Beaded garters and bridal sashes

They're here! 

My wedding garters and bridal sashes for To Be Adorned are out in the wild and I'm pleased as punch. Have you ever felt that warm glow of pride in your chest that makes your eyes shine?

It sparked up big time when I received these beautiful pictures that Bristol photographer Lesley Mayfield  shot for this collection. But maybe I should start at the beginning?

Alongside my editorial day job at Mollie Makes, my head and hands are busy with my beloved To Be Adorned side hustle. I dream up and create colourful, vintage-flavoured accessories, then pop them up in my Etsy shop and take to social media to spread the word. Or, I'm creating quirky custom orders, which is an utter joy.

I've been a little shy about sharing what's going on in the shop in this space, but it's what I spend most of my time making now and I want to share it with you! So, there'll be updates aplenty coming your way, as well as the usual knitty goodness and WIP natter.

The colourful sash belts and crochet garters were things I'd be creating for a little while (I'm all about adding colour wherever you can, especially for weddings), but I knew they needed to be photographed on a model to really show them off. Accessories are made to be worn, loved and danced in, right?

After connecting with lovely photographer Lesley online, we finally fixed a date for a photoshoot. Lucy stepped in as our model for the morning, I sourced a dreamy blush-coloured frock and packed up my crochet pretties and we set about making some magic (see some behind-the-scenes silliness here).

It was nerve-wracking yet totally exhilarating see the ideas I'd imagined actually coming together in reality! The pictures are even more beautiful than I could have hoped (I've shared heaps of them in this post – sorry not sorry) and I've been merrily adding them all to the Etsy store too.

The garters are available in six different colours so far (and I'm open to custom orders), crocheted in fine silk blend yarn, finished with tiny beads and satin or velvet ribbon – a little bit luxe, you might say! And the bridal sashes belts are limited edition as they're made with lace from a vintage wedding gown and I'm currently sourcing some more lace! You can check out the lot in the shop here and find me hanging out on Insta here.

What have you been working on lately? I'd love to hear about your magical 'project finally coming together' moments!

All images here by Lesley Mayfield Photography

learning to look

Photography isn't my thing. 

I mean, I LOVE Instagram with all my double-tapping heart, but light, lenses and fancy cameras? It's like a foreign language to me. So when I attended Kate of A Playful Day's blogging and photography sessions at A Yarn Story in Bath last month, it was pretty eye-opening stuff. 

I donned my most Instagrammable sock and shoe combo (naturally), met some lovely blogger ladies, learnt heaps and got all nostalgic about Bath (we don't live there anymore - sob!).

The day started off in a yarn store (as the best days do), where Kate lead us through a session on Telling Your Story Online. It was refreshing and challenging. The focus was really on inspiration and creating connection, rather than getting bogged down in the numbers side of things. I came away with a lot to think about. I'm still letting it all percolate and figuring out what I want to put in place or try. My view on blogging is a little different to some as I don't make money from this space and don't have a business tied to it. That doesn't mean I don't want this space to flourish, though. Food for thought. 

Later, we headed out on a photowalk. Yep. Armed with only our phones, it was an exercise in learning to look and getting the best of the light. When we headed out, the daylight was really fierce overhead and kinda yucky – and I totally wouldn't have known that before this session! Honestly, I had heard of golden hour (when IS it again?) and knew that natural light is best, but that was about it. 

We made our way to Owl in the Ivy, otherwise known as Bath's most Instagrammable shop, to snap away to our heart's content. I took all of these pics on my phone during the walk. While I'm not crazy about the quality of them and none of these things are my usual subject matter (I couldn't bring myself to photograph any succulents), it was good to give myself the freedom to just play with it.  

Things I learnt 

1. The phone on my camera takes pics that are fab for Instagram, but not a lot else! It doesn't have that all-important square view setting in the camera. BUT, having said that, it's not too bad. It's best for daytime, indoor images. I tend to use the iPad or digi camera for bigger blog pics anyway. 

2. Fantastic, thoughtful images are everywhere, you've just gotta capture them. This is best done by engaging your eyes and mind, looking out for lovely moments as you go about your business. A bit of lichen, flaky paint or fallen leaf, captured with your unique eye, can be beautiful. I mean, I'm still all about the yarn (let's be real), but if I see something that looks interesting, I will snap a pic now. 

3. Light. It can make or break a picture. Don't all the naturally lit, indoor pics here look much better than the glare-tastic outdoor ones? 

That moment when your sandals match the local flora.

Thanks to Kate for her wisdom and refreshing approach to blogging. I really did learn a lot. 

