Bathe Awhile, Awash in Slumber

Since I've been posting more often now and making an effort to keep things interesting, I'm now always on the lookout for new places to take photos. It makes me cringe a bit to think that I used to take all my photos against the green wall in my room when I could've been utilizing all the picturesque locations on our property! It's been a bit of a game, walking places and deciding if I can make something into a magical world in the photos. There are so many opportunities all around, but I have to stay in the right mindset to remember to take advantage of them.



This is perhaps a less-than-magical place to pose: the humble gravel road. But I find that even dirt roads can be transformed with the fresh greenery of summer. Ha, summer. It was frustratingly cold today, so I had to dress appropriately to keep away the shivers. (I must admit, I'd been missing the comfort of tights a bit!)





I was going for a bit of whimsy today. Granny cardi, long necklace, flats... I think those are good ingredients for such a look. (I have a habit of not finishing my own dresses with hooks & eyes... hence the gap at the top of the zipper in the photo below.)





cardigan / thrifted | necklace / gift | dress / handmade | belt / traded | tights / kohl's | shoes/ target



The strawberries are ripening up! They're so tiny it's hardly worth it to pick them for anything other than eating immediately, unless you have incredible determination. (I don't.)





Can you believe I spent about 20 minutes trying to get this shot? Jumping photos are exceedingly hard to capture with a self timer, if you've never tried. I finally got a few, and... they're out of focus. So. Typical. Well, I'm posting it regardless because I put so much effort into it!

Dessert, Anyone?

We had some family over for dinner last night, so my mom & I got busy and whipped up some desserts. Raspberry-lime sorbet (wonderfully palette cleansing!), chocolate ganache/banana/nilla parfaits, and lime custard pie. All tiny, all adorable, and all absolutely delicious.

The Music Can Free Her Whenever It Starts

This is what I'm wearing today... and as a bonus, I'm sitting on what I've been working on! My mom and I worked last week to give the bedroom in one of our cabins a bit of a facelift. This involved sanding the old finish off the floor, re-varnishing, and repainting the walls from an ugly yellow-tan color to white.

Trust me when I say it looks tons better.

It's actually pretty fun to do work like this. For one, it's not as never-ending as cleaning tends to be, and for another, the results are incredibly rewarding! It's the best, being able to stand back and say, "We did that!" proudly. That's one thing I did get out of my Stage Craft class last semester: the gratification of building things that contributed to an incredible production.



It's pretty rare to have a nice white wall and a clean wood floor in a location that has nice lighting for photos, so I quickly took advantage of it before the furniture got moved back in. I wish I could have this spot all the time!

Here's the view out the window:





blouse / thrifted | dress / handmade | shoes / modcloth



I took a leaf out of my friend Veronika's book for the above shot. (Click on her name & visit her site! She's such a dear & she's terribly talented.) I can't say I'm totally sold on this outfit... I can't decide whether it makes me feel like a schoolgirl or not. However, this has got to be my favorite color combination pretty much ever. (Even if I'm wearing these shoes to death.)

Alright, I've been on a period-romance-film kick recently, having watched Bright Star and The Young Victoria in the space of a week. (I plan to re-watch Jane Eyre whilst sewing tomorrow.) However, I'm kind of running out of ones to put on my Netflix queue, having exhausted most of my options in the last few years. So, I have two questions: do you have any period film recommendations? (I enjoy BBC miniseries, films based on classic novels, and any costume dramas. Prefer romances because I'm girly like that.) &: What's your movie obsession as of late? Do you do it by genre or actor or not themed at all? (I get stuck in genres and themes, as well as actors: travel films, indie comedies, Zooey Deschanel films, & romantic comedy marathons, haha.)

Tutorial: Heart Cut-Out

I've been neglectful this week, I apologize! But as I mentioned on Thursday, I have some fun stuff coming.



Ah, a tutorial! On something you perhaps didn't care to learn anyway? Well, here it is. It is much less daunting to make a tutorial for part of something, or a technique, than it is to make one for an entire garment. So I went ahead and filmed this. There are pattern recommendations in the description bar below the video. I haven't actually looked at these in the store, so I don't know if they have facings or a lining, but they looked pretty decent. Let me know if you have a pattern in mind that would work for this, & I'll add it to the description!

