I scored this gorgeous blazer for $4! Click here to view outfit details.

My absolute favorite part about the blazer is the triangular leather detail on either side of the pockets. A-dorable! Now I want to put leather triangles on all of my pockets.

So tell me, what have you found recently that you just can’t get enough of? Do share!

I found these Minnetonka moccasins for $2. They’d practically never been worn, based on the wearing of the soles. They’re super cute, but as my friend Amanda pointed out, the soles as they were would only last indoors. I’ve taken my shoes to a cobbler many times with great success, but I thought I would try adding a sole by myself.

I had some extra leather on hand from the bouncy swing I made years ago, so I thought it was worth a shot. Heck, if it doesn’t work out, I can always take them to a cobbler to get fixed. I wouldn’t be out much of anything, except scraps.

I took out my swedish tracing paper, glue & scissors and in less than 15 minutes gave my shoes new soles. I’ll report back once they’ve been worn a few times to tell you how they held up.

So tell me, have you ever taken your shoes to the cobbler before? I’ve taken in my slippery shoes & had the cobbler put treading on the soles. It’s so great for winterizing your boots!

M from The Girl Who Wore Everything was another fantastic client to work with. She she wanted her blog to look more professional & convey her love for fashion (and sparkles!). Her blog was a fairly blank slate to work with, she didn’t have any insane templates going on and she didn’t want anything insane, either.

I liked the glasses she was wearing in the header the presence of white space in her old design. So I incorporated those two with more fashion-iconic typefaces, glitter and a more grown-up color palette and voila!

For the fonts I used Baskerville semibold italic and Open Sans Condensed Light. For the glitter, I made my own using Pugly Pixel‘s & Scrapbook Bytes photoshop glitter tutorials. I made an animated gif of the bloglovin button so the glitter actually sparkles (FUN!). Check out The Girl Who Wore Everything to see the design in action.

 • DESIGN TIP #4: LEARN MORE, DESIGN LESS •

There are so many fantastic resources for expanding your design knowledge. My favorites are: Nicole’s Classes, Pugly Pixel, Lynda.com. There you can begin or expand on your knowledge of design-based programs like Illustrator & photoshop. All have been a fantastic resource for me as I have been trying to branch out of my very 2-dimensional design box. Go check them out.

I’m definitely speaking out of experience/mistake here, but as you do learn new tools for photo editing and design you don’t need to use all of the tools all at the same time. I remember as I was learning photoshop my freshman year of college, I applied 4-10 filters to my projects and quickly realized that many of the tools offered in these programs are spices, not staples. In illustrator, I typically stick to 2-3 tools. In photoshop, it’s about the same. This same principle applies to blogs as well. Keep it simple.

Do you have any favorite resources for expanding your design knowledge?

We made pendant necklaces, worked on projects, chatted about babies & husbands and ate delicious food.

I had a great time getting together with my friends. There was no schedule, no twitter and no instagram to distract us from the good time we shared. I love moments like that.

What fun projects have you made lately? I’d love to see!

(image by Uppercase Magazine)

I had a fantastic time socializing with friends and making new ones! The panels were all fantastic, but a big wake up call at the same time. To sum up my experience at Alt; here are a few things I learned, some good times that I had and the cool people I met.

• THINGS I LEARNED •

• Break out the good stuff (but not too much). Keep posts simple, unique & attention-grabbing.
• Include personal narrative & personality, but make and keep boundaries of what I’m willing to share.
• Be more aware of news (I should probably read drudge, but I never do) and current trends
• DON’T SIT ON IDEAS – I can always improve on them later
• Facebook is something I need to embrace, not avoid
• I need to figure out what I want to achieve from this blog (I’m a little aimless sometimes)
• I need to fix my about page
• Re-writing my media packet is a must
• I need to talk more with my brother (I don’t call him nearly enough & he’s a patent attorney)

While attending the various panels, I started a little to do list of the things I should change & improve on my blog & for you, my dear readers. The list is 3 miles long now. After the first day of sessions I felt completely broken: My blog sucks. My life is a mess. I’m not stylish enough. I’m not creative enough. I don’t have enough time to do any of this.

