Checkmate!

And now for something a little artsy...

I admit to not having seen this sort of thing in Europe so far but for about the last 10 years or so in Canada, giant life-size chess boards have become quite popular attractions in public areas such as parks, shopping centres and museums. The idea struck me as something rather fun and quirky to add to the Sims game so now your Sims too can enjoy strategising with giant chess pieces (except, of course, that these pieces are only decorative statues). :P

This set also earmarks some new personal achievements for myself, I'm proud to say. Not only is this my first multi-mesh set (whoot!) but I finally succeeded in creating functioning master/slave files. I've also included two collection file packages - one for residential and one for community - so that you can easily find all the pieces. Expect this set to publish this coming Thurs., May 10'07.

Oh, and if you're wondering about the floor tiles I used to create the board, they are all Maxis floors - I believe they may have come with GLS but don't take my word on that; I'm sure you all have at least one black and white marble-type flooring you could use instead. ;)

Spring & Summer Garden Flags

Whew! This past week has been pretty busy so it's taken me a while to get my new creations finished and posted. However, all you flagaholics out there will be pleased to hear that spring and summer-themed flags will be sprouting very soon. Get ready to add pretty summery flags to your growing collection - including flowers, birds, summer insects (butterflies, dragonflies, ladybirds/ladybugs) and seashore fun. :)

Keep a weather eye out for this set on May Day, fittingly enough (Tues., May 1'07).

Also, I have sketched out the rest of my future flag sets and you should expect two sets a month for the next five months, followed by a gigantic superset when it's all finished. That will be an entire real life year's worth of garden flags - oj! :P

Updated Seasons Lots

Okay, so apparently I had a massive brain fart and forgot to post a note in my blog last week about my Holland Acres lot I'd updated to be Seasons-ready. :P Anyway, it's been available for nearly the last week now but I'm telling you anyway, just in case you've missed it. This new version is in fact prepped for the following EPs: NL, OFB & Seasons.

As you can see in the second preview pic, I've swapped out the flower farm for two spaceous greenhouses ready for planting; I've also deepened the small irrigation pond, should you wish to fish. The shop has also been updated to contain fresh produce and fish and I went through the whole house and redid the walls and floors in the nicer Seasons designs as well as used the nice Seasons country fixtures.

I also felt it was high time I updated my Farmer's Market community lot to be OFB & Seasons-ready. I've made a few cosmetic changes to the lot but nothing much - mostly removed a lot of bushes so that the price was more reasonable for purchasing (just under �50 000, BTW). Also, this lot is completely free of custom content (with the sole exception of the llame shrub by Maxis) so will be free to everyone and is perfect for those wishing to avoid CC or have slower machines. The biggest change is the addition of Seasons-grown fresh fruit, vegetables and fresh-caught fish. All of the produce is of the highest quality (mouthwatering) and the fish includes both jumbo and regular sizes to choose from and even includes a rare golden trout.

TIP! If you simply install and place this lot into your neighbourhood without having a Sim purchase it, you will be able to send any Sim down to purchase all types of fruit, veggies and fish at any time and the game will automatically restock the purchased items without need for you to have a gardening and fishing Sim. ;)

Charleston Bedroom

I'm currently testing out the beta version of the new submissions form. Things still need a bit of tweaking so I've had to use a combination of the current form and the new beta form to get it all uploaded so fingers crossed that it all works out in the end. :P

Anyway, you may recall that waaaay back in January, I mentioned I was doing some recolours of Kris' beautiful Bristol Bay bedroom suite. You may also recall that I came down with some serious creativity block for the bedlinens and ended up setting the collection aside. Well, I finally knuckled down and finished everything up and am quite pleased with the results - hopefully all of you are, too.

The Charleston bedroom features dark walnut wood and gold metal accents with beige and light brown wallpaper and bedlinens. This is just the first in a hopefully on-going series of recolours for this suite so expect more periodically.

Pet Placemats - With Attitude!

