This week is my goal not to add any new projects to the docket, but to actually finish projects I've had in the queue for months. I just got around to lettering this quote for Danni: and this sign for Angela: I've been meaning to get around to both for some time (like several months). I've got a couple more calligraphy/lettering projects to finish this weekend. I can't wait to show those to you, too! I've mostly been doing digital lettering these days, so it was fun to bust out the old pen & ink. Speaking of calligraphy, who's up for a class? For those of you who are local, I'm thinking about doing a class on the 17th of September from 1-3pm. Registration is limited & will go live next week. You'll want to stay tuned. If you're not local & looking to get in on all of our calligraphy fun, don't despair! We will be filming the class in preparation for the online class I've been promising for nearly a year!  

Last night Chris & I celebrated our anniversary by going out to a nice dinner, watching the newest Harry Potter & getting away to Park City for the night. It was SO WONDERFUL to have a night and morning where we didn't have to go anywhere, do anything or take care of anyone. We haven't skipped town, just the two of us, since we went to Brazil in 2007. That said, I haven't made or done anything today, but I wanted to share a couple of things with you:

(James & Penelope are best friends - I took this sometime in 2009)

First, we named Penelope after a Pinback song. It's a sweet song about a fish. My cousin remixed the song & put it up for your listening pleasure right here. He's getting really good at the whole remix thing & this one sounds fabulous. He just joined Soft Science, a band out of Provo. They'll be performing at Velour tomorrow night, if you're wanting to support. We'll be there, too!

(Isn't James' lettering beautiful?)

Second: as a follow up to my Recycled: Fonts post, I just wanted to give you a heads up about a FABULOUS type site: Lost Type. I can't remember how I found it - Pinterest, perhaps? But it's incredibly designed & curated; y'all should go & download every typeface they have available. It's the first pay-what-you-want Type Foundry, that offers gorgeous typefaces for the price you can afford. You can obviously download everything for free, but I encourage you to give these budding typists support, even if it's a couple of bucks!! All donations go directly to the artists. My favorites are: Quaver, Duke, Tommaso and Nelma. What are yours? Third: I'm currently enjoying my new favorite addiction: black licorice out of Finland. The lovely lady of Scissors & Spice sent me a package of that devilishly amazing black licorice. I can't get enough, but I'm being good & only allowing myself a small piece at a time. It's gotta last! Speaking of type; her husband, who works at House Industries, hand lettered the package she sent me. Pretty custom lettering always puts a smile on my face. So does delicious candy.

Back in June I pinned in my to do list the idea to make some saltwater sandals, or at least something similar. I mean, how hard could making sandals be? I had almost all the materials, the 4oz leather from this project & tons of lighter weight leathers; I just didn't have a pattern or buckles. I got the buckles for 79¢ each and everything else I had on hand. Making the pattern for her was a bit tricky. First, I fleshed out what the pattern would look like on paper; then I took lightweight cotton, draped it over her foot & drew lines where I wanted the straps to go. From there I scanned it in, vectorized my drawing then printed out the pattern pieces. It was another 2 or three revisions before I figured out the fit. Even then, the fit isn't flawless. It's good, but not perfect. I sort of had a squirmy model. I used one of her shoes to trace a pattern of the sole, then I had her stand on the pattern while I made adjustments for a better fit. I have to admit, it was more than a little nerve wracking to get all of the pattern pieces glued in place. I didn't know how it all would fit (exactly) until I got the final shoe on her foot. Overall this project took me 2 weeks on & off. Most of that time was spent trying to get the correct fit. Once I got the pattern nailed down, it took about 2-3 hours to make the entire shoe. It's not much more intense than binding a book, in my opinion. I used a lot of the same techniques, too. I love these little shoes on her & she's pretty cool with them, too. I was so afraid she wouldn't like them! Now hopefully I can make a pair for me before the snow hits the ground.

