Hi! I’m Mique from 30days.  My little online spot  has craft tutorials, giveaways, guest posts and whatever else I feel in the mood for.   I also co-host a craft show in the San Diego area with my sister called the Queen Bee Market.

I was  flattered that Melissa asked me to guest post.   I absolutely love and admire her style in everything she does….and then she asked me to share my favorite DIY moment. Hmmmm.   Most DIY moments in my life are given away. I’m a DIY gift giver. So I thought about it and thought about it some more and realized that my favorite DIY gifts have been to my nephew.  I am sorry about the poor image quality- I took pictures and gave the presents away (no retakes!).

When Owen was born I made him this little embroidered cowboy. I found a coloring book page online and traced it, added his info, crayon tinted it and stitched it.  I added a few buttons for a little pop.  The best thing about embroidery?  You can take any image you want and embroider it.  There is inspiration everywhere.  Plus anyone can do it.  I’ve sketched a few ideas myself but most often I search Google for coloring book images.   I then print them directly onto fabric and then stitch over them.

And for O’s first birthday I gave him a fabric book of his first year.   It was my labor of love to my only nephew (at the time) on my side of the family.  This was my inspiration and I tailored it to my nephew’s first year.

I gave these presents away awhile ago. And unfortunately I learned the hard way that although the first year book seemed sturdy when I gave it away, I didn’t think about how a toddler would be chewing on it. AND it wasn’t water proof. Yep, you guessed it, it didn’t last. If you want to make a project similar to the first year book, I would suggest sewing vinyl over the top of each page or waterproofing the pages.

I think what I’ve learned most about DIY projects over the years is that they can mean a lot while costing a little.  Yes there was a time commitment involved, but the end products were completely worth the effort.

Today I’m headed out to visit my folks in Charlotte, NC!! We’ll be kicking it in Myrtle Beach for a few days, so maybe I’ll get to work on my tan. Perhaps? I hear we’ll just barely miss Hurricane Earl, but the folks in the Northern parts of the East Coast might not be so fortunate. I hope this one’s not too bad.

While I’m gone with likely no internet access (a welcome break or torture, I’m not sure) I thought I’d host a little mini series! A few bloggers have agreed to share their proudest DIY moments with you & I am so excited to see what they share. I thought I’d kick off the series by sharing with you one of my proudest DIY moments.

While in college, I had the opportunity to take some 3D art electives. I loved these classes. I almost considered switching my major from painting & drawing to 3D media because I love it so much. While taking these classes, I had access to the studio with all the tools & awesomeness with it. It was great, but I really wanted tools of my own. See, when a million students use the same tool every year, it’s not long before that tool is broken, mangled and/or crusted with mystery goo. I wanted my own tools. BADLY.

For my birthday that year I woke up at 6am, headed to Home Depot & bought a drill & a ton of bits. I was so excited to get this drill I also bought lumber & screws with it, too. Our apartment kitchen needed a stove-side table desperately & I was determined to make one with my new toy. Equipped only with my drill, bits & access to the junkiest mitre saw on the planet, I drafted up plans & made a simple table.

This table has had about 4 coats of paint on it. It started out black, then I wanted a different black, then I wanted white and then I finally settled for green. I also added wallpaper to the table top to make it interesting. It’s great wallpaper.

I love this table. It’s got a shelf. The legs are all the same length so it doesn’t wobble (miraculously) & it’s been from heck to breakfast over the last 6 years & still looks fabulous. I never knew this piece of furniture would last through all of my decorating phases & moves. I love this thing. I did it all by myself & I am proud of the end result.

I hope you’ll enjoy this mini series! If you have a proud DIY moment, PLEASE share in the comments!! I’d love to hear about and see (link to it!) what you’re most proud of making.

Made By Matchgirl – She’s a blogger, she’s a bookbinder & she’s a vintage-everything lover. I’m absolutely in love with her necklaces; my very favorite being the brass knuckle necklace. So reminds me of James Piatt’s peace keeper clutch, which I’m in love with.

Knock. Knocking. – Agnes makes the most BEAUTIFUL wreaths for any occasion. Not just Christmas. She makes sweet brooches, too. Her felt work is awesome & I admire her color combinations, they’re so fantastic!

Ruffled Fabric – This fabric is so fun & easy to sew. I’ve talked about it before and it’s so great! No need for finishing edges.

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Second, Would you be interested in sponsoring my blog? I sure hope so! My sponsorship rates have small businesses in mind. If you’re interested, scroll to the bottom of the about page & download the ad packet or contact me for more questions.

Thanks!

