The Importance of Castles in The Air

Apparently there is an idiom for daydreaming awake of what our heart envisions with disregard for our minds...for having unrealistic desires, or plans that appear so impractical that they will never work, illusory, or a futile flight of fancy, it is what we tend to call Castles in the Air/ Sky. And often it comes to us prefixed with, 'DO NOT...build castles in the air...' but can you imagine what the world would be if anyone had ever refrained from the impossible dream?

So today as a necessary component to being 'a creative' (self-defined noun) I post about the dreaming: big and small of mine...the thinking with my heart and not my head:

sandblasted glass block- Think With Your Head NOT Your Heart Fool..by m.diaz photo by VINCENT THFOIN Branching out: A spiral staircase leads to a tree house in Rambouillet Forest, France Etsy Seller Book of Art Our Secret Harbor Digital Art by Aimee Stewart featured in this months Somerset Digital Art Burning Man Festival SculptureBurning Man Festival Sculpture

Desert festival: For one week out of the year a portion of the desert is transformed into a thriving diverse city known as Black Rock City for the spectacular Burning Man festival in northern Nevada

Cirque De Soleil O Poseidon Under Sea Resort An unlikely surrogate mom... True Love Among the Mundane Rubbish by Kumi Yamashita and Tim Noble + Sue Webster Trashy Shadow Art

Some Personal Style from Etsy, Vera Wang and H&M

Some folks have mentioned liking my style...but to be honest when it comes to fashion my taste are so eclectic that I really don't see myself as having a sense of style. I mean some days I'm all about a western look and other days its lacey, somedays its a racoon hat and other days it's a cheetah beret and I tend to like one piece pajamas and that cannot be stylish! However, in the last few years in the blogosphere personal style has also become another aspect of female expression...with quite a few style blogs popping up and even online classes on developing and exhibiting your sense of style. Certainly online toys like Polyvore have helped that!

So inspired by my cousin TAI and her style Genius (one of the most knowledgeable fashionistas that I know)and awesome artist blogger Elsita's Style Blog, I will now (every once in a while) post about some of my fashion style love. For links scroll down to the bottom of the post.

remember as Lainie's Ladies say,

"Be Yourself Everyone Else is Taken!"

Here I am wearing some new threads- I call this ensemble Black November: A style post Background Art is a Collaborative Glass Piece by Me and my classmates in Catherine Newells class

Shirt- H&M

Silk-Screened Leggings- Etsy- Pretty Penny Designs

Shoes - Vera Wang Lavender Covered Wedge Clog from Nordstroms

MY Vera Wang Wedge Clogs from Nordstroms Click to see

Special Delivery!

Woo Hoo! Don't you love getting special envelopes in the mail?? Yesterday, I received my eagerly awaited package from Etsy seller and illustrator Hidden Eloise!! I purchased some wares and am dying to get them framed and hung up in my home. This was coming from London, so I waited in anticipation. Being an artist, I have to really love it to want to collect it and I do! Since it was packaged SO SO lovely I wanted to share it with all of you!

My package from Artist/Illustrator and Etsy Seller Hidden Eloise

For those who know me and my art (especially my animal headed humans), for the past two years I've been grappling with my relationship to the land and my dichotomous animal nature. In addition, I just happen to live in bear country (see them all the time now) so when I came across Hidden Eloise's work I kind of fell in love! I got a twofer giclee print, a pocket mirror, a button, some stickers and a card with a 'lovely' note!

All the awesome stuff by Hidden Eloise in that little envelope!

Hope you liked this as much as I did and...
TELL me in this digi age of communication what was the last WONDERFUl thing you unearthed from the mailbox??

GIVEAWAY is still going strong, You can still enter and April 4th is getting closer!!!

Ciao- Amarettogirl

The Kokeshi Doll Trend & Make Your OWN!

Traditional Kokeshi dolls from JANM

What is Kokeshi?? Well, according to Japanya site:

Kokeshi dolls originate from the Tohoku region of Northern Japan, an area well-known for its onsen (hot spring) resorts. These handmade wooden dolls are thought to date back to the early 19th century when kijiya (woodworkers), accustomed to making bowls and trays, began using their woodworking skills and lathes to make simple dolls to sell as toys and souvenirs to the onsen visitors. The dolls may originally have had a spiritual significance with the kokeshi representing a wish for a healthy child.

Usually you can find the artist signature under the doll.

This trend is hot! Right now on Etsy you can find some diversified Kokeshi inspired wares such as; Aprons, Bags, clothing, Customs, shoes, etc., just check out some of these creative Etsy Sellers!

Pocket Mirror by seller Pinkytoast handpainted shoes by seller JLPerillo dress by Holycrapclothing Kokeshi bookmarks by Zou Zou designs A Momiji Lucky Doll - The one I own!

