30 Nov 2016

Fast and Fancy Last-Minute Advent Calendars!

How about sprinkling sweetness to the Christmas countdown as December is getting into gear? Bring it on with the Advent calendar! This is one Christian tradition that is bound to fill the little ones with anticipation while putting them through their paces all the way to the height of the festive season.




Advent calendar season conjures up fond memories for later in life. This time of year always brings me back to the memory of those charming colourful little calendars that my mum would get my brother and I. The design was invariably that of a cardboard mountain chalet frontage with 24 shuttered windows. Each morning as I got ready, I would religiously and delicately open the shutters of the window of the day, to a nested piece of moulded chocolate. The shuttered window for Christmas Eve outsized all the others, revealing its double-whammy of a chocolate duo!

It looks like Advent calendars have widened their scope for creative licence these days. Although you can still buy them ready-made and get on with your life, DIY Advent calendars seem to be the thing; you don't need to be a master craftsperson either. With 1st December only a breath away, shall we get cracking like... now?

Sources from top right: Photo montage by Mirabelle, assisted by PicMonkey. Everyday in December is going to be Christmas! (1) The Advent calendar made up of numbered clothespins by Marie Claire Idées, holds up sachets containing little treasures to hold and behold. Use fancy paper clips if no clothespins handy, and small envelopes instead of sachets. (2) Make a statement and deck the halls! Advent calendar by Most Lovely Things, via ibid. (3) A Postcard Advent calendar by ibid. will make good use of unused postcards and celebration cards that are lying around the house. Gift appreciative words to the word lovers and wordsmiths of the family. Write a heartfelt note in each card, an uplifting proverb, a thoughtful quote, an observation, a charade or a light-hearted joke. Maybe compose a verse from a favourite poem, or a hiaku of your own. Never underestimate the power of words! Or drop one hint a day about the Christmas present(s) intended to your recipient, writing in code which they will have to crack. Turn those words into an Advent-ure! (4) The Advent calendar mobile by Avec Ses 10 Ptits Doigts, via Marie Claire Idées will solve any space dilemma within the tiny housing community. Amp up the Christmas vibe by adding necklace pearls, silver/ gold ribbons, twinkling stars and fresh ivy!

P.S: (1-3) Thou shall not worry about the French wording: the tutorials' how-to pictures are self-explanatory.

23 Nov 2016

El Raja Key Archive by Robert J. Kuntz

Rob Kuntz is a living legend and El Raja Key Archive is here to prove it. Now ask any of the people in the know within the Role-Playing Games (RPG) community, and they will agree. I also witnessed it first hand when Rob and I attended Lucca Comics & Games 2015, of which he was a special guest. Rob Kuntz is up there with Dave Arneson, the creator of Dungeons & Dragons® (D&D®), and Gary Gygax, he who made it all happen from the maproom to the boardroom, and from the figurines to the seven-figure profits. Meanwhile Rob's name will forever remain associated with the legendary Castle Greyhawk and his no-less-legendary character, Robilar. So yes, we are about stuff of legend here.

A timeless piece of gaming that is set to become a collectible!

Although Rob was one of the youngest in the original crew, back in the early 1970s, his formative years in Lake Geneva (WI) amongst a bunch of creatives and visionaries, shaped his style, honed his craft and nurtured his talent. Bear in mind that Rob has never sold out. He has remained true to his core values, and not lost sight of the power of creativity as a game designer, and imagination as a gamer - and how to unleash them both and keep them up. Rob has never ceased to be a prolific author and designer either. When he's away from the public eye, you can be sure he's holed up at home working on a project.

Throughout his career that spans more than 40 years, Rob has authored an impressive number of adventure modules and has consistently remained a firm RPG favourite amongst his loyal fan-base and those Original D&D® (OD&D®) afficionados.

Gem of many designs! The Sunken City adventure module has an original artwork by Jim Roslof.

Tread carefully for Rob doesn't want to be typecast. To associate him solely with the world of RPG would be to deny him his versatility. He branched into new territory years ago, as a screenplay writer and a novelist, and now as a game design theory author, with a few books in the pipeline!

Rob's brand new company, Three Line Studio partnered with TLB Games earlier this year in order to capitalise upon his impressive intellectual property. As a starting point, they produced El Raja Key Archive, a retrospective of his early work, brought together under the DVD project as The Collected Maps, Manuscripts, and RPG Artifacts of Robert J. Kuntz.

Rob's classic RPG adventures: imagination unleashed!

Fans are rewarded with four editions to choose from: Basic, Standard, Deluxe and Collector's. Psst, if you want to feel spoilt and special, go the extra mile and stretch your dime: treat yourself to the Collector's edition!

The DVD is a must-have, not only for the die-hard OD&D® aficionados and Rob's loyal fanbase but also to a new generation of gamers looking to explore the origins of D&D® and their legendary adventures. 

El Raja Key Archive DVD is a testimony to Rob's 40-year+ legacy, packed-full with fascinating OD&D® material that harks back to the origins of the game. With Christmas only four weeks away, this is one experience that will make you think (and strategise!) outside the box. Happy gaming y'all!

Source: All imagery via TLB Games.

14 Nov 2016

Presidential Showdown: Triumph for a New Cultural Era

In the wake of the presidential election of Donald J. Trump, the air has turned sharp and crisp with optimism and the promise of a reborn America like our parents had enjoyed. A new dawn is rising over the socialist paradigm swamp that had gripped the West since before our parents were even born (1930s), namely The Frankfurt School, serving under different guises the socialist agenda that is now in full swing.



Thanks to Mr. Trump, the global agenda of the private interests and corporate elites has been exposed to a wider segment of the population, and the new presidency will tackle it. Mr. Trump assured that under his presidency no dream will be too big. The forgotten man and the forgotten woman will rise and the USA will become prosperous again.

Alongside it, the cultural marxism that has infiltrated, compromised and jeopardised the mainstream media (MSM), education, religion, morality, family, employment, private property, cultural identity, national sovereignty, and thought process, will be challenged further and hopefully dismantled by the powers that be. The population will hopefully join in once they come to the realisation that they have been duped all along under the false premise of freedom of speech and freedom of choice.



Political change in America will send ripple effects and political change to Europe. Now unless you were born in Europe and have been enlightened about the detrimental effects of socialism and communism to a Nation, you will have no idea of the levels of mediocrity that European nations have been forced to sink to under the EU-UN umbrella over the last 35 years, and this includes design and lifestyle.

You will understand that as a design blog, Mirabelle has an obligation to report these facts to you and get political. I do respect voters choice yet I cannot help but be baffled by the Hollywood backlash against Trump and the dissent from the college kids who should know better but would rather burn the American flag and envisage their whole lives under a jobless, future-devoid, open-border, state-controlled economy that only serves the likes of Goldman Sachs, Bilderberg Group, George Soros, Monsanto and nefarious trade agreements like the TPP. Get a grip, kiddos!

(Pict source)

Although Mirabelle has strong reservations regarding Trump's policies for the environment, the new presidency will however redefine a new society, and creativity will soar to new heights like skyscrapers. Mirabelle is launching a new series: TrumpPower. Over the coming weeks, we will be exploring and celebrating the representation of prosperity and success in culture, art, design and fashion. Stay tuned!

Source: (1) The Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump John Lewis Christmas Ad, is based upon (2) the British high street retailer John Lewis Christmas Advert 2016 that was cleverly 'reworked' by the creative crew at Joe. You gotta love Buster the Boxer... and the garden critters! (3) Congratulations to President-Elect Trump and to Vice President-Elect Pence on their electoral win! Thank You America photograph, via Donald J. Trump's official website.
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