It's nuts to think we've been married five years already. At the same time it also feels like we've been together forever. I can't imagine my life without Chris (or our two kiddos, for that matter). It seems like yesterday Chris & I started talking about getting married.

engagement photos taken by my mother-in-law

We had been dating maybe three months when I was talking to him about finding roommates for the next year (my previous roommate situation blew up in my face). As I was thinking aloud, I told Chris I could room with his sister, Lindsay; she was cool. It was quiet. For a second, I thought: Well I guess he might not want me to live with his sister. Afterall, if we broke up that would be pretty awkward. Then Chris looked at me & said, "I was kind of hoping we could be roommates next year." We had known each other for 4 months before we went on our first date, but after that everything flew by pretty quickly. We said I love you after a month, we talked marriage at three, he proposed at four, he went on a two & a half month internship in Arkansas at five & four days after he got back, we were hitched. It was all just under a year of meeting each other. It didn't feel that fast because we are perfect for each other. Have you seen the Adjustment Bureau? We watched it last weekend (loved that movie, btw) & that's what our courtship felt like. We were just meant to be together.

Wedding photos taken by Sarah Faubus

Chris, I love you. Thanks for being my husband of five years. Let's make it another 65, mmk?

dress details here

I was wearing this:

• necklace: handmade by my dad - given to me on my wedding day
• dress: hand-me-down, Nanette of New York - my mom wore it first, then my Aunt Bee, my older sister, me, followed by my younger sister
• earrings: my great-grandma Buz
• shoes: Forever young shoes, $20

TOTAL: $20

• top: Walmart, $4
• sweater: DownEast Basics + refasioned, $30
• necklace: handmade by my Dad
• jeggings: H&M, $15
• shoes: swapped

TOTAL: $49

This weekend Chris & I were giving some serious thought to buying a new computer or upgrading our hard drive to a solid state drive (it would diminish load times considerably). Pretty sure we won't be buying a new computer any time soon, but I think we'll be giving the upgrade a go. With that said, I've had this quote in my head for the last few weeks & thought it was about time to make a desktop wallpaper.

iPhone• • •iPad• • •2560 x 1440• • •1680 x 1050• • •1440 x 900• • •1280 x 800

For you Illustrator/Photoshop users out there, isn't that saying SO TRUE? Just making this artwork proved the quote to be true. How post-modern of me. I made this using my own lettering layered over a blurred out photo that I took at Taliesin West a couple years ago. Back when I was first learning photoshop & illustrator I made a few desktop wallpapers, but I haven't really had the desire to do one until discovering The Fox Is Black's (formerly Kitsune Noir) desktop wallpaper project. You can find some AMAZING wallpapers (that make mine look like a preschooler did it) for your computer, iPad or iPhone or pretty much anything else you want. Click one of the above sizes to download the artwork. This wallpaper is free for personal, desktop/mobile device use only and should not be distributed or altered without my consent. If you would like to use this for commercial purposes, please email me. Thanks!

• top: thrifted + refashioned, $4
• tank: DownEast Basics, $8
• jeans: Walmart, $12
• shoes: thrifted, $4

TOTAL: $28  

I love how in the last 5-10 years tops are starting to get longer & longer. You no longer have to buy a specialty top in order for it to touch the waistband of your jeans. Thankfully, I don't think that trend is going anywhere. Let's be honest, it is more flattering to cover the stomach than to see a muffin top spilling out, no? Obviously, I was sorely disappointed to see the crop top trend making a come back. The first few outfits I saw were styled images of 75lb models with flawless tummies. Let's be honest here, that does NOT translate into the real world. I'm on the skinny side, but no one wants to see that business. I was so annoyed to see it coming back. UNTIL. . . I saw Liz refashion one of her brother's shirts to a crop, she kept it current AND demure. THEN, I went to the swap meet & had the pleasure of meeting Sophia (who's adorably pregnant) and styled a crop with a maxi dress underneath. I was sold. Crop tops with high waisted bottoms or sheath dresses underneath are cool. Now that I've been conditionally converted to the crop top I am seeing them pop up in shops like Urban Outfitters, Ruche, Forever21 and even Anthropologie; many have been styled with no bare skin showing. Thanks, guys! So with all that said, here's what I did with the striped shirt: It took me a while to see it, but I'm really excited about how it turned out. Just a recap of what I did:

