I'M INTERNING IN NEW YORK CITYYYYYY! :)

Hello everyone!

I know it's been wayyyyy too long since I've last posted. I was finishing up my BFA degree in Textile Design! I graduated on May 11 and was frantically searching for a job/internship anywhere I could find one.

I'm the luckiest person ever. I got a dream internship, in a dream location, it's full time, AND IT'S PAID! I wouldn't be able to afford NY if it wasn't paid. I just feel totally blessed and also super accomplished that my degree is actually taking me places :)

Today was my first day and I am working as the Fabric Intern for Coldwater Creek's New York Design Corporate Office in SOHO! :) Everyone is super nice and the space the absolutely stunning.

I hope to start blogging more at night since I won't really have "homework" or "projects" to do outside of class anymore. Yay for officially being done with my BFA! I'm not done with school though... I plan on going back in a few years to get my Masters somewhere in probably Apparel Design.

I hope everyone's doing great!

Kelsey

ps: I'm on my Pinterest more than anything and have specific DIY boards for lots of categories! :)

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DIY Torn Cross Denim Jacket // TUTORIAL

Used to be available at NastyGal

Supplies:

- a denim jacket that you are willing to sacrifice

- an exacto knife (possibly extra blades)

- disappearing fabric ink marker

- tweezers

- sand paper (optional)

- dremel (optional)

Directions:

1. draw the shape you want to look destroyed on the back of your jacket with the fabric marker. The example above is a cross. Don't pick anything too complicated because it will get hard to recognize the more the shape is destroyed/distressed.

2. start slashing horizontally from one side of the shape to another.

3. if you do like an inch at a time, you can pull out the individual blue threads (the weft) with tweezers.

4. if you have a dremel, use the sand paper attachment to sand away the weft (blue threads) slowly not to rip the warp threads (white threads).

5. roughen up the edges with sand paper if you want a more distressed look.

Boom! You have an edgy new jacket that's uniquely yours!

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DIY Striped Sweater

Supplies:

- a sweater you want to jazz up

- fabric paint (not acrylic, fabric is more flexible)

- foam brush or paint brush

- painters tape

- iron

- tpins (or sewing pins)

- newspaper

- a flat surface to pin your fabric to/work on

- blow dryer (optional)

Directions:

1. prep your workspace with newspaper so you don't get your paint anywhere. 

2. pin down your shirt so it's slightly stretched. pin the arms down next to the shirt if you want the stripes to continue in the same place. 

3. put newspaper in between the shirt layers so the paint doesn't bleed through.

4. tape off your stripes the thickness you want. use your iron to press down the tape for a crisp line.

5. paint on your fabric paint in thin layers. if you paint it on too thick it will feel weird when you wear your sweater again. 

6. let it dry completely before you flip it over to paint the other side.

7. once you've painted both sides and let both dry completely, remove the tape. 

8. most fabric paint requires heat setting put your iron in between the layers to iron the back side of each stripe for the time that it recommends on the bottle. usually it's 2-3 minutes. 

Boom! Rockin new comfy sweater for the winter weather! 

ps: this would be super cute if done with metallic for those holiday parties! also neon for that nude/neon trend!

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Sorry I've Been M.I.A.!

Hello everyone,

I'm not sure if anyone has noticed that I've been gone, but I definitely have been. Which I feel super bad about by the way.

In case you didn't know, it's my senior year in college and I've been a little busy. And by a little I mean I've become accustom to sleeping in my studio rather than going back to my apartment. Anyway, I only have one semester left and I will be a free woman!

This next semester should be a little less busy and stressful which is great because then I can have at least some free time to dedicate to things I love, like my blog :)

I will be revamping it very soon, so be on the lookout for some new stuff and a new look :)

<3 Kelsey

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DIY Shredded Tee

I keep coming across these crazy expensive t-shirts lately!

The one I discovered today was from NastyGal.com. One of my favorite places to buy clothes, but sometimes I swear the designers they feature are a complete rip off!

Shredded Tee - $78.00

  

Supplies:

- cheapo t-shirt from wal-mart

(you can get a 5 pack in the mens section for like $7)

- scissors/shears or rotary cutters

- ruler or measuring tape if you wanna get fancy

- fabric pen or just wing it

Directions:

1. lay your tshirt out flat on the floor. iron it down if your are a perfectionist. 

2. measure out where you want your slits and how many rows of sits you want. the shirt above has 4 on the main shirt and then an extra one on the sleeves. have fun with it. you can do smaller slits if you so choose!

3. start cutting! in the shirt above, it looks as though they short-cutted it by doing both the front and back at the same time. notice where the front stops by the neck and where it ends on the back (it's lower down on the back because that's where they stopped on the front. It's also quicker this way if you have a rotary cutter or sharp shears. 

 Rock your new shirt at the beach or to the pool while the weather still permits!

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Knock Off Alert // Jeffrey Campbell Vicious

I'm sure all of you Jeffrey Campbell fans out there have seen the Vicious shoe and all it's gloriousness!

It's heel-less.
It's spiked.
It's neon pink.
It's basically a sin not to buy it. 

Unfortunately, not all of us can afford a $209.95 pair of shoes. Even if they are the greatest thing since Skinny Girl's Cosmopolitans.

Unless you are like me and save up for the perfect Jeffrey Campbell shoe, I found a knock-off!

I'm not sure about how most of you feel about knock-offs, but in case you really want this shoe and you don't care about brand name, I found a knock-off with a price that is way more reasonable!

Jeffrey Campbell Vicious - $209.95 - can be found here!

Darea Studded Inward Curve Wedges - £45.99 - can be found here!

How do all of my readers feel about knock-offs? Is this shoe blatantly knocking off Jeffrey Campbell? Or is it more of the new style of "in" shoe and this other company just liked the mix of neon pink and black with silver spikes/studs?

I'd really appreciate your input! :)

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DIY BLEACHED AMERICAN FLAG DENIM

Denim like this has been popping up all over lately and stores are charging outrageous prices for something that all of you at home could DIY very quickly and easily with supplies that you probably already have lying around! Read on for the how-to!

American Flag Jeans - $68.00

Supplies:

- pair of jeans

- bleach

- water to dilute the bleach

- sponge brush

- bowl to put diluted bleach in

- a ventilated place to work

- tape (painters tape or masking tape works best)

- iron

- cardboard (cereal boxes are easy to work with)

- some way to make a star (sponge stamp or stencil) 

- gloves while handling bleach

Directions:

1. first you need to set up your work area. lay out your jeans on a nice flat surface. place the cardboard in between the 2 layers of denim inside the jeans so the bleach doesn't bleed through to the other side randomly. dilute your bleach with water in a bowl. don't dilute it too much. check bottle for diluting instructions.

2. tape away stripes down 1 half of the jeans. to make sure it's a very crisp line, iron over the tape with an iron (no steam). this just melts the sticky stuff on the tape a little more so it makes the seal better)

3. use your sponge brush to fill in the stripes between the tape.

4. figure out how you will do the stars. i would say a sticky stencil of some sort so you can get crisp edges. if it is a sticky stencil that you use, remember to also iron it down so you can get the same crisp edges as the tape! :) fill in with the bleach. 

5. i would let this sit over night. if it's not working as well as you'd hoped. add more bleach with less dilution. let sit again over night. 

6. carefully remove the stencils/tape that you used and hand rinse the bleach off. wash by itself in a washer (or wait to do a whole load of hand bleached things so you don't accidentally bleach things you wouldn't otherwise want bleached).

BOOM! you have a custom pair of flag jeans! :)

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