I often say I’d like a little place to escape to. Somewhere far away from the madness of the city, the rush of the every day, the incessant noise of honking and construction. A little place just to myself, where I can go when everything gets overwhelming. Well, this will have to do for the time being!
Still Celebrating
The FLF Birthday Bash rages on, and with it so many deals and gifts. I was really excited to see that Trompe L’Oeil are participating – that often means really cute houses (and also some modern ones!). The Hannah cottage was exactly what my soul needed, and at just 50L you can’t really want for anything. I also picked up the freegift which is this little matching bench with string lights that’s perfect for watching the sun set (or rise!) on a warm night (or morning!). To get yours, join the freeFLF group and then click on the cactus. The Fifty Linden Fridays Birthday Bash runs until September 2nd.
Home sweet home!
xox
Aline
Aline’s Decor
House – Trompe L’Oeil Hannah Cottage (50L at FLF Birthday Bash) Bench – Trompe L’Oeil Hannah Bench and String Lights (Free Gift at FLF Birthday Bash/Group is Free to Join)
Well, I’ve finally taken a break from the FabFree anniversary posts, but I imagine it will be a short one. I had to get a word (or many words) in about what is going on at Raindale this month. This is a long one, so grab a tea and come sit.
What’s up?
Raindale released information to their group members earlier this month that there’s going to be a lot of changes happening in their store. Due to unfortunate circumstances and political issues that I will not go into detail about here, the creator has not been able to withdraw funds from their SL account to real life. While the designer was able to make a living off creating products in SL previously, this is no longer possible due to this issue. As a result, Keira Raindale has decided to scale down their store and turn their business into more of a hobby. The store is not closing, but at least half of the products at the store are retiring. Raindale is going to transition their store to focus on creative projects and “fantasy and whimsical items” in the future. The creator described this transition as “more of a fresh start, as it will benefit everyone, with more gifts, affordable products and charity projects”. If you would like more information, you can find a detailed notecard about the store’s transition in the Raindale group notices.
Please try to support this creator in any way you can. There may not be much we can do, but we can show our support and let Raindale know how much we appreciate their beautiful creations. Right now, Raindale has a number of awesome things going on which you can go do to show support for the creator and I’ll walk you through them now.
Retirement Sale
Raindale is having the biggest sale in their history until August 6th. All products are discounted 20% off in the store and retiring items are reduced up to 50% off. In August, the store will close for renovations after the retirement sale is over. This is what Raindale states about the sale in the group notices:
“Over half of the products will be gone soon! The outlet will be gone too – get those old products while you can! Since SL is now just a hobby, I’m getting rid of most of the “modern” and older items, and going to focus on fantasy and whimsical stuff in the future. The store will be closed for renovation in August! Some retired products may return in some shape or form, but it’s not guaranteed! And some unmarked products may be gone too, so get anything you need till the sale is over!”
So stock up while you can, because a lot of these items will be gone for good very soon!
You can show Raindale support by joining their group. Group members of the Raindale group will receive 250L store credits until the end of July. The VIP group currently costs 250L to join, but it is so worth the join fee, and you will see why as I show you all the great things you could buy with the store credits and the wonderful gifts they have available at the shop. Raindale group members also receive 15% back from their purchases in store credit.
Get it Before It’s Gone
In the decor scene shown at the top of my post, I am showcasing an amazing house that can be purchased with the 250L store credit at the retirement sale. The beautiful “Gracewoods Teahouse” is the building in the centre. This was previously from the Gracewoods gacha, and it was a “rare” item. The house now costs 160L on the retirement sale for the copy version, leaving you with some additional credit to spend at the store. You can find the teahouse in the Raindale Outlet. The Outlet will be closing when this huge sale is over in August, so this is your last chance to get items like this and anything else in the Outlet. Any items marked with a “Final Sale” tag at the Raindale mainstore are also retiring and may not re-appear ever again. If you want them, now is your time!