• I flipped the shirt backwards
• cut off the collar
• took the top in at the sides
• took in the top in the back
• rounded the neck at the front
• made a V in the back
• squared off the V with leftover fabric
• cut off about 12 inches from the bottom
• cut off 6 inches from the sleeves
• hemmed sleeves & bottom

I styled this crop with high(er) wasted jeans & a tucked in undershirt – I'd consider styling crop tops like you would style a trapeze coat, with fitted items underneath. The top is really bold, so I only went for a bold pair of shoes & no jewelry. I like the simple, yet bold statement. I am a little hesitant about the bold stripes on this top, so I'm thinking I'll be trying out Rit Dye's color fade to see if I can get it to a more muted tone. The muted tone would also work better transitioning into Fall.

You wanted to see a picture of my butt today, didn't you?

Also, the jeans have been tailored. I took in the jeans from the back & boy was it a lot of work. Not so sure it was worth it to do it on cheap $12 Walmart jeans, but what's done is done. At least the fabric is thin-ish so it wasn't too terribly annoying to work with the fabric and they fit perfectly on my waist. It's sort of obvious that these jeans have been altered, but I usually wear them with longer shirts that cover my less-than perfect alteration. Have you altered your jeans before?? Be sure to come back later today, I'll be announcing the Ruche giveaway winner & starting another giveaway.

Penelope & I went to the zoo today with my sister & nephew. I didn't want to make the same mistake of wearing pants like last time.

• top: Modbod + refashioned, c/o modbod
• belt: thrifted, $1
• skirt: thrifted + refashioned, $4
• shoes: Forever 21, $9

TOTAL: $14 ($34)

I wore this yesterday. It was perfect for lounging around the house & for a bridal shower. Here I'm mixing in the high & low.

• top: Walmart, $4
• necklace: In Honor of Design, c/o IHOD
• belt: thrifted, $2
• dress: H&M, $15
• shoes: Fashion district in NYC, c/o Shop At Home

TOTAL: $21 ($69)  

(I'm trying to be smiley, but LBH, I'm in a bad mood)

This dress used to be longer (it was an awkward not long enough, not short enough length & I cut it), and I feel like now that it's shorter, I look more put together. Funny how that works.

• dress: Forever21, $14
• belt: thrifted, $14
• shoes: Forever21, $9

TOTAL: $37

Last weekend we had a neighborhood party & I was in charge of coming up with an activity to do with the older elementary aged kids that were going. We had a fish pond with prizes for the little ones (the older ones could participate, too) so I thought I'd do something that could apply to both the young & the older kids: styrofoam printmaking. I did a tutorial on this a while back & I use it every once in a while. It's an easy, low-cost, low-commitment craft that's perfect for any age from 3+. It was a huge success & I just loved what these creative kiddos did! They're so inspiring. I'm really feeling the urge to do some oil painting & printmaking. I like posting these kinds of pictures (above) every once in a while. Come on, how many people actually keep their studios clean & magazine ready?? I sure don't. I'm cooking up 4 projects simultaneously, so there's more crud around the room than usual. Let's keep it real around here; I'm a messy, messy person & I clean up pretty much only when I know visitors are coming. Do you do that? Chris doesn't. He's naturally super clean & organized. I'm going to brag: just last night he mopped the floors & did all the dishes while I was at my cousin's bridal shower. I hadn't touched the dishes since we got back from Phoenix last Thursday. That's what sweet nothings are for, right? Currently, I've got some calligraphy, mending, decorating, designing, cleaning, leather crafting & refashioning to do. I will be so proud of myself if I get it finished in the next week.

