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Corwim's Creations (Vampire Lair & Buffy sims & art p. 36-37

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    CorwimCorwim Posts: 3,218 Member
    edited February 2017
    Elena Ardelean Vampire
    Gallery Link

    Elena%20Ardelean%20closeup%201_zpsarpoenjy.jpg Elena%20Ardelean%20closeup%204_zpsm4pp47gv.jpg

    Elena is an ancient vampire, with a youthful appearance, who was the most vicious vampire who ever lived. She mended her way of life after meeting the vampire hunter Jake Storm. Here's the short bio I wrote for her Gallery upload:
    Elena was the most ferocious of all vampires. All that changed when she fell in love with her enemy: the human vampire hunter Jake Storm. She became a vegetarian and made it her life goal to create the most delicious and perfect plasma fruits. With those, she'll convince the vampire population to stop feeding from humans. Don't anger her though, her dark form is still as evil as it was before!

    I wrote up a (much, much :D ) longer backstory that I'll add at the end of this post. To make Elena, I took my sim Noah into CAS (he's her son after all, had to be a genetic link there :) ) and derived a female sim. I changed some of her features et voila, Elena was born! B) Didn't have to change that much, there's some good genes in that boy I tell ya. :D Can't wait for Noah to have children, or for Elena and Jake to have more of their own together. :) The name Ardelean refers to the Romanian region Ardeal which is another name for Transylvania and is derived from the Hungarian word for forest. Thought that was the perfect name for Elena, with Transylvania being the obvious link with Dracula and vampires, while forest would link up nicely with her freelance botanist aspiration and the green colour of her outfits. B) Plus, it sounded just great combined with her first name Elena. ;)

    I wanted Elena's regular appearance and outfits to represent the good sim she had become. Those outfits are modern and fashionable, while still edging towards darker colours (she lives at night after all ;) ). The purple colour of her eyes is the only element that hints at her supernatural nature. It was also the one element that made me struggle the most designing her outfits. It was so hard to find swatches in the outfits that went well with that colour lol! Therefore there are only the six outfits for her, instead of the multiple ones I've made for my other sims recently. ;) I settled on a green/black/denim combination as I felt that worked well for both her vampire nature and her aspiration of becoming a freelance botanist (an aspiration I thought fitted well with her desire to create the perfect plasma fruits). Next to the vegetarian trait, she also has the good trait, representing her newfound way of life and the self assured trait (she used to be an evil vampire after all ;) ).

    These are her regular looks and outfits (everyday, formal, athletic, sleep wear, swim wear and party outfit):

    Elena%20Ardelean%20Everyday%201_zpscecspdex.jpg Elena%20Ardelean%20Formal%201_zps9hcqsakl.jpg Elena%20Ardelean%20Sports%201_zps8beu1ngy.jpg Elena%20Ardelean%20Sleep%201_zpsaq6uf05q.jpg Elena%20Ardelean%20Swim%201_zpsiihnjkvg.jpg Elena%20Ardelean%20Party%201_zpsktcqczsq.jpg

    For her dark form and outfits, I wanted them to refer to Elena's past, both in time as being more old fashioned, but also by being more evil natured (Elena wasn't exactly a pretty, sweet girl before her encounter with Jake ;) ). It was a great, but fun challenge to create such a different look from her regular appearance! The story I had in mind here is that when you angered Elena, she might revert back to her old and evil way of life and she had to work constantly at controlling and keeping the beast, so to speak, within. She's gotten pretty good at it, but I still wouldn't recommend anyone to offend her too much, nor to threaten her family! B)

    Here are her dark form and outfits (everyday, formal, athletic, sleep wear, swim wear and party outfit):

    Elena%20Ardelean%20DF%20Everyday%201_zpsc4wzllrr.jpg Elena%20Ardelean%20DF%20Formal%201_zpsnmeytsdl.jpg Elena%20Ardelean%20DF%20Sports%201_zps58nqo5qm.jpg Elena%20Ardelean%20DF%20Sleep%201_zpsvsjsnarv.jpg Elena%20Ardelean%20DF%20Swim%201_zps4tchh34p.jpg Elena%20Ardelean%20DF%20Party%201_zpskvhvch6r.jpg

    This is her (much) more elaborate back story: :)

    Elena Ardelean was the most ferocious vampire who ever lived. She hunted without mercy and led her vampire pack with an iron fist. But all that changed when she confronted her latest enemy, the vampire hunter Jake Storm.

