Member Blogs

Apartment Life

With my recent acquisition of Apartment Life. I have started work converting some of my older lots into Apartments. The first one is my Federal Fortress Remodel with store on one side and a garage on the other. The Garage will remain but the store is going byebye, need room for 4 apartments in the space there. One thing I hate about the Maxis Apartments is there all one bedroom. I am adding two or three bedrooms to each apartment. That means the third floor has been remodeled and basement has been added to add enough space for 4 apartments with more than one bedroom each. I am hoping by the end of the week I will have the Federal Fortress Apartments done.

250,000 Downloads

Thank you to everyone who has helped me achieve this amazing milestone by downloading my lots & neighbourhoods! It is such a pleasure & a privilege to be able to create & share something I love to do.

What do YOU want? :)

Hi everyone! We all know that AL is here and will create changes in the way we play and what types of homes we want for our Sims. Please take a minute to vote on my poll to tell me what YOU want. :) I appreciate your input! Thank you! - Missy

Okay, I can take a hint!

I'm not the only fan of MsBarrows crumbling plaster walls, it seems! I have been temporarily(!) amused by the deluge of comments on my tat that run along the lines of: "Meh - it's okay, I suppose - but WHERE DID YOU GET THE FANTASTIC WALLS IN THE SCREENSHOT?!!!!!!"

I don't blame you, actually. That doesn't mean you will escape my usual wrath though.

But, I can take a hint. I have two choices: (1) tell a total lie and claim they are MY walls, or (2) give you a link to the real author's walls. As I'm feeling very slightly calm for once, I shall do the latter...


Wallpaper sets by MsBarrows

Halloween goodies

Just submitted some Halloween goodies...vintage paintings and rugs. Watch for them next week :)

The 'Ice' Collections - for hiedibear75

Hi All! Following a request from hiedibear75 for some 'Blue Ice' and 'Grey Ice' versions of the furniture in 'My Little Penguin Bedroom Collection', I have come up with the following two mini-sets: 'Blue Ice' 'Grey Ice' I have not done the complete bedrooms, just the furniture and the curtains, so you can mix and match if you so wish! Any thoughts/suggestions/comments are welcome - as always! Icy Mad Cow!

Revival...

im coming back....

Time Off

Okay, due to health problems again, I just hate the changing of the seasons, wreak havoc on my poor old bod, I won't be doing any recolors for awhile. Can't be sitting due to swelling and retaining fluid making it hard to breath and hard on heart. Gotta stay in reclining position and computer just not set up for that - Boo!!

I'll get back to it as soon as I can, Sorry, but now you can catch up if you have to.

Thanks for all the downloads, comments, thank you's, etc. I really appreciate all of your support, coming up on 11.5 million downloads and loving every minute of it. I am so pleased with your comments and thank you's, you guys are great.

Keep On Simmin'! & Enjoy!

TabbyLou

Be Back In October!

The first Semester is about to end and the first final exams will be the first week of October, and then after that I have a month-long break ahead of me! I want to focus on my studies for now before I get back to my building projects for the Sims! So, til then!

Alyosha

Romance

I have finished the Romance Master Bedroom Collection and it will be available to download soon. Here are some pics. There is also a wallpaper and carpet set to go with it.

A little bit of this, a little bit of that

This week, I am working on a few different things(skins, heads, lots, etc). I'm trying to finish up some stuff that is already started, so I can get it off of my computer. I am also working on a couple of requests this week as well. Preview pics will be posted as I get things completed.

Lee Pace

Kimono

About a month ago, I sent my Sims on a trip to Takemizu Village for the first time and decided to dress them in the local garb. I was disappointed by the limited selection of kimonos available in the game: essentially, one style which came with the Happy Holiday Stuff Pack and a second simpler style which came with Bon Voyage, all in fairly gaudy colours. So I decided to have a go at making some kimonos of my own in more subtle, feminine fabrics. I found this project trickier that I'd anticipated and very time-consuming but, finally, I came up with eight different kimonos, four in each style.



All the kimonos are available for adult and young adult females. I've categorised them under everyday and formal wear. Four of the kimonos require Happy Holiday Stuff and four require Bon Voyage.

PPPPP Pick Up A Penguin!

