Beauty in change…

  {tiger lily bouquet from the weekly trip to the farmer’s market}

Spring is a good time to be gearing up to move. (or, more accurately, gearing down…}

The sun warms my skin when I am outside. The flowers open their faces to the sun…

We have opened the windows wide, allowing the breeze to move in, moving my soul to want to clean house. Perhaps not cleaning in the traditional sense (much to my family’s chagrin), but the moment, the momentum, of the spring errupting has helped me begin to let go of the weight of the winter and of the items in my home that have weighed us down.

I don’t get serious around these parts very often but that fact often ignores some very real parts of who I am. I love to write. I love to share. But I have been trying to do it in a “genre appropriate way.” However, with the fact that I will no longer be blogging for an Etsy store and will not be thrfting and sharing the vintage love, my blog will surely evolve. And I want it to do so in a way that allows me to be authentic.

I read this article this morning over on Seth Gobin’s blog. While I want an audience for my words, I want to find an audience that relates to me for the person I am, the feelings we experience similarly, and the journey we are all taking.

PS…In preparation for our move, I am going to be moving June Vintage over to a new {free} platform. I am going back and forth between WordPress.com and Blogger. {I do love Tumblr the best but people/readers seem to be confused by it and are more familiar with the other two.} I love, love, love Squarespace but I want to shed the cost of playing for a blogging platform. Do you have any insight, opinion, or thoughts on it? Where do you like to read blogs? Where do you blog {and share your link!}? Please tell!

Photography Friday: 5 sources to improve your photography

Let me first get this out: I am glad that the last week is over. It has been a draining, emotional rollarcoaster (foster kids leaving unexpectedly, graduate finals, etc. ) and I have been totally off my game. And I find that during these off times, I neglect the things that make me sane. For me, that is snapping shots of life and getting some alone time in on the sewing machine. I will be enjoying both this weekend!

As a send off to the weekend, I thought I would share some of the {free!} resources, ebooks and websites that I have come across lately to glean a little photog knowledge:

1. Digital Photography School

2.  31 Days to a Better Photo from my3boybarians.com

Source: my3boybarians.com via Heather on Pinterest

3. Inspiration: Shutter Sisters

As much as I love how beautiful nature light portrait photography is, it is not my thing. I love the images, the expression, the art of the photography shared on Shutter Sisters.

4. Photography Fun: Photojojo

DIY hacks, cool gear, and neat ideas…I want to totally throw this photo scavenger hunt party!

5. Motivation: Esther Havens (Humanitatrian Photographer) Site & Blog

{if I had one big dream it would be to be able to use photography in this way…}

And, remember how one of my birthday goals was to watch a Ted talk every week? This is my talk this week: National Geographic’s photo director talks about how photography connects us:

http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf

Enjoy your weekend!

How high is the water, momma?

Living on the water has its bonus points, for sure. But after 4 days straight of rain and 23 inches of rain accumulation, we felt like Johnny Cash in his song “Five feet high and Risin‘”: looking for an escape route! This is what our week has looked like:

but when we woke up yesterday…we were blessed to be able to walk outside our door and enjoy this:

It was pure sunshine and happiness!

{On a side note: I am a newbie and novice to photography in almost every way but it was very helpful to me when I started taking the camera setting off auto to know what manual settings people used…So, FYI, I usually record what manual camera settings I use in flickr…}

What are you doing this weekend? Enjoy!

Friday Favorites: Pinterest Edition

If you are anything like me, you discover so many amazing things while browsing through blogs, websites, flickr and Facebook links. My bookmarked favorites were a little out of control- everything from sewing tutorials, inspirational articles, and kiddie crafts to do with my son. Then, I discovered Pinterest… It is like a web-based inspiration board that you can categorize into things that you care about. And, if you chose, you can swap and share with others. Here is a little round-up of my favorite discoveries on Pinterest this week:

<img title="Fabric Corkboard Mosaic" src="” alt=”DIY Fabric Corkboard Mosaic” width=”629″ height=”718″ />

DIY Fabric Corkboard Mosaic via Craftzine.com

{click through the pictures to find the original source and tutorials!}

Vintage Inspired Gift Tags via EatDrinkChic.com

{LOVE the retro cop!…you can buy these cuties at A Wilderness for You over on Big Cartel

Plus Quilt Tutorial via In Color Order

J Crew Tee Knock Off tutorial via Just Another Day in Paradise

Vegan Pumpkin Chili via Another Bites the Crust Blog

{why, yes, I did try this recipe and it was delish! I only had one can of beans in the pantry but added some whole wheat elbow macaroni to make my three year old want to eat it and it was total success…yum!}

There ‘ya have it…some crafty things to do, some cute gift tags to buy and some fall chili to make! If you are on Pinterest, let me know-I would love to have some more cool ideas come my way!

Pssssst…I have a couple of invites left…send me an email at junevintage {at} gmail {dot} com and I can send you an email so you can try Pinterest, too!

June loves Enid Collins

{Vintage Enid Collins bag-photo credit: Picnic by Ellie}

When I dream of all the collections I will have, a shelf full of Enid Collins purses top the list of things I want to own. I currently lusting  after all of these beauties…

Enid Collins Pavan Box Purse from Purple Deer Vintage

{click through any of the pictures to the stores!}

Tres Flores by Collins of Texas from Lefty Lou Vintage

Jewel Garden by Enid Collins from Etta Blue

And, until you can find your own authentic bag to love, check out Naughty Secretary’s Club “I Love to Create” feature on making your own Enid Collin’s inspired creation!

Introducing June Vintage

I am happy to announce that after a year of wanting to open a vintage homegoods store, I am slowly making it a reality. Camp Cupcake Designs will be on the back burner {um, it kinda already was!} while I work to set up shop. All my Twitter friends, join me on Tumblr and on Twitter and keep tuned for all updates.

June Vintage, named for the month of weddings {including my own!} and June Carter Cash {half of one of my favorite musical couples}, seeks to be a source of fun vintage goods and supplies to help you enjoy your modern home.