I'd love to know if you have any novice-appropriate photography tips, for phones or otherwise? Do snap away when you're out and about? How big a deal is light for you? 

Comparison and what comes next

I wonder what our blogs would look like if we stopped comparing ourselves to others? 

I read Truly Myrtle's amazingly honest post on comparison last week and it really got the old grey matter churning. I've been blogging slowly and quietly for quite a long time, but in the last couple of years, as blogs have become way more professional looking with stunning design and photography and what seems like exhaustive scheduling, I often feel like I'm lagging behind. Like a little sardine lost in a school of shiny dolphins. 

It's so reassuring to know that I'm not the only one who sometimes falls foul of the comparison blues, and there seems to be a lot of openness and discussion around this topic at the moment. In the last year, I've really come to value honesty in blogs and have tried to be more honest in my own sharing here. I reckon it's helpful for the reader and prompts more genuine interactions. Expertly styled photography and glorious designs are amazing and they can inspire and challenge us, but I think it's the truth in the writing that really counts and helps counteract those glossy, almost unattainable views that we sometimes see. And of course it's good to remember that every blog post and Instagram pic is just one aspect that an individual has carefully curated and chosen to share, not a whole, accurate picture.

On episode three of Blogtacular's podcast (it's pretty rad), there was a brilliant interview with Fran Stone of Fall for DIY. She made a 2016 prediction for a return to a slower form of blogging, favouring quality of content over click-baiting and frequency, with perhaps longer, more thoughtful posts, and seeking a faithful readership. Honestly, this was music to my ears. Blogging isn't my full time job (quite clearly!). I only started sharing in this wee space because I started reading other blogs and love to tell stories, see what other crafters are making and share my own creations. But I've often considered stopping altogether as the more blogs I was reading, the more inadequate I felt. So many frustrations arose -  unless you blog for a living, literally who is able to blog everyday? (If this is you, tell me all your secrets!). How much can I really improve my photography with a point and shoot and zero knowledge? How can I improve my blog design without any software, digital design skills or budget? Argh!

It's so silly, of course, because none of that matters at all. I was only having these frustrations because I was comparing myself to others, not because I was unhappy with what I was sharing. I only need to share what I want, when I want, how I want and be content with it. There are no rules. Maybe it's a case of dance like nobody's watching, blog like nobody's reading? I'd love to know your thoughts on this and how you combat the comparison blues.  

Authenticity and Instagram bingo

"An Instagram feed does not a person make."

Can I be really honest? All those 'Authentic'-type, hashtags make me bristle a little (@socalitybarbie, anyone?). Glorious as the images are, I can't relate to that charmed, Insta-friendly version of authentic that floods my feed. Nope, I don't live in a rustic setting with a conveniently photogenic doorstep/ drink coffee/ have assorted adorable offspring/ go on jaunts that involve bluebell-strewn woodlands/ own a Mac/ bake my own bread/ sew my own frocks/ instinctively know where the nearest patch of wild garlic is growing. That could be a pretty good game of Instagram bingo, right?

A feeling of inadequacy can creep in. When I see those kind of posts, on blogs and social media, I think, 'beautiful, but my life doesn't look like that. Is that okay?' And of course that's totally okay. I can only be me. You can only be you. I have my own unique perspective and so do you. And if your own feed is scoring high in Instagram bingo, great! That's your life and those are your treasures to share. If I have an issue with it, that's down to me. But, it's hard to go against the tide. I want my pictures to look pretty, just like everyone else does! I'll admit I wish I could score higher on Instagram bingo sometimes, and the things that I post can reflect that. This picture above, for instance – I spent time arranging the bits and bobs just so and then edited it and played with filters before posting it. But you wanna know what my kitchen actually looked like when I did it? This:

Yep, of course the things we post are curated. It would be weird if they weren't. 

Even I don't want to see this! 

I'm still feeling a lot of the feels I chatted about in my post about comparison, but lately I've been considering authenticity in particular. I read this great Wattlebird post and this on A Playful Day and started thinking why do I share the things I share? Is it for me or other people? How do I find a balance between truthful reality and what I'm comfortable with or proud of sharing?

Perhaps we've got to try to bury comparison once and for all and focus on finding joy and beauty in the small things that are particular to us, capturing what makes our own hearts sing. The chances are they'll look different to everyone else's and that's the best bit. Our little slices of the Internet are where we share our victories, joys, and find community. And how much we choose to share is entirely up to us.

Phew! Well, that was a long one! And I feel I might have come up with more questions than answers. I'd love to know your thoughts on any of this stuff. What motivates you to share? How honest are you online? Are there any Instagram bingo items I've missed?