The second day was a whole new world. Each session was more inspiring than the last. That second day helped me build more confidence that I can do this, and many bloggers that I look up to are also in the same I’m-not-good-enough boat.

• GOOD TIMES I HAD •

Wednesday night I enjoyed some fantastic sushi with Pinhole Press. I had great conversations with Jensie & Melanie who I sat next to. It was a great & personal way to get the Alt Summit festivities started. Wednesday night I partied with fellow teachers and met designer pal, Angie, for the first time ever. I got to meet Natalie, Timothy and joke around with the reps of Mail Chimp. They gave out hand crocheted monkey hats at the social & you better believe I grabbed a handful & plan on using them for Felix’s 1st birthday. I do believe we will be going monkey-themed this year.

(image by Justin Hackworth)

Thursday night was the Winter Whites party. Since I taught a panel in the morning I was able to get my hair professionally done by She Lets Her Hair Down (Josphen was too adorable), so it didn’t take much to get all dolled up for the party.

I wore an off-white top (courtesy of ModBod, LOVE it!), necklace from H&M, earrings from the thrift store, belt from Grandma Newton, bracelets made by me (and one by my dad), floor-length skirt handmade by me, shoes from Amazon.

I had originally bought a white dress from Asos, but it failed miserably as it was practically see-through. Funny enough, I saw a girl wearing the exact dress that didn’t work on me, but it worked on her! I felt like too much of a dork to go up to her & tell her it looked fantastic on her. Oh well.

The Friday night parties were absolutely nuts. So many photo booths & fun treats. I believe I collapsed from a sugar rush at the end of the night. I wore a turquoise dress from Asos, pink belt from Asos, red patent pumps from Target, earrings from the thrift store & bracelets from Target. The Uppercase living party was a hoot where we made beaded necklaces. We finished the night at the Method + Smilebooth party where they had some classic hip hop jams & we got a little crazy with our dance moves. Super fun times.

(Image by Gala Darling)

Saturday was more of a restful day with sewing, printmaking & calligraphy. It even started to snow! I had a great time at Eva’s printmaking class & made some really fun prints that I plan on hanging around the house. I need to get on that! The calligraphy class went really well & both Jill & I were just floored at how quickly everyone picked up the pointed pen! Great times.

• THE PEOPLE I MET •

My roommies were fantastic. In previous years I’ve lived close enough to the Grand to just drive home at night. This time I had to drive 40+ miles each way, so I decided I’d rather spend that commuting time sleeping or socializing (it ended up being the latter). I had an absolute blast getting to know my roomies better. Nikki, Katie and Mica are so fantastically inspiring, beautiful and talented! What a fun group of women to be associated with!

It was an absolute thrill to meet Kathleen. She’s so real and witty! Jessica, Gala, and Jessie were all on the same fashion panel. I loved how passionate they were & how transparent they were willing to be at the Q&A section. There needs to be more of that in the blogging community! They’re all super adorable, too. At the Printmaking class I met my blog crush, Merilee, who turns out lives practically next door to me! We’re totally going to be BFFs now.

There were so many fantastic people that I met at Alt, I’m trying to sort through all of their cards/sites & add them to a Pinterest board for you all to see & visit. It’ll probably take a million years to add all of them on there, but I’ll try to get them on there.

Did you go to Alt? Tell me, what was your favorite moment of the weekend?

