I know it might seem weird for me to blog about the custom work I do without following it up with, "and this will be released in the store!" But, I am really really proud of this necklace, and it was a gift to one dear friend of mine, from another dear friend of mine.

Zarabella Ming approached me to take her vision of the perfect charm necklace/locket and customize it for Noirran Marx for her rezday. As I am close friends with both of those amazing ladies, I was happy to take on the project.

Here's how it came out.

This one of a kind necklace is made of interlocking silver links with a variety of charm-bracelet type embellishments:

Musical notes, handcuffs, roses, a paw print, and treble clefs.

The necklace has a front-closure pass-through in which the locket is suspended on the dangling end.

The locket is a working locket in which the front cover swivels around to present the photo in a cameo-type arrangement with framing reminiscent of celtic knots.

255 prims.

And to give you an idea of the actual size:

I guess this is where I say "Custom work is available, IM Rosie Barthelmess."

Thanks, Zara and Noirran, for allowing me to be part of such a wonderful gift and great project.

I know you all secretly looked me over and thought I was a "bad girl." You know, visions of what kinds of ink or piercings were tucked away under my clothes, picturing me raising hell and running off to Mexico for the weekend to drink tequila and dance on a bar, things like that.

Right?

Pfffffft.

Fortunately for me, I don't have to necessarily be a hellraiser to enjoy some great tattoos in SL. I don't have kind of personal style to pull off sleeves or full body tats, but I am all for flashing a little personality in the form of unique, original tats that make a statement. And, one of my favorite spots for tats that fit the bill, is .:Collisions:., where the tats made by my friend Guenevere DeCuir do all that and more.

Guen has multiple shops around the grid, but you can find her mainstore at Freakheim (SLURL) along with freebies (she also makes lovely unisex jewelry), some awesome photography showcasing her tats, and other information.

And before I forget, let me make sure to mention she is available for CUSTOM TAT WORK and does an excellent job. One of the tats I wear whenever my legs aren't covered, is a very lovely bear-themed kanji-mixed with-tribal piece of art on my calf that I commissioned with her -- I gave her some very loose guidelines and she put together a gorgeous piece that gets comments almost every time I wear it.

So here's the important info: All Guen's tats are available on all layers, and they are copy/mod/no transfer.

Okay, so I know these are little, but click through and see them on my flickr for more detail. My blog template borks with larger pictures. Blah blah blah I know.

First things first, RFL. This is Guen's item that's up for sale at her store for L$100, to benefit Relay For Life. The kanji reads: Courage, Strength, Wisdom, and it's framed with lovely colored accents on the sides.

And sticking with the spine-tattoo theme, here's another one that I just love.

Rosie - Roses - get it? Get it? Quill & Thorns, another spine tat from Collisions, also L$100. What you can't see is the little red droplet of blood coming off of the quill-point at the bottom (it's covered by my corset) but it makes a statement for the writer in all of us.

And just because I want to show you my belleh, here's one I'm especially excited about:

Serenade, a belly/midriff tat by Guen, features a heart-themed musical score that floats over your tummy. Now remember, my tummy is bigger than average so it'll look slightly different on a regular-sized avie. Serenade is a companion piece to the Sable Rose Ballad pendant, which also features the same treble-bass-clef-heart design. I was really, really thrilled when Guen released this, and you can find this tat as well as other tats that match up with some Sable Rose jewelry, both at Collisions and at the Sable Rose mainstore.

Guenevere DeCuir puts her heart and soul into all her designs, whether they're her own creations for the store or custom pieces for clientele. I've commissioned her for custom tats (color and monochrome) in the past and I've never been disappointed. I highly recommend her for unique, personal tattoos that show off your personality.

Collisions Tattoos & Unisex Jewelry Main Store: (SLURL) -- http://slurl.com/secondlife/freakheim/225/226/22

So it's been another week or so since bloggin. I guess I've seemed pulled a bunch of directions and trying to keep it all managed.

Everything's good, just been busy in RL (thankfully) and SL both. I keep getting things gonna stack up on the bloggin posts and then semi-forgetting about them.

Stay tuned, there is blogarificness. I promise.

Oh, wait. Here's a semi-funny story I'm thinking you might get a giggle out of.

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So I was at the club, this was probably a few weeks ago, now. And this avie, a 2007 avie in a 2007 linden skin and static prim hair and linden shoes and a freebie dress, and a pretty noobish shape, and was wearing some kind of intricate +~->ZOMG I'M A MODEL<-~+ kind of tag.

You know the ones.

And suddenly she says:

"I see a big girl dancing there, go big girl, go! I could never be fat, my agency is so strict about my appearance."

So I said, "Oh, I've done some modeling in SL. Each agency is different I guess."

So she said again, "Yeah, I'm big in RL but I could never be fat in SL and still be able to keep my job modeling."

So I said: "Must have been hard to find a modeling agency that would let you model in freebies, non-prim shoes and a Linden noob skin, huh."

Then I said, "Would you like me to give you some landmarks to places like Gnubie's and Sarah Nerd's, so you can pick up some higher quality freebies?"

She shut up.