As I mentioned earlier, I unfortunately lost one of my favorite shirts to a very obvious chest stain. It was quite sad. However, the color of the top & the sweet beaded shoulder details reminded me of something feminine about the Minikin Tutus. So, I made a little bow skirt for Penelope. Here's the before: I loved how simple this jersey top was. I got it at H&M in New York for $10. I also loved the beading on the shoulders. I deconstructed the beading (with the help of Jill - that part was rather time-consuming) and attached it to the bottom of Penelope's new skirt. Et voila! I did this refashion in under 20 minutes (minus the beading) using my adjustable bow skirt technique. It was incredibly easy & really fun. Penelope loves that she has two new twirly skirts in her closet! I like it, too. She's outgrowing a lot of her skirts, and most of them are just glorified bum covers. It's nice that she'll have a couple of skirts she'll be able to wear for some time.

Over the weekend while going through my clothes I came to grips that one of my favorite pink shirts was irreversibly stained. So, I rehabbed it into something for Penelope. I don't have any pictures of that particular refashion, but there will be some tomorrow when I get Penelope actually in that skirt. I was inspired by Minikin's gorgeous long tutus. While the pink refashion has zero tulle on it, the silky jersey & beaded details just scream girliness.     My original idea was to thread the casing of the skirt with pure ribbon & use a bow as a way to tighten it around Penelope's waist. As I fitted it to Penelope I soon realized that she needed something stretchy in order to wear it, so this idea was birthed in about 10 minutes. Click the "Read more" link below to find out how you can do it. This skirt takes a mere 15-20 minutes to do & requires minimal sewing or expertise. I do hope you'll give it a try! The above clip was shot just after our little photo shoot. I made her sing for me & she was clearly annoyed with my constant pestering so the clip ends in her signature, "Hmph!" That little lady cracks me up!  

• A D J U S T A B L E • B O W • S K I R T • T U T O R I A L •

• S U P P L I E S •

• sewing machine
• matching thread
• old t-shirt or dress
• scissors
• 6-8 inch elastic
• wide ribbon
• pins

Cut top part of the skirt or top off, leaving the desired length plus about 2 inches. I just estimated this part. Turn inside out & fold over raw edge about 1 1/2 inches & secure with pins just about every 6-8 inches. Sew the fold closed using your widest stitch. Be sure not to push or pull fabric through, or you’ll get puckering. Thankfully, the way the waistband gathers, if there so happens to be some puckering, it's no big deal. Cut ribbon in half and pin shiny side to the elastic. Sew with a 1/4 inch seam allowance.   Fold ribbon over & topstitch ribbon into place to secure the ribbon to the elastic. Cut two holes in the middle of the front casing about 1 inch high & 1 inch apart. There’s no need to finish the edges if you’re working with jersey or knit fabric. Wrap the end of the ribbon around a hair clip or through a safety pin & feed through the casing. I can never seem to find safety pins when I'm on the hunt for them, so I used a hair clip instead. Honestly, I'm going to go with the hair clip in the future. It's MUCH easier to feed through! I hate feeding things through casings, but the slickery hair clip fed through quickly & without making my hands hurt like crazy. I love discovering time savers on accident. Adjust the gathering & space it evenly. Tie a bow with a double knot or secure it into place by stitching the bow together. ENJOY! This tutorial was made with small girls in mind, but it doesn’t mean that you couldn’t do this on a grown-up scale! At first, I styled this with her shirt tucked out & the skirt at her hips. It's cute, but I think the high-waisted option looks more put together & age appropriate. Plus I like how it showcases her little bow more. She was so cute to watch dancing while I was snapping away. I love this little girl. Isn't she just beautiful!? Like I mentioned before, this tutorial is easily scalable to a grown-up size. Click the link below for the printable version of this tutorial. I’d love to see how you make this tutorial yours! Email me pics or link to your pics in the comments.

This tutorial is free for personal use and should not be distributed/republished without my consent. Altering the file NOT ALLOWED. If you would like to use this tutorial for commercial purposes, please email me. Thanks!  

