Summer of Fun

It is HOT here already 111* coming this week.

To live and get through summer we are focusing on doing new things and finding fun.

The boy attended his first "CAMP" last week.  Art Camp.  It was a full week of learning about artists and doing their own versions of the famous works.
It was a learning experience for me and my boy.  While all the other moms got the freedom of kissing and dropping their kids off for 3 hrs, I was the only mom that had to stay and hover. When you have a child with special needs, no matter how much you want them to be part of the crowd, it becomes so apparent when you are in a camp full of typicals that your child is definitely not typical.  Let me tell ya, those feelings of jealousy for the other families come roaring in and it takes ya down a rabbit hole.  We had our ups and downs and it was a long week.  But overall I am so glad we did it and that he really did learn some things, Like he can't stop talking about Andy Warhol.  A big thank you to Mary Beth and Dave for having us to Art Camp.  

With this learning experience for the both of us, we are trying hard to get him into more and more activities to learn to be around others and how to socialize with others properly.  And hopefully get him back to where he was a year ago before the public school system let us down.  My boy used to be the first one in a room to say hello and make a friend.  Now, it is hard to even get him in the room.  Bullying and being treated differently by his old classmates and staff really took a toll.

So I am always happy to find a new place for him to explore and find a bit of happiness.  Yesterday we stumbled on to CAMP MACYS.  We had to run to the mall to fix my hubbys watch and it was at just the time that Macys was hosting a "CAMP" for kids.  Storytime around the campfire, arts and crafts, dance party, photo booth and prizes! all for free.  He had a great time.  And I loved the slogan  ALL ARE WELCOME.  It really made him feel he could be himself and fit in.

With the slogan of our summer "SUMMER OF FUN"  we will be traveling to Cali this July to take an art class with one of our all time fav Artists Paul Frank.  I cannot wait to participate in this fun day of arts with my boy.  It is a dream come true. 

My goal is to make summer go by fast and be one of the most memorable for him.

Oh we are also into the Summer Reading program at our library.   It is very disappointing this year.  Sad to see they are really cutting corners and not doing any great activities or story related days.  We always look forward to the summer reading program.  I guess we will just make it fun for ourselves and set our own goals and activities.

As for me I am still crocheting the evenings away.

 

I am done making cacti for now and have moved on to making floral garlands.  I have a huge stash of yarn from a previous project last year.  It is yarn I don't usually work with and would not have a use for it in a typical project of mine.  But it works great for brightly colored layered floral garlands.  I should have this stash thinned in just a few days if I keep this up.  I am thinking of bundling them and selling them in my etsy shop...totally fun bohemian summer decor.

Well, this is the kick off to our summer and we have a big surprise coming later today.  I have to get off this computer and get ready.

More to come, summer of fun!!!

Gypsy Backpack

We are all dreamers, some of us have bigger dreams than others.  The dreams stay with us all day, everyday.

I dreamed of this design the other night and couldn't get it out of my head til I made it.  I forced myself into the studio and didn't come out until it was finished.

Dream catcher backpack.

Made with all super soft vintage cotton fabrics. Lush velvet pink ribbon straps and streams of gorgeous fabrics flowing as you walk.

A one of a kind design that would make any boho gypsy girl swoon.

This one will be in my Etsy shop this week. Vintagemarketplace.etsy.com

Next up is the follow your dreams bag.  Its still in the process of being made but I love how it is taking shape.  Another great boho bag.  I have used parts of a 1940s kimono with amazing pink feathered arrows on it for the main focus.  I should have this one finished today. 

I think your bag should be a reflection of the person carrying it.  What does your bag say about you?

Gypsy Pouch and A giveaway

I am so excited about my Gypsy Pouch being included in Sew Somerset Magazine's June Issue.

I have had so many dreams come true since dedicating my art to making these bags.  I am in boutiques, had high fashion shoot editorials and now in a respected craft magazine.  There really has been some pinch me I must be dreaming moments in the past year.   For that I am grateful.  Hard work really does come back 10 fold.

To celebrate all my success with these one of kind, vintage fabrics and reclaimed fabrics bags.  I am launching the Rock n Roll line today in my Vintagemarketplace.etsy.com shop.  

I am also giving one Custom made gyspy pouch backpack away for those that help spread the word.  

I feel it is so important to reuse and give new life to things that have we already have or have been given in life.  Less waste, make some thing new out of something that was once loved and discarded. 

I call my bags Gypsy Pouches because of the materials I use have traveled for years around the country and have lived for decades with others gathering age and stories that we may not know but love them and give them a new story to tell and purpose.  

They are like carrying an old pieced quilt in your hands.  Soft, durable and made with love.

Help me spread the word and win your OWN gypsy pouch backpack.