Wanderlust Weekend
The pretty water fountain shown in my picture at the top is Raindale‘s current offering for Wanderlust Weekend. You can get 3 colours of this fountain -white, pink and mint- for only 50L on the sale for a limited time. The fountains come with sound on or off versions and the sounds are very relaxing. This has been out for a couple weeks, so grab it while you can at an amazing price!
There is also a huge wall of past group gifts out for Raindale group members. I have added some of those group gifts into my teahouse and garden scene, including:
The canopy tent with pillows, which you can see next to the house on the grass.
The grasses with fairy lights are a group gift. Inside the package, two sets of grasses are included. This was a past hunt prize but it’s now up on the group gift wall.
The ladder with lights, which is resting against the side of the house, is another group gift.
The room divider inside the teahouse is from a past holiday gift.
The table spread with tea cups, cakes, macarons, candles and flowers, which I placed inside the teahouse, are still available for Raindale group members. This entire set comes from the package called “5th Anniversary Gifts”, a past group gift at the store. I thought the tea set matched the teahouse theme perfectly! ☕
June Group Gift
The June group gift at Raindale for VIP members is an exclusive summer collection available for a limited time, which you can see in my photo below. It’s amazing. The collection includes the octopus pouf, the beach ball, the coconut cocktail, the stool, the torches, the swim ring, and the board. 5 signs, including this “Summer Time” one are included. This set is so cute! This collection will not be available after the gift is gone and it is an exclusive made only for Raindale group members. This gift will be available until the end of July. The creator was so kind that she kept it out an extra month longer.
Finally, don’t forget that Raindale is also participating in FabFree at Fifteen the items they have available for the event are absolutely amazing as well. Aline blogged all of those free gifts and promotions earlier this month HERE. Make sure you check out Aline’s post, see all the good deals available, and show your support for the store!
Thanks for reading.
xx
-Caroline
Caroline is Showing…
Furniture & Decor
Tea House & Garden Scene
Teahouse – Raindale Gracewoods Teahouse, from the past Gracewoods gacha- Available @ the Raindale Outlet(160L/ Purchased with 250L Store Credit/Group Costs 250L to Join) Water Fountain – Raindale Silversplash Fountain (50L for Wanderlust Weekend)
Tree Archway – Raindale Nordhall Arch with lights
Chandelier – Raindale Fallview Chandelier, from the past Fallview Gacha
Room Divider – Raindale Room Divider – Lights & Branches, from Holiday Gifts (Group Gift/Group Costs 250L to Join) Tea Spread – Raindale 5th Anniversary Gifts – Full Scene (Group Gift/Group Costs 250L to Join) Tent and Pillows – Raindale Canopy Tent – Holiday Gift Edition with Pillows (Group Gift/Group Costs 250L to Join) Grasses with Fairy Lights – Raindale Fairy Grass Gift (Group Gift/Group Costs 250L to Join) Ladder – Raindale Fairstar Rope-Ladders (Group Gift/Group Costs 250L to Join) Fairy Lights on Ground – Raindale Wildspring Fairy Lights
Flowers on Ground – Raindale Wildspring Flower – Lilac
Lantern – Raindale Bubblecloud Lantern – White
Summer Decor Limited Collection
Summer Decor – Raindale June VIP Gifts Limited Collection- backdrop, torch, pouf, stool, beach ball, swing ring, cocktail, & signs (Exclusive June Group Gift/Group Costs 250L to Join) Photos’ Location – Private Location
Hey there my darling No0bs and all Fabulous Folks. Class is in session once again and we have a TON of things to cover tonight. So let’s jump on in.
First, I want to answer a question I received because I think it’s something we all struggle with: Makin’ those Lindens. I have been checking out one of the easiest ways and that is the Fish Hunt Game. You catch fish and then pop to the game’s HQ and turn them in. The biggest thing is it takes forever to make any significate money. But it’s all free and if you have the patience for it then as you fish you get better at it and over time you start to catch more fish and less trash. If you use the Fishing Game to make money, let me hear from you!