    Jake Storm had made it his business to eradicate the vampire threat wherever it occurred. So far the vampires he had faced were without remorse and without the slightest sign of goodness. But Jake held hope in his heart that one day he would encounter one who could be turned from evil and would be open to a peaceful coexistence with humans. His latest investigations led him to a small town in Romania, in the region known as Transylvania. Legend has it this was where vampires first appeared centuries ago and it was supposed to be the birthplace of Vlad, the vampire who now ruled over Forgotten Hollow. He would not admit it, but Vlad was banished from this place by the vampire Elena who now sat on its throne. Locals were terrified to go out after sunset and advised Jake to leave as soon as he could and never turn back. Never one to be scared easily, Jake started his investigation and learned from a few recently turned vampires where Elena’s vampire lair was located. Sharpening his stakes and packing his bag with garlic, Jake prepared for the ultimate fight and tracked down the legendary Elena.

    Elena and Jake tore down Elena’s vampire lair during their fight. Right before Elena sank her teeth into Jake’s neck, he saw something in her intense eyes: a flicker of hesitation. Jake, who had a stake pressed to her heart, stopped his attack, looked her calmly in the eyes and said “You don’t have to live like this Elena.” Elena withdrew her teeth and fled the scene. During the following nights, Jake caught glimpses of Elena, but she never approached. The attacks that had scared the locals however had completely stopped. Jake returned to Elena’s lair and left her a few of the best plasma fruits he had managed to grow. The next night, Elena came to his room and spoke two simple words, reassuring Jake’s hope for a better future: “Help me.”

    Jake taught Elena how to survive without drinking from humans and Elena started to grow her own plasma fruits. During their time together the one thing happened they would never have expected: they fell madly in love with each other. And then the even more impossible occurred: Elena was pregnant! Nine months later, she gave birth to a beautiful baby boy who they named Noah. Their happiness was not to last however. Elena’s pack, furious with her betrayal of her own kind by falling for a human, declared her an outcast and put a price on her head and her loved ones. Fearing for her son’s life, Elena told Jake to take Noah and make a run for it, never to look back and never to come looking for her. She told Jake that the safest thing for Noah was to forget she even existed. Jake refused at first, but after the first vampire attack, he realized Elena could take care of herself, but little Noah however could not. Taking Noah, he left Romania, never to return…

    Jake continued his vampire hunting on easier targets, always making Noah’s safety his first priority. He led a double life and kept his real job secret from his son. He also told him his mother had died during child birth, just as he had agreed with Elena. Noah grew up into a strapping young lad and was the total opposite of his dad. While Jake was withdrawn and a loner, Noah was very outgoing, living life to the fullest and enjoying sports and each aspect of university life. Jake saw Elena’s beauty and strength in him and was proud of the kind nature of his character. As agreed, Noah knew nothing about his origins, nor that his mother was a vampire, and Jake was glad the vampire curse had not reared its ugly head when Noah grew up. Noah was completely human, apart from a slight supernatural strength as the result of the vampire plasma running through his veins. Whether the vampire gene would reoccur in his offspring remained to be seen.

    Unknown to them, Elena was watching them from a distance. Careful to never show herself, but always vigilantly watching over their safety. She still didn’t risk stepping into their lifes again, but the love for both of them was stronger than ever. Elena had also become an expert botanist and the plasma fruits she grew were better tasting than most human’s plasma. She had already convinced many a vampire to give up the human hunt and follow her example by becoming vegetarian vampires. Her pack of good natured vampires was growing every day, but her evil ancestors were still on the lookout as well. Would it ever be safe for her to leave the shadows, approach Jake again and finally meet her grown up son?