  I'm doing a Ruche giveaway over on the main blog.

• top: Ruche, $45
• necklace: In Honor of Design, c/o IHOD
• belt: thrifted, $2
• skirt: Ruche, c/o Ruche
• shoes: thrifted, $3

TOTAL: $50 ($98)

Ruche sent me the Under the Aztec Sun dress back in May and of course I instantly fell in love with the color & the print. This coral/orangey color is perhaps one of my favorites at the moment. Plus, I think it's one of those fashionable colors that my pale skin tone can handle.

(outfit details here)

It's a short dress, which is perfect for pairing with leggings (or alone, if you dare). I don't own or wear many smocked tube tops, so I found myself adjusting quite often to keep the top in place. Maybe this is only a struggle for the small-chested? I really have no idea.

(outfit details here)

After wearing it one time, the smocking started coming undone. Huge let down, no? I emailed Ruche letting them know what happened & this was their response: "If customers ever receive defective merchandise, we encourage them to e-mail us and we'll help them out. We always issue a prepaid return label (so they don't have to pay for return shipping) and either replace the item or issue a complete refund." That's so great to know. Often times online shopping can be a big quality gamble & I love that Ruche stands by their clothing. The smocking issue seems like a complete fluke to me as all of the Ruche clothing I've received or purchased has been top-notch. That said, I opted to keep the dress & fix it myself. I decided I wanted to trim down the smocking & wear it as a skirt, so it'd be no big deal to fix the smocking while doing so.

(outfit details here)

I went back & forth on whether or not I should sew a legit waistband onto it, but ultimately I like the option of still being able to wear it as a tube dress/top if my heart so desires. This is the complete opposite from the time when I bought a orange swimsuit online that ended up being completely see-through! YIKES. I ended up making the return, but I had to pay for shipping to return the item, plus they didn't refund the original shipping. It wasn't that big of a deal, but I still never shopped there again. Bottom line is, Ruche has fantastic customer service. And customer service is king, in my humble opinion. Ruche wants to offer a lucky reader a $40 gift certificate to their shop! Here's how to enter:

• Visit ShopRuche.com. Be sure to check out their Dressology series: 1 dress, 6 ways.
• Comment on THIS POST & tell me what you'd do with a gift certificate to Ruche or about a good/bad customer service experience (if it's a bad experience, please don't name names. Your entry will be disqualified/deleted if you do.).
• One comment per person only.
• Comment before 11:59pm MST Wednesday July, 20th.
• A winner will be chosen & announced on this post on Thursday July, 21st.
• Open to US residents.

Good luck!!

Ruche Blog • Ruche Twitter • Ruche Facebook

Follow Ruche for exclusive deals & updates. Also, feel free to subscribe to ISLY using the top right sidebar link, or add yourself to GFC if you’d like to get regular updates on craftiness & giveaways. Following won’t increase your chances of winning, though. It'll just give me an ego boost & a big fat smile on my face.

• U P D A T E •

The kiddos & I are back from our week with the grandparents. I'm feeling refreshed, Penelope is feeling pooped and Felix is feeling rather accomplished. My brother-in-law just got back from a two year stint in Honduras, so most of us Esplins were in Phoenix to celebrate his safe return home. Chris couldn't get time off work, so he held down the fort & let me galavant off to Phoenix on my own. Chris's sister, Shelley, flew with the kiddos & me out to Phoenix, which was HUGE. It was the first time I've flown with two kiddos & everything went surprisingly well. I didn't have a companion on the flight home, but we fared remarkably well considering our flight came in at 11pm. While we were in Phoenix, we went swimming, killed a scorpion, went shopping, watched movies, ate lunch with friends, watched bob's burgers and helped organize my youngest sister-in-law's bedroom. Felix spent most of his time in the arms of an aunt, uncle or grandparent and Penelope spent most of her time bossing around Molly the dog. It was perfect. We got back to a clean house (which we have now destroyed, sorry Chris!) and my new camera! I've spent most of the morning playing around & reading the instruction manual. Seriously, I suggest EVERYONE should read their camera's instruction manual. It doesn't matter what kind of camera you have, just learn all of its ins & outs. You'll take much better photos once you do. Promise. I'm about 90 pages into the manual & have about 210 to go, but I feel like I've improved immensely since I started reading. I'll definitely be reading it through a few times. With all of my enthusiasm, I took this opportunity to shoot some pictures of the nearly 5 month old Felix. He's getting so big & animated now, I just love it. During our vacation, he discovered his hands & started rolling over! It's so exciting! Now I need to teach him to hold up that behemoth head of his.