Hey! Here we go again - another preview for you! This time it's ......... Penguins! So here we have: 'My Little Penguin' Bedroom Collection Another complete bedroom set, in white, peach and orange, with a cute baby penguin theme! I have other bedroom collections in the pipeline/coming soon, including: 'My Little Puppy' 'My Little Kitty' 'My Little Sealife' and a request for one with a red space theme (haven't thought of a name for that one yet - suggestions welcome!!!) All thoughts/ideas/ comments welcome! Still Evil, Yet Cute, Mad Cow!!!!!!!

Carfax Abbey

I don't bring out many lots these days, as it's hard to avoid using expansion pack items and that limits the number of people who can use them, but I will shortly be releasing my interpretation of Carfax Abbey (Dracula's home in England, in the original novel and some film versions). I found my vampires needed a new home, after the mailbox in their old one developed a nasty bug and the looming threat of the repo man became apparent. :(

To use this lot, you will need University, Nightlife, Seasons, Open for Business, and Bon Voyage (I'm afraid).

Latest Poll:

On my latest poll, I was trying to get a feel if people were happy with my lots...I was kind of disappointed with the results. Obviously my lots aren't up to par. Hmmmm, This could be an easy fix:)
Here are the results:

Question: Do I submit enough? (Avg. 2-3 lots a month)

Yes 85.19% (46)
No 14.81% (8)

Question: Do you play every house you download?

Yes 46.3% (25)
No 53.7% (29)

Question: For the lots you don't play, why is that? (check all that apply)

Didn't like the house 9.26% (5)
Too small 12.96% (7)
downloaded for inspiration 29.63% (16)
Too big 33.33% (18)
Not my style 18.52% (10)
Nice house- bad floorplan 33.33% (18)

Question: On average, what percentage of my lots meet expectations?

0-25% 5.56% (3)
25-50% 16.67% (9)
50-75% 40.74% (22)
75-100% 33.33% (18)

Thanks again for all the input.

:-)

Hey! I�m finally back!

RL was keeping me busy, so I didn�t have much time for my simmies :-(
But finally eveything is getting better.

I would love to hear your requests on new CC. So just let me know, what you would like to see.

Free Set for September

Ulkrhsn Set 27 and Ulkrhsn Set 28 will be unlocked this month. I hope you all have fun with it!

I'm baaaccckkk....

Hi all! I took a break in August to spend more time in my RL garden. Now that fall is creeping up and I've bought Apartment Life, I've gotten back into Simming! I know, I know I promised rugs and they are coming...especially with AL expansion, your Sims are going to want nice throw rugs for those rented hardwood floors (I mean who wants to spend the Simoleans to put carpet into someone else's building??) So watch for rugs.

In the meantime, I've just uploaded two sets of cloths using AL meshes..a comfy, cozy tunic and pants set for the ladies and a way cool casual suit for the guys. Check 'em out!

You asked, so....

...I have done it!

MILLIONS of you asked whether lots I've featured in my latest screenshots would become available. Okay, maybe 'millions' is a slight enhancement to the reality (a small enough number to count on one hand is probably a little closer to the truth)...

Okay, two people, to be exact. But in my small, dark corner of the world, two requests in one month is like peak demand for me. Unprecedented!

Anyway, in honour of these requests, I have just uploaded two lots. They're both 'streets' (well, a motley collection of small and dilapidated buildings in need of the the tender loving care of a Sim or two). They're RESIDENTIAL lots at the moment, but you can easily convert them with the ChangeLotZoning cheat if you require a community version. If you think this is a frightful bore and you want me to upload community versions too, I will give it a go (but be warned, I haven't used this cheat since I was about four years old, and it might cause the lot to implode or something)...

I DO have a bit of a confession to make though. They weren't lots until today. I mean: the screenshots I published were deceptive - just a few random walls, not proper lots (especially in the case of the Backstreet lot). I made the screens to be the backdrop of my rotten old signs set, but then I liked the images so uploaded them. My cheating ways left me with a fair bit of building to do, but they're now fully fledged lots.

The file sizes will be a tad hefty because there is a fair amount of custom content, and they WILL need Sims2Pack Clean Installer in order to be installed properly, but I hope you enjoy them. I hope to have them slotted in the calendar within the next two weeks.

Romance

A look at my new project Im working on its called Romance. I thought this set might be good for a honeymoon suite in a hotel. Comments and suggestions welcome!! A closer look at the bedding detail.

another hurricane

So, Hanna is approaching my town (Jacksonville, FL) and will be here Thursday night/Friday Morning, they expect. Hopefully I won't lose power again. (Or more to the point, I hope I don't get hit directly with a Cat 2+ Hurricane.) Wish me and the remaining trees in my area good luck!!

