Halp!

Do not try this at home. Professional reenactment.

So, I log in tonight, figuring I would take some pictures of the new dresses I made. Yay! That was the plan anyway... but... What the heck! Did Betty eat too many Pop Rocks while I was at work?! Taste the explosion alright... I AM the explosion!

I did upload the latest version of the viewer a couple of days ago (I wanted pretty clouds in one of my pictures...) and everything was just peachy... until tonight. How do I make this stop?! Will I die? Will I be scarred for life once I stop popping?!

Needless to say, taking pictures tonight is out of the question. Blast! For once, I had both time and the motivation to work on something happen at the same time! Oh well...

I definitely have to figure out how to fix this because 1) it is way annoying, 2) I don't want to end up having a seizure from all that flashing goin' on on my screen. *twitch* 3) while seeing my friends deformed by this glitch is highly amusing... it is so not funny when it happens to me!

Tata for now!

Please note that I will be away for a couple of weeks! Technically, I coming back around the 22nd, but seeing that I have just spent the week from hell with the flu, I might take a couple of extra rest days and switch the dates around a little to come back a little later like the 28th or around there. I don't want my snot to ooze through my eyes in the plane or something equally gross. Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwww! I have heard too many horror stories from people in the past few days about traveling when sick. I do not wish to check the facts for myself!

I had planned a bunch of releases but my body betrayed me for the first time in like forever and gave me a serious beating. *wheeze* *cough* Sooo, it will all have to wait until my return.

If you need to leave me a message, send me a notecard with all the relevant information and I will reply as soon as I get back. Check my picks for more information.

Thanks! Back soon, hopefully cough free and fully refreshed!

Betty

Photoshop tutorials on the weeb

Most excellent example of what can be achieved with Photoshop

I often get random IMs with questions about how to do things in Photoshop. While I like trying to help, it is sometimes difficult to try and explain things in chat, especially when someone is just starting out and is not too familiar with the program.

It often ends up sounding like this:

Me: use the burn tool
Pupil: ...
Me: Burn tool, it's on your Tools bar
Pupil: ...
Me: the Tools bar, it's like a long thin rectangular thing with lots of icons?
Pupil: ...
Me: Ok? do you see it?
Pupil: ...
Me: It looks like... hmmm... a little pinchy hand.
Pupil: ...
Me: Yeah a pinchy hand, yanno, like if you touch the tip of your index finger with the tip of your thumb?
Pupil: ...
Me: No, like...with the fingers of the same hand, like..taking a pinch of salt...
Pupil: ...
Me: Ok. Forget that. Press shift+o until you see the pinchy hand on top the screen, under File.
Pupil: ...
Me: No. Don't open the File menu. I'm talking about the icon underneath the "word" File...
Pupil: ...
Me: So, press Shift+o...
Pupil: ...
Me: don't need to press the + key, just shift and the o at the same time.
Pupil: ...
Me: the letter O, not zero"
Pupil: ...
Me: Ermm.. brb
*Betty Barracuda has logged off*

So, sometimes, I like to refer people to some video tutorials. It is much easier (and faster!) to understand things when you can watch someone else do it. Plus, you can follow along while watching the video and actually use the tools and see what they do first hand.

In the spirit of sharing, I thought I'd post a link to some basic Photoshop tutorials I like. I hope these will help you achieve the results you are seeking.

Here is the first of a series of six (so far). New ones are added on a regular basis.



Enjoy! ;)

Yay!

Woohoo! I have been enjoying my stay at Le Cadre and it looks like I get to stay a little bit longer. Yay! Thank you to Sensual Casanova :D

Le Cadre

Check out the new designers moving in soon!

edit: Le Cadre is now called Sensual Productions y'all. New name, same great stuff!

Happy New Year!

This would be a good time to reflect on the events that marked 2007 and on all the wonderful people I have had the chance to meet during the past year. But this would be an even greater time to get myself a nice cold glass of water and crash on my couch for a bit...

Just wanted to drop by and wish everyone a wonderful new year. May 2008 bring you much love, health and happiness.

Merry Christmas!

A very quick post to wish you all a very Merry Christmas

Oh! and for all of you toesock lovers, I made some toe socks for Festivus lol (they come with a festivus pole and a "Festini" martini but everything else can be worn all year around!) The toes are little froggie looking things :)


You can find them at the main Total Betty store in Son

Oh noes! I has been tagged!

