Once Upon A Time #SNOWING Necklace! {review}

 

Ugh, it's been a while since I last posted...life just hasn't really permitted me lately to post on this blog, this year. I recently began classes with the Ocala Piano Conservatory, and I'm also trying hard to finish my studies with ICR so I can get started with college stuff. Ayyyyy, and those are just two things.

 

Anyhoo, it's also been a while since I did a review here on Apassionata.

 

So guess what we have today!? Something really cool and unique from Love Infinitely Gifts!

 

It's an OUAT Snowing Shipper necklace! In case you don't know what "Snowing" refers to, well....actuallyyyy, you probably won't care about this post at all in general, if you're not an OUAT fan. Haha. But anyways, Snowing refers to the 'ship name' of Snow White/Mary Margaret and Prince Charming/David.

^_^ I love deeez peoplessss so much. They are positively adorable! And contrary to the 'traditional fairy tale romance', their story isn't all just smooth-sailing and fluff. What they've been through to be with eachother....gahhhh.  <3

Some of the other OUAT couples I don't care for, *coughCaptainSwancough* but these two? I shipped them so hard from the moment they both got on screen. And what's even cooler is that the actors actually got married in real life. (I hope they stay together!)

 

I have mixed feelings toward the screenwriters of Once Upon A Time. On one hand I'm kinda aggravated they decided to include Frozen in this next season. I'm also mad how they murdered most of my favorite characters (is that anything new, though?) and ended up pairing Emma with Hook.  But one thing they got right was Snowing. So I guess I can forgive them.

 

Anywayyys so now that's out of the way, let's get to the review shall we?

 

I was so excited to see a whole collection of OUAT-themed jewelry on this Etsy shop. And then I saw this piece....

 

 

It's just so gorgeous! I love everything about it. It's constructed well, easy and lightweight to wear, and all around perfect, really.

 

 

As the Etsy description says, it truly is a beautiful piece in person. The sword and snowflake really pop out at you.

 

 

Ever since I got in in the mail I've been wearing it everywhere, with everything. New favorite fashion statement!

 

I have no complaints here. Nada. Nothin'. Zip.  

You should go check out the OUAT Inspired Pieces collection for yourself. End of story. 

 

I don't agree with some of the stuff from this shop, but I really like the OUAT collection.  And if you're into this show then I know you will too. So what are you waiting for?! Go give it a peek already!

 

 

Note: I was provided this item in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed remain mine and mine alone.

 

In Which She Writes Relationship Advice...

 

Relationship advice?

 

I feel kinda silly on one hand. I mean, it's not like I've had years of experience knowing what exactly to do with the opposite gender. I'm a single girl who just turned eighteen a few months ago. What could I possibly know about the topic, a naïve thing like me?

 

Guess what. I'm not writing relationship advice. I try to dabble more in just plain ol' common sense, and more importantly align everything with Scripture. If you click HERE you'll found out what this whole thing is even about.

 

 I wrote a post for APOC entitled "The Foolproof Guide on How to Treat Guys" 1. It took several hours out of my sleep last night, and 2., I think it's safe to say it has some valid points, so I wanted to share it with y'all on here. Notice that this is a 'girls only' kind of post, so, sorry you male readers - go find something else to do.

 

In other news, I've been working up a storm on Radicals and last Friday held the second audition for the project. God provided somebody to play Griffin and Sam for the promotional material! (Remember, you can follow the progress of it all on the production blog here.) Anyway, so then yesterday I started doing rough sketches of wardrobe concepts for each character. An hour or two on Pinterest may or may not have helped inspire some of the looks...hehe. I love Pinterest for costume design ideas! Even though it did suck a little more time away than I anticipated - looking up slightly-futuristic clothing turned out to be somewhat addicting. Here are my favorites of what I came up with for the main characters.

 

 

 

 

 

Hope you're having a blessed week!

Eitanya Adventurer Hoodie Scarf {review}

 

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(Guys, I keep hearing all this stuff about Google Friend Connect going down, and whether it's true or not, I thought it'd be good to be prepared so please click the link above to follow Apassionata on Bloglovin'! Thanks!)

 

Ah, so this is a product I received a while back, but nonetheless it proved to be a fun piece for review.

 Eitanya sent me this adventurer hoodie scarf in a cool shade of olive green. (They have multiple colors to pick from, and I opted for this one because, well, green is one of my favorite colors...plus it makes me think of elves and woodland things.)