Penelope wore her '10 Easter outfit at church on Sunday. It doesn't go to her knees anymore. In fact, it barely covers her bum. Me:

• top: thrifted, $4
• cardi: ModBod, c/o MB
• belt: thrifted, $1
• skirt: H&M, $10
• shoes: thrifted, $3

  Penelope:

• dress: H&M, $17
• hair clip: Hairblooms, $10
• tights: Walmart, $1
• shoes: thrifted, $2

  GRAND TOTAL: $48  

I'm finishing up some wedding invitations today, which made me think I should repost this baby: What Not to Font. This is always a fun topic to talk about, especially since this blog falls in the interesting gap between design & craft. So, here we go! You'll want to read this Good Look Cook Book post (or at least familiarize yourself with it). So what do you think? Should Zapfino die? What about Papyrus? Comic Sans? Honestly, there are a few more I'd like to add to that list. I have no idea what the names of said fonts are, I just see them floating around on the interwebs. Rather than pointing & tsk-tsk ing those unnamed fonts, here are a few fonts that I'd love to see more of:

• Buttermilk
• Gotham
• Nelly Script
• Glypha
• Business Penmanship
• Compendium
• Quicksand
• St. Marie
• Helvetica Neue

What fonts would you add to the "good" list? I'm no type aficionado, but I know what I like. • U P D A T E  • Here are some more to add to the "good" list (thanks to your suggestions!):

• Neutroface
• League Script
• Pacifico
• Moustachio
• Skitch
• Dr. Strangelove (although this is getting a bit overused IMHO)
• To Kiss the Cook
• Neo Retro
• Print Clearly
• Roadway
• Bebas
• Pepito

 

November of '09 I snatched up a basic yellow tee & went to town bleaching stripes for a gift for my sister-in-law. I loved how it turned out & I nearly forgot all about that shirt. It's getting me all excited for the Rit Dye party I'm going to have next week*. Making this shirt was very easy, I just needed packing tape, indestructible flooring (cement), bleach & a toothbrush. I need to make one of these for me already! I'm thinking a bright pink might be in order, though! *Chris if you're reading this: Yeah, I'm having a craft party at our house. You have been warned. ;)

Taliesin West

I'm in Phoenix for the next couple of days visiting with family & would love to meet up with you if you're in the area! Camberley and I want to get together for lunch sometime Monday or Tuesday. Who's with us?! Anyone's welcome to join us, just leave a comment letting me know you're interested in coming & I'll email you the details.

Happy weekend!!

Below was my very first attempt at making my own clothing from scratch. I made it back in early 2009 while pregnant with Penelope. I started with simplicity pattern #3673 and added sleeves & a pleated skirt and frantically whipped it up late Saturday night before heading off to church. I've learned a lot about construction & finishing hems since I made this dress. After this was a success, I made another one with buttons & legit button holes using some free fabric I scrounged. It was curtain fabric; aka "Sound of Music" fabric. I wore that a couple of times, but never photographed it. I swapped both dresses with Sarah & she's worn both of them, which just makes my day. I love how she wore my first dress: backwards. I had made the dress button up in the back, but I love how Sarah showcased the buttons in front. They really are cool. Doesn't she have the coolest shoes ever?