Unsuspecting Betty, chillin' on her roof

*grumble*

I was happily hiding on my roof, completely satisfied with reading all these random facts about strangers and quietly relieved that no one had tagged me when BLAM! Tigerlily (sweet thing) remembered I existed. *glares*

So, since I am a good sport, here it is. Eight random things about little ole' me. Clears the dust off the blog...haven't been here in a while!

Rules:
(1) Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
(2) People who are tagged need to write a post on their own blog (about their eight things) and post these rules.
(3) At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.(4) Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they're tagged, and to read your blog.

1. People tend to laugh when I get annoyed. Which makes them want to annoy me just so they can laugh. I just don't do angry very well.

2. This "anger deficiency" problem causes me to invent very imaginative swear words. Which makes people laugh more (ok, it makes me laugh too)

3. I cry at the stupidest things like movies nobody else finds sad (that's another thing people think is somehow hilarious) but I am very logical and level headed for the serious stuff.

4. I studied four languages in college and university. I don't know how to speak any of them (except English obviously). The rest turned into a sad version of Esperanto. Lesson learned? Don't study more than one language at once.

5. I used to help my boyfriend write video game reviews. I would play the games and tell him what I thought. Most of the games were crappy but getting free games was cool.

6. I once bought my boyfriend a Gamecube with Zelda for his birthday. He never got to play the game. It was a very good game *smirk*

7. I consider myself more of a dog person, but I have only had cats for the past 6 years. We only have one now. One went all "Littlest Hobo" on me one day, and the other one got squished when it ran after another cat.

8. Forums scare me. I rarely post, but I like to lurk. I have a fear of getting flamed over a silly misunderstanding. lol I tend to be shy when I don't know people (duh!) and I don't like conflict.

9. Bonus answer. I don't like chain letters!

Errr, I have no one to tag! Let's see. Who do I know that has a blog AND has not been tagged yet? Most of my SL friends are blogless! *digs through her list. Ding!* I tag Tami McCoy, Kala Wildcat , Marjorie Market and Miabella Foxley . That's four. I tag them twice. That makes eight! I'm done!

This image was totally stoled.

My skirt is possessed!

Errr... hello? Skirt? I'm over here!!!

I admit, scripts and I are not the best of friends. I have taken scripting classes, I have read a lot about it.. but it is a desperate cause. I, Betty Barracuda, am not made for scripting.

This being said, scripts, while being very frustrating at times, have also brought me much laughter. Tonight was a great example. I figured I would try to include some scripted prim skirts with the next release. It would be nice to be able to sit without looking half naked yes? I thought, how hard can it be? Put the scripted skirt on, set in the walking/sitting positions etc and I'm done. Easy peasy.

Not quite!

I do not know what I did but my skirt is now possessed. It litterally flies around like a car wash brush gone mad as soon as I start walking. Sitting is not much better, as it then just hovers there, way up in the air, snickering at me as I sit in my glitch pants...

Fun times! I am not too sure about my marketing ideas for this "feature" so I think I am going to have to work some more on that scripting thing.

Make a grand entrance by having your skirt precede you!

Great for washing those hard to reach windows!

Update: Ack! It is now worse... it doesn't even go back to normal after I stop walking. I broke it! :(

Oh! By the way! Last chance to get the free things from the ghost hunt and apple bobbing. They will be taken away at midnight SLT. So come get your free cardigan or plaid skirt or...who knows what's in there! :)

Betty's Halloween Adventures

Relaxing between ghost catches

So, last night was Halloween. I had no party to go to, and I was in the mood for some ghost hunting! So I put on my costume and I was ready for action! Move over Ghostbusters, here I come!

The evening didn't exactly start off too well... My first stop left me stripped and humiliated when my costume litterally got shoved up my ass after TPing...

Is that a costume up your butt or are you happy to see me?

A quick and swift TP back home (which had no walls??) to detach everything and put them back where they belonged and I was ready to go again. Yay!

My first (and last...) stop was Ohana Isle Market place. What a lovely sim! I had way too much fun exploring/shopping that I almost forgot about the ghosts I had come to hunt. They also have their own Halloween hunt going on with little candy corns hidden all over. I found a LOT of those!

Here are some pics of last night's adventure. It was nice to be out of my skybox for once!

chillin' in a little disco disney tent

Diabetes! Here I come!

Nothing like a little blood bath with a hairdryer in your hand to make you feel alive!

Note to self: Don't dumpster dive when wearing cardboard...

Sadly, my evening came to an abrupt end when the garbage truck showed up and picked me up while I was dumpster diving for freebs. All was not lost however. I did find a lot of goodies, a couple of ghosts and even rented a shop while I was there! Yay! It was just too cute a place to pass up!