 

 

These two pictures below doesn't really capture the green-ness of it, but at least you can get an idea of the size/length/design of it laying flat.

 

 

 

 

The scarf/hoodie is made of a very soft, comfy material. I can't wait to wear it during the winter months when I'm sure it will prove to be quite warm.

 

The design is really unique, it being a hoodie combined with a scarf. I like it because it looks really fantasy-esque as I said before...it almost could go for the top part of a cloak/cape.

 

 

 

 

This photoshoot was quite fun, I'll admit.

 

 

(Sorry, I couldn't resist a goofy one.)

 

 

Overall, this is a fun winter accessory. As with some other things I reviewed before, I'm looking forward to trying this during a season when I can wear it practically. Cause let me tell you, it can get up in the 100's here in the Sunshine State. Combine that with 100% humidity, and, well...you get the idea.

 

So. The design of this is really original, and the fabric soft and cozy, therefore making it extremely wearable. I love the color, and overall, the piece is definitely high quality. Win-win situation all around!

 

Get your own adventurer hoodie scarf here, and while you're at it why not check out the entire shop?

There are a bunch of other hoodie scarf styles, and also some cool gauntlets, hats and gloves.

A fun store for sure!

 

Have a blessed Saturday!

Note: I was provided this item from Eitanya in exchange for my honest review. All opinions remain mine and mine alone.

TonyaRingDesigns Elven Armwarmers! {review}

 

 

So, you guys might remember from theses costuming photos I did a post about back in May. Well, I never explained where the lovely green Elven arm warmers which were included as part of my garb came from!

 

To answer that question finally? They were sent to me from TonyaRingDesigns.

 

These arm warmers were hand stitched. I really love the deep forest green color, and the white scrollwork stitching - it truly carries an Elvish look!

 

 

I wore these to the medieval party back in May, as obvious in the photos above. As I said in that post, I perspired a good deal and was running around, dancing and generally staying pretty active. Therefore, the durability of these gloves got tested pretty thoroughly.

 

End result? They're solid! A little warm to wear in the end of May/early June, but I didn't mind that all too much. Especially since they matched perfectly with my outfit, and I got numerous compliments on them!

 

They're a little wrinkled here because this was after a day's use, and trip to the washing machine.

 

I absolutely love how the end hems come to a triangular point - this is another feature which makes them look quite fantasy-period.

(Sorry these photos aren't prime quality. I was sort of encumbered with horrible lighting and lack of choices for background scenery today.)

 

I see no visible flaws with this gorgeous pair of arm warmers. Actually, I see no flaws period! Only a beautiful, unique accessory that has obviously been intricately crafted with excellence. 

 

Overall, I like them a lot and believe they are a splendid addition to my costume wardrobe. They're nice because, as evident in the pictures at the top of the post, you can wear them to appear like fake sleeves of an undershirt or other garment. So you can throw in a classy, Elvish layered look, without wearing a completely separate top underneath!

 

Of course, you could also wear them totally on their own to look like fabric gauntlets, or fingerless gloves, if you desired. 

 

To conclude, why not check out TonyaRingDesigns for yourself? You'll find a lovely selection of other handmade arm warmers, gloves and the like. This shop offers nothing less that the highest quality so you'll surely not be disappointed!

 

Happy Friday!

 

Note: I was provided this item from TonyaRingDesigns in exchange for my honest review. All opinions remain mine and mine alone.

Don Homemade Medieval Garb & Take Way Too Many Photos {photoshoot + review}

 

Greetings, lovely followers!

 

Today I have the pleasure of introducing you to an amazing seamstress who sent me a handmade medieval corset to review.

Her name is Adrienne Seese, and she runs the costuming site Fantasia Costuming as well as the Etsy shop SewMoochieMarie, where I first found her lovely clothing items.

 

I was so thrilled when she agreed to making me a custom renaissance corset - is that just awesome or what??

 

So naturally when I got it in the mail I couldn't wait to try it on an see what it looked like. Originally I was thinking of a cream/tan color scheme, as the corset on the Etsy listing above is shown in, but Adrienne told me that fabric had been discontinued, and she offered to do the corset in a blue fabric scheme.

As you can see...it is absolutely gorgeous! I just love it!

 

 

 

 

One of the many cool things about this corset - it's reversible!