Also, I love how Sarah wore the "Sound of Music" version with Western boots. Aren't those babies killer? Sarah's style just kills me some times. On a side note, it's so fun to look back at our old furniture (sold that chair back in SF) and our old apartment through my sewing documentation. I really wish that chair hadn't been as broken as it was. It's got killer bones. Also, the top photo was taken before I ever dreamed I'd own a DSLR. It just shows what you can do with a little natural light & photoshop.

I'm actually wearing this button  up today, so I thought posting this outfit was fitting.

• Top: thrifted, $4
• necklace: thrifted, $3
• belt: thrifted, $1
• skirt: ModBod, c/o MB
• shoes: thrifted, $4

TOTAL: $12

Today's recycled post comes from a bookbinding project I did in July of 2008. My sister's friend was getting married & her mom wanted me to bind a wedding sign-in book for the occasion. Her colors were pink & green. Jerre'a sent me the paper & fortunately it matched my green ostrich leather perfectly!

It's so funny how pictures of previous projects take me back in time. Right about this time 3 years ago, I was taking care of a 3 month old Penelope & teaching bookbinding & watercolor classes for the continuing education program in Redwood City, California. We were living in Menlo Park at the time. Our summer was full of hanging out with friends, kiting, beach going & SF touring. I miss those days, but I'm so happy to be where I am right now.

It's memories like those that make me realize how happy things are. I've been sort of up and down these last couple of days, so these reflections do me the world of good.

I have yet to fix the pleats on the front. One of these days.

• yellow necklace: Brazil, $10
• red necklace: handmade, $2
• top: Ross, $10
• skirt: handmade, $3
• shoes: thrifted, $3

TOTAL: $28

This last weekend was nuts. It was full of family events & a big photoshoot. Right after the photoshoot, I uploaded my photos just in time for someone to take the D200 off my hands. PHEW! I've now ordered my new camera, so I'm just waiting for it in the mail. I'm sure it would've been smarter to order the camera before I sold it, but whatever. It would've also been smarter to have the camera shipped to Arizona, which is where I'll be when it will arrive on my door step. I can totally survive a week and a half without a camera, right? Since I'll be without a camera & going out of town Thursday through most of next week, I'm going to do a recycle series! I've been blogging for 4 years this summer, so I thought I'd re-post some oldies you may not have seen before. I made & blogged about these booties before Chris bought me my own domain, so you won't see them on any posts here on melissaesplin.com. I made these back in the summer of '07 for a friend of mine who has a little girl just 6 months older than Penelope. I used Heather Bailey's bitty booties pattern with leather I had lying around. I punched & sewed everything by hand, which took forever. It was still worth it. I made more of these booties in felt & leather that I later blogged about on this blog. I think I should make a pair of these for Felix sometime soon. I think white leather would be a good call.   Hope you had a great Fourth of July weekend!! What did you do?

First off: things have been a little nuts around the Esplin household. I'm working on a bunch of projects that I can't wait to share with you. They have to wait at least until mid-August, though. You better believe Jill & I are cooking up a batch of killer DIY awesomeness for you!!

the girl in the second drawing totally has a grimace on her face.