3 comments Add to delicious ]]> http://melissaesplin.com/home/2010/08/sponsorships-available/feed/ 3 http://melissaesplin.com/home/2010/08/thrifty-chic-green-rain-boots/ http://melissaesplin.com/home/2010/08/thrifty-chic-green-rain-boots/#comments Mon, 30 Aug 2010 19:53:42 +0000 Melissa http://melissaesplin.com/home/?p=3549 Penelope is going to grow up to be an amazing thrift shopper. I just know it!

Back in April (Penelope’s birthday, in fact) we were running some errands when I randomly decided to pop into D.I. to look for some sweet deals. I passed by the kid’s shoe section & Penelope picked snagged a pair of rain boots that I (surprisingly) didn’t notice.

She promptly kicked off her shoes & threw the boots on. At first I wasn’t too thrilled about these mysterious rain boots, but Penelope wasn’t going to take them off, so I bought them. I’d much rather spend $1 on a pair of boots than deal with a screaming 2 year old. Just trying to keep the peace.

As my sister pointed out to us after a night of babysitting, Penelope’s favorite cartoon character, Kipper, sports the same green rain boots in a rainy day episode. Aw! How sweet. Penelope & Kipper are all matchy-matchy!

Penelope would wear her boots everyday if I let her and she gets compliments on her sweet boots everywhere we go. I love that she’s gotten so much use out of a measly little dollar.

For Father’s Day I made him a black bicycle hat. I have a few childhood memories seeing my dad wear hats like that, so I thought he might like one. It was a complete shot in the dark.

You’ve got to understand that my dad is impossible to buy/make gifts for. He only ever says he wants happy children. Of course he means it, but we’re a pretty happy bunch so it doesn’t seem like we’re giving him much of anything. Personally, I think he doesn’t believe we’d ever pool our money/assets together to buy him what he really wants: a 40 acre ranch in Kolob canyon. He’s right. We’d never do that.

As luck would have it, my dad was very excited to receive the black hat for Father’s day & it fit him perfectly. He asked me if I could a decal on there. Of course! With my Silhouette, I’m unstoppable! He gave the hat back & requested that I put a decal of a cyclist & “Ride like the wind, Tonto!” wrapping around the side.

It’s taken me nearly 2 1/2 months to get around to doing it! The cyclist took some effort & patience to apply, but the quote was impossible. Maybe I should’ve taken apart the hat to apply the decal. Round shapes are not fun to iron. Admittedly, I was more than bummed to see that it wasn’t going to work out. Blerg. On the positive side, the hat looks pretty rad with just the biker on it.

Hope my dad likes it!

This one was a tad tricky because I made super long stuffed arms on this creature. Pinning took a good 20 minutes. Overall this thing was about 40 minutes in the making. I love the fabric on this little guy. Part of it’s solid, part of it’s striped. I wish I had more than a couple of scrap pieces of this fabric. I’d love to make Penelope some overalls out of this stuff.

Penelope is starting to catch on to the word “present”. I got a package in the mail yesterday (Miracle Jeans = awesome) & Penelope got so excited to see what it was, she was jumping up & down yelling, “Ped’nt! Ped’nt!” It’s cute how she mispronounces the word. When I told her I had a present for her this morning, she was very excited. Unfortunately, her excitement for the new toy wore off around picture 4. She did pick it up a couple of times after that, but I’m not so sure she’s all too thrilled about her new ugly doll. Only time will tell.

Regardless of birthdays, Chris & I have desperately needed to replace our sad mousepad. We bought a round mousepad from Ikea years ago for $1. It has served us well, but it’s in a sad & sorry state now. As soon as I saw Summer’s post I snagged the nearest scrap of leather, traced the shape of our old mousepad on the back & cut it out. BOOM. Motoring around our 24″ of screen is so much better now! The leather isn’t nearly as thick & juicy as the one available on Summer’s etsy shop (which is a cool etsy shop, btw), but it does the trick. Love it.

P.S. No pics of it on our desk because our desk is in a dark & scary dungeon.

Upon arriving home, I logged on to the computer & googled the mysterious “DV” label. It’s DV for Dolce Vita. This brand retails for about $80-120. Score. These shoes are comfortable, show just the right amount of toe cleavage & match practically everything I own! So happy to have found these babies.

Above is how I wore them to church on Sunday. Here’s the breakdown of my outfit:

• cardigan – DownEast Basics $15 (50% off with employee discount)
• top – thrifted & refashioned $4
• belt – vintage from my grandma
• skirt – thrifted $2
• shoes – thrifted $4

Have you found any good deals lately? Please share links in the comments! Also have you discovered the glories of Groupon? Chris & I have & now he’s going to take me out to a nice steak dinner. Mmm!