Much like the Fishing, patience is needed for the next “free” money maker: The Money Chairs. I found this one at the Kingbal store. ( Which also has loads of freebies everywhere.) You only make 1L at a time and only if your letter or a ? comes up. So…. not fun but still totally free. I couldn’t find a list of such chairs or even the “Money Trees” new residents can harvest for their first 30 days.
I’m going to come out and say… the best way to have L$ is simple to buy it with real currency. The exchange rate is good. One Linden is literally one cent. The minimum purchase order is $2.50 which buys you 600L ( at the current rate) You can set up a payment method as you choose including PayPal. Of course , this is JUST my own personal opinion so take it with a huge grain of salt.
I want to clear something else up in response to a nasty comment/NC I received in world. The Bloggers here on FabFree are NOT paid. We don’t even get “free stuff” from most designers and creators. We set piggybanks up at our HQ because some folks like to help out their favorite bloggers with our expenses or to say a little “thank you”. We aren’t ‘begging on top of getting all that free stuff’. We do this because we love it.
What I can recommend for all us penny-pinchers is a SandBox. These are places you are allowed to rezz objects and build free of charge. There are “premium Sandboxes” out there that are pay or only for folks who have a premium account. But many are simply free open places. You can find empty ones by typing in “Sandbox” to your search.
Pick one, I picked this one at random. Please respect the rules of each sandbox, there will usually be a sign or an automatic NC delivery with rules.
Then, open your World Map. (ctrl + M). In the left lower side you’ll see your “Location” Use the arrow or manually enter a height. I picked 1500- ish and that seems to be high enough. Get your avatar in ‘fly’ then teleport up. Take a look around if the sky is empty as far as you can see, you’re in the right place.
Now, if you’re using FireStorm Viewer simply type ” REZPLAT ” and get a platform. Now you can land and rezz boxes or whatever you need.
You can even rezz a skybox. There are a TON of free skyboxes on the MarketPlace for you or go grab this gorgeous “New York Apt Skybox” from AppleFall for free.
The outside of the skybox sitting on the platform I rezzed
The beautiful inside. You’d never know you were hovering in space.
Each Sandbox has a different time of “return” when it automatically returns everything in the sandbox to it’s owners. So do check to see when the next clean takes place before you rezz out. And , just as a curtesy, when you log out take/delete your items. Leaving trash in the sandbox (or anywhere you may be able to rezz that isn’t yours) is just rude.
One thing to remember – You can’t set your “Home” to one of these sandboxes. To get around this, make sure you leave Second Life from your platform each time. Then when you come back to log in, log in to “Last Location” and you will pop in at the sandbox.
Okay, my darlings, that’s it for tonight. I promise next week is “Inventory Control” It’s a huge subject so I want to spend some time on it. Have a great week and I’ll see ya on the blog!
One PS…. The Legacy FREE gift Body is still available. I picked up both Alistar and Kery a copy and I love it. It’s BOM ready and has a ton of bells and whistles. I highly recommend it.
It’s the last week of Cozyfest so I wanted to sneak in two more of my amazing 50L finds. I’ve been hermiting the last day or two watching a blizzard dump snow on my rl home. We have a good foot and a half, and its a whopping 15 degrees and still pretty windy at about 19 mph (wind chill of 3 degrees) as I write this, so I’ve just had some of the chocolate chip cookies I baked today and some hot chocolate with rum to warm up a bit.
My second life self has been enjoying some of the same, some chocolate bars and donuts on a stick for her (made me wonder how you keep the donut from falling off the stick once you have eaten a decent amount of it. I would think it would take a tumble right off.) Either way I’m just a gal with a sweet tooth, and I do love those candy bright colors too. So let’s get to the goodies I found for you, neither of which have anything to do with bright colors or candy! Huh. Go figure!
