Another refashion swap is underway! The first swap was with
button-up tops, it was so great to see the fun things that
everyone made for one another. I'm equally excited about this go around. The idea with this Refashion Swap is to make something out of trousers.
Interesting thing, Chris was about to throw away these tan Armani slacks. They were too small and looking pretty worn in the back. It really was quite a beautiful suit that Chris would wear on occasion while we were dating; I couldn't bear to just throw them away. Plus, the fabric (besides the backside) was in amazing condition.
I wanted to make
Jen a simple skirt, something that could be worn in fall and transition into the colder months. I also wanted to use one of my metal zippers for an exposed zip back.
The skirt is designed to go from true waist to mid thigh. The finished length is 16" long, perfect for a 12" zip, a few buttons and a little slit for more movement. I did a slight high-low hemline here. I was planning on doing a cuff all around the hemline, but I wasn't loving the look. Simple is sometimes the best solution.
I used biased tape for button loops and natural wood buttons that were given to me from
NearSea Naturals at Sewing Summit last year. I've been meaning to use them in a project. Combined with the leather zipper pull, I think it creates a nice earth-meets-urban feel. I sure hope the skirt fits Jen like I planned! Here are all the ladies participating this go around. Be sure to check out their blogs for their creations:
Read more to learn how you can make your own pencil skirt from a pair of slacks.
Exposed Zip Pencil Skirt Tutorial
You'll need slacks (flare or straight, not fitted), sewing machine, pins, zipper, scissors, measuring tape and a seam ripper.
Take your measurements. For the front: measure from side seam to side seam for the waist, low waist and hips, divide by two and add 5/8 inch. For the back: measure from side seam to side seam for the waist, low waist and hips, divide by two and add 1 1/4 inches. Measure how far down each measurement is from one another. Measure the desired length of your skirt.
On a piece of paper, draft out the front and back pattern pieces. As you can see, I lowered the waistline on the front and raised the waistline on the back. Make sure your pieces match up. Add length to the back hem pattern piece. Measure out waistbands (3 inches from the top).
Cut off the waist of your slacks. Seam rip the inseam and sew the two pieces back together to make one large square of fabric.
Fold your large square of fabric along the new seamline. Cut out front and back pieces as shown above. Cut out waist bands in fabric and lining.
Pin front and back pieces right sides together. Sew along hip lines. Sew together the waistband pieces, then attach right sides together and sew the waistband on. Press seams.
Add your zipper. Turn the fabric over 5/8 inch and paste the zipper overtop or underneath for desired look. Add a hook or button at the top to secure the zipper from pulling down.
Hem.
Fini!
This sort of project is great and easy if you've inserted a zipper before. I didn't go into much detail, so if you have questions about how to construct the skirt, ask away in the comments below.
This tutorial/freebie is free for personal use and should not be distributed/republished without the express consent of Melissa Esplin. I love getting shout outs from around the web, but please, link with love. Do not copy this post, publish more than 2 photos or outright steal this idea for commercial publications. If you would like to use this tutorial for commercial purposes, please email me. Thanks!
I'm excited to be participating in this year's Travel Handmade! Last year I shared with you how to make a quick earbud pouch for keeping those earbuds with you at all times. This year I want to share with you my travel staples. I don't wear the exact same outfit when I travel, but I follow a few rules of thumb when travelling.
Dress up! You'll never see me in the airport in my pajamas. I think it's lazy and disrespectful (I grew up in a home where we basically wore our Sunday best to go to the mall). It doesn't take much effort to slap on a bracelet and necklace. So why not?
Layer! Make sure the accessories and layers aren't crucial to your outfit. Going through security can get really hot and those airplanes can get mighty cold. It's nice to be able to layer and shed as needed. I do this with accessories, too. My belt isn't crucial to my outfit, so I can take that off if I want added comfort.
Pack and wear wrinkle-free! Wearing items with synthetic fibers can save you from looking like a wrinkled mess upon arrival. I made the above top out of an unknown synthetic material (made to look like a silk georgette, but it's probably polyester), it won't wrinkle so it'll pack well and look nice all day.
Mix and match! Make sure you pack items that are in a similar color palette so you can mix and match accessories with minimal effort. I'm using a fall color palette with bright tones. The basic colors being brown and gold. As long as I don't pack black and silver items I could mix it up all I want!
