Candy Heart deliciousness

So, I went over to a friend's house, and saw this ornamental plate on a stand. Not particularly my cup of tea, I'm more of a minimalist myself when it comes to interior decorating. However, the stand was very creative. It basically can be used for plates, books, what not, and folds up on itself. It had two chains on either side that kept it from folding out too far as well as keeping it from falling apart.

I took that idea home with me.. mulled it over, just loved the simplicity of the design. Then I got to thinking about maybe using it to display just a box or a heart shaped container. That got me thinking about more music boxes. I've had this lovely little melody set aside for a music box, and really didn't know what kind of music box to make for it (typically the music comes first.. I find I build the boxes around the music). So, I created this heart.. a hollow heart box, red laquered with a key right smack dab in the middle of it. On a folding stand held together by two sets of chains.

I rather liked how it came out.

I hope you do too.

C.Capalini

p.s. I only touched up the picture on the main advert. The rest of the pictures are exactly as I took them in Second Life. The video is exactly as it looks in Second Life.

p.p.s. You can go to my store located in New Babbage Canals and rez the music box via the vendors to see it for yourself.. and you can purchase it off marketplace. Btw, I packaged it in a pretty gift wrap box. I think I may do that from now on...

Pretty New Shiny Toy - iShowU

I just recently obtained a new program for my Mac, and it's an nifty little capture program. Not going to go into details.. (I just don't like getting technical) I now have the wonderful ability to video my working music boxes in Second Life.

I was asked to commission a music box for my good friend, Breezy Carver.. and it came out lovelier than I expected:

Titled "Merry Christmas from Piermont 2011" it plays "Carol of the Bells" (absolutely LOVE that song). No, this one will not be for sale, though I may fashion something similar later on. In the future, I would expect every single music box I create to be posted here with a video of it working. It's all well and good to create something and show you a picture.. but even better to show it working. Just so you can see the attention to detail and animation I put into every single music box.

Annnnnnd we're back!

Sorry it's been such a long hiatus from making music boxes. Truth be told, I've been away.. learning and stretching my skills, taking walks on my lunch breaks and composing more music box music.

But the past month.. I've visited a few places and found inspiration in the unlikeliest of spots, a clock shop. While taking a trip to Cincinnatti, a friend and I travelled to a clock shop seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Wonderful stuffs. There were gravity clocks, grandfather clocks, church carillions, fishbowl clocks, cloisonne clocks, scissor clocks, cuckoo clocks (well, you get the general idea). I came back from that trip with my mind just buzzing with ideas. And not just clocks, but lamps, chairs, music boxes...

Here are just a few of the new offerings:

The Ebony Music box, possibly the lowest prim music box I've ever made.

It really is only 4 prims, and is still animated. Key winds, lid opens, and I'm really proud of it.

This music box, Wild Pumpkin, is actually slightly older, but I figured I needed to get it out there. This music box utilized sculpted animation.. touch the pumpkin, the lid opens and two tentacles slowly creep out, feel about and then go back in.

and then we have Gone Fishing. This is a direct result of some of the inspiration I got while in Cincinnatti. It also feels more.. I don't know.. like I put more of my own heart into this one than I have a lot of my music boxes in the past year. It just feels really special. Touch it, and the heartshaped key winds, the fish light up gently and go round and round while a patient little kitty watches. It plays my own arrangement of "Two Minuets" by JS Bach..

I do hope you take a moment to stop by the store and see these.. that one in particular. It just.. feels special to me, and I hope you enjoy it and can see your own reason to find it "special" too.

C.Capalini

As always, all items can be viewed in store, and are available on Marketplace HERE.

The Windmills of my Mind

They hold an enigmatic charm, these odd houses with arms reaching into the sky. You see them dotting landscapes, associate them with fields of grain, farms... You see them in romanticism, Don Quixote fighting the giants... Jonathan Creek solving mysteries from his charming home stuffed with magic memorabilia... Johnny Depp saving the day in "Sleepy Hollow". They are both comforting and sometimes, quite creepy with their weird sense of lonliness.

Personally, I've never seen one up close. They're in that category of mythical creatures that I hope someday to see. I've even daydreamed of what it would be like to live in one.. with all the creaks and pops of moving machinery.

To that end, I've created a windmill that is an opulently rich living quarter. Not so much along the lines of what I'd expect if I packed my bags and moved to a lonely windmill on the outskirts of town.. but more what I'd hope an extravagant home would be like.

Available on Marketplace

Nostalgia, a tidbit.. a skosh, if you will...

About 7 months ago, I did a blog piece on Faberge and those fabulous eggs that the House of Faberge created for the royalty of the Russian Empire. I'm still in love with them.. researched them, found numerous sources. While my creation of music boxes has slowed down here recently, it's by no means stopped. Matter of fact, the projects I've been working on have all been learning experiences and have helped me develop tools to create even more "toys" in Second Life, which is really what I'm doing. I'm being a toy maker.

Now what that has to do with Faberge is nostalgia. Why are those eggs looked upon with wonder and amazement? Partly because they are masterpieces of clockwork, mechanics, and creativity.. but also because they recall a time in history that seemed elegant, magical and mysterious.

Bear with me.. I swear this is all going somewhere.

About 2 weeks ago, it was brought to my attention that one of the professional musicians/composers I watch was doing a stunning thing. He opened up his email to the general public and said.. if you want free music, send me an email with an idea and I may just do it. Well, the friend who brought it to my attention had requested a Steampunk Anthem, which the individual in question came hollaring to me saying "HE DID IT! HE DID IT!" My own curiosity was sparked, and while I do my own music, one can never have too many sources. So I sent in an email with an idea and 4 hours later, had a very melancholy professionally done music box theme.. get this.. done to the same melodic steampunk anthem. It is, quite frankly, gorgeous.

Now.. back to Faberge. I heard this new piece of music box music and knew immediately what I was going to do. I wanted to do a new music box as an ornamental egg, but in a more steampunk variety. And since it was New Babbage in Second Life (it didn't really introduce me to steampunk.. but it gave me a name for something I already loved) where I made my home way back in 2007.. and New Babbage where I have met some of the most amazing friends and have had some of the most creative ideas I've ever had.. and New Babbage where I still base my store and Second Life Ideology.. I wanted to showcase New Babbage as well.

Most of the landmarks that I hold dear to my heart aren't really there anymore. These were builds that I loved, were imaginative and there was just something about them that kept me wandering about Babbage. Some of them are still there, most are not and if you are a newcoming to New Babbage, you won't know them at all. So, this heralds back to my nostalgia of a New Babbage that is not really there any longer (though, if you know the lifespans of actual places, you know that New Babbage is breaking all the odds, right next to Steelhead and Caledon).

So I created an ornamental egg that's slightly larger than the rest of them, dusty aged glass with sculpted brass base, ornamentation, topped with a dark jade egg. Since Tesla is also hailed higher by the majority of people in the steamlands, I gave it a slight Tesla twist. When you touch it, to turn it on.. the key starts to wind, there's the sound of an electric current popping to life, and you can see the arc between the brass plates inside the egg. Once the egg winds, the music starts to play and the music box rezzes a holograph-ish centerpiece with pictures of those places in New Babbage I loved the most; Tiny Tin, The Lighthouse, the tunnels under the Vernian, the Church Tower, the city landscape, the Academy of Industry.. all places that hold fond memories for many of the older residents.. and some of the newer. Not all these builds are gone, but the ones that are, they still exist in New Babbage. Even if you don't see them at first glance.

The mayor of New Babbage and Maggie examining the new music box.