 

Now, onto the far-too-many photos in the photo shoot...but before I go any further, you need some context on the day OF the photo shoot!

 

First of all, my wonderful friends Maygan and Kay helped me sew the dress I'm wearing in these pictures. I am not a machine-sewer, but they were nice enough to let me sew two hems on the dress. *feeling accomplished*  Haha. So yeah, they did all the serious sewing. Needless to say, I'm very thankful for these sweet sisters!

 

 

They and their mom had been planning a medieval party for the end of May, for some time. We were all gonna dress up in medieval garb, and do a bunch of fun activities like archery, knife throwing, contra dancing, bonfires, yeah, all that jazz. And we'd been looking forward to it a ton.

 

When I got Adrienne's corset, I was even more thrilled, because I realized I could add it to my 'Elvish sword-maiden' outfit. And I've never had such an awesome, coordinated medieval ensemble before. Ever. 

 

It was super muggy when I got these pictures - which figures, doesn't it? I had just gotten into the outfit because we were about to head over to the party at a farm down the road; and I wanted to get pictures for this blog post about the corset. And hey - medieval photoshoots are always fun whether you have a specific reason for them or not. *grins*

 

I think it's super cool that the corset was made specifically to my measurements. I'm not used to wearing corsets (not since I wore my scoliosis brace, anyways!) so at first it was a little uncomfortable. After some wear, I soon forgot this 'discomfort', and at the party, I pretty much forgot about it.

 

So I'm always attempting to do these epic-looking motion shots but they never turn out....eh...quite like I hope.

 

Yeah, that's original lighting. And, I was just so in love with the long sleeves that I used this pose practically every chance I could. (you'll see, hehe)

 

Wingssssss!

 

Yelling at my elven friends in the trees because they couldn't do anything about the oppressive  humidity...Just kidding.

 

 

Now, some photographs from the actual party. I'll spare you most of them, since I've already flooded you poor people with so many pictures as is. 

 

 

Haha, for some reason this reminded me of the private actor trailers they have in Hollywood. Really it was just being used as a place to store extra costuming accessories, shoes, bags etc.

 

Kay

 

Moi again.

 

Prosthetic elf ears! (And as you can tell, there was a nice breeze which came in - and pleasantly, caused the humidity to lift. Yayy.)

 

And now, basically a bunch of pictures Maygan and I got of eachother after we ran around like insane people out in the field at twilight.

 

 

Maygan, assembling her kite.

 

 

 

 

May I repeat? I adore those sleeves.

 

I kinda wish we'd gotten the group photo earlier on in the evening, but oh well. Thanks to Miss Melanie for these two pictures.

 

It was a really fun night. We didn't get to do some things on the 'schedule' but with what we did get to do that didn't really matter. I had a blast, and am sure the memories will not be soon forgotten.

 

Back to the corset though. (Gosh the rambling was baaaaad today wasn't it?) I am not sugarcoating it or flattering needlessly when I say that I just love the piece. It's a charming color, and the way it laces up is really neat and Elvish-looking.

 

It takes a moment to lace up in the front when you put it on, but I imagine that any lace-up corset would be like this, so that's no big deal.

 

Overall, I can't list any true negatives about this bodice. From a full night of literally running, sword fighting and dancing in it, I only had to re-lace it a few times and beyond that it was totally fine! (The re-lacing had to be done after the running-around-ridiculously-in-the-field episode...and when I say running, I meant full fledged RUNNING, not jogging.)

I would most definitely recommend Adrienne's shops. Her intricate craftsmanship is very evident, and the corset is unique, wearable and very much one that catches the eye. I got many compliments at the party and several inquiries on where I got such a piece.

 

So, please check out Fantasia Costuming ! The pricing is reasonable, the quality amazing, and the service friendly and helpful. They offer custom orders, as well as buy-now items. I give them a double thumbs up!

  

Once again, sorry for this super long post. I was writing it at 3:00 in the morning, trying to get it done before I went to bed...which will probably explain any weirdness that ends up here.

And this week, actually tomorrow, begins our weeklong vacation at ze beach. Whoop whoop!

Therefore you won't be seeing any blog posts from me till' we get back.

 

 

What did you think of the corset? Do you like to sew your own costuming pieces?

 

Blessings,

Note: I was provided this product from SewMoochieMarie/Fantasia Costuming in exchange for my honest opinion/review.