    And finally some bonus pictures for those brave enough to read through the entire story: :D

    Elena%20Ardelean%20closeup%206_zpssmahidws.jpg Elena%20Ardelean%20closeup%205_zpsof2i3ofg.jpg
    Elena%20Ardelean%20Closeup%202_zpsor5y9rnd.jpg Elena%20Ardelean%20closeup%201_zpsarpoenjy.jpg
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    rosemowrosemow Posts: 163,643 Member
    Congratulations on Sam coming third in the challenge ! :)
    It was very nice reading the background story of Elena, Jake and Noah! :) It is great to now know more about these sims and their relationships with each other. It was very creatively written! It is a great choice of surname of Elena due to the meaning of the name. Her two forms are so very different! It is very creative that one represents her good side that has now been changed from evil due to her falling in love, and the dark form reflects her past, how she used to be evil. Her clothing outfits reflect each of the sides to her well! The traits and aspiration given to her suit well her new way of life.
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    MorriSanMorriSan Posts: 412 Member
    That's one super romantic room! I love the idea of combining the climbing rose thing with the candle paravent and all the little creative touches and decorations.
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    BreeMilesBreeMiles Posts: 8,912 Member
    Ouch that bite may hurt dear. Awesome spooky looking sims sweetie!
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    CasseeCassee Posts: 3,710 Member
    Look at you! You big softie♥♥♥ Such a romantic....it's perfect...the room....the proposal.....the kiss!!

    AND....although terrifying .... you're Vampire Love Story is just as romantic....beautiful vampire family♥♥
    The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time. Bertrand Russell
    sims4siggie2018_zpslw60zcgd.png
    Cassee's Corner: https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/783956/cassees-corner-new-5309-memory-lane-wip-page-72/p1
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    CorwimCorwim Posts: 3,218 Member
    Thank you so much @rosemow ! :) I'm glad to hear you enjoyed Elena, Jake and Noah's background story and how Elena looks in her two different forms.

    Hi @MorriSan : Thank you for your comment! I'm only taking my first steps using MOO in Sims 4 and the wooden structure for the fireplace nook was my first try. Thank you for pointing that one out, very happy to hear you thought it turned out well. B)

    Thank @BreeMiles ! Hehe, those vampire teeth do look on the sharp side. ;) Glad Elena is mostly good. :)

    Hehe @Cassee , you got me! :D Playing out the proposal was incredibly fun, and these two are my favourite couple atm. :) Look, even took your example and changed my avatar (it was high time, plus thought I needed a Valentine themed one for this week :) ) Glad you enjoyed both my stories, even though one was indeed a bit more on the scary side. :)
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    CorwimCorwim Posts: 3,218 Member
    edited February 2017
    I've been experimenting in game with creating my own artwork for my rooms and lots, first following TheSimSupply's video on how to create Custom artwork in Sims 4 Studio and how to add it to your game, and then following BryonRae's handy guide to turn those CC artworks into cc free objects by using the paint by reference interaction. Thank you so much @rosemow for compiling and keeping up to date the awesome list of building guides here in the forum! <3

    These are the result of Sam's first attempts (yes, he's not only a pianist, he's a very creative painter now as well ;) ): :)
    Artwork%201_zpsnx1abquu.jpg

    I've saved these to my library in a room, and indeed, the room shows up as CC free! B) Plus, I'm amazed by the quality of these, I thought they would turn out more blurry, but they are pretty sharp and the text is clearly legible, kudos to the graphical engine of Sims 4! B)

