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!

SPIRIT Product Updates and New Releases

I've been hard at work ramping up all my previous designs with new textures featuring tons of new details. The good news? They're all the same price as before! The updated products include...

- Bring It On Torros Cheer Uniform...now features shadowing, a subtle knit polyester texture overall, and improved pleat shadows on the skirt.
- Cheer Varsity Jackets...all five colors now feature a subtle wool texture on the bodies of each jacket, new photosourced buttons down the front, shadowing, seam lines down the front, and a ribbed knit texture on the striped trim (collar, cuffs, and around the waist). I'm also replacing the hot pink jacket with a cotton candy pink color instead. Look for new vendors to replace the old ones in the next couple of days.
- Center Stage Movie Ballet Costume...the leotard top now features seam lines and shadowing to give it a true shiny lycra look, the skirt has a new red satin folds texture on each of its flexi prim folds, and the old version ballet pointe shoes have been replaced with the new SPIRIT Ballet Pointe Shoes, which feature a new satin texture, criss-crossing straps up the calves that end in tiny, flexi prim bows with bow ties that really sway with your avatar's every movement, and an improved prim heel and sole combo. (Old vendor is still up, but now contains the new items; the vendor sign's display image will be updated in the next few days as well.) Also look for the improved leotard to become available in a wide selection of colors with coordinating flexi prim, semi-transparent skirts in an upcoming Ballet Class Outfits collection release.
- Spirited I hairstyle...I wasn't comfortable with the original Spirited I's design, as I just felt that it looked too similar to the Winsome hairstyle by Naughty Designs. It needed its own one-of-a-kind look. So I completely tore the Spirited I style apart, took out half its prims, and restyled it to a soft flip over the left shoulder. This not only gave the hairstyle its own unique look, but also improved the design overall as well as made it a great choice for high lag prone events in-world where you might be asked to limit the number of prims you are wearing. The vendor and hair dye boxes have all been updated to feature this new version of the Spirited I, and the Spirited I info sign doubles as a demo version vendor, where you can purchase a demo version of the Spirited I hairstyle for just $1L to try on. Here's a pic of its display in the SPIRIT shop...



And now for the biggest news of all this week...need ballet pointe shoes that really put your avatar en pointe when she walks? Want a huge selection of satiny colors for your ballet pointe shoes? Look no further than the new SPIRIT Ballet Pointe Shoes! Just added today, SPIRIT Ballet Pointe Shoes are available in 12 different, shiny colors as shown below...

From top to bottom and left to right are shown: (Top Row, Naturals Collection) Autumn Brown, Grape Leaf, Rain, and Plum

(Second Row, Metallics Collection) Gold, Silver, Copper, and Old Gold

(Bottom Row, Classics Collection) Cream, Sugarplum Pink, Lavendar, and Black Swan



Each pair of SPIRIT Ballet Pointe Shoes has shoes that are no mod/copy/no transfer, and the laces are mod/copy/no transfer. (If you would prefer yours to have transfer/no copy enabled pointe shoes, just IM me in-world before purchasing any pointe shoes, and special arrangements can be made.) SPIRIT Ballet Pointe Shoes are $250 per pair. Look for fat packs of all four colors in each collection to become available together for discounted prices soon.



Want more news from SPIRIT? Okay, just a tiny tidbit of gossip for all you SPIRIT fans out there...we're getting ready to bring out SPIRIT avatar shapes! My own personal experience during my first few days in SL taught me just how time-consuming and frustrating it can be to move all those thousand and one shape sliders, only to never get your avatar's body shape quite where you pictured it. Look no further, SPIRIT will soon be here to the rescue! In a few days, you'll be able to choose from pro cheerleader and ballerina shapes, to even famous cheer and dance movie celebrity shapes! We'll also be introducing brand new cheer/dance movie celebrity inspired hairstyles so you can have that complete look without having to shop around endlessly to put it all together. With just one purchase, you'll get an entire famous cheer/dance character all in one box!



Check back here for more updates soon!

New Store, New Blog, and New Goodies!

Both starting a new business and creating a new blog are like getting into a new romantic relationship...you invest a lot of time, energy, and heart into making sure everything looks as perfect as possible while trying to build something you hope will be great. All the while, you have no clue if the person (or in this case, people) are even noticing all your efforts! LOL

Well, at least I'M happy with the present look of things for SPIRIT...so far. I consider myself extremely lucky to have found a great, 2 story building just two doors down from Bossa Nova (waves to my neighbor Moire Georgette), and right beside the awesome Hairapy. This is truly a find after having lost two previous shops due to mall shutdowns. And with so much space and a 200 prim allotment to play with in this new location, I have been VERY happy indeed this week! Even if it did take me a full day to find it and three days just to get the interior decorating completed. ;)

All right, so enough with the intro and on to the goodies. I honestly thought with my many years of previous experience and formal training in dance that I would be a bit biased in my designs. But apparently my secret (well, not so secret NOW) yen to be a pro cheerleader has helped keep things relatively balanced at SPIRIT. To date, I've got...
- three ballerina costumes (one is a replica of the finale performance costume worn by the heroine in the dance movie Center Stage, one is a traditional Sleeping Beauty Ballet costume, and the other is a traditional emerald and gold design),
- one pair of hip hop dance sneakers with actual prim laces and grommets,
- a dance duffle bag with 3D prim rhinestone lettering on the side,
- a ballet charm bracelet and a separate ballet necklace and earring set,
- and a nice and tidy bun hairstyle with sideswept bangs called Graceful I, which is available in 16 different shades and is sold in packs of 4 shades.

That's upstairs.

Downstairs in the cheer section, I have...
- my version of the old-style Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders uniform (changed a bit here and there to adhere to copyrighted design laws, of course) sold with flexi poms that actually move when you do,
- a replica of the Torros team uniform worn in the classic cheer movie Bring It On,
- a pair of cheer sneakers (again, with real prim laces and grommets, no faking anything with textures here!),
- a pink and black sleeveless polo style tank top perfect for all those hot summer cheer practices,
- a cheer varsity jacket available in 5 colors,
- a new cheer duffle bag with 3D prim rhinestone lettering on the side,
- and a lusciously thick and curly prim ponytail hairstyle called Spirited I, which is a very scaled down version of the much adored Winsome style from Naughty Designs (if these two hairstyles were worn in the real world, the Spirited I would weigh about 10 pounds less...yes, it's less glamorous, but it's also more practical for those 3-4 hour game day performances!). The Spirited I is available in 16 shades, sold in packs of 4, and comes with the option of a free custom fitting (upon request, just IM me if you can't get it to fit correctly) with yours truly to make sure your hair fits you perfectly.

And what have I been working on most recently, you ask? Well, apart from all the redecorating, new log design, this new blog, and the creation of custom furnishings for the SPIRIT store's lounge area, I have been working on...
- a flexi ponytail for those of you who prefer a little swish with your cheer and dance moves,
- I just finished making 12 pair of ballet pointe shoes with criss-crossing ribbons up the calves that finish in flexi prim bows (and yes, the ends of the bow ties swish and sway when you do, lol), which will become available as soon as I can get the vendors finished, possibly within the next day or two,
- I'm adding flexi prim skirt options to the Bring It On Torros uniform,
- and I'm working on a huge freebie uniform pack that will include a long-sleeved and no-sleeved crop top, dance pants, briefs/shorts, A-line non-flexi skirt, flexi skirt, and a pair of SPIRIT flip flops perfect for giving your tired feet a rest after practice while you shop, lounge on the beach, etc.!

Look for new product photos and freebie availability updates coming soon!