These aren't your usual cute and cuddly pet bowl placemats; these are placemats with attitude! From snarling to snooty, your Sims can now provide their pets with witty placemats to match their personalities, from the most fickle feline to the most brainless pooch and more. Be sure to download Shakeshaft's pet feeding mat mesh (if you don't have it already) in order for these fun recolours to work.

Easter Flags Hopping Along

As you should expect by now, with the approaching Easter holiday comes a new batch of seasonal flags. The upcoming Easter flag collection consists of 16 cute and colourful flags featuring bunnies, chicks and coloured eggs in a variety of styles for your decorating pleasure. :)

Furthermore, I'm happy to announce that I will have all of next week off from work due to the Easter holidays and I'm planning on catching up with my Sim creations. There should be a number of new object recolours, perhaps a new meshed object or two and hopefully I'll finally get around to updating some of my lots and houses to be Seasons prepped and throw in a completely new Seasons-themed store. We'll see how much I get done, as the lists are rather long.

Mark Your Calendar

As expected (and forewarned), I have been pretty engrossed in the new Seasons EP, which has lead to my playing the game more than creating lately and I must say, I'm loving this expansion!

However, I'm sure I'm not the only one who is suprised to discover that despite an entire expansion pack on seasons and the changing year, there is not one single calendar object in the game. So, this week I give you the Seasons of Change Wall Calendar. :)

This set comes with the base mesh (January), plus 11 recolours to cover the remaining months for a full year's worth of calendar-goodness. Each calendar page features an official in-game screenshot, most of which are from Seasons but there are also a few from earlier EPs and stuff packs and even one from the up-coming Celebrations stuff pack. The calendars are also printed in 100% Simlish.

And lastly, you'll notice that I've taken the liberty of circling some dates for your Sims. One date in particular is something of an 'Easter Egg' from me - can you guess what it might be? :D

Garden Club Approved

If you have the new Seasons EP and are interested in having your Sims join the Gardening Club and you're a flag-aholic, I have great news! Plop down your favourite versions of my flags in your Sims' yards and invite the Garden Club over to review your gardens - they love my flags and include them with their review process for positive points! Here's a screenshot I took while the Pleasants were having their efforts scored:

Think of it this way, now you have a valid in-game reason to stuff your Downloads folder with so many flag recolours - your Sims will thank you for it! :P

St. Patrick's Day Flags

I've been on a little creation hiatus the last week or so - been busy prepping my game for the new Seasons EP release. As of last night all my little Pleasantview families are all set and ready for the installation, I've cleaned out all sorts of downloads that I neither like anymore or never use and have been sorting through a ton of hair files in my efforts to clean up unnecessary ages and pair recolours with meshes. Later tonight I'll make my final backup so I'm ready to install straight away tomorrow when I pick up my copy of the EP. I've also done a ton of housework today (definitely helps keep the mind off the wait). :)

And finally, since I know I'm going to be completely engrossed in playing the game over the next few weeks, I've sat down today and put together my St. Patrick's Day flag recolours. I know how you all love these flags and it would be remiss of me to not ensure they're published in time for you to enjoy them. It's a baker's dozen set so there's plenty to choose from.

Romantic Overtures Living Room

So, this was suppose to be my Valentine's-themed set... But as you can see, it's late. Why, you ask? Because this beast of a set, small as it is, has fought me every step of the way. Go figure.

Anyway, moaning and groaning aside, I thought it was high time I provided an all Maxis mesh set for people who might prefer not to have custom meshes in their game or can't afford a subscription for FA meshes, which I admit I use a lot. The sofa, loveseat, arm chair and bookcase are all base game objects while the lights and decor item will require OFB.

Note: Those of you who are particularly observant will notice that the matching table lamp to these OFB lights is missing from the set. I'm sorry about that - I tried valiently to include it but for some unknown reason the base refuses to recolour at all so I finally gave up the fight. If at some future time I can finally wrangle it into submission, I'll add it to the set.