    I thought about uploading the Deadpool posters to my Gallery (as a sort of different themed Valentine item ;) ), but was wondering if that was ok? As they are based on copyrighted material, not sure what EA's stance is on that. I've seen eg Star Wars or Disney themed rooms on the Gallery using the same process to create art and I know there were builders who uploaded their painted by reference movie posters to their studio in Sims 3 without problem. So it seems ok to do?
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    BreeMilesBreeMiles Posts: 8,912 Member
    Wow @Corwim those are good. I hope you enjoy sweetie. I think its so much fun doing the pictures in Sims 4!
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    TheDismalSimmerTheDismalSimmer Posts: 656 Member
    Corwim wrote: »
    I've been experimenting in game with creating my own artwork for my rooms and lots, first following TheSimSupply's video on how to create Custom artwork in Sims 4 Studio and how to add it to your game, and then following BryonRae's handy guide to turn those CC artworks into cc free objects by using the paint by reference interaction. Thank you so much @rosemow for compiling and keeping up to date the awesome list of building guides here in the forum! <3

    These are the result of Sam's first attempts (yes, he's not only a pianist, he's a very creative painter now as well ;) ): :)
    Artwork%201_zpsnx1abquu.jpg

    I've saved these to my library in a room, and indeed, the room shows up as CC free! B) Plus, I'm amazed by the quality of these, I thought they would turn out more blurry, but they are pretty sharp and the text is clearly legible, kudos to the graphical engine of Sims 4! B)

    I thought about uploading the Deadpool posters to my Gallery (as a sort of different themed Valentine item ;) ), but was wondering if that was ok? As they are based on copyrighted material, not sure what EA's stance is on that. I've seen eg Star Wars or Disney themed rooms on the Gallery using the same process to create art and I know there were builders who uploaded their painted by reference movie posters to their studio in Sims 3 without problem. So it seems ok to do?

    YES! Deadpool is awesome!
    dgvibNQ.png
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    CasseeCassee Posts: 3,710 Member
    Okay, Deadpool room MUST go on gallery!! Like NOW!
    The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time. Bertrand Russell
    sims4siggie2018_zpslw60zcgd.png
    Cassee's Corner: https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/783956/cassees-corner-new-5309-memory-lane-wip-page-72/p1
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    AIRIS6962AIRIS6962 Posts: 5,611 Member

    Wonderful creations, dear! <3
    Congrats for your well deserved faved on Romantic Dining room by Maxis! :smiley:
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    CorwimCorwim Posts: 3,218 Member
    edited February 2017
    First of all, super excited about the Maxis fav for Romantic Dining! :) Especially since it probably was the most fun I had building a room so far, with the proposal in mind that I wanted to take place there! Thank you @rosemow and @AIRIS6962 for the congrats! B)

    Thank you @BreeMiles , @Cassee and @The_Dismal_Scientist for commenting on the art work, glad you like them! Hehe, I figured Deadpool would be a great antidote for those who might sometimes have a different feeling about Valentine's Day. ;) I'll try to upload the artwork in a bit (and add a 'original image property of 20th Century Fox' as a disclaimer, just to be sure I'm not doing anything wrong :) ).

    I hope it works, because there's unfortunately some serious buggyness going on with saving paintings that were painted by reference in a room. I saved it multiple times (experimenting what would work, one with the mods still installed, one with a mod free game, another with the art work enlarged to make it clearer in the upload, etc) and had various levels of success. The one with the enlarged artwork had blank canvasses wherever I placed it (used a different save file to place them, as I thought that would the closest way of mimicing the process of uploading/downloading in a different game from the gallery). The other ones sometimes had the correct Deadpool art work, but had a blank space after the 'painted by' reference in the box when you hover over a painting, while others had the correct name there (Sam Gladstone). The weirdest one was when I first placed another room with different painted by reference paintings (see pictures below) on a new, empty lot, when I placed the room with the Deadpool paintings next to it, the Deadpool image was gone and replaced by one of the images of the paintings of the other room, but still indicating the correct value of the original Deadpool painting. Very wonky all of it. I exited out of the game without saving, reloaded and the saved rooms seemed fine now, but still, super weird!