Let’s talk about these amazing boots. These boots are from Friday at Cozyfest, they are of course 50L and you have the option to wear them without the lights but I got them *for* the lights cause if I could just drape myself in glitter and fairylights, well. That might be downright blissful. They fit:
Legacy
Maitreya
Now the build I am standing in is by Lemme, also 50L at Cozyfest. This cute pink cabin comes in a lighter pink or a darker pink and is just super cozy and cute. It was pink, so how could I say no? Like Aline, I have a bit of a fetish for houses and buildings, a girl can just never have enough! Add pink in that mix and well, you’ve got me doing some heavy breathing! I chose the lighter pink one, the shade just appealed to me more, but I absolutely adore it!
Now, back to my yummy warm drink and perhaps a nibble more of the cookies! Hope y’all are staying toasty too!
Arielle is looking fabulous in…
Clothes
Dress– Pink Cream Pie !PCP :: Lisa Dress [Rainbow Heart]
Necklace – Cray
Boots – Friday – Finley Boots (Winter Recolors) – 24.7 Pack (50L at Cozyfest)
Hey Hey FabFree! I hope y’all aren’t tired of hearing about freebies and Advent Calendars yet. I have to confess, I get a little frustrated with the Calendars. I never see what the day’s gift is till too late… then I have to pay for it or they don’t let you have it at all! I could say a few more things or mention a few shops… but this is a family friendly blog **grrrr** ANYway this all leads me to my post today!
Trompe Loeil, one of my most fav home and garden designs has a wonderful Advent Calendar up for us! Yes, I know I just growled about the Calendars but this one is special. See, Trompe Loeil has set ALL of the twelve free gifts out for their 12 days of Christmas at once! It a HUNT! I love it. You can collect as many or as few as you want plus you get to wander the SIM ad have the fun of a hunt. So Cool!
Now, I won’t kid you… this isn’t the easiest of hunts. I pulled a few handfuls of hair out searching. But it’s not Twisted hunt tricky. There’s no decoys or anything like that. Here’s my big hint: Searching door to door. 😉
You have until Dec. 30th to get your hunt on. But if hunting isn’t your thing, Trompe Loeil also has two past years of gifts available for free as well. No group needed! SO Merry Christmas to us!
One quick note: Please read the instructions for the hunt. You need to pick up the free Hunt Hunt as well as the hunt gift boxes. Then you REZ the HUD on your property ( or a sandbox) then REZ each gift box beside the HUD. As you rez, you will be offered the prize via menu.
As you know, The Arcade is one of those places I’ve been hitting up this week for goodies. I’m loving all the fun goodies the designers have brought to this round.
This time, I have another Amitie pose for you, this includes the lights that wrap around you, the pose and the star! So cute! I feel so festive! Amitie is only 50L a play and there are so many fun poses you can win.
My second Arcade goodie is this gorgeous winter themed build I am standing in. This comes from Celeste, where you can find all sorts of magical bliss. This was a rare and I just lucked out to get it! There is also an outdoor gazebo version you can win when you play. (I added the trees) This is also only 50L a play.
Speaking of the trees, these are a free gift from 3D trees which has some lovely landscaping goodies. They are a free gift and there is no group required.
I know there is just so much going on, you barely know where to turn! But trust me when I say, you will want to go have a peek at The Arcade. 😉
Mesh Body – Maitreya Lara Mesh Head –Lelutka Nova EvoX Skin – Heron Ellie 03/Pearle Eyes – Lotus Generation Eyes
Hair – Wasabi Alina
Lips – Fewness Starlight Lipstick
Extras
Pose & Props (wearable lights and holdable star)– Amitie Holly Jolly Christmas (50L via the Arcade)
Building– Celeste Winter Magic 1. Yurt RARE (50L via the Arcade)
Trees – 3D Trees Gift Winter Tree 2LI (free, no group needed)
FabFree - Fabulously Free in SL 