Hope everyone had a fun Halloween and don't forget, the Ghost Hunt is running until Sunday! So go catch some ghosts and stop by the store for some apple bobbing for even more free stuff!

Still some costumes left to win! Weee!

Scared in Dixie!

Thanks to everyone who posted! Hope you like the costumes! Almost everyone should have gotten them already!

Because of some double posts and no name posts, there is still ONE robot costume to be won and ONE Chiquita costume. So don't pay attention to the number of comments and get posting to get a free costume! Yay! :)

On a side note, if you are in the mood for a little spooky adventure, go check out Mystic Brodsky's lake in Dixie Land Estates. The girl sure knows how to decorate for Halloween (or any holiday really!). This lake puts my little spider webs and jack-o-lanterns decorations to shame! lol Here's the slurl. Go see quick before Halloween's over and she packs it all up! DIXIE LAND ESTATES

Err...space maybe?

I have been so busy packing and colouring, I forgot one small detail... I do not have space for the new stuff!

So, I took out my tools and decided it was time to expand my little store. I didn't want to move things upstairs, as I don't think people like going up and down floors to shop and I sorta like my little art gallery and changing room up there.

I am so running out of prims. Good thing I planned ahead and got myself an extra lot on the same sim or I would not be able to do anything! Looks like I might have to say goodbye to my little skybox eventually though. *sad sad* That or trim down my building even more. I already nuked my little office. Not that I ever used it but it looked cool! Oh well, I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. Right now, it's working out ok.

Other than that, a big chunk of my time this weekend was spent looking all over Callatropia for their treasure hunt! yay! Today is the last day for the 50% sale on selected hairstyles in store (and to get the mega gift bag at the entrance of the Calla store) Woo! Hurry before it ends! (you can also bob for apples. Don't worry about getting your hair wet. Chances are, you'll win brand new hair to replace it!)

I'm off to dunk my head some more in the green goo... Wish me luck!

Ta!

SL hates my clothes

Me: Wanna see my "what was I thinking pack?" lol I need pricing advice.
Evil friend: lol. Looks great! You should add a few more options for the skirt.
Me: Nooooooooooooooooooooooo!
Evil friend: lol!

It's official. SL hates my stuff so much, it won't let me release it.

Here is a little recap of the past few days...

I finish a couple of details while waiting for SL to let me change clothes. Fun! I upload the new textures. Yay! I apply them to the clothes. Woot! I take pics for the posters. So far so good! I make the posters. Weee! I upload the posters. Awesome! I apply them to my boxes. Cool! Now, the next step would be... put the clothes IN the boxes. Woohoo! *record screaching*

*the region...bla bla...bla bla...5 minutes*

Ok. No problem. I have to pee anyway. I wash my hands, wait a few more minutes before TPing back to my cave. Ready! Time to pack everything! And then...

*the region...bla bla...bla...* Again and again. *kicks computah*

That was yesterday. Tonight's bug du jour is my mini map turning red and me not noticing, which means I am working along, all oblivious-like, for absolutely nothing cause I'm not connected to the server anymore. *big buggy eyes* Argh!

The upside (?). I gave up packing and made more color options, thanks to my evil friend who put the idea in my head that it would be nice to have more options for the skirt. So now, there are more colour options for the skirt, shirt, coat, and cardigan. lol

Please please, let me pack this stuff so I can move on and stop adding stuff! Pleeeaseee!

This nervous breakdown was brought to you by: Total Betty, bringing fine quality clothing to SL women since 2006 (when it let's me)

Alive and kicking

Kicking my phone service provider that is!

I have been missing due to some exciting things like broken phone lines and ISPs taking forever to hook us up at the new house. Fun times I tell ya!

Just got back on the internets after over 2 weeks. Woot! It was very zen though, not having to worry about emails etc. Just wish I could've warned people before hand but eh, what can ya do?

I did start to worry when my rents were due for my stores. Oy! I was getting scared everyone would give me the boot but I finally made it back before everyone kicked me out. *whew!*

I have been fiddling with some designs but I will not release anything until the Fall. I am still too busy to really concentrate on releasing things and I want to have a nice little collection ready instead of the random shirt/skirt here and there.

That's it for now. Just wanted to give a quick update on my whereabouts. If you tried to reach me while I was away, and I have not gotten back to you yet, contact me again because the message probably got lost.

Ciao babes!

I'm not dead, just moving!

Greetings!

I have been busy busy since Summer started. Busy enjoying the nice weather, busy working, busy running the business, busy living in between two houses as I am in the process of moving!