I've been wanting to make this cover-up for some time, so I've been through a lot of design iterations in the process. Above are a couple of rough sketches from my sketchbook. I decided the cover-up would look less "home project-y" with a racerback than with a straight neckline & straps. This thing took me forever to construct, but I learned a LOT along the way. I drafted this coverup from scratch using sketches, pins & my dress form. I'm really happy with how it turned out, I think I need to dye it an ombre really soon here. Anyone want to have a dyeing party next week? Seriously, next Tuesday night come over to my house with a couple of things to dye & we'll go to town. Let me know if you're in. Above is a little during construction shot. You can see, I started out with straight lines that I cut to the shape I wanted. I figured out a system to get uniform pintucks without spending too much time on them. That was pretty tedious, but getting the curves on the arm, racerback & necklines took forever. The curve on the bottom took even longer. The coverup started out 6 inches longer than it ended up. I kept cutting & cutting & cutting in order to get the perfect curve. At the very end I figured out the best way to get a uniform curve all the way along  the bottom. Too bad I discovered it 6 inches too late. It's okay though. It's a cover up. It doesn't really need to cover much. I added pearl snaps to the front which were sort of a pain to put in. My thumbs & fore fingers were throbbing afterward, but at least I didn't have to sew buttons & button holes. I hate sewing buttons. I was going to line the inside of the cover-up in order to finish the edges & do a curved hem, but by the time I got the perfect curve along the end, I decided to go with biased tape. It was by far the easiest finishing option. I've always hated putting on biased tape, but after reading Diana's tutorial for sewing biased tape the right way, I don't mind it much at all. Swimsuit provided by Lime Ricki Swimwear. Read more about the swimsuit here.

I've been so excited about this giveaway for some time now; as evidenced by the length of this post. Lime Ricki provided our entire family with swimsuits this year & I'm completely sold on them. So sold. Lime Ricki is a local company started a few years ago that provides the world with comfortable, no-fuss swimwear. I think I went to high school with the sisters that started the whole thing. I couldn't tell you for sure. These suits are designed & manufactured in the U.S. with great attention to quality & detail. My incredibly talented friend, Alma, is the woman behind all of the bright, fantastic prints. The suit I have just screams Alma! I love that I have my very own Alma Loveland print in my wardrobe. And may I add, it's a pipe dream of mine to have my designs on clothing. I'm so excited that Alma's already there! Hands down, this is the best-fitting suit I've owned since I spent all of my allowance money on a teal striped suit from Gap when I was 9. I love that LR has suits for every female figure from flat to curvaceous to pregnant. Just this year they've introduced a girl's line AND a men's line! The girl's line offers a range of different tops, bikini bottoms, rash guards and shorts (I bought shorts for Felix!). The men's line is simple and ingenius; they offer a range of lengths from board shorts to euro trousers. Ever since our excursion to Brazil several years ago, I've been sold on short shorts for men. Chris has awesome legs, so I like it when he shows them off.

I love that P & F are both looking at us like, "what? you do that still? Gross."

My suit is fabulous and fully-lined (as are all of their suits). I never have to adjust the bosoms & I feel perfectly covered & secure. The shorts are AH-mazing. Last year I was plotting to make my own high-waisted boy shorts, but that never happened. While these have yet to be high waisted (that would be such a fab option, next year perhaps?) they're the perfect length. They're longer than most boy shorts & cut off just below the most unflattering part of the leg. The waistband is incredibly comfortable & perfectly constructed. I honestly LOVE my suit. No need to hide behind a cover up in this baby. I still made one anyway, though. Like it? (I'll post better pics later) Penelope's suit is equally fabulous. The bottoms stay put as does the top. I love the orange & pink color combo! She loves wearing it, too. Chris's swim trunks are the best length. I originally got the square cut shorts for him, but Chris has very burly thighs from doing crazy heavy squats & deadlifts 3 times a week. I'm sure the 180lb Chris would've loved them, but the 210lb Chris found the legs to be a bit too tight. So an FYI, if your hubby has brauny thighs, go for the mid-length suit. Even then, Lime Ricki offers free shipping on all exchanges. They really stand behind their suits, as do I. Since I loved their suits so much, I picked up a pair of boy shorts (made for girls) for Felix. I figure the red color makes 'em pretty gender neutral. They fit him perfectly. He's my mini euro hipster with his little 'speedo'. Their separates are available for $30-$40 per piece which can be a splurge at $60 per suit, but they're well worth it for the quality, style & original prints! If you're an occasional swimmer like me, they're the suits that last a few swim seasons. Currently they have some of last year's swim pieces on sale in the $10-$20 range, which is a steal. My honest advice: even if you're not going the tankini route this summer, be sure to stock up on their bottoms. You'll be glad you did.

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