Portland, OR

I just wanted to pop in to say that I'm moving to Portland, OR next Thursday, so I probably won't be able to post until at least January 3 (my move-in date).  Happy Holidays!

Arkansas Temporary Tattoos

My pal Britt Hallmark of Postmodern Press is now selling Arkansas-shaped temporary tattoos on her new etsy shop!  I should get some to show my Arkansas pride since I'm moving to Portland in...TWO WEEKS!!!

new tumblr blog

I've started a new tumblr blog.  I'm still going to use this blog as my main workspace for DIYs and updates. I'm using tumblr as my portfolio, as I keep looking for jobs in Portland, OR over the next few weeks/months.  So check out ldkemp.tumblr.com for a cleaner, simpler version of what you see here, but for DIY tutorials and etsy posts, keep checking here.

more lookbook pics!

A few weeks ago, Starr (from the blog A Thought Is the Blossom) and Heather Canterbury and I had a photo shoot for the lookbook of my most recent collection.  They are both busy women of course, so the photos have been trickling in a few at a time.  Here's Katy Tipton wearing a criss-cross cut-out polka dot dress that I designed and made for my runway show a couple of months ago.  The dress is currently on sale at Box Turtle in Little Rock, but as I will be moving to Portland in a few weeks (yay!), it will soon be for sale at my etsy store. 

You can see the photos on A Thought Is The Blossom.  Also, Calivintage posted one of the photos on her bikes + babes tumblr blog!  I can't wait to see more pictures; they have all looked so amazing so far!

3 etsy posts: 12/6/11

I posted the following 3 items to my etsy store today.  The skirt and the dress were created for a previous collection and runway show, and I'm just now getting around to posting them. The painting on the dress was done by my good friend Jenn Eakin, an amazing artist who now lives in New York City. 

painting by Jenn Eakin

2 etsy posts: 12/2/11

Besides the hand-painted tribal tee in the previous post, I also posted 2 other items to my etsy store today.

1970s fair isle sweater cape

DIY: I shredded and studded this crop top (which used to be a frumpy dress)

DIY: hand-painted tribal T-shirt (on etsy)

Here I was about to donate this great 1990s cream-colored mesh T-shirt, then I realized I could paint the opaque cotton portion in the front.  I decided to paint tribal-looking hash marks, alternating between thick and thin marks.  I used black fabric paint from Hobby Lobby, and a thin paintbrush I happened to have.  It took about 3 hours, but the time flew since I was watching a film (of course).  It's relatively simple; I just eyeballed it as I went along.  This is currently for sale on my etsy store.

DIY: shredding a T-shirt I made

I originally made this T-shirt to go in my Fall 2011 runway show but I didn't have room for it.  Plus it was a little blah.  Over the weekend, I shredded the back of it.  (I learned how to shred T-shirts via a tutorial video by Childhood Flames on youtube.)  This took roughly 4 hours, but I watched almost all of season 2 of Flight of the Conchords, so the time flew.  I may still hand-paint the front or something. I probably won't sell this on my etsy store, but I'll give you a heads up if I do.