Bronze-Kettle
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New social site launches for coordinating meetups at BlizzCon
The Bronze Kettle, the long-running player blog focusing on crafting and community for WoW players, has launched a new site. Owner and former WoW Insider crafting blogger Shelbi Roach announced Looking for Group: BlizzCon. The basic premise is one that I'm surprised no one's done before (as many great ideas are, really): LFGBlizzCon is a site for coordinating meetups and other activities during the con. Shelbi describes it as a "simplified social networking site dedicated to those of us who plan on attending BlizzCon this year. I wanted to create this site so we can all get to know each other online and then meet up at the con." To be honest, while I can see how that would work, it also seems to me it would be useful for people who already know each other as an easy-to-use, one-stop coordinator for how they plan to hang out during the convention. Either way, it's a neat idea and good people behind it, so go give it a look-see.
Child's Play raffle donations soar to over $12,600
If you haven't heard of the fabulous raffle being hosted by the folks at the Bronze Kettle, then you must have been living in a box. A box where you hadn't heard that the donations count has reached $12,654.00! That is definitely cause for celebration; and celebrate we shall!To be fair, one person donated $10,000, but as Shelbi points out, even if this hurts your chances to win one of their many prizes, the tickets are still for charity. In fact, 100% of the money raised will be heading straight to Child's Play.If you haven't purchased your tickets yet, or you have a few extra bucks lying around, head over before it's too late! Currently, the raffle is scheduled to take place at 11:00pm CST today, Friday the 14th of December, at Booty Bay on the US server Dark Iron. Not only will you get the chance to participate in the server event, possibly hosted on vent, but the entire shebang will be liveblogged over at the Kettle. Although you don't need to attend the event to win, it's looking like it's going to be a blast. Just look for Shelbi and Jon on Aereyan and Kaelwryn. Raffle entries will be closing as of 8:00pm CST, and although you can still donate after that point, you will not earn a ticket toward a prize. Make the jump for a complete listing of prizes, and remember; each $1 donated earns you one ticket, and one chance at one of twenty fabulous prizes.
FigurePrints donates custom figure to The Bronze Kettles' Child's Play charity raffle
Yesterday, Jon and Shelbi at The Bronze Kettle announced that they had added several more prizes to the list for the charity raffle they are sponsoring for Child's Play. In addition to the already mentioned list of prizes, The Bronze Kettle revealed that Blizzard and FigurePrints have donated a custom FigurePrints action figure of your in-game World of Warcraft character to add to the raffle as the Grand Prize. These figures have, to date, only been available either with the purchase of a Dell XPS M1730 laptop valued at around $4500, or by winning a place in the random drawing that FigurePrints will be holding on December 21st. This could be your chance to win one of these extremely exclusive figures, a full week before they go on sale to those lucky enough to win a place in the first official drawing. You can read more about FigurePrints and their custom World of Warcraft action figures of your in-game character in this WoW Insider interview with Ed Fries, the founder of FigurePrints.
Charity raffle for Child's Play
It's the season of giving, and the good folks at the Bronze Kettle have been auctioning their services for Child's Play, a gamers' charity that funds pediatric research and donates toys and games to hospitals. I am pleased to announce that the grand total of their efforts is a whopping $651 donated!Unfortunately, they are no longer holding auctions. Instead, they have decided to broaden their efforts so more people can participate and win, without having to have a couple hundred dollars to contribute. You will not only have the chance to win some amazing prizes, but you will also be invited to an in-game event hosted by Jon and Shelbi. As always, 100% of the donations will go directly to the charity. If you admired the prizes being auctioned, then make the jump for the full scoop!
Transmogrification for charity, auction 3
The series of charitable auctions being hosted by the folks over at the Bronze Kettle and Starprints are progressing nicely, with the second auction already successfully completed. To date, they've donated $450 to Child's Play, and are still up for hire!If you're looking for the perfect gift for the gamer in your family, look no further. Should you put a bid in on their latest auction, you could acquire your own personal WoW artist who will work with you to create a custom avatar for use in forums, message boards, IM software, and more. You will also help design a custom charm to hang on your DS, your cell phone, etc, as well as an original illustration, all after the WoW character of your choosing. You even get a free cell phone strap and your charm is shipped to you at no cost. In addition, although the top of the auction page claims that only customers from the United States are eligible, the actual text assures us that anyone, anywhere in the world can bid, and shipping will still be free.
Bronze Kettle auctions character art for Child's Play
It's that time of year again-- the time of gamer giving, and the good folks over at The Bronze Kettle are running a terrific event for Child's Play that is sure to bring in some great cash for the annual Penny Arcade sponsored charity. They're auctioning off a custom Starprints illustration, charm, and avatar of the World of Warcraft character of your choice. Starprints actually sent us one of their pieces for our recent fan art contest, and while they didn't win, they are definitely cute little charms, and a completely original piece of art for your character.As of this writing, the highest bid is only about $31, but come on, people! This is for charity! If you have any interest in getting your character immortalized in a piece of art, get out those wallets and offer some cash. Not only are you picking up an illustration, charm, and a custom avatar, but you're supporting a great cause, too-- 100% of the sale price goes straight to the charity, which supports hospitals around the country with videogames and other needed items for children.And stay tuned to the entire Joystiq network for more Child's Play related giving this year
Real recipes inspired by WoW
Ever since Matthew tipped us off to the gem that is The Bronze Kettle, I've been reading everything in this husband-and-wife team blog, quite interested to see what they think and what they do. At first, when I read through their posts and saw some recipes, I thought to myself "Okay so... this is a WoW, and cooking blog? That's interesting..."Now, maybe I'm oblivious, but it wasn't till today, when they published a Dragonbreath Chili recipe that I realized they were cooking up a storm based on the recipes we find in the game itself! So far they've got the Chili I used to have a lot of fun with when I was level 40 or so, as well as Soft Banana Bread, Mudder's Milk, and Blessed Sunfruit Juice! I can't help but wonder if they'll ever pull off some of the more... "original" WoW recipe ideas (such as Gooey Spider Cake -- yuck!).Now, I can cook up my quick vegetarian meals, but when I see things like "Cook over medium heat for 1 hour" I get scared away, even though I rationally realize it shouldn't really be all that intimidating. That makes me all the more impressed when I see this couple finesse these recipes right out of the game and into real life! It fits right alongside cakes and dolls, as well as machinima and all other forms of WoW-inspired art! Who among you has the skills to try out these recipes and tell us how they taste?Update: Shelbi from the Bronze Kettle tells us that she was inspired by WoW Ladies making their very own Westfall Stew (which we've actually covered before)! I'm glad the Bronze Kettle is continuing such a neat idea.