Don't forget to vote on my Poll. I'm getting ready to start making custom frames for my art and I want to see what everyone is looking for.

Thanks!!

edit: well thank goodness for me, it looks like Hanna is going to miss me. Unfortunately, it's heading for South and North Carolina.

Niece's birthday

Happy birthday, Jo! New school year, and now 15!!! OMG, where does the time go?

So the doctor has put me off work for a week. I figure that's one week to make new walls and floors and try to figure out recolouring! Ugh, so far not so good. lol There are some awesome pdf files here at TSR, and I'm studiously reading and trying. Hope to soon get the hang of it and start adding more than just walls and floors here.

Hope you like the new sets that were just published the last few days. Already the leaves are changing on the trees here, and falling! 0.0!! But it puts me in a Fall state of mind. So I'm thinking my new sets will be Fall Themed. Keep an eye out for them!

Thanks everyone!

FIXES !!!!!

If for any reason any of my items need a fix or if a change has been made it will be posted here. If you have a problem with any of my creations, please check here first to see if it has already been corrected. If not...please PM me and I will see that the problem is fixed. Thanks!


Window Boxes Single Door - 9/2/08 Please re-download the single door file as a small flaw in the frame was fixed...sorry for the trouble! All the other files are fine.

Woodback Chairs - 3/6/07 Please re-download the Woodback Chairs...cushion and solid...They, for some reason...had the height of a stool and simmies sat in the air! I have fixed the problem and hope it didn't cause you tooo much trouble! Thanks...Cat

Bubble Plant Set - 7/05/07 This set has been re-submitted because the individual items were not being linked to the complete set. If you have already downloaded them you do not have to re-download as nothing in the files themselves has been changed.

French Door Bar Inset - 7-26-07 The zip on the set and single files were giving the wrong file. Please re-download them if you want this door style. Sorry about that, Very frustrating! lol

Daydreams Streetlight 8/8/07 Please re-download the Daydreams Streetlight as there was a guid conflict. The file has been updated. Thank you.

Summertime Slumps

Just wanted to say lately I've not been in a very creative mood for the basic reason that my computer doesn't respond well in this Indiana heat at this time of year.
Also this time of year almost always puts me in a creative slump too.
Summertime and simming don't usually make for good game play on my PC.
For one I don't have AC in the house and lately it's been rather warm lately also.
Once it cools down a bit I'll start creating again and playing the game also.
Also it'll come as no surprise to some people that I'm anxiously awaiting the release of Spore.
So for those of you who are faithfully visiting my mini-site looking for new stuff it may be awhile.
Thanks for visiting too and I may chance fate sometime and knock out a lot or two in the coming days!
Thanks again,
Steve

Featured Artist!

I still can't believe it!

I am very honored and over the moon to have been invited to be a FA!

It is a wonderful present for my first anniversary here at TSR- thank you guys!! Also, a big "Thank you" goes out to everyone for your feedback and friendship. And to all of you who downloaded my creations - I hope you are enjoying them in your game!

Last, but not least, thank you to everyone for congratulating me in my guestbook,with PM's and also on the main page with awesome messages and warm welcomes!

Hugs,
Mia!

First entry!

Hello ! This is my first minisite post, and I'm so excited! I hope that now my actual TSR experience starts !! Thanks for everyone who downloads my stuff... I'm open to suggestions and requests ! XOXO !

Neon lights

Sorry, I can't think of any pathetic title, no lame words I can use to spark a few wry smiles...

So, 'Neon Lights' it is. You'll just have to put up with it.

I was really happy to see how many people loved the 'signs of the ages' or whatever nonsense I called it. Hang on, I'll go look it up.... Ah, Signs of a Bygone Age, apparently (this is me showing signs of MY bygone age - snickering comments NOT required!)... Anyway, you really liked this set (well, probably a good many of you hated it too) but as my download counter exceeded 10 downloads, that's good enough for me! It's all gone to my head and I now think I'm amazing!

So, I thought I'd repeat it. Just like a second rate movie sequel, I'm back with another sign set with even louder graphics fanfare. Neon signs! Oh, how unoriginal! But I don't have any neon signs (probably because I don't have NEED of any) so I thought I'd make some. Unlike the last set, these ARE actual fully functioning lights.