So...this sadly does not leave much time for releasing things! Hopefully, once the move is complete, I will be able to settle and get creative again. I am working on some stuff when I have time, but it will probably end up as a big release after the Summer. Making things isn't so much the problem... it's everything that comes after something is designed : logging in to test it, taking pictures, making the posters, packaging it! Oy! If I could just shove everything in a plywood cube and mark it for sale, it would be much easier. hehe. Although, I doubt I would get many customers with this practice.

If you have any problems, questions etc, feel free to drop me a note. I check in regularly to answer IMs and fill in the Alphabet custom lettered sweater orders, so I will get back to you. I just don't hang out much in world at the moment. Not that I would have many people to hang with. Most of the crew seems to be playing outside as well these days!

Relay is coming up soon! July 28th. So get your walkin' shoes ready! And donate!

I hope everyone is enjoying their Summer. I shall be back one day with lots of goodies and new things for your shopping pleasure.

Ta!

Betts

Back but oh so busy!

Things have been pretty hectic since I got back from my trip. I answered everyone right after I got back and took care of notecards and IMs received while I was away. If, my any chance, I never got back to you, contact me again because the message probably got lost.

Work has been so busy, I haven't been in SL much at all. I pop in to check on things and answer IMs etc but as far as making new stuff, it's been pretty dead. All the free time I have right now is spent on some custom orders I got before leaving. I'm almost caught up! yay!

I did have take a little bit of time last week to try making a sculptie or two. I came up with a table and a lamp (pictured on top). Not too shabby for a first try eh? *giggle* Shush! They're no works of art but I'm still proud! I wasn't sure what to expect when I applied the sculpty texture, so anything other than a lumpy blob is good in my book.

Sadly, I haven't had time to make things for the Relay Fair tomorrow. The Poodle skirts will be there, but I really wanted to make something new. *sigh* I wish I knew where the month of May went, cause I sure didn't see it go by. Who took my month of May? Meanies!

Anywho, that's it for now. Just wanted to say a little hello and say that I'm not dead, just busy with work, home repairs, and getting ready to move as well. Ooof!

Have a nice weekend everyone.

Project Open Letter

Skin: Honey-Vanilla by Lovey Darling Hair: Gooseberry by Calla

Just wanted to post about project Open Letter. You can read about the project and add your name to the list of signatures if you wish. http://www.projectopenletter.com/

I think it is a good idea. The letter is well written and to the point. I think it shows people care about SL and want to see it evolve. I take many of the "bugs" as part of the package and don't really let them affect me. But the letter got me thinking that well... perhaps it's not a good sign if things not working are just taken as a given. I don't know how many times I have told new residents "ohhh don't worry, that's just a bug, happens all the time but we find ways to work around them. No worries!" or "ohhh it's update day (or it's the weekend), those are always rough. Don't worry, it will get better"

All in all, my experience in Second Life is very positive but it can't hurt to improve the experience!

On a side note, it's Monday and I have a ton of things to do. So...no time for SL much. I do check in to reply to IMs etc, just no time for making new things right now. Plus, I can't create if I know I have other things to do, I need to have a clear head. I have so many ideas doodled on scraps of paper, just need time!

Have a nice week everyone :)

What a nice banana you have

Moldy fruit! I mean molded! Picture stolen from... errr I mean courtesy of flickr

What a nice banana you have...

Yes! That is what everyone will say when this new way cool feature comes to SL.

I was waiting to log back into SL but the region was having issues with letting go of my avatar and letting it logout (I understand, I'd have a hard time letting you go too region! *hugs*) so, to pass the time, I checked out the Second Life blog. And...

Sculpted prims! Rounded corners without having to fiddle with extra prims! The ability to shape a prim to look like something!

Read about it here and watch the video. Sooo cool.

I cannot wait to play with this. It will be a headache to master for sure but hey, I'm always up for learning new things (except scripting, I tried, it's hopeless). They didn't say when it would come out but with voice scheduled to come out (eventually), I'm guessing not anytime soon. Good, more time to learn about it! Take your time LL.

Oh, and with these new prims...when something goes wrong in SL and we start cursing, we will be able to say "dude, don't get your prim bent out of shape!" (lame late night joke for y'all. Har!)

Have a nice weekend everyone.

Oh...and on a side note, my career as a Guitar Hero sadly came to an abrupt end last night. Yep, the dreaded red ring of death started flashing on my 360. *cries* It is still under warranty but meh, by the time we get a new one, my fingers will be all rusty and I will never get to be as good as this kid now (watch him play! woah...just woah... and he's only 8!)