Wear statement pieces! I love wearing unique handmade pieces for travel, especially in the airport. They're always a great conversation starter (I'm sort of an airplane chatterbox). Here I'm wearing the blazer my mom and aunt made, a top and bracelet I made and a necklace that my friend made. That handmade blazer is pretty sharp, right?
Here's a better view of the top I made yesterday. It's a simple two-piece top with ribbon detailing at the shoulders. This kind of top is something you can whip up in a matter of a couple of short hours. I say hours because you'll need to make your pattern and that takes the longest to figure out. The sewing is the easy part.
Just make a pattern from your favorite shirt, add extra on the sides and sleeves for non-stretchy fabric. Sew seams and finish. The finishing I did with my rolled hem foot (looks so professional) and biased tape.
Sew biased tape onto the neckline right sides together, then fold over so the biased tape is only on the inside and hem. It creates a clean curved hem every time.
I really love the high-low hemline trend. 
I keep thinking I need a pair of plum pants. See how awesome plum pants would look with this outfit?
What do you try to pack or wear when your traveling? If you're heading to Sewing Summit in a couple weeks, be sure to let me know. I'd love to meet! I'm really looking forward to the conference this year!
I believe that Ashlee did the rest of her design collateral and 
I'm sharing the full how-to (along with a printable template) over at Make and Takes. I'm an official monthly contributor over there now, and I'm excited to share my first post!
I was exhuasted on Sunday so I put felix down for his nap and passed out on my bed. Not 20 minutes later, Penelope slammed Felix's door shut and woke him up. I was so exhausted I went back to sleep thinking Chris would get him. I think Chris thought Felix would just fall asleep. Another 20 minutes after that I woke up to an annoying knocking noise. I investigated to find Felix had destroyed his crib. He managed to pull a couple of slats loose and was knocking them against the wall. And he had broken off a slat, too. He was not in a safe situation in that crib.
So Felix trashed Chris's childhood crib. Ikea came to our rescue and we all can nap in peace and safety as long as Penelope doesn't slam any doors.
Then we spent 4 hours yesterday at the auto shop, when it was only supposed to be 45 minutes. The start of the week has put me in a sour mood. It's not because of the broken crib or replacing the struts in the car. It's just so many little things keep me from getting pressing stuff done (design/conference/holiday stuff).
My mood directly correlates with how much stuff I get done in a day. Does yours? So I'm simplifying and signing off until next Wednesday. I'll still be partying on 
In our neighborhood, it's against city law to park on the street overnight from October through April because of the narrow streets and snow plows. So we need all the indoor and level (we have a STEEP driveway) parking space we can find!
Et Voila! Chris didn't think it could be done, but I did it! I was tempted to drive down the mountain to Ikea for some organizing boxes, but it turns out we had all the boxes we need. They just aren't as cute or matchy as something I would've found from Ikea.
Fitting two cars in the garage is dreamy. We have easy access to paint, power tools and tools so projecting can happen and disappear quickly with enough space for our cars to park alongside each other comfortably. This was the clean canvas I needed to finish my dresser. And Panels. And night stands.
P.S. Notice the black safe thing on the right, up against the wall? His name is "The Dick". It's a safe from 1906. It was in my dad's childhood home when they moved in (he lived in a 100 year old craftsman in the avenues in Salt Lake). He had plans to convert it to a working gun safe, but that never happened. I inherited it when my folks moved to Charlotte. Some day I'd like to restore it and repaint it. Chris hates it.
They're dirty from all of our moves, too. Currently we have an expedit next to Chris's side of the bed so we can house chargers, pocket contents, books, etc without cluttering up the room too much. (it's still a cluttered mess, though) And I've got two of these stools on my side. It works in a very asymmetrical way, but I'm not digging on the decor in our room. I want to cool things down a bit, I think there's too much yellow and orange going on.
Our bed is pushed up against a bold orange wall (seriously the color is perfect), so I'm thinking of introducing more cool jewel tones into the decor. I've been thinking about 
She was so anxious to start so we scored some cute soccer gear as early as possible. We found a hot pink ball, hot pink shin guards and polka dot soccer socks! We also found her soccer cleats for $2 at the thrift store. She was so excited to shop for the gear with me, but when it came time to actually play soccer, her head was in the clouds. She spent most of her time just staring at the paragliders overhead. She plays at the most beautiful park, I'm constantly distracted by the mountains, paragliders and view of the city, too.