Naturally, they did not come without a fight and I should have known better than to clone a Maxis neon lamp (tried and failed before). But, as usual, I went weeping and wailing with my broken won't-allow-recolours package to the Lourdes of Broken Sims Packages (fellow artists who seem to know a heap more than I'm ever capable of learning), and my calls were answered when Silvia (Spaik) good-naturedly slammed, beat and wrestled the package into submission! My lamps now contritely allow recolours.

Anyway, here is a preview of the lights (placed any-old-how in a very unrealistic way as usual)...


I've avoided Coca-colas and McDonalds and such because I don't want to be wopped by TSR for some stupid lawsuit or other, so my signs are all made up. If you have any requests, now's the time to make them. Sorry: Simlish is out. I can't do that one (though some of you have been humorous enough to ask for it!).

Applaude me now (and Silvia).

Catching up on your Comments! *UPDATED!*

I have over 600 comments for my creations which are still unreplied to yet, and I promise all of you that I will do the best that I can to make sure that I get to reply to each and every one of you! School is a bit heavy these days so I barely have time to reply to you all! But I promise that when time permits, I will get back to all of your lovely and inspiring comments and reply to each one~! Hehehe...

Hoping for all your kind understanding,

Alyosha

UPDATE 1: I have 443 comments left! I will resume replies tomorrow! At least I made good progress! Hehehe...

P.S: My story The Black Statue 5 is currently on hold as my father accidentally uninstalled the sims games from our PC and therefore all files I have got lost.

P.P.S: The tutorial is also on hold due to my academic load as of the moment. (the Tutorial about creating homes without CC)...

That's it for now!

Tenth Doctor Who

My next project (or, last if it's already up before I can be bothered to update this blog), is David Tennant's costume from Doctor Who. I don't see much of the show these days, so I can only hope this is the current thing in Time Lord fashion. If it isn't, please feel free to send me the pictures of whatever is. I am always happy to take requests, but I have long given up hand-drawing skins, so good photos are always a must.

ArkarianLofts

Hi all!At last I got AL and made an apartment (a loft).It will be published tomorrow.I hope you like my project :) Note:When the page is completed, rightclick picture for a bigger image :)

Long time

Wow, it's been a while since I've posted a blog and let you all know what has been happening. Well I got married and started a new job, both of which have taken up a lot of my time. With that new job, unfortunately, I do not have the time to create like I did before.

However!... Coming soon are two houses I have recently built. One is a gigantic southwestern home requested and built for my brother. The other is the house my father-in-law owns. Also built at the request of a personal friend of mine. I'm sure she'll be excited when she gets back from her vacation, since it will most likely be released by then. :D :-p

This being the end of my blog for today, Keep your eyes open and enjoy!

As always, feedback will be greatly appreciated!

Alzheimer Attack!!

Ehmm... I mistook the tube desk for the IKEA desk.:(
Don't know how that happened! Must have had some kind of dementia attack or something. So I'm removing the two office sets and desks that I first claimed to be IKEA, and will re-upload them properly as the tube office set and desk. Very sorry for this!
If you have already downloaded the set or desk, you don't have to re-download it, as it is only the preview picture and the title that are misleading. The desk in the download has been the tube desk all along, even though the file is named "IKEA desk".

Yatta!

So today I've finally upgraded to a minisite. XD Makes me happy because I'm planning to make so many more walls and floors, and hope to learn to recolour, and someday.... create brand new meshes and creations! Thanks to those of you who uploaded my previous walls and floors and liked them. I hope you like the new ones too.

Hello!

I can now be found HERE:  http://www.sims2artists.com/  Where you can find quality items for FREE! Why pay? Try Sims2Artists now!

New 'Little Bedroom' Preview!

Well, I've been rather busy making some more bedroom sets - and playing 'Apartment Life' (Yes, actually playing for once! - My 'Evil Warlock' is so cool!!). Anyway, just thought I'd give you all a quick preview of one of my latest collections: 'My Little Wildlife Bedroom' I have two more bedrooms from the series that are nearly finished, and I will hopefully be uploading 'My Little Unicorn Bedroom Collection' tonight (that's if TSR site is gonna let me - had no end of problems on here last night - wouldn't let me do or access anything!) Hope you like it, and if you feel you need to leave a comment, please do so!! Evil Mad Cow Warlock!!

Retired

Hello, everyone.

It is with a sad and heavy heart that I write this post. Circumstances outside of my control have thrown my personal life into chaos and unfortunately TSR and the Sims in general is no longer a priority. I hope you will understand this decision and perhaps some day down the road I may be able to return with a fresh head and new enthusiasm but for now I need to take care of myself first and foremost.

