Member Blogs

glashouses

Thanks for checking out my minisite. I am addicted to building houses in the Sims 2. I mostly build my lots from actual floorplans that I find on the internet but sometimes I make one up or build a house that I've been in. If you have a house plan you would like to have built for your game I would be happy to give it a try.

AngelamvEliza Nurseries

I tried some recols for AngelamVEliza`s New Baby nursery with 4 different texture challanges. I was about to bin nearly all but the TC ladies persuaded me to keep some. I'll add some more stuff like rug, wall, floor and maybe toy and potty. TC78 - mediterranian TC89 - maybe binned TC95 -maybe binned TC103- elegant

Floral Sofas (2) for HiediBear!

Hey! Following a request from Hiedi for some sofa re-colours, I've created the following: (I hope they're the right sofas!) It re-colours both the 2 & 3 seater sofas, but there is no armchair to match (not that I could find anyway!). Thoughts/comments/etc. appreciated! Cheers! Mad Cow! UPDATE As requested - Yellow sofas/armchair - Which do you prefer? - I used a different template as the basis for the armchair, so it has come out a slightly golder yellow! I can either keep the original sofas & add the matching armchairs, or I can re-do the original sofas using the same pattern template as the armchair, although they may end up being slightly different colour shades! Let me know your thoughts please! Golden Mad Cow!

Easily Distracted? Me?

So I decided to play around with the adjustable shelves from AP last night to see if I could get them to work with the half wall I made, and it turned out quite well I think! They sit on top of the half wall and also fit nicely between the room transitions. Okay I'm off to make the recolors, previews, and hopefully upload later today, ciao! J

Story Wizard!!!

I actually wrote a story which I haven't done in eons. Now, the stupid story wizard won't recognize it!!! What the HECK?! How am I supposed to post a story if the stupid wizard can't find one!!!! ARRRRRGH!!!!!!! Someone help me.

Manor House Garden set

My computer is now fixed, so I can finally begin uploading the MH Garden. Look for it to be released this week. In the meantime, I am uploading a preview to the screenshots section.

I hope everyone enjoys =]

Apartments R Us

I'm absolutely loving Apartment Life. Never mind the ability to actually build multi-occupancy houses, I love the new building objects that Maxis have given us with this EP, as well as the new wallpapers and flooring.

AL could quite possibly turn out to be my favourite EP and I can't wait for the Mansion and Garden stuff pack as that looks like it's also been designed for us builders. Finally Maxis listen to those of us who want better build tools and more options!

Episode 4!

Episode 3 just got published at last! I knew that was going to be a difficult one to re-edit, but I never realised just how difficult! So my next task is making episode 9. That shouldn't take very long. It's not very complex in terms of pictures, and I know exactly what's going to happen. I'm looking forward to it, it'll be a really fun episode with a lot of comic/dramatic potential. As soon as that's done, I'll upload episode 4. I've just been through and re-edited it, and it shouldn't be anywhere near as difficult to get passed. So, some teasers for the next episode: *Find out a lot more about Murk's background. *Get to know this new Yarilo person. *Grastion in 'nice side' shocker. *ZOMG ZOMBIES!!!!!111!!! *A brand new main character. Episode 4 is called 'Daddy's Little Girl'. Look out for it around the end of the month. Here's a sneak peek! All together now - 'Cuz this is thriller! Thriller night! You're fighting for your life inside a thriller, killer, chiller, diller(*) niiiiiiight!' (* If anyone actually knows what a 'diller' is, please let me know)

Back to school

I'm still focusing on teen girls. This week I've made a set of clothes for class and gymnastics. I also made a set of teen underwear: a strapless corset and matching panties, in five different colors.
My cold got better after a week but is now flaring up again... I cough through the nights. Don't have energy to do much else than plan new outfits for my simmies! Enjoy!

So cold...

Have been buried in bed with a cold. It must have affected my mind, too... I've spent the weekend making dresses for the game, but have not been happy with any of my creations. So finally I managed to make a set of satin dresses in rich, plain colors. They should make your simmie stick out from the crowd! I modified the shoes somewhat and dyed them in matching colors. Hope you will enjoy the dresses! They come in both adult and teen versions.

Witches hats

Most of my sims have custom hair colours. Thus when my sim with Rogue (X-men) style hair became a witch I decided she needed a hat to match.

