This week in the shop, I started listing some lovely vintage dresses from the 40's-60's. I'll be listing more this week!

find it in the Shop

Find it in the Shop

Find it in the Shop

Find it in the Shop

Find it in the Shop

Eliza M's Vintage Style Sewing offers their brand new collection of sewing patterns inspired by vintage fashions.

 If you love the style but are intimidated by confusing markings on vintage patterns, this is your pattern shop! Eliza M's Vintage Style Sewing has made sewing as simple as possible- with no multi-sizes and classic cut for easy sewing and patterns go up to a size 22. Here are a few of my favorites:

It's been a busy week so far but Va-Voom Vintage Shop on etsy is finally open! I'm starting with listing my collection of knitting and crochet patterns from my vintage magazines and booklets. Crochet patterns include a 2 page instruction sheet with basic crochet patterns from a 1955 crochet magazine.

 I love the complexity and beauty of knitting but crochet is a great place to start if you're new to needle arts. My great grandma taught me to crochet when I was a teenager and it is so relaxing. Unlike knitting, which takes me ages to complete, crochet usually gives instant gratification for impatient crafters like myself. Here are a few of my favorite crochet patterns, just listed in the shop.

Poodles on Parade Cardigan I must find time to crochet this one soon. Poodles are so kitschy and fun! I'm thinking baby blue with black poodles and metallic or beaded details...maybe a monogram in place of poodles. I just love it!


 Tweed Chenille Bag and Beret with little velvet bows  
I really adore the spray of tiny velvet bows across the top of this hat. Unlike many tiny vintage purses, this handbag is a decent size to hold all of your modern needs.



Cotton Filet Blouse
This blouse is so stunning. It would be beautiful with a 50's full skirt or even with modern trousers.



 Straw Resort Crochet Dress
How awesome is this dress? I saw a crocheted dress made from doilies a while back and have been wanting a crocheted summer dress ever since. I think it would be a great project to do over the winter.



 Embroidered Shirtwaist Cardigan
One thing I always consider before investing a lot of time in knitting or crocheting a garment is "how often will I actually wear it?". This cardigan is a perfect example of a handmade item that you can wear with ease and it mixes well with a vintage or modern wardrobe. And I can't say no to anything with a cute collar.


I'll be posting weekly updates with new arrivals including pdf and paper patterns, vintage clothes and accessories.  You can also be the first to know about new listings via facebook and twitter. Thanks for looking!

Before we begin with this giveaway, the winner of my Marilyn: Intimate Exposures giveaway is  Kim from Midwest Musings. Congratulations! Please email me with your mailing address.


      Today we have a really lovely giveaway from one of my sponsors, Mrs Depew Vintage
 Mrs. Depew Vintage specializes in vintage sewing, knitting and crochet patterns. Her amazing PDF patterns have become very popular in the vintage sewing community but she also offers a variety of paper patterns in her etsy shop. She just launched her brand new website, mrsdepew.com where you can see her full line of patterns, ebooks and get updates on her newest additions.


 I recently finished her 1950's one-piece bathing suit pattern and I used her 1950's beach bustier for my tiki dress!

                    My 1950's Bathing Suit                                          My Tiki Dress and Bolero


Today's giveaway was hand picked by Mrs. Depew

"McCall's 6971 from 1947 is a printed pattern for a Ladies' and Misses' Dress in a wearable size 42 with a 44" bust and 36" waist. The dress includes a front bow-tie, shoulder pads, an optional belt, and short, three-quarter or long sleeves. The envelope may show some wear and tear but this little gem has in-fact never been used and is still in its original factory folds."


To enter:
 be a follower of this blog and leave a comment below with your favorite Mrs Depew pattern or ebook

The giveaway will run for one week and the winner will be announced next Wednesday.

On Sunday morning, Pj and I took a walk through this beautiful field of buttercups. I love these huge rolls of straw. I call them "Wheats" because they look like enormous frosted mini wheat cereal. On road trips when I see cows grazing, I yell "COWS!" in a squeaky girly voice. When I see these, I yell "WHEEEEATS!" I never realized how big these things are. Pj had to give me a boost so I could climb up on one.


The air was so cool and fresh and this field was full of beautiful sunny buttercups. I could have stayed here all day if it weren't for the scratchy, crispy grass from the drought. Although the local cows are dehydrated and the corn has only grown to a few feet tall, these little flowers bloom and thrive with very little water. They are small and look fragile but they are strong and they don't let anything keep them from blooming. Oh, to be a buttercup!

This weekend, I found myself quoting Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? when we passed through Mexico, Florida and Paris all in two days. Well, Mexico, Florida and Paris, Missouri, anyway! I take a billion photos of the scenery but to spare you the boredom, here's a peek at the interesting structures of each town. Mexico is actually a pretty big city and has some really amazing buildings, neat little shops and festivals. I hope to go back and explore it sometime soon.