14 comments Add to delicious ]]> http://melissaesplin.com/2012/01/i-have-a-new-altitude/feed/ 14 http://melissaesplin.com/2012/01/thrifty-stealing-from-chriss-closet/ http://melissaesplin.com/2012/01/thrifty-stealing-from-chriss-closet/#comments Fri, 27 Jan 2012 21:28:10 +0000 Melissa http://melissaesplin.com/?p=7149 A few years ago I was at Forever 21 looking for a jacket, when I stumbled across the menswear section & spied this ugly sweater. It was $3. And just the right size for Chris’s, then 180lb., frame. He never liked it much, but he did wear it a lot to shovel the snow or do other misc housework. It didn’t make the cut for his wardrobe like I thought it would, but heck, it was so cheap. I was glad to see him get even a little use out of it.

Then. . . Chris gained over 30lbs. It seemed like it was over night. I was sad to see his wardrobe go. This was about the time when I was pregnant with Felix, so I stole a few of his awesome too-small-for-mr-muscles sweaters & put them in my wardrobe. This sweater was perfect for sporting the baby bump. Now that I no longer have the bump, I just zipped along the sides with my sewing machine & took in the sweater about 3 inches on each side. Now I have a comfy, sort of ugly, sort of cool sweater to wear when it’s just a bit nippy in the studio. For practically free.

I’ve been avoiding thrift shops lately (no energy to do grocery shopping, let alone thrift), so I ask you. . . What have you scored on the cheap lately? Do you steal from your significant other’s closet? Share in the comments below!

(see how the wide collar gapes?)

I found a fantastic mid-length dress at Ruche (Way to go, Ruche, for offering mid-length dresses & skirts this season!), but I had the sneaking suspicion that the neck would be too wide. That proved to be true. This idea for a refashion hit as I was debating whether I should keep it or not. I decided it was worth the $40 risk. 

I used a piece of leather to gather the back into a bow-like shape. It doesn’t change much of the neckline, but it does tighten it down a bit so that when I bend over, my girls don’t show.

I’m glad I took the risk! I’m excited to start working this into my regular wardrobe.

Read more for how to do it yourself! You’ll find yourself finishing this refashion in a matter of minutes. It’s really that easy.

Put the top on a dress form & mark the centerline & where you want the gathering to stop. For me, this ended up being about 10-11 inches from the top of the dress. Grab a friend to help you mark the spot if a dress form isn’t available.

Figure out how big a “knot” you want. I used leather, but you could definitely use a tube of jersey or anything else for that matter. If it’s not leather or felt, finish the edges. For me, it was 1 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches.

Make a slit slightly smaller than your “knot” piece, where you made your marking in the first step. Add fray check around the edges for extra stability.

Thread your leather/knot piece through the small slit & sew ends together along the back side. Since my top was actually a dress, there was a lot of weight pulling on the slit I made, creating an ugly gap. I reinforced the slit by hand sewing it into the pleats & the knot piece.

Add more fray check for extra stability.

Turn right side out & enjoy your family-friendly slouchy top!

You’ll love how it looks from the back, you’ll want to wear your hair up. Enjoy!

• Terms of Use •

This tutorial/freebie is free for personal use and should not be distributed/republished without my consent. I love getting shout outs from around the web, but please, link with love. Do not copy this text, publish more than 1 photo or outright steal this idea for any publications. If you would like to use this tutorial for commercial purposes, please email me. Thanks!

It was my sincere pleasure to work on the site: Fantabulously Frugal. Lisa was a gem to work with!

Before I got started the elements on the page had no heirarchy & the ads weren’t very organized. A lot of the work involved in this redesign was on Chris’s end of things, with reorganizing the sidebar so that it would read well on the page AND so that it could be easily editable on Lisa’s end of things.

There were a few things I did like about her blog & incorporated in the redesign: unexpected color palette, stripes and handmade elements. Since her site is deal/ad-based, I felt like the handwritten details made it look more approachable, but then kept it professional looking. I made a very fine diagonal stripe for the background & softened her color palette to a charcoal/navy/purple color family. Doing this redesign was so satisfying; like organizing-my-closet-by color-with-all-matching-hangers satisfying.

What do you think? Head on over to Fantabulously Frugal for the full after (and for info on killer deals).