I'll probably do the male hats too. And probably I'll do the multitude of colours as well for both genders.

Also, I don't understand EA/Maxis at all. Why did they put the teen hat in a differnt file from the ya/adult/elder hats? Seriously! *kicks them*

500,000!!

Hi all Thanks so much for everyone's continued support and encouragement. I have been so busy with work and moving and haven't been around for a while, so you can imagine my surprise when I logged in and saw that I had reached another milestone - the 500,000 download mark!! When I first came to TSR I couldn't believe all the cool stuff people had created and uploaded. I spent most of my time downloading and never dreamed I would upload anything. I hope to continue making things you and your sims will enjoy. I am trying to catch up with all the comments and guestbook entries so please bare with me, I will respond to them all. Thanks again everyone :) Have a great weekend and Happy Simming!

Day 1 of 4 Day Vacation.

So today is the first day of my 4-day vacation. Well, only today is a paid day. *sigh* Spent the day making walls and floors. I hope you like them! I'll have more to submit in the next few days.

I haven't bought Apartment Life yet. I do plan to get it, and should be doing so in October. Unless I make it a request for my birthday in December. I'm not in any big rush.

Well, off to watch a Korean dorama. Keep poking in my minisite to see what new walls and floors are up for download!

Minimalist Heaven

My next set of objects are once again very simple and clean lined. I've always wanted a half wall without any railing or decoration on the top, just plain and flat. And after much raising and lowering I got it sitting right. So yes, you are looking at the half wall in this capture, lol. The mesh has a white top. I will be making black and grey for sure as well. Why lookie here! It looks quite nice with a white Room Divider placed at the end! I have also made a skin to place at the end of half walls to give it a finished look. I think you will be able to come up with some fun room schemes depending on how you place these items together. ta!

Girl's clothes

Since my children started the new school year this past week, I have been inspired to make some children's skins. Some will be based on stuff in my daughter's closet, others will be based on vintage Skipper doll outfits. I only have a couple of children in my game, which is why I don't make children's skins that often. Stay tuned for some previews.

Select Artist

Because of the fact that I haven't been able to update since last May, I've decided to step down from Featured Artist to Select Artist. I'm far from retiring, as I have several projects still in the works. It's just really hard to find time for me to do them all right now. However, I've decided to take this opportunity to update pretty much all of my previous creations by adding shadows, making anything base-game compatible that isn't, adding a second version of any object that might need to be updated for an expansion pack, creating repository textures for those that can use them, and making the wood textures on all of my objects universal so they can be mixed and matched much easier. I've been wanting to do this for a while now, but I wasn't sure how to handle the locked status of my objects. Since that's no longer an issue, I'll be updating as much as I can while working on the projects I have going on. And speaking of those projects, if you'll look on page 2 of my blog, you'll find the inspiration for the (majority of the) sets that I'm working on. And here are a few previews of what I've got so far: The Anna Collection: The Cheval Collection: The Colver Collection: The Italian Sunset Collection: The Mariella Collection: The Polaris Collection: The Q-Bik Collection: The Rado New Colony Collection: The Retro Violet Collection: The Streamlined Collection: The Torino Collection: And the last preview is just an addition to the Secret Garden Bedroom that I'm working on:

Community Lot Poll Results!

Well, with 124 people voting, here are the results of my latest poll on Community Lots...

Would a Base Game Community Lot interest you?
Yes - 68.55% - (85 votes)
No - 28.23% - (35 votes)


Which community lots interest you the most?
All-In-One Stops - 28.23% - (35 votes)
Beach Lots - 15.32% - (19 votes)
Restaurant - 10.48% - (13 votes)
Hotels - 9.68% - (12 votes)
Nightclubs - 8.06% - (10 votes)
Malls/Corner Shops - 7.26% - (9 votes) - TIE
Parks/None - 4.03% - (5 votes) - TIE
Gyms - 3.23% - (4 votes)

What do you use Community Lots for most?
Shopping/Sim Needs - 46.77% - (58 votes)
Dates/Social - 25.81% - (32 votes)
Vacations - 16.13% - (20 votes)
Don't Use Them - 6.45% - (8 votes)
Hood Decor - 3.23% - (4 votes)

Thank you to ALL who participated! Every answer I get helps me create what YOU really want! :D

--Illiana

Berry Dale - Still growing strong

Hi everyone, first let me say thankyou to everyone who downloaded my lots or wallpapers this past month I love all your comments and appreciate the support. To those who like my Berry Dale collection here is an update on my own neighborhood - as you can see there are a few new lots including Berrydale Hights, which is already available for download). Berrydale Mews, Toad Hall and Berrydale Wedding Chapel will be available in the next few weeks. Still to come will be the Mayor's House, local gym and some more homes. If you need any specific lots for your Berry Dale neighborhood please drop me a PM and I will add it to my list. Happy simming everyone!