So that's that! If you have questions, I'd be happy to answer them.

After The Boys Of Summer Have Gone

I'm sorry for skipping two days! I only meant to take one day off, but when I went to post yesterday night, the internet was down, so I went to bed instead. But I'm back, darlings, and hopefully will make up for it in the next week... I have a couple surprises plotted! I can't tell you yet, though.



Today was one of those days where I wasn't dressed pretty most of the time. I spent most of the afternoon painting a room in one of our cabins. The walls are log, so it takes foreverrrr. I can't complain about having work, though; really, I'm quite thankful. And working for my mom is definitely not the worst thing ever! I get to listen to my music, she gives me breaks, & is pretty lovely company! Still, I'll be glad when this particular job is over and we can stand back & admire our work.





owl necklace / adriannemae | top / handmade | skirt / thrifted | shoes / modcloth



There was weird light this evening. It'd been a very hazy day with wildfire smoke blowing in (there's currently a fire in Manitoba). Smelling the smoke always makes me a little uneasy, but I'm thankful right now that we've had recent rain and things aren't as dry as they were a couple months ago, despite low lake levels. We've had our share of forest fires in years past, and the destruction is devastating. (You can kind of see in my header... the land off in the distance? There's a reason the shore across the lake never looks particularly lush when I take photos by the water.) Anyway, I always think of the more worrisome times in my life when I smell wildfire smoke, and my thoughts are with anyone misplaced by fires right now in Manitoba.

I, I Love the Colorful Clothes She Wears...

...and the way the sunlight plays upon her hair...



So, I actually wear this outfit quite a bit. It's just a perfect blend of cute and casual, is wonderfully summery (I can't get enough of yellow), and it's super comfortable. I love this shirt. There was a "fill a bag for a dollar" sale at Salvation Army when I was still away at school, and I got there in the last fifteen minutes, having barely heard about it in time. I basically threw anything that kind of might look okay into my bag (including a couple things that were most definitely donated back later). I'm so pleased I grabbed this! (Haha. I'm gushing about a t-shirt.)



I braved ticks and bees to hang out in the tall grass in front of "Gramps," the antique dump truck that has been in my family for several generations. This area actually used to be a pasture: once upon a time, we owned donkeys, and this lovely hill was a part of their old stomping grounds. (The donkeys have since gone to live with a friend of ours in Montana.)



Guys, I am having so much fun taking photos this summer! My dad's camera is magical. I don't know how to use it as well as he does but it's sure been an adventure figuring it out! I spent about twenty minutes sweating in the sun, trying to figure out how to turn off the autofocus but still retain the rest of the automatic settings, but did not succeed. (Maybe reading the manual will help. Haha.) So I'm slightly out of focus in some of these, but it's not too bad.



Ah, lying on a blanket in the sun reading a decadent cupcake recipe book. Sunday afternoons in the summertime are pretty wonderful. (Sorry my shoes aren't very visible in any of these shots! They're the yellow ones I always wear.)

earrings / handmade | top / thrifted | skirt / handmade | shoes / modcloth

Heart Cut-Out Dress

This has been such a productive week. I finished four dresses, worked out a new pattern, filmed a tutorial, and put in hours here at the resort. I'm feeling a little pressure to get things done since I realized I've been home for over a month--only 2 1/2 months left of summer! Besides, it's harder to get as many things done once friends start arriving. So I'm sticking with my goal of getting a 20 piece collection done this summer ("collection" is used loosely, because I don't necessarily expect the pieces to fit cohesively). Officially, out of dresses for the collection, I have 2 finished. So. 2 down, 18 to go. Once I get more fabric, it'll be easier to do.

Oh, hey! You're probably wondering why I'm chattering so much and not showing you photos! Well, okay. Since you asked nicely.





I was super inspired by the heart cutout dress in my last Inspiration Wednesday post, and I even hinted to making one, but I didn't know if I'd actually be able to pull it of, having never done the technique before. On my second try, after some brainstorming with my mom, I cracked the code (interfacing, lining, topstitching, and then facings on the neckline). So this is my third go at it, and I think I'm addicted. It's incredibly fun, believe it or not, watching it come together. I kind of want to try a star cutout next.