    Anyway, to summarize, if anyone should download the room when I've uploaded it and notices any problems (blank canvas, different artwork than the ones showing in the gallery picture of the room), let me know! It's still a lot of experimentation to get the best results. :)

    Speaking of experimentation, I put Sam to work painting a bunch of other art work today. I picked a bunch of black and white pictures of my favourite actors and turned them into CC in Sims 4 Studio. To create the painted by reference cc-free artwork, the original CC art can not be on the same lot, but has to be on a neighbouring one. As a result, you can only paint these outside, as you cannot see into a room on a neighbouring lot. As a result, the lighting is out of your control and depends on the time of day it is (morning, noon, evening, night) and probably also the world you are playing in at the moment (as they all have different lighting effects, eg Forgotten Hollow is darker and the number of hours it is light are fewer). The closest two lots I found together were in Newcrest, so this is the result of painting during different times in that world. Results may be different if you don't use black and white pictures of course. :)

    Painting in the morning gives a blue sheen to your paintings by reference (the 4th one is more white/yellowish as it was painted around noon):
    Artwork%202_zpsj8oywkei.jpg

    In the afternoon, they have a yellow touch (thought this gave a wonderful vintage feel, like old pictures B) ):
    Artwork%203_zps16ze1ur5.jpg

    During the evening they get a red sheen, but didn't get to paint one at that time, cause Sam was hungry and needed an additional inpirational shower. :D The closest one is the Ryan Reynolds one which has a brown colour (painted between afternoon and evening). I did paint one at night and that one turned a very deep purple:
    Artwork%204_zpsgo1gn5w5.jpg

    Once you have those paintings by reference, you can of course resuse those to make new paintings by reference, and since they are CC free, you can do it indoors where you have much more control over lighting. I never managed to get rid of the blue sheen of the morning paintings and turn it black and white like the original again, but other colours are possible. You do lose some of the sharpness of the original painting by reference though (though another factor, the painting level of the one who paints as well as whether he's in a inspired mood may be an additional factor). But hey, how about a pink Jake Gyllenhaal for Valentine's Day? :D
    Artwork%205_zpsqrs6qh6s.jpg

    I also tried a smaller painting by reference on one of the original paintings, but again, you do lose some of the detail in the new painting (though I do think here the lighting in the room might have been too bright to catch much of the detail, hm, room for more experimenting!). Here's a small one of Kit Harrington's face: :smile:
    Artwork%206_zps0w3ixjkk.jpg
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    rosemowrosemow Posts: 163,643 Member
    The pictures of the actors look great! :) It was interesting seeing how the time of day that the pictures were painted affected how they looked. They look very effective that way!
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    CorwimCorwim Posts: 3,218 Member
    Thank you so much @rosemow ! There's a lot of trial and error involved at the moment, but if it works properly, the possibilities for decorating rooms and lots would be infinite! :) There's a lot of great paintings in the game already, but if you could create your own to fit with each possible design you had in mind, that would be amazing. I hope I can figure out a way to avoid all the bugs and see how far I can take this, really enjoying it so far (and it helps raising Sam's painting skill in the mean time. ;) ).

    Ok, uploaded my two Valentine's Day gifts just now, stay tuned everyone! :)
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    CorwimCorwim Posts: 3,218 Member
    A Vampire Valentine
    Gallery Link

    AVampireValentine%201_zps7wav5yls.jpg

    I figured Valentine's Day would be the perfect occasion to reunite my sims Elena, Jake and Noah and let them be a happy family together. :) Well, happy is relative of course, as I gave Elena the hotheaded trait now (watch for that evil dark form of hers! :D ) and Jake is no longer non-committal (they are married after all), but is now unflirty, so that might be a challenge for them as well. I also had to change Noah into a teenager to edit the relations between them in CAS and officially make them their son lolz, so he lost a trait, but is still an outgoing, serial romancer, quite the opposite of his parents! In fact, as far as romance is concerned, Noah is the most experienced in that regard, and he may be able to teach both his parents a thing or two whenever her hotheadedness or his unflirtyness causes any trouble. Think they'll be a fun family to play, with a few challenges here and there. ;)