Buttercup Living *FIXED*

...okay, problem fixed. The set has been resubmitted and is patiently waiting for approval. To everyone who has already downloaded, you must redownload. Sorry!

Promise Bedroom RC

Hi all! I started to recolor Cassandre's mesh set "Promise Bedroom". But I guess this will take time.Because there is more than 30 items in the set (: But this is a pleasure for me. Download the mesh in her site to see what the set is.I think it is great.Hope you like her bedroom and my recolor on rather (:

Happy Simmimg! ~~Newtlco

Finished my Native Americans

Whew! I finally finished my Native's. Now I can concentrate on other types of creations. I see from my poll so far that most people prefer modern clothes. I will do a mixture of clothes. In between the modern clothes I will do some of the styles from other countries and eras.

I'm currently trying to learn meshing. Once I accomplish that feat there will be a larger variety of clothes from me. I really am looking at the poll numbers. :)

There is one request that I will soon be starting on for a friend. I must say that I truly appreciate all of you that download my creations. It's a wonderful feeling knowing they are in other people's game besides my own. Unfortunately I'm very slow in answering your comments but please know that I'm very, very appreciative! Thank you. :D

Roman Floor Tiles

For the World Without Time: Ancient Civilizatons Theme Week, I have created a set of six Ancient Roman mosaic floor tiles in a range of styles. Two of the tiles have been designed to allow you to mix & match for added effect.

Shriners!!!

I am so excited. Arianna got accepted to Shriners. We have our first appointment on October 10. They transport for free which will be extremely helpful.

Absent for a bit

I wasn't very active for a while, and I'm sorry for that. I lost a sister-in-law, and was grieving. But I'm back. I have two sets of floors that will be published, and will be making more walls and floors over the weekend. I've been keeping track of the results of the poll to know what you'd like to see more of. So keep voting! lol

Still working on the recolouring. Working being the operative word. The pdf files on here are great, but for some reason it's not quite turning out the way the tutorials say it should. lol *sigh* But I haven't given up! I will learn it!

! Problem with Buttercup Living !

...it's been brought to my attention that I've uploaded the meshes for Holy Simoly's Phoenix Recolor, instead of my recolors (Buttercup Living Set). I've PMed the head hauncho and am waiting for her to reply or remove the set so that I can fix the problem.

This means, all that have downloaded it will need to re ownload the set at a later date.

I currently, still do not have electricity, so I cannot fix the set...or even get to the files to fix the set. I will post another blog/announcement when it's ready to be redownloaded.

I apologize for the trouble.

Computer troubles...

Last month, my younger brother built me a brand new computer (dual core processor ftw!).
Everything was going swimmingly until I tried to install Apartment Life.
Long story short, I had to completely uninstall my game. There's some weird conflicts between my old hard drive, which is now a secondary drive, and my new hard drive is now the primary hard drive. The drives just aren't agreeing with each other and I can't transfer my game files to the new hard drive.
Until I can sort it all out, my progress on the MH sets is at a standstill.

Thanks Maxis!!!

Just thought I'd mention that Apartment Life is THE best expansion pack yet. Anyone who enjoys lurking in the darker, grimier part of The Sims will love it.

Great job, Maxis!!!