 

 Pj's grandparents live near Mark Twain Lake and we joined his mom for a weekend road trip to relax and visit.  His uncle has a vacation house just a few doors down so Pj, the kids and I stayed there and enjoyed the quiet evenings and lazy mornings. Here is Olivia and her frog, "Haircut" checking out the lake.


On Saturday, I spent most of the day right here in the hammock by the lake, watching the clouds go by and enjoying the gorgeous weather.



After the kids woke from their naps, we went to the marina at Mark Twain Lake to feed the dish off the dock. They were enormous! Rhys and Livvie both loved watching the fish splash and munch on stale croutons and Pj loved petting them.

 

On the way to the Marina, Rhys loved the feel of the wind in his hair!







 

Well, I'm finally back. The past few weeks away from my dear blog has been difficult but I'm all set up with my desk/vanity again and we're all settled in our new space. Pj, Rhys and I share a room and Olivia shares a room with one of my nieces. I'm surprised but we actually managed to fit everything we need in this little space! Wanna see?

I had to go down to one dress rack (I know, -only- one?!). I love this rack because it can hold all of my dresses, plus it has lots of storage space for my train cases, purses and other things.



 My sister in law's vintage sewing desk is our computer desk/ vanity. I also brought one of my living room side tables to hold my craft books, knitting supplies and jewelry.



In addition to moving, I have a job working for an agency that supports people with developmental disabilities. I worked in the field before becoming a housewife and I'm really excited to start back with a rewarding job. It has all been a stressful change but it's all good things. Thank you to everyone for your sweet and supportive emails and comments. Now that I'm back online, I'll be responding to emails and Facebook again!


The kids are really happy to be staying here too. Nellie has 3 babies so it's a full house and they are all very close in age. They play and make messes and watch kids movies all day long. They have so much fun that no one really naps anymore but that means that everyone sleeps well through the night.

my vintage tablecloth curtains

We'll be settling down in our own place in a few months but for now we're very comfortable and cozy at Nellie's house. Last night, she taught me how to make frosting from scratch and how to decorate a cake and tonight is her weekly girl's night yarn crafts, which I am -really- looking forward to! I have one more sleeve to knit before my bolero will be finished.

P.S. You can read Nellie's hilarious blog about motherhood, pregnancy, cooking and her laugh-out-loud funny musings here

In memorial of the 50 year anniversary of Marilyn's death,  I have a very special giveaway, courtesy of Sterling Publishing, a beautiful book Marilyn: Intimate Exposures featuring pages of never before published photos by Hollywood photographer Bruno Bernard.  


Bruno Bernard was one of the first photographers to work with Marilyn, as a the aspiring model, Norma Jean. He sphotographed the famous scene of her white dress blowing up in the air while on the set of the Seven Year Itch. Marilyn confided in Bruno as a young woman and they remained friends until her tragic passing on August 5th, 1962. 



 Bernard's daughter, Susan Bernard compiled her father's beautiful photos, notes, letters and more into this lovely keepsake book- a tribute to both Marilyn and her father. 


 Today only, Marilyn: Intimate Exposures is on sale at Barnes and Noble for 50% off but I have one copy to give away to a lucky reader. 

 To Enter

•  Be a follower of Va-Voom Vintage and tweet "Marilyn: Intimate Exposures is 50% off today only at BN.com - http://bit.ly/KTytc9. RT for your chance to win a copy! cc @SterlingBooks" 

           or you can share it on facebook

             *edit* if you're having problems tweeting the whole thing, that's okay, just leave me a link to your modified tweet :)

• please leave a comment with a link to your tweet so I can enter your name in the giveaway.  

 Giveaway is today only and the winner will be announced tomorrow!



*Marilyn: Intimate Exposures provided for review by Sterling Publishing. Va-Voom Vintage is not affiliated with Sterling Publishing or Barnes and Noble. All images in this post are copyright Bernard of Hollywood via www.marilynintimateexposures.com*

Well hello, blogland!
 I've been away for a while and I came back to see that I've reached 1400 readers! Oh my goodness!! Thank you to all of you for reading me, commenting and for hanging around through my current craziness. I recieved the sweetest email from a reader yesterday and I can't tell you how much it brightens my day hearing from you gals. Thank you, everyone!

 Anyway, I've been packing and cleaning, doing lots of laundry, wearing yoga pants, playing with the kids and gearing up for work outside the home but I've also been doing something quite fun- writing an ebook!

As you can tell from my blog ramblings, I truly love to write. In the past few months, I've been helping a few bloggers out with thier blogs and they have inspired me to write an ebook on successful blogging, loaded with tips and tutorials on blog design, attracting readers, building great content, photography and editing tips and everything I know about writing a blog. I intended for it to be a normal small book size but I have so much to say on the subject that I'm afraid it may turn out to be an encyclopedia!

 

Before I go any further, I wanted ask do you have any questions or problems about blogging that you would like to see addressed in the book? If so, drop me an email or leave me a comment and I'll be sure to cover it for you!

It's a long work in progress but I'm plugging away and I hope to have it completed and available within the next few months.

Have a lovely weekend, everyone!