Best wishes to you all and thank you everyone for all the support and compliments over the years.

Cindy

September 2nd, Vintage Charm Dark

Vintage Charm Dark is scheduled for publication September 2nd. Vintage Charm Dark is a set recolor of my Vintage Charm Bed & Bath sets. VC Dark features, rich, dark, wood tones, a soft mixture of green & blue textures, with a colorful dash of apricot. VC Dark features 4 new meshes: lantern table lamp, 2-post table lamp, end table, and a 1950's alarm clock.

Don't forget to download the complementing wall treatments and carpets sets. They are spectacular sets created by the talented Jsf Designs. Thanks Judi! You are the best! Sneak Peak, a few paintings I created, they might be part of an upcoming set for a little girl....

Burnt Out

I have been soooo burnt out the last few months I have not even played sims 2, never mind created for it. I am awaiting the arrival of the newest expansion (Apartment Life) that my husband ordered for me from Amazon. Hopefully it will bring back a little enthusiasm for the game, fingers crossed.

Yeah, it's me

Yeah, I'm around again.

I left originally because my mother was ill. Ill as in "there is a good chance she'll die" ill. And, when she got over the worst of it, it left her so weak that I was spending all my free time going up and helping my father with her. And the recovery was a very long time.

Finally though, she started making some progress. We celebrated her 81st birthday in November. While we were celebrating, our apartment was robbed. I lost my computer and all my Sims games. Along with a bunch of other stuff. It was a really bad time in our lives, not because of losing the stuff, although that was bad, but my cat Goten, who is a big old friendly doofus, was terrified for weeks whenever there was a noise by any of the windows. Terrified as in running and hiding and when I would drag him out, he'd just shake. Whoever robbed us must have hit him. He probably ran up to see what was going on, like some big, friendly, orange lummox, and they must have hit him. I don't think they yelled at him, because when you're robbing a house, you don't yell. If they'd just pushed him, he would have been fine, he's been pushed a lot. The way he was acting, he must have been hit. We never hit him. We rescued him from the streets and I know people on the street used to kick him, but we never did. It was awful seeing him like that. My whole attitude was, "Okay, it's bad enough you took our stuff, but damn it, you don't mess with my cat!"

In December, I was finally able to hobble a computer together. When I wrote to tell Atwa that I needed an extention on my leave, I found out that they had to remove me from my select artist status because I guess they figured I'd been gone too long.

At that point, I decided that any "hobby" where I can lose my standing because my family is sick and I get robbed, isn't something I'm really into anymore. So, I put it behind me and pretty much stopped doing anything Sims, including playing the game.

I've been playing lately, just playing, and doing a bit of downloading. I never really played the game as much as I wanted to before, because I was all caught up in creating. Now I want to actually play a bit.

Yes, there are times when I have the urge to create, and I've even got some sets of bedding I made that I considered uploading, but eh, I'm not too sure anymore. I mean, Sims 2 has been around for a long enough time that there are tons of things out there. And, there are so many people making stuff that are a zillion times better than I ever was, I don't know if I'd even make Select Artist now, as I did then. I see people who are select artists now that are doing just...breathtaking stuff. Stuff that would have garenteed them Feature Artists status back when I was creating.

Sims 3 will be out soon enough it seems and then will there even be any market for Sims 2 content creators? As for Sims 3, I strongly doubt this old computer will be able to play it. Also, if I'm hearing correctly, being able to change colors of items will be as easy as a couple clicks of the mouse, so I doubt there will be much need for a recolorer. And I don't think I'll ever master meshing. The whole process to mesh was just way too much for this old brain. Not the actual creating a mesh, but all the steps involved in how to just get it into the game, the time it took to again and again check the item, etc. For someone with ADD, it just got to be too much.

So, yeah, I'm around, but I don't know if I'll get back into creating. If I see a need I can fill, I might, but with tens of thousands of walls and floors and recolors of almost every shade and hue, I don't see where I'm really needed anymore in the Sims custom community.

Well, that's my story. In case anyone was curious...

Warmest Wishes
Darqstar

My 1st TSR Anniversary!

Really now, where does time fly? Today I celebrate my first year here with TSR!




Looking back I must say it was a great year. I made many friends whom I love dearly, I learned many new things and improved my skills a lot since my first submissions and I will continue to do so along the way.

THANK YOU! everyone for your feedback and advice. I appreciate them very much. * I know I'm slow at answering comments these days, but I promise I will get to thank everyone. *




Hugs,
Elena