Better Call Fallout New Vegas

Watching Better Call Saul s5e8 “Bagman” last night, I was reminded of that time in Fallout New Vegas when I crawled back to Novac, across the Mojave Wasteland, with 37 gold bars from the Sierra Madre casino in the Dead Money DLC. This is exactly what it felt like.

~ J.L. Hilton

Connect, support, comment or contact the author here 

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Comments Off on Better Call Fallout New Vegas

STRAY Cat Lover Giveaway!

When I finish STRAY later this week I’ll be giving away some cat toys, earrings, buttons like the ones in the game & a $10 donation to the winner’s favorite cat charity!

Watch the video for prizes, rules and information. To enter, comment on any of my STRAY videos and just tell me you want to enter.

See all of my STRAY videos on YouTube

Winner will be drawn and notified after I finish the game.

~ J.L. Hilton

Connect, support, comment or contact the author here 

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on STRAY Cat Lover Giveaway!

Try-It Tuesday: MONSTER PROM

Today’s Try-It Tuesday game is MONSTER PROM, a really weird and wildly inappropriate 2018 PC dating simulator about partying with dudebro werewolves, thespian vampires, well-endowed poltergeists, soul eating demons, snobby gorgons and more.

MONSTER PROM was developed by Beautiful Glitch, based in Barcelona, Spain. I played alone but it’s possible to play with up to four people.

Don’t let the “prom” in the name fool you – this is not an innocent game about innocent teenagers.

I didn’t expect to like it but had a good time and would actually like to play it again.

Rated “M” for mature audiences, due to drug references, sexual themes and strong language.

~ J.L. Hilton

Connect, support, comment or contact the author here 

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Try-It Tuesday: MONSTER PROM

Try-It Tuesday POTION CRAFT

I played the free Steam demo of POTION CRAFT: ALCHEMIST SIMULATOR and its Feast of Winter Cone update in 2021, and I loved it.

Now, I’m starting over with a new playthrough of the recent 1.0 release, which adds a bunch of quests, characters, potion requests, haggling mechanics and more.

POTION CRAFT is a singleplayer game developed by niceplay games and published by tinyBuild. Development is ongoing, with updates planned for the future.

It’s available on PC and Xbox, with releases on PlayStation and Nintendo Switch planned for sometime in Spring 2023.

The game appears to be rated E 10+ for “everyone age 10 and up” but parents should know that there are references to sexual activity, including libido potions and mention of a brothel, as well as refererences to drinking and violence. Some characters and potion requests are downright evil, asking for help to poison someone or burn down a neighbor’s house, for example.

More info at PotionCraft.com

~ J.L. Hilton

Connect, support, comment or contact the author here 

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | Comments Off on Try-It Tuesday POTION CRAFT

Fallout Advent Calender Countdown

I am counting down to Christmas with the Official Vault Dweller’s Advent Calendar from Bethesda. Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, eBay and other retailers.

The Minutemen flag that appears in the video is a gift from Jesike Biking, and the brass Vault Boy ornament is a handmade gift from Steven Hughes.

The vault suit stocking was handmade by sewtodayvintage on Etsy and the Nuka World tickets are from HandmadeFallout on Etsy.

I made the Day Tripper, Nuka Quantum, Dandy Boy Apples, mutfruit, Sunset Sarsaparilla, and New Vegas snow globes.

Other items seen in the video are official Bethesda merchandise.

Music: “12 Days of Christmas” by Jingle Punks

~ J.L. Hilton

Connect, support, comment or contact the author here 

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Fallout Advent Calender Countdown

Happy Autumn Equinox

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Happy Autumn Equinox

2000 subscriber celebration giveaway

My YouTube channel recently reached the 2,000 subscriber milestone, and I want to thank each and every one of you who joined me on my adventures, liked, subscribed, and cheered me along the way. Your support makes this channel possible. Thank you!

Extra special shout out to my Patreon, Twitch and YouTube contributors: BJ, Celtic Granny, IceStella, Patrick, Ronin, Sulfur Furious and TaSwavo … and to my long-time Fallout Friday sponsor Jesike Biking.

I also want to thank Starfish_central gaming for being a friend to the channel since early days, and to Herman for convincing me to replay Fallout 4. Rose the Raider and her rocket-powered baseball bat Granny’s Kiss were a big part of the growth of my channel.