Contemporary Kokeshi dolls have found their way into the Urban Toy market, on the internet and in hot crafty corners like Etsy.

The company Momiji is based in Warwickshire, England and has gone international with their Kokeshi-like dolls. They have cleverly incorporated little secret message space in their Momiji dolls and have been selling them in Art and Design, Museum Gift shops, Comic and music stores around the country too! Momiji has received a lot of press too in magazine's such as Dazed and Confused, POP Magazine, Elle Decoration, The Sunday Times, The Independent, The Observer and Computer Arts Projects too.

I thought it would be fun to write a post about the interesting history of Kokeshi dolls and inspire you to try to make YOUR own since you can even find Kokeshi ORIGINAl Hand-painted Artist Kokeshi dolls AND Do it yourself KITS on Etsy these days too!

Handpainted Kokeshi by seller Dandelionland Handpainted Kokeshi by seller Zombuki

>>To see a wonderful gallery of exhibited high-end Contemporary Artist painted Kokeshi that range from sweet, to dark, to sublime, to creative, to extravagant go to the Japanese American National Museum Site and check out their info on the PAST exhibit (it was from July 11th - Oct. 4th 2009)- but They still have many of the customs available in their shop and they are amazing to look at!! The prices range from $200-$650 (as far as I can tell) - the link is HERE!!

But here's the best part of this post- In the US you can currently go to most craft shops like Michael's or A.C. Moore (or any other that you know of that sells wood pieces or parts) Or if you're anywhere (even outside the US) you can buy the assembled parts from an Esty Seller like Zombuki and MAKE YOUR OWN!!!

From JANM by artist Amy Huddleston a DIY Kokeshi doll from Etsy seller Zombuki

If you get inspired to try your hand at designing and painting your own Kokeshi doll from this blog - PLEASE let me know I would love to SEE it and Post about it!

P.S. Its not too late to enter my April 4th basket GIVEAWAY!!!-

Ciao Amarettogirl

Amarettogirl Designs - Featured in my First Etsy Treasury!

Designer and fellow crafter LJ's Studio Creations made an Etsy treasury and featured me and my French Macaroon Extraordinaire ring in it! Yay this the first treasury that I have been featured in. I'm in the bottom left corner. If you want to see more of my products click HERE!

Treasury made by LJ's Studio Creations

Wednesday Etsy Window Shopping featuring Etsy Seller Poodle Breath

So every once in while I like to feature some amazing Etsy finds that I have discovered and fallen in love with! This week its Poodle Breath's amazing, Alice in Wonderland-like porcelain charms and wall plaques. White Sinking Fairytale by Poodle BreathBlue Porcelain Rabbit Brooch by Poodle BreathAmber Porcelain Rabbit Brooch by Poodle Breath I hope you all see the beauty that I see in these pieces and in their stunning photography!!

Tialey Vintage and Entrecard

As I am a new member of entrecard, I was spending some time learning the ropes and dropping 'virtual' business cards in 'virtual fish bowls' of other bloggers and sites for the past couple of days. I was hoping to find some genuine artful blogging, 'linky love' and some creative connections, when I came across the Tialey Vintage (pronounced: tea-alley) blog spot. Tialey is an independent company selling quality vintage, clothing, accessories and housewares worldwide. Now I have to say, I'm a huge Threadbanger fan and believe wholeheartedly in recycling, reconstructing and simply DIY clothing, but what if your're Edward Scissorhands and sewing is out of the question? You can still be progressive by re-thinking, reusing and thinking VINTAGE!!

Tialey' s Fit to a T - Turquoise and Black Body Hugging Spandex Vintage Mini Dress S

I was thrilled to see Tialey's banner tagline is 'The Future of Fashion is Recycling the Past'. So as it turns out, the wonderful Tialey folk (Cathleen) saw something worthy in me too, and gave me and my site some 'linky love' AND wrote a post about my etsy store!!! As it turns out Tialey has an etsy store too! -So I have featured some of their chic, retro pieces in this post.

Mod Pop Art Tialey's Flower Print Hawaiian Textiles Vintage 70s Barkcloth Dress S

"Our handpicked selection of items are primarily from the 1940s to the 1980s. It's not only a designer name that gets our attention. We look for good design, fun fabrics, vibrant color and things that will make you smile."

The way I see it, with all the production of clothing that we have in the world we can and should save a lot of time, money, energy and resources by re-using and recycling some pretty stylish clothes! Just look at this fantastic orange dress - I wish I was tall enough to pull it off!Tialey's Citrus Orange Vintage 1960s Miss Elliette Cocktail Social Maxi Dress S

Tialey also sells men's clothes! There stock is always changing, so check back often for new arrivals. Sign up for their newsletter to see a sneak peek of featured items and receive exclusive discounts.