $300L, and is modify/copy/no transfer enabled. Also available separately are the Sparkling Diamond Earrings for $100L, and the Moulin Rouge Black Satin Gloves for $25L (with more colors coming soon!).

And in case you haven't seen the movie in a while and want to refresh your memory, here's a link to a YouTube video showing this dance number!

Look for more replica costumes from the Moulin Rouge movie coming soon to SPIRIT!

New Review and New Shop Displays In

Check out the new review of the Ballet Class Outfits and Ballet Pointe Shoes at Fashion Notes!

Also, the new cheer stadium locker displays are now up. I will slowly but surely be getting more items added to this display or on the bench in front of the lockers over the next week or two. Until then, all previously released SPIRIT items are still available for sale.

Coming in the next post...the first release in the new Moulin Rouge Collection!

New Review and New Shop Displays Coming Soon!

Check out the new review at the Savoir Hair blog about the Graceful II hairstyle! Thank you, Teagan, for your kind comments!

And in other news... Have you visited the NBA Stadium yet? I don't think it's new, but I just heard about it recently and had to run over there to see if any of the NBA cheer/dance teams were represented. They aren't. Sniff sniff. But I DID fall in love with the ultra realistic feel of their two-level NBA Store, and especially their lockers with the realistic jerseys hanging within. And I've been dying to add some additional 3D displays (beyond the shelves and domed hair displays) to the SPIRIT shop for some time now. So I got on the internet and did my research. Turns out the open front stadium lockers are a pretty prevalent feature in professional sports gyms. I recognized them from the CMT channel's reality tv show on the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, too, as they have wooden stadium lockers to keep their uniforms, notebooks, etc. in.

So guess which cheer and dance shop will soon feature a brand new set of these lovely wooden, low prim displays for its cheer level? SPIRIT, of course! :)

The lockers are already complete. I'm just creating the hanging versions of the SPIRIT uniforms now to display within them. In the meantime, look for additional slight changes here and there to the SPIRIT shop layout as I prepare for this week's releases, which will take the place of last week's Ballet Class Outfits, Graceful II hairstyle, Spirit Sneakers, and Pro Spirit Boots on the New Stuff wall. If you haven't purchased last week's releases yet, no worries...these items will simply be moved to other spots within the shop.

Look for updates and photos coming soon!

New Release: SPIRIT Face Lights!

Okay, the SPIRIT Face Lights are now available in-world at the Spirit shop. Just look for the red hat box on the shelf high up on the wall as you come into the shop...the Face Lights are in this hat box on the same shelf with the new Graceful II hairstyle boxes. SPIRIT Face Lights come with two versions, one that attaches to the chin and another that attaches to the nose, for $50L (or get one free Face Light with the purchase of any SPIRIT hairstyle 4-pack!). Both should give your face the same glow regardless of what SL lighting your avatar might be posing within, and the two attachment point options let you work around things like nose rings or some hair accessories that might use these attachment points as well. SPIRIT Face Lights have no script to cause possible lag, and are no mod/copy/no transfer.

To give you an idea of how these invisible lights work, here are two pics I shot very quickly in the Spirit shop tonight. The first shows me wearing a SPIRIT Face Light, and the second pic shows me in the exact same lighting without the Face Light. Absolutely NO retouching of any kind has been made to either pic so that you can judge for yourself the effect these lights have on the avatar even in bad SL lighting (the lighting was set to sunrise in case you're curious, btw).Notice the subtle glow on my face, neck and chest, especially compared to the rest of my body and the room around me? That's what the SPIRIT Face Light does...it adds a subtle glow to your face, neck, and chest, without blinding people around you, lighting up the entire room as if you were some alien life force (lol), and the source of the light is invisible! Now here's what I looked like in the exact same setting, clothing, hair, time of day, sun setting, etc. without the Face Light on...

What do you think? I can honestly say that I never go anywhere without one on, and I'm highly tempted to redo all my previous vendor signs with photos of me wearing a Face Light.

Celebs in the SPIRIT House!!!

Well, I barely had time to catch my breath after hearing about the review at Style Disorder before guess who comes walking into my shop but Justine Babii, reviewer for Second Style, and her friend Garret Bakalava, editor for Second Life Network News! It seems the review copy of the Face Light that I sent Justine yesterday was a good thing, and they came to the shop to find out how to purchase more of them.