But most of all, I have to thank my husband, who talked me into live streaming. Without his support and encouragement I would not be here.

To celebrate this milestone and thank all of you, I’m giving away a big pile of real-life loot, inspired by the games I’ve played over the years, including jewelry and prop replicas I made myself!

There are Skyrim, Fallout, Outer Worlds, Stardew Valley, BioShock, Wytchwood, Calico and other prize bundles, as well as masks from Dishonored and If On a Winter’s Night Four Travelers. Check out the video to see it all!

If you can’t wait for the giveaway, similar items are also available for purchase on my website JLHjewelry.com or you can contact me through Patreon, Twitch or Twitter, to inquire about any goodies that catch your eye.

The giveaways are free to enter and open to anyone, not just patrons or subscribers. All you need to do is comment on my corresponding YouTube videos.

For example, if you’d like to win the Skyrim goodies, leave a comment on any one of my Skyrim videos.

Or to try for the Fallout prize package, leave a comment on any Fallout 3, Fallout 4, or Fallout Shelter video.

For the Wytchwood witch’s kit, comment on my Wytchwood videos. You get the idea.

Just make sure to mention the 2022 Celebration. You can say something like “I’d love to win the cat mask in your 2022 sub celebration” or “please enter me in the giveaway for the teacup” so I know you’d like to participate and aren’t just leaving a random friendly comment.

And YES you can absolutely try for more than one prize. But limit one comment per video, please – if you want to increase your chances of winning, comment on more than one video. Most of these games have several, and some have 100s, of videos on my channel.

Unfortunately, due to high shipping costs, postal restrictions, the pandemic, and other worldwide shipping issues, physical items can only be mailed to addresses within the US.

HOWEVER … I will do one special giveaway open only to my viewers who live outside the United States. Leave a comment on ANY video for ANY game I’ve played in the past year, and you will be entered in a drawing for a chance to win a copy of that game on Steam! (Some restrictions may apply. Not all games are available in all countries.)

Make sure to mention that you are an international viewer in your comment. For example, you can say something like, “Congrats from Germany on reaching 2000 subs!” or “Please enter me to win Calico on Steam in the international giveaway.”

OFFICIAL RULES & CONDITIONS

  • 1. Must be 18 to participate. If you enter the giveaway, you are claiming to be 18 or older. Anyone found to be underage will be disqualified.
  • 2. You must provide a US mailing address in order to receive physical gifts.
  • 3. The Steam digital game giveaway is only open to viewers outside the United States. Only one Steam game will be given away, chosen at random from all 2022-sub celebration comments left by viewers located outside the US.
  • 4. Giveaways will occur after I reach 2022 subscribers but no sooner than one week after I post this video. That means if I reach 2022 subs tomorrow, you will still have six days more to participate.
  • 5. Recipients will be chosen from comments that clearly mention the 2022 celebration and are made during the celebration.
  • 6. One comment per person per video. If you want to increase your chances of winning a particular prize, comment on other videos of the same game.
  • 7. Fake accounts, duplicate accounts, bots, or any other artificial means of increasing subscriber count or giveaway entries will result in disqualification.
  • 8. I will contact winners by replying to their YouTube comments and posting a video announcement. US recipients will need to provide a valid US mailing address via email or DM me via Twitter, Twitch or Patreon. The international recipient will need to make arrangements with me on Steam.
  • 9. If a recipient does not respond within 72 hours (3 days), cannot provide a shipping address, or for any other reason is unable to accept the prize, a new recipient will be selected and contacted as described above.
  • 10. Participants understand that I am not responsible for shipping delays, internet problems or other issues that are beyond my control.
  • 11. Participants grant permission to use their YouTube names in my announcement video and on social media, if they win.
  • 12. All participants must comply with the YouTube Terms of Service and Community Guidelines.
  • 13. I reserve the right to disqualify anyone who cheats, spams or in any way acts like a jerkface. I also reserve the right to define “jerkface” behavior.
  • 14. Void where prohibited by law.
  • 15. YouTube does not sponsor nor endorse this celebration and is released from all liability related to the giveaway.

So raise a glass, steal a sweetroll, and would you kindly join me in celebrating over 2,000 subscribers in 2022!