    This is their updated story on their Gallery upload:
    An evil vampire and a loner vampire hunter getting romantic. Impossible you say? But love knows no bounds today! Elena, now a vegetarian vampire married Jake, who went from non-committal to unflirty, progress! Not having a care in the world is their outgoing teenager son Noah who can actually teach them both a thing or two about romance. :-) Happy Valentine everyone!
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    LonnykinsLonnykins Posts: 508 Member
    Great Pictures @Corwim :) I can see a few more Celebrities that I need to make:) And Congrats on the Maxis Fave! That's Awesome and Well Deserved :)


    2lky1ys.jpg
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    CorwimCorwim Posts: 3,218 Member
    A Deadpool Valentine
    Gallery Link

    A%20Deadpool%20Valentine1_zpsdonu886s.jpg

    So I tested and retested this room with the Deadpool artwork I showed earlier, couldn't find any more problems, and uploaded it to the Gallery. I really, really hope it works, and the paintings keep their image and don't go blank! *fingers crossed* After uploading, I deleted the room I uploaded from my library (otherwise you cannot download it from the Gallery) and downloaded the room from the Gallery. Placed it in game and the paintings showed up properly (one still had Sam as the original artist, the other one had a blank name, but that's ok, most important is that the images are there). I have the original paintings from Sam in my game however, so that might be why they do properly show up in my game. I do really hope others get the same result...

    @Cassee and @The_Dismal_Scientist : would you mind testing out the room and downloading it from the Gallery (link is above here), see whether the paintings properly show up in your games and letting me know here? If not, I'll immediately delete the room and try again. Thank you, would mean so much to me (and my worries about this lol)! :)

    This is what they should look like in game:
    A%20Deadpool%20Valentine%202_zpspf5pkdyn.jpg

    And here's the little message I added to the upload: :)
    For those who think it's getting all a bit too romantic in here, I offer these alternative Deadpool Valentine artwork gifts. :-) Original image property of 20th Century Fox. Paintings made by my sim Sam Gladstone (also called Be My Valentine?). Made with the Paint By Reference interaction, so completely NoCC and CCfree. Feel free to use these in your lots, but please hashtag me when you use them in an upload like this: artwork by #Corwim , thank you! Happy Valentine everyone! :-)
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    rosemowrosemow Posts: 163,643 Member
    Hello :) Happy Valentines Day!
    It is great that you have brought the three sims together as a family, and that Elena and Jake are now married <3 It is special for Valentines Day.
    The Deadpool pictures are great! It is thoughtful of you to upload them to the Gallery to share with other simmers.
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    CorwimCorwim Posts: 3,218 Member
    Thank you so much @rosemow ! It was very satisfying to bring them together after their troublesome past. :) Hope the art work transfers properly throught the Gallery so others can enjoy them as well.
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    CorwimCorwim Posts: 3,218 Member
    edited February 2017
    Lonnykins wrote: »
    Great Pictures @Corwim :) I can see a few more Celebrities that I need to make:) And Congrats on the Maxis Fave! That's Awesome and Well Deserved :)

    Thank you so much @Lonnykins ! :) Good to hear you've found some inspiration from these pictures, because, all these actors deserve a proper sim version to be added to our games. Looking forward to your versions of them of the ones that aren't already in your Celeb topic! B)
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    CasseeCassee Posts: 3,710 Member
    eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.....it's perfect!!! Just perfect!!♥♥♥♥

    02-13-17_10-26-56nbspPM_zpsp3ycpsae.png

    I think they look mighty FINE on that wall....*wink*
    The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time. Bertrand Russell
    sims4siggie2018_zpslw60zcgd.png
    Cassee's Corner: https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/783956/cassees-corner-new-5309-memory-lane-wip-page-72/p1
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    CorwimCorwim Posts: 3,218 Member
    I'm so relieved they made it through the Gallery alright, you have no idea, thank you so much @Cassee for testing it out and letting me know! <3 And they do look mighty fine in a modern Cassee decorated room. :)
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    AIRIS6962AIRIS6962 Posts: 5,611 Member

    Great wall paints, dear!
    A Vampire Valentine is a lovely household to play with :smile:
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