But the Face Lights are currently only available as a freebie with the purchase of a SPIRIT hairstyle! YEEK! LOL Needless to say, Justine's kind compliments about this product on the Second Style blog (click here to read about its mention within her review for the ETD Sea Nymph hairstyles) and her later elbowing has convinced me I should also offer these face lights separately! :D

So tomorrow, look for the SPIRIT Face Light to become available for sale separately from the hairstyles too! I'll post an official release with pics here once they're available so you'll know what to look for in-store.

In the meantime, check out these pics that Justine and Garret were kind enough to pose for (wearing SPIRIT Varsity Cheer Jackets, no less!) and grant permission for use in this blog.

Here's Garret wearing the Cheer Varsity Jacket in pink and striking a pose in front of the Cheer Varsity Jacket display at SPIRIT.

And here's Justine in the Green Cheer Varsity Jacket posing before the wall of new releases' Pro Spirit Boots and the SPIRIT lounge area.

Thank you, ladies, for letting me take these celeb pics and for stopping by the store. And thank you, Justine, for the review and for suggesting the SPIRIT Face Light become a product unto itself!

Check Out the Lovely New Reviews!!!!!

SQUEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!

Okay, unprofessional moment over, lol. Now seriously, please kindly take a look to the right side of this blog for links to 3 reviews of SPIRIT products, one at Savoir Hair, the second review at Fashion Notes, and the newest one at the Style Disorder blog!

*\Q/* *\Q/* *\Q/*

New Release: Graceful II Hairstyle!

Just released...the Graceful II hairstyle with the new Spirit Face Light! This non-flexi, high bun style features a new bun shape wrapped in a color change scripted hair ribbon (complete with a small bow on top) that lets you color coordinate your hair ribbon to your Spirit dance outfit or shoes! Even the color names are the same as featured on the recently released Ballet Class Outfits...
- Silver, Black Swan, Plum, Lavendar, Sugarplum Pink, Cream, Grape Leaf, Rain, Crimson, Lime, Old Gold, Gold, Autumn Brown, Copper, Blue

As usual, they're mod/copy/no transfer, with mod/no copy/transfer versions available by IMed request. Sold in the usual SPIRIT 16 shades of hair color in packs of 4 for $300L...
- Blondes 4-pack: Platinum Blonde, Light Golden Blonde, Dark Golden Blonde, Dark Honey Blonde
- Reds 4-pack: Strawberry Blonde, Light Red, Medium Red, Dark Red
- Brunettes 4-pack: Pale Brunette, Light Brunette, Medium Brunette, Dark Brunette
- Darks: Blue Black, Darkest Red, Darkest Brunette, Ebony

And best of all...ALL Spirit hairstyles, including the new Graceful II, now include the new Spirit Face Light! This optional, invisible face attachment gives your face a light glow even in the ugliest of SL lighting, ensuring you'll never have another harsh shadow on your face for your future SL portraits. The Spirit Face Light is also available in the Claire Hair & Shape set. All previous Spirit hairstyle and Claire Shape set customers will be sent a free copy of the new Face Light this week.

New Release: Ballet Class Outfits!

The Ballet Class Outfits are now up for sale at the Spirit shop! Available in 12 colors shown above (top pic, left to right, top row: Black Swan, Grape Leaf, Rain; bottom row: Autumn Brown, Copper, Old Gold; bottom pic, top row: Rain, Plum, Lavendar, Sugarplum; bottom row: Old Gold, Gold, Cream, Silver). Each Ballet Class Outfit comes with...

- Leotard with shadowing and detailed hand painted seams along the neckline and straps (no mod/copy/no transfer)

- Flexi skirt with semi see-through flexi ruffled skirt, satin texture waistband and bow, and flexi bow ties (mod/copy/no transfer)

- Sweater with semi see-through cashmere texture, shadowing, hand painted wrinkles and 2D tie front (no mod/copy/no transfer)

- Sculptie prim leg warmers in 2 sizes (large and small) with knit texture (no mod/copy/no transfer)

Shoes are sold separately. $400L per outfit.

Each Ballet Class Outfit color coordinates with the Ballet Pointe Shoes from SPIRIT, and these outfits have been designed so they can be mixed and matched for tons of different looks. Look for a new Graceful hairstyle to come out in a few days with hair accessories that will color coordinate with these outfits too!

And for a limited time, there are two jewelry sets available for FREE in the Spirit shop! Look on the second floor in the jewelry case for the Ballet Circle Necklace & Earrings Set, and the Ballet Charm Bracelet...both free!