~ J.L. Hilton aka “Jewelsmith”

Posted in Freebies, News, Video games | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on 2000 subscriber celebration giveaway

FALLOUT 4 crossword puzzle

While livestreaming on Twitch yesterday, IceStella joked about a Fallout version of the popular game Wordle. I can’t program a game like that but I love word games so I created this free FALLOUT 4 crossword puzzle to download and print.

Download the puzzle pdf
Download the solution pdf

See full-size puzzle jpg
See solution jpg

If you enjoy this, let me know! If there’s interest, I could make some based on Fallout 3, New Vegas, Skyrim or other video games.

~ J.L. Hilton

Connect, support, comment or contact the author here 

Posted in Freebies, Science Fiction, Video games | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on FALLOUT 4 crossword puzzle

Video game inspired prop replicas

I recently made the Nuka-Cola bottle, Buffout and Wasteland Survival Guide props in the above picture, and gave them away as prizes for the FALLOUT SCAVENGER HUNT 2021.

I’ve also made bottles of Daytripper (based on the item in Fallout 4) and Nuka-Cola Quantum (based on the version in Fallout 3). I know Quantum is supposed to be blue but it always looks lavender to me when I’m playing Fallout 3 on my laptop.

Or there’s the glowing cannister of nuclear material I made based on the junk item in Fallout 4, shown here on top of my plasma rifle (not handmade, it’s official Bethesda merch) and next to its in-game version.

I love making replicas of items from video games, TV and movies. Sometimes, this takes the form of jewelry, props or even food, like these Minecraft cakes I made for my husband’s birthday about ten years ago.

That’s a very nice birthday you have there…

Or sometimes it’s not crafting so much as finding objects and putting them together, such as this Stone of Barenziah from Skyrim, made with a brass cricket cage, gray silk and Swarovski crystal.

Or there’s the mini Honningbrew meadery bottle necklace …

A larger, LED lighted version of the Honningbrew bottle…

And the bowl of moon sugar I keep beside a bronze statue of Aphrodite that looks very similar to a Dibella statue from Skyrim. I commissioned the handmade ceramic bowl on Etsy to look like the alchemy ingredient in the game and then filled it with rock candy.

Finding bath salts became a running joke when I played through the Dishonored series, so I purchased a lovely pyramid-shaped Italian crystal bottle and filled it with the same color bath salts as those found in the games.

I also painted my own prismatic shards from STARDEW VALLEY using rocks and nail polish.

You can watch me play all of these games and more on my YouTube channel at YouTube.com/jewelsmith or read my video game articles and stories at JLHilton.com/videogames.

~ J.L. Hilton

Connect, support, comment or contact the author here 

Posted in Science Fiction, Video games | Comments Off on Video game inspired prop replicas

Try-It Tuesday: APICO free Steam demo

APICO is a casual-sim game about collecting, breeding and maintaining bees. It features farm building, crafting and resource gathering, similar to Terraria or Stardew Valley, but there are no enemies to fight and even the bees won’t sting you!

Beekeeping is one of my favorite things in Stardew Valley, and APICO takes that to new levels. Build different types of hives. Gather honey, wax and other bee products. Plant flowers that give the bees different boosts. Crossbreed bees for new species. Build and paint structures. Collect and read magazines. Rehabilitate dwindling bee populations.

Interactions with other island inhabitants are limited in the free demo, but I suspect the full game will include more characters and more story development, and possibly a way to build boats and leave the island to visit other locations.

A release date for the full game is TBA other than sometime in 2022.

APICO is being developed by TNgineers, a team of two brothers who were inspired by their love of old Minecraft mods, casual, and crafting games. The publisher is Whitethorn Games, who also published TeacupCalico, and my favorite of 2021 Wytchwood.

TNgineers hopes to promote bee conservation and will be donating a portion of APICO sales towards national and international beekeeping charities, according to their website.

Rated “E” for everyone.

For more about APICO see Whitethorngames.com/apico and Apico.buzz.

UPDATE: The full game is going to be released on May 20, 2022. 

I was inspired by APICO to make some bee-themed earrings and a necklace, which I’m planning to give away during my 2022-sub celebration on YouTube.

~ J.L. Hilton

Connect, support, comment or contact the author here 

Posted in Video games | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Try-It Tuesday: APICO free Steam demo