In January of 2006, a young college student was contacted by a friend about a deal she couldn't pass up - $480 for a round trip plane ticket to Amsterdam. Who was that girl? Well me, of course! The only stipulation was we had to go between a certain time frame, so a date of February 23rd was chosen for the two to head off. It was my first time going anywhere beyond the east coast of the USA so I didn't know what to expect. I know I spent much of that first day out of my comfort zone in airplanes and airports, but that's not what I remember. What I remember is getting on my first train in a foreign country and 20 minutes later, the doors open to Centraal Station. At first it felt like nothing out of the ordinary - a city station. But a few steps away from the grandiose building and I felt as though I was in a fairy tale. I remember saying outloud, "This is so surreal, and I feel silly for saying it, but it just seems so dollhouse-like that I feel like I'm in Epcot!"

I realized the way that I felt was the way a child must feel for the first several years of life. Everything you see is new and clear. Every morning I woke up refreshed and ready to explore more to see what I could stumble upon. I had a renewed energy and just became excited... for life!

My design is based upon the story told above. I wanted to make a design that felt as though it was seen through a child's eyes, by a young adult who - up until that day - already forgotten what that felt like.

I love the placement, colors, very cool

I had the added advantage of being a child... in amsterdam :)
this is very nice.

very cool love the buildings

I love the little swirls in teh sky. It may sound silly but looking at it gives me a sense of what you must have felt stepping out of the door into amsterdam. So big and beatiful the world must have seemed. All the newness and expectance of something just around the corner waiting to be discovered.

$5 for both the design and reminding me of what it's like to visit places outside of the USA.

i love the city build's but dont know about the swirls in the sky... would give it $5 on a plain tee but awesome all the same- good work!

I love the style of the buildings so much!

nice shirt AND story! :)

oh my god i freaking love this i really really really want to buy this shirt pleeeease print this, threadless!!! 5000$! lol

Impressive first sub! A charming design, looks great on the shirt. I also really enjoyed reading the intro. 5$

i love the placement, the drawing style and the story. Does the print continue around the back of the shirt? that would be even better! the only thing I don't really like is the swirls but that's just my personal preference.

Love it, add some birds, it's a wrap!
;~}

i'm not sure how i feel about the swirls

Want want want - does it go 'round the back?

not too keen on the shirt colour. Keep the colour and the swirls and make the buildings B&W&G or change the swirls and the shirt colour. Blue sky in A'dam's pretty unusual - still - it was your day out, so blue skies!

This is 100 different types of awesome!!!!! that illo is fantastic! I give it a 6(but a 5 will have to do)

I absolutely love this. Great job!!

This is so amazing that I had to register for the web site! I love this design, I think the swirls are just fine the way they are, but I agree that some birds or something in the sky would add to it (maybe even a really tiny plane - the one that got you there?) AWESOME!

great buildings

Very nice - the buildings look fantastic

I love amsterdam! xxx
IF YOU HAVE A SECOND PLEASE SEE MY TEES:

http://www.threadless.com/submission/182114/when_I_was_a_child_I_thought_on_flying_cars

http://www.threadless.com/submission/182194/Trick_or_treat

I've lived one year over there.
Great time.
But...
This can be a tourist tee you can find at the Bloementmarkt...

I love your style. I would prefer to see more of the buildings and a bit less sky.

coool! not a fan of the swirls, but looks good on the shirt

Hey everybody - thanks for all the comments. This is my first submission so I'm glad to get the criticism, I think some of you made fantastic suggestions! I'll post more in the future!

Ah yah I recognize Amsterdam :)
We've the same kind of buildings in North of France, we're not far from them. Nice job !

whoa! cool.

Nice work!

super...