• Blog tip #3: DESIGN + ADS •

If you’re thinking about starting a blog with ads or you’re planning on adding advertisements to your current blog; you need to know standard ad sizes. We talked about this a little bit at Alt this past year. Large companies that are looking to advertise with Google or ad networks use standard sizes for their ad campaigns. Check out IAB for standard ad dimensions, file sizes & animation length. It’s a fabulous resource for bloggers & companies. See below for the most popular of the standard ad sizes:

• Leaderboard: 728 x 90 pixels
• Medium Rectangle: 300 x 250 pixels
• Wide Skyscraper: 160 x 600 pixels

We just bit the bullet recently & bought a grown-up table! It’s our 7th (and hopefully final) table in the last 5 1/2 years. Now that we have a nice table made out of beautiful solid wood, we need to take care of it. This means no naked glasses on the wood! I was grocery shopping the other day & thought I’d see if I could find some cooler place mats than we have currently & had a brilliant brain wave. I also had to pick up some envelopes in the office supply section & came across bulletin board tiles. They were about the right size, a fantastic color/texture & a lot cheaper than the placemats I had been eyeing earlier. BOOM. there you go. We have cork boards for place mats.

I think this idea connected partially because we had placemats growing up that had cork on the bottom, to keep from scratching the table top. I loved those placemats! They had pretty illustrations of the English countryside. I wonder if my parents still have them.

So, do you use placemats for mealtime? What are your favorite ones? Link to resources in the comments below!

I’ve got access to a laser cutter, so I made little friendship bracelets with my “I still love you” logo on them. Cutting the leather took about 4 hours. Thank heavens I didn’t have to do all that by hand.

In the past, I’ve cut my vinyl stickers myself with my little Silhouette, but this time I didn’t want to deal with all that. I had them done at Fast Signs. That lifted a bunch of stress off my shoulders to have that done for me.

I got a lot of help this time around with my business cards!! My sister-in-law helped with the bracelets, My intern helped stamp the cards & clean the leather and my cousin & his wife helped me assemble it all. I wouldn’t have been able to do it in under 20 hours without them! Thanks, friends!!

So, are you going to Alt? What did you do for your business cards? Please do say hi to me at the conference! I have a little goodie for you & I’d love to meet you. If you’re not heading to Alt, I’ll be back here on Monday. Happy weekend!

I doubt I’m the only one with this problem. Or am I? I bought these PacSun jean leggings through Groupon at an insanely low price ($5? I’m in.). I was concerned that the fit was going to be a bit tight on my legs, but I ordered just as the size chart suggested. Sure, I fit in my jeans, but they weren’t very comfortable. In fact, they’re too loose in the waist & a bit too tight in the legs.

I’m sure I could’ve taken them back for a bigger size, but unfortunately I had already ripped off the tags. Instead I decided to make them bigger & thankfully it worked! Here’s how:

1. turn your jeans inside out – make sure there’s at least one non-felled seam down your pants
2. sew along the inside edge of the surged seam
3. unpick the inner seam & remove any stray threads
4. launder & wear

This little tip will give you about 1/4-1/2 inch of extra leg room in each pant leg! Easy peasy! You just need to know how to sew in a (relatively) straight line. For best results, do this on a dark wash pair of jeans. If you do have lighter washed jeans & you want to cover up the unpicked line, you might want to try a tuxedo approach like these J brand skinnies (as seen on Taylor).

See how you can’t even tell that I added 1/2 inch of leg room in my pants? I know for sure I’ll get a lot more use out of these ridiculously cheap jeans.

Click here to see outfit details.

• history: vintage, from a hotel in Idaho
• condition: fair, could use a light scrubbing & refinishing on the wood, but the springs are all intact as are all the upholstery tacks
• materials: wood frame upholstered with oil-coated fabric
• asking price: $35 each or $60 for the pair
• additional info: local pickup (Orem) & cash only