Unfortunately, all the soccer uniforms are enourmous (I could wear the jersey and shorts with room to spare). For the first couple of games (see top image) I rolled up the waistband 3 times and they were still falling off. It was time for a little fix. You can't really tell from the picture just above that I changed much, but her shorts are about 6 inches shorter and stay on. Her shirt is still very long (didn't have time to hem that before the game), but it fits her in the trunk much better. See below for how I did it.
Are you in sports or do you have kids or siblings who are? It's exhausting to get Penelope to practices and games on time!
This post is sponsored by 
Since learning more about art and art history Monet still has a place in my heart, but I've grown to love all kinds of artists. Right now I'm totally digging on these fantastic artists:
Even now, as I look back through the paintings I'm most proud of (interesting how most of them happen to be at my parents' house) I find that each of them have a very painterly approach. Perhaps this is a coincidence because of the style of the first artist I ever loved?
Throwing paint isn't always my go-to technique, but it's fun to do. There's something about the almost childlike or (this is such a 'po-mo' term I hate to say it but it's true) visceral experience of the controlled chaos of making an image with bold brushwork.
Who was the first artist you ever loved? I would love to hear your stories! Let's talk art, today.
And it is. So good.
It was so good to spend the day outside alongside Chris. I had one of those out-of-body experiences where I sat back and thought to myself, "Really? How did I arrive at this perfection?" The weeds are nowhere close to being conquered, but seeing the progress is so satisfying.
My parents bought a fixer-upper when I was 5. The best way to describe the state of the house as we moved in: it was the dumpiest house in a sweet neighborhood. The previous tennants had 4 large dogs that weren't house trained and they left about 2 cars worth of car parts in the backyard. It was that house. Mom and dad set us to work. Every free day (weekends and holidays) always started with a pile of yard work. I hated it. HATED IT.
Now I'm beginning to appreciate the work my mom made us do. And I'm starting to enjoy it a little bit. I still hate dealing with the morning glory. I need to find a pretty ground cover that chokes out the noxious weed. We still have a couple of blooms left in our garden, they're so pretty.
I can't take any credit for the beauty of the garden this year. It's all 
Before we even thought about buying a house, I asked my mom to help me with a garden. While she was visiting from Charlotte, she and my dad helped me set things up. We weren't sure if we'd be moving, so she bought me a few 
We've had fresh tomatoes, peppers, basil, mint and a couple of armenian cucumbers this summer! It's been heavenly to have fresh produce. Next year I think I'll do 3-4 tomato plants and a few more cucumber plants. I can't get enough of those armenian cucumbers. They're my favorite.
These peppers were supposed to be sweet yellow peppers, but they're a pretty purple instead. I'm not sure if they were somehow mixed up with something else, but I've enjoyed eating them.
Did you do a garden this year? What are your favorite items to grow?
I was happy to sell them to her, because I knew they would make their way to a good home. She's an interior designer, and works on some really amazing projects, so I knew she would see their true potential.
And she did. She had them restained with a walnut finish (love the walnut color so much better) and reupholstered with a cool dot print. Check out 
I'm going through sort of a creative slump. I have no motivation to do much of anything. Does that happen to you when the seasons change?
I've had this floral print rayon in my stash for some time. I bought it at Yellow Bird Fabrics in Salt Lake (they have the best fashion fabric I've seen in Utah). I think it was something in the range of $8 a yard. The fabric is light-weight and very drapey with a bounce like a linen. It was incredibly easy to work with and the print is perfect for fall, winter or spring! 
I used quite a bit of yardage in the back for a flowy look while walking, and this fabric flows so beautifully. Chris says it's a great twirly skirt. Maybe that's because I came running into the bedroom at midnight screaming at him to look at my skirt while I spun around the room a million times. I like to do that when I finish a project.
Can you see the pleats in the front? They're a nice, albeit subtle detail to the front.
I really like my new skirt. I'm thinking I'll be digitizing the pattern, it would work well for sizes small through large, because of the free elastic waist in the back. I'll let you know if I get around to it. Oh, and this skirt took me just over 2 hours to make. And that's with some really fancy rolled hem finishings. I'd say that was a win.
Outfit Details:
Penelope and I whipped up this stuffed moose out of some very fuzzy (and messy-to-cut) fleece minky stuff in about 20 minutes. I drew out a pattern, she helped me cut and we sewed and stuffed.
The gift was a big win! I need to get Penelope more involved in sewing and making presents with me. We had a great time collaborating together. It's so fun that she's at that age now where I can start teaching her how to sew and craft!