Upcoming Apartment - Hotel - Free Schedule

I'm caught up on my comments, and have Apartment Life all installed and working beautifully...even got the Kitchen and Bath SP (although you all know I don't tend to use SPs in my builds any more than I usually use custom content. LOL!) Here's the info on the new Apartments I have up, and the Free Schedule through the middle of November! :)

FREE SCHEDULE - Sept 17 - Nov 19th
09/17/08 - 09/24/08 - Laurelei Glen Victorian
09/25/08 - 10/02/08 - Little Luxury
10/03/08 - 10/10/08 - NU Mini-Mall
10/11/08 - 10/18/08 - Sommerset - Ranch Style Home
10/19/08 - 10/26/08 - The Colton - Suburban Mod
10/27/08 - 11/03/08 - Covington Court - Base Game Home
11/04/08 - 11/11/08 - Shroffshire - Tudor Style
11/12/08 - 11/19/08 - Pettibone Place - Base Game Home

BLUE SANDS LUXURY APARTMENT COMPLEX - 4 UNITS
Available for download on Oct. 1st!

- 3 Stories
- Rent - ($3223 - $4236 a month)
- No custom content at all!
- EPs: Uni/NL/OFB/Seas/BV/AL
- ALL apartments are fully furnished. If you want to rent the apartments furnished there are easy to follow instructions under Installation Instructions on the upload itself. Otherwise, knock yourself out!
- Bottom 2 apartments are family homes - (3 Bd 2 Bath w/outdoor garden/patio - Upstairs kids rooms have 2 beds, and the third bedrooms have been decorated as nurseries.)
- Top left is a stylish modern home more suited to roomates or single child families - (2 bed, 1 bath) - 2 Verandas.
- Top right is a contemporary family home - (2 Bed, 2 Bath) - 2 Verandas

- Common Areas Include:
(Outdoor) Pool, Hot Tub, Bar Area, Fountains, Gardens, Gazebo, Chess Tables, Playground
(Indoor) Elevators and stairs, Giant Aquarium, Soda/Snack machines, Arcade Games
- Side Notes: All ceilings have been tiled to match the particular homes...including the Hot Tub area and gazebo. As I did NOT get a burglar in testing, I am not sure if putting the burglar alarm in the common area will suffice to alert anyone. I would assume it does as you can use cheats to place them outside and they work. However, if it makes you feel more secure, you may want to add an alarm in your apartment. Fire alarms and phones are already included.

There are more images of this lot on my forum thread: Illiana's Cushy Cave



ASPEN SPRINGS LUXURY MOUNTAIN RESORT -
Available for Download on Sept. 24th!

This is a 6 unit hotel meant to be placed in your Mountain Vacation Neighborhoods...although it also works in regular neighborhoods.
- 3 Stories
- Rooms - ($1532-$3017 a night)
- Cyclonesue's Alpine Windows used in build. That's it.
- EPs: Uni/NL/OFB/Seas/BV
- Amenities - Fishing, pool, hot springs, masseus, arcade games, nightclub, restaurant, axe throwing, shopping,




Thank you for your continued support, and I sure hope that with these upcoming lots I've made someone out there happy! I also have several items coming up for the Ancient Civilizations theme, and some good ol' normal contemporary homes as well. You are welcome to peruse my Upcoming Downloads area for more information on all of these lots!

Thanks again!--Illiana

Next Project

I've finally found the time to begin a new project! I'm calling this set the 'Secret Garden' set. I'de like to thank Murano for giving me amazing tips on getting good mossy / rocky textures and effect. So far I have meshed the stone fence, wood fence, stone seat, stone Palm and the Canopy.



Feel free to tell me what you think! :)

Still here, and working on new stuff

I have finished three Extreme Sim Homemakeover Stories, and I will be uploading them shortly. (It's been a little while, but they're coming!)

I am also working on a brand new mesh set. It is a Maxis Match set again, but for now, it is a secret. It is taking me a bit longer than I thought it would, but I hope to have in finished in the next few weeks. (I've been pretty busy, so it's taking me a while to make any progress).

That's it for now!
Happy simming!
~simmyfan2852~

Two million downloads

I reached the two million downloads mark today!!!

Thank you to everyone who has downloaded my creations since my first set of Sims 1 skins published on 17 May 2005. I hope I've managed in some small way to add to your enjoyment of the game - if so, I really feel that I've achieved something worthwhile. And thanks also to everyone who has taken the time to write comments, sign my guestbook, send me P.M.s and help me in the forums. What a wonderful, supportive community we have here at TSR! :-)

Two Years

It has been that long, and maybe more since I created custom content for the Sims 2. The content in the Sims community have greatly evolved during my break from the Sims and I am amazed at the level of talent out there. I simply forgot all the ins and outs of creating (or modifying) meshes, and also lost my driving force to create.