Rockin' out

Hola everyone!

I'm still around, just pretty busy with RL projects at the moment...so not much time to work on designs but ideas are piling up! I need a third life if I am to find time to do everything I want to do!

I have also been rockin' my little heart out playing Guitar Hero II. This game is way too addictive. I think I am even starting to like heavy metal. OY! That's my rockin' chica up there on the pic. She has mad skills! (when my fingers don't screw up the notes...)

Some Relay for Life info. The Dixie Rebels team will be hosting two fund raising events next week. The first one is a Woodstock theme on Thursday, May 3rd from 5pm-7pm SLT. The second one is a formal on Saturday, May 5th from 5-7pm STL. Who knows, maybe I will be inspired to do some 70's stuff (time permitting!). I will post a slurl later but in case I forget, the events will be held in Dixie Land Estates. Don't forget to mark your calendars!

I finally named the purple dress. It is called *Farfalla*, italian for butterfly. The four remaining dresses will be available in May. Some people have already claimed their copy so...not many left!

I hope everyone is having a nice week. Weekend soon! Hopefully, I will be able to make some new stuff this weekend (still have a few custom requests on the list, so...we'll see how things go)

Ciao all!

From virtual to reality

Pee's Tee leaps into reality

As some of you may have noticed, I have a small display in my main store featuring some of Pee Yue's Happycat tees (the more tame ones...hehe). Happycat tees are mostly simple, white words on a black tee that definitely cater to people with a sense of humour.

Two of my favorites I can't seem to get tired of wearing are the "Waste of Bandwith" and "I made 52 cents today" tees. I also particularly like the "I have a penis" tee. It is a great little number to change into when some dude can't stop flirting and won't get the hint.

Anywho...so today, I received a link to this blog post entitled Life Imitating Second Life? Can you imagine my surprise when I saw that this very same shirt had made the leap from Second Life into...the real world!? How awesome is that? Yay Pee! I have to say I am a little jealous noone has thought about bringing some of my SL stuff into RL. I mean, how cool would toesocks be in RL?? Ah wait... nevermind...

What a week it has been...

A Very Happy Betty

This ^ (see picture above) is how I looked on my friend Marjorie's monitor last night. I spent the evening grinning like an idiot. Usually, I'd just call it a bug. But this time, little Betty definitely had a reason to smile. Who wouldn't be this happy with all the cool stuff that has been happening recently?!

First, getting the chance to be involved with the Relay for Life Dixie Rebels crew has been a blast. The *Poodles* outfits seem to be selling well. I am so happy everytime I see that one of them has sold or that a donation has been made. I definitely want to make more things, so if you have requests, let me know! I need ideas and always love getting suggestions from people.

Second, I got blogged y'all! Not once, but twice! That was wayyyyyy cool! I want to say a big thank you to Tigerlily Koi from the Aspire blog and Grazia Horwitz from the Second Style Fashionista blog for their kind words. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Those reviews totally made my day (well, days really, since one was last week) However, the day wasn't done yet!

I logged in yesterday to find an IM waiting for me. It was from Blaze Columbia about the New Designer Forum. *faint* I had to wait a bit to reply because I was afraid of sounding like a real dork (waiting probably did not help much.) The convo pretty much went like this on my part : "thanks!" "thank you!" "thanks again!" "ty ty" and so on.

After a short convo, I got to met up with Blaze to pick my wall. It's a big wall. A very very big wall. A huuuuge wall. All I kept thinking was...there is NO WAY I can fill this!

Woah...that's a biiiiiiiig wall

Blaze left (probably tired of hearing thanks so many friggin times lol) and I went back to set up a little later on. I started with the new dresses. Haha! The posters were so so tiny! I have gotten so used playing Tetris with my posters in tiny shops that I must admit, I was a little overwhelmed by this wall. I ended up taking everything I had ever made out of my inventory, moving stuff around a few billion times (scaling some things to make them bigger so it wouldn't look so bare) and finally came up with a layout that I was satisfied with.

And so, there it was. All my work so far. All on one big, huge, giant wall. Not much by some standards, but more than I thought I would ever have when I first started. I definitely never thought I would end up here, in this place, or get written about, or get the chance to get involved in the SLRFL.

What amazing people I have met and what a fun ride this has been so far. It's a little surreal. And way, way cool. Thanks to everyone, for the kind words, the amazing opportunities, and most of all, thanks to my Son crew, who inspire me and make me laugh every single day.