Tell a friend, share it on facebook, Find me at Amy Elizabeth on Facebook.
Twitter @vintagemarketp
Instagram @vintagemarketp
Myvintagemarketplace.blogspot.com
Vintagemarketplace.etsy.com

Follow me on any of these sites share and tag a friend then tag me. And you could win your own backpack.  A winner will be chosen On FRIDAY

Thanks to all of you that have supported my dream

Gypsy Pouch and Sew Somerset Magazine

I am honored and thrilled to have been published in the June issue of Sew Somerset

Receiving that email made my day last winter.  It is such a long wait to hear and then to see it on the pages...but so worth it.

The good thing is that it gave me months to sew and prepare new bags to coincide with the magazine release date.

These are just a few, from my rock n roll line,  that will be in my Vintage
marketplace.etsy.com shop on Monday.

All my bags are handmade and hand embroidered from upcycled and reclaimed fabrics.  Vintage denim jeans, vintage hankies, faux fur zipper pulls.  I try to use only what I have or have been given.

The bags are heavy duty with vintage brass zippers, lined, interfacing for shaping and inside pockets.  

They measure anywhere from 14 to 16 inches wide and 10 to 12 inches deep and can carry a full lifes worth of stuff.

I sit and piece each one together like I am working a puzzle.  Lots of love and thought go into each one.

I am planning a lot more for summer, festivals and fleamarkets, concerts and hiking.
Hands free pouches are coming.

Stay tuned and follow me on Instagram for dibs on the new products.
Follow me at @vintagemarketp

If you are interested in a custom bag, made with your own pieces and memories sewn in, just let me know.  I am working on a custom piece now for a vet from Detroit, to give his girlfriend of his Airforce memories and how it brought them together.

Now I better get back in the studio and sew, sew, sew. 

Summer

its officially here!
We will be in triple digits this weekend and won't have the air conditioning off for 5 months starting today.

We are keeping busy though.

Homeschool, karate, sprinklers, bubbles and swimming for the boy.

Crochet, sewing and etsy for mom.  My crochet Cactus garden...

We have a few surprises and trips planned for the Summer as well.  When it gets to 118* its time to get out of dodge.

Trying to get a lot of new things made for my shop Vintagemarketplace.etsy.com and vintage clothes in my Vintagemarketclothes.etsy.com shop 

*Flag in the header is now for sale in my Vintagemarketclothes.etsy.com shop  Both shops have big sales going on some come on by and check them out.  Ya never know what you might find.

Well, here is to a great summer! Lets see where it takes us. 

Spring and Renewing

For the last 6 months I have been dealing with a major hair disaster.
I went to a very high end salon here in Downtown Las Vegas and the ruined my hair.
It was badly bleached out and turned green then it began to fall off and turned into a big fuzzy ball of a mess.
I tried conditioning, oiling and not washing it for weeks at a time.
Nothing really worked.
The only thing to do was to cut it all off.
I was devastated.
I have not had short hair in probably 16-17 years. 
I put it off.  I kept it up and out of my way hoping it would bounce back.

Last week I woke up and said enough,  I can't look at it any longer and begged my hubby to take his clippers to it and shave it off.  He asked me to sign a waiver before he picked up the clippers. 

I closed my eyes and the next thing I knew...it was all gone.
It took him 3 hours but it was worth it.

I am in love with it and can't imagine why I was holding on to that broken, dead frizzy hair.

 I feel fresh, alive and so happy again.  Hair always made me feel pretty.  I know it is silly but it did.  Funny thing is, now I feel beautiful and not that I think that I am, but the feeling of letting it all go and starting fresh makes me feel amazing.  Ready for summer!

Time of my Life

This year is unfolding and teaching me to live again.

Not to be scared and take more chances.

As a SAHM of a child with special needs, you get lost and life becomes about everything else and you lose yourself and your dreams.

I am realizing life goes by and things happen in the blink of an eye.

Not saying "if I" or "I should have" instead I am saying lets do this and lets do that.

Being my true self and taking time for me.

In this journey, I decided to return to my first love...Vintage buying.  I started when I was 18 working in rag houses in St. Louis and learning as much as I could about vintage clothing.  I went through a lot of crap but learned a lot.  I always dreamed of having my own shop, and why that may not be in the cards, I can open my own Online Shop.  Vintagemarketclothes.etsy.com 

I love the hunt for vintage, specifically 1970s, boho, southern rock, biker style.  It was always poo pooed as a classic vintage style.  Not lady like or you need to dress like a girl.  Nope, that just ain't me.  I have always been a true jeans and t-shirt gal with a little flannel thrown in. 
A rebel at heart.
Slowly, I am finding vintage pieces that I love and sharing with others who are missing them in their true lives.
And just for fun, I am throwing in some handmade fashions from vintage and embroidery on the rebel side.

I hope you all support this and come say hi on my IG @vintagemarketclothing and vintagemarketclothes.etsy.com