So right now I'm enjoying the game and the content that many people offer in this community. Not to mention catching up with all the expansion packs and stuff packs that sprouted over the past couple of years.

cheers.

PS When did I get this page? LoL =D

Writing, and Episode 3!

Okay, so now's a good time to explain my little writing process. Basically, I like to keep 5 episodes ahead. Yes, 5! So I've already made episodes 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 and I'm nearly finished on episode 8.

So why do I do this? Firstly, it stops me from stalling. I'll (hopefully) never hit a complete dead end, because I've got a 5 episode buffer. Second, it gives me time to read things fresh before I submit. It's usually quite a long gap between writing and submitting, and sometimes I have new ideas to slot in, sometimes I realise something doesn't work, so I just cut it out. And last but not least, it allows me to take your feedback into consideration. If people are confused about something, I know I can clear it up. If people like someone, I can make them less likeable. If people dislike someone, I can make them the hero [I love messing with people's heads ;)]

The downside is that it's taking some self-control not to just submit them all! I'm the kind of person who sees a doughnut and eats a doughnut. ;D So you'll just have to trust me when I say 'It really does get better and better'.

I'll finish episode 8 real soon - it's turning out to be an epic one! As soon as I have, I'll submit episode 3. It's called 'The Colour of Straw' - you'll know what that means when you read it ;). I wrote episode 3 before I was aware of the exact rules on TSR censorship, so I've had to do quite a bit of tweaking and careful wording. The original draft was quite gruesome! But hopefully it will be here by Monday, maybe sooner. The story moderators have been really helpful so far, always saying exactly what I can and can't do, so I'm very grateful for that.

Here's a sneak peek at episode 3! I like their reactions, but I'll leave it up to you to decide what they can see...

polka dots! Free for the next month

Hihihi,

This set will be free for the next month. Please do not forget to download ulkrhsn's wonderful mesh that is needed for the dresses.

polka dots teen set - ulkrhsn recolors

Thanks for comments

Thankyou everyone who left comments on my creations in August, I usually reply to every comment personally but there is simply too many as I was away for 5 weeks. I hope this public thankyou is enough :) Thankyou once again, I really appreciate it!

'My Baby Unicorn' Nursery Collection - Preview!

Well, I've been a busy little bee again, and have been working on transforming my 'My Little Unicorn Bedroom' into a nursery! Yeah, I know, I'm doing it all back-to-front - but they don't call me a 'Mad Cow' for no reason! So here is a quick preview of: 'My Baby Unicorn Nursery Collection' It includes: Crib & Bedding Changing Table High Chair Potty Shape Sorter Xylophone Curtains (Different style to the ones in the bedroom set) Painting (Different picture to the one in the bedroom set) (The rug, Toybox, Walls & Carpets are from the bedroom set, and you can also use the curtains and the painting from that set if prefered - just thought I'd give a little more choice!). Hope you like it! Sweet & Angelic Mad Cow!

Poll Result

Result of Poll:-
Baby clothes 7.61% (7)
Clothes for adults 9.78% (9)
Clothes for elders 10.87% (10)
Pet objects 9.78% (9)
Plants& flowers 28.26% (26)
Walls & floors 1.09% (1)
Furnishings 26.09% (24)
Make-up 6.52% (6)

Yeah!!!!!

I have 100,000 downloads!! And its all thanks to you guys. So thank you for your support, by downloading my creations!!

New recolor set soon

I am recoloring a couple of old sets by Nanshi Nibble, that I should have ready for submission in a few days. I have been avoiding working on my meshes because the program/file compatibilty problems have frustrated me so. I don't want to give up Blender, because I can work in it so much better than I can Milkshape. But I have, after thinking and thinking and thinking, come up with a possible solution, and as soon as I feel like knuckling down and seeing if it will work - well, then maybe, just maybe....I hope so, because I am so tired of the dead ends I kept running into. Its going to involve a lot of back and forth program-switching and file-reformatting using Blender, Milkshape, UV Mapper Pro, Photoshop, SimPE, and Format Factory, and maybe even something else - a bunch of trouble that would be unnecessary if I'd just give up Blender and use Milkshape. BUT - I am going to be happier with my end results.

Free Download - The Silvain

My house The Silvain will be free to download from Sep 15, 2008 to Oct 13, 2008. You can find it here! :)