I made my own pattern, using the same style as I had on my Audrey Hepburn-inspired dress (with a few fit-minded alterations), copying a vintage sleeve, a built-in rumpled belt, and box pleats on the skirt (which I am obsessed with!). It fits me perfectly, and it's just... perfect! I am so in love with how it turned out, I want to wear it everywhere!







In summary: This is my ideal summer dress. I can't wait to wear it all over the place.

Sneak Peak: Polkadots & Cutout

I have been a busy little bee and it feels SO good! Stay tuned for some new-dress goodness, coming this way soon!

Whitney Sews - Bubble Skirt Tutorial

The darling Whitney from Whitney Sews made the loveliest skirt inspired by my Jersey & Lace bubble dress--and she's generous enough to show you how, too!



All of her videos and well put together, with adorable and clever projects. I highly recommend you check them out! She's a super sweet gal & we've been poking around each other's blogs for years now. Follow, subscribe, rate, and comment!

Whitney Sews Blog
Whitney Sews Youtube Channel
Generation Gap Shop

P.S. I haven't actually been able to watch it yet; we're low on internet bandwidth & so I can't load any videos. But I'm 100% positive it's superb because all her tutorials are stellar.

Friday Favorites: Esther-fromthesticks

I adore this girl so much. She's crazy talented, not only in sewing but in photography, absolutely stunning, and finds incredibly picturesque places for photo shoots.



She's got some skill, what did I say!



Her aesthetic, style, and photos are all perfect, in my opinion. Check her out & leave her some love!

Delightfully Feminine

This is a dress I made early last summer. I think I wore it three times throughout the course of the summer: not a good sign! The truth is, I just didn't like it. It was too low cut for my taste, the top edge of the bust flared out, and most annoyingly, it didn't fit. It was too tight (and not shaped properly) up top, and so I was uncomfortable wearing it.



Well. This had to change--it was taking up space! So today I pulled it out, reworked the bodice using the same sort of pattern I used on the Patchwork Dress (except, kind of fudged because I wasn't building in a bra, and I didn't have as much fabric as I wanted), and tried it on. It's so much better! It's more comfortable and I like how it looks so much better. The ruffled bust it had before may have been cute, but I hadn't done it right. This top isn't perfect either, but I don't really mind.



dress / reconstructed vintage | belt / handmade | shoes / modcloth

I borrowed this belt from the white dress I'd made because I'm tentatively planning to make a better one for that dress, with adjustable hooks and eyes. That would mean I can have this one... which isn't a bad thing at all, haha.



The storm was building as I went out to take these photos, and now it's absolutely pouring. The internet is in and out, so I'm stealing an "in" moment to post this. At least the electricity hasn't gone yet. My brother is currently across the lake visiting with friends, and he thankfully hasn't tried to cross in this weather, but he might be stuck for the night! At least he'd be warm and dry. As we were just sitting down to eat, there was this huge crack of thunder, so loud it made us all jump. The lightning most likely struck on our property somewhere--seriously right near by. I always get a little scared by lightning because I'm wimpy like that.




In other, more exciting news, I registered myself a domain name! It is officially addie-marie.com, although if you type in the old MateyCouture address it will redirect you here anyway. I figured, why not officially switch over everything? I also set up a new Etsy shop in anticipation of listing new items for the summer (which I know I've been talking about for ages), and switched my Twitter name over.

I'm not quite sure yet what I'll be doing with the garments that are in my MateyCouture shop. Would you get something if it was at a super-reduced price? Make me an offer if you're interested in something. (Seriously. Even if you think it's crazy low. I'll consider it.) At this point, I'd like to see it go to a happy customer and I don't plan on listing these in my new shop.

Alright, I'm off to do some non-electric things while it's thundering like this!

Inspiration Wednesday: Smile-worthy Photos

Here are some things from the tumblr-sphere that brightened up my week. Click on each photo for the source!







I so want this to be my life. Look at that sassy expression by woman on the left!





(I think a heart cut-out dress is in my future...)