tongue in cheek blog.....you must see the video

one of my most favorite blogs is called tongue in cheek, that i visit as much as i possibly can. and most recently she added a you tube to a post that put wings on my heart and made me want to fly. Corey who writes the blog, is a America girl married to a very handsome Frenchman. they fell in love, married and she moved to France where she had her 2 children. she is an amazing poet, writer, vintage collector of french treasures from local flea markets. fh (french husband) she calls him is a hugh thrill seeker, and recently went to Italy and climbed some very scary mountain.....please click to my favorites tongue and cheek, (www. willows95988.typepad.com) and scroll down till you see mont viso, italy....read the story, and when you see watch video, click there...... it is astonishing

teesha and tracy moore in l.a.

http://www.teeshamoore.com/

teesha and tracy moore in l.a.

l.a. was so lucky to be visited by teesha and tracy moore the weekend of july 18 and 19 at the carson stamp convention. i met them 7 years ago in carson along with my daughter ashley and her friend alexis. little did we know the journey they would take us on, the doors they would open, the lives they have touched in all of our lives. they would encourage me to go the art retreat they hosted in port townsend, washington. and one fine year i went with my dear friend yvonne to artfest 2005, and probably had the most glorious experience of my life. and i have gone every year since, and had the most wonderful teachers who have become my friends. i cannot tell you enough how exhilirating being with 400 to 500 students for a 3 day art retreat. august 1st will open her website for posting new classes for artfest 2008. it will be open for registration in sept, and be filled in 1 day. see her website for info http://www.teeshamoore.com/ both tracy and teesha gave a special talk at the carson convention. teesha gave us some wonderful tips about her journaling, and her journal books, and tracy talked about his books , that were handbound, and how he began his artwork thru doddling. i think i could probably write a book on the both of them. thank you tracy and teesha

tim holtz stamps

tim holtz has a great line of stamps. for the last 2 years he has been displaying his products at the carson stamp show in los angeles area. not only does he have the coolest stamps, but he has designed a whole line of inks and paints that are really wonderful. the man is a saint, and patiently demos his line of products for hundreds of woman all day long, and always is kinder than anyone i have ever seen. i would love to take a class with him. thanks for sharing your ideas and inspirations tim.

tim holtz

Wooden Dolly by diane

my very best gail moved far far away to seattle (close to artfest). she did manage to leave behind her wonderful sister ,diane who made this amazing wooden dolly. she has just stepped into the artworld, having retired and found she has a great passion for trying every new art product and techique there is. she had just taken a class in agoura calif, and learned to make these dolls. she is so inspired, that her husband has joined her in her ventures. he purchased lumber and made 10 doll kits, i have one that i need to put together. isnt the headdress magnifcent? thanks for sharing diane.... and gail for leaving your sister....

do you have a memory of your dolly?

please post comment of your special dolly moments................. xxoo

dollies i love

somehow i began this collection of tiny baby dollies. it began about 2 years ago in Prague, i was collecting vintage postcards at the time and would duck in all the doors of the coolest vintage shops where noone spoke a lick of english. i would stumble upon these little treasures. these particular dollies came from the alameda flea market in the san francisco area. the big dollie was only 5.00, and the smaller ones were 3.00 ...except the black dolly, she was special and i am sure worth alot of money. i paid 25.00 for her. she was a special edition made in japan. i have them in my art studio, and love to look at them as well as photograph them with my hp altering camera r927.

our villa, orvieta italy

the purpose in going to italy was to stay in a villa, that my husbands friend organized. there were 4 couples that grew up together since they were 5 years old. the villa was out in the country in the outshirts of orvieta italy, in the province of umbria (just below tuscany) we were about 1 1/2 hours north of rome, and 1 1/2 hours south of florence. we had our rented car and van to do day trips. my favorite was assisi. it was a hilltop fortress with monks still walking the streets. st. francis was buried there in his special church. there was a special charm in the air that could not be described. finding our way on the coble stones of assisi somehow transported you to another time. our villa was very large to accomodate 4 couples very nicely. we learned our way around the village quickly, and soon found our way to the grocery store and cooked some wonderful meals.

burano,italy inspiration for painting my house

do you see the little turquoise house with the white trim? that was the house i fell in love with. burano captured my heart, the town was a canvas of color explosion that i could not get out of my head .... and so it came to be the front of my house transformed into a piece of burano, with a curtain on my front door that blows in the breeze.

aston martin db9 headed down the highway

we spotted the luxury car ready to pass us as we headed for leo carillo beach, malibu calif. leo carillo is famous little camp ground on the beach. access to the caves and the beach .. is from under highway 1, the wonderful road that hugs the california coast.

heart rocks

we started our heart rock collection about 6 years ago, and most of them came from our beach in leo carillo, malibu. when it is low tide there is always an amazing catch of hearts, this one had wings...

seaweed brunch

every summer my son connor's best friend from the 3rd grade visits his grandparents in los angeles from chicago. over the years he became my second son, and we always are searching for new adventures. sunday we visited leo carillo beach in malibu in hopes we could be there for low tide and search out the star fish, octopus, but we came just a little late, that didnt stop kostya and lucas from finding a lizard that they chased me down the beach with, a sea crab, and eating seaweed. oh and climbing to the edge of cliffs as the waves crashed dangerously to close .

sea crab

chi energy

minnie working the chi energy bowl

chi bowl energy

i had never heard of this, nor ever imagined i would be rubbing the handles of a bowl to make the water vibrate to boiling. i was fastinated with it when my friend Eddie said he was going to work the chi bowl. as he began to rub the brass handles of the bowl, the handles began to sing, and soon the water transformed. of course i had to try my hand, and immediately it began to work, and their was an intense flow of engery vibrating thru my body. i tried to think, but it was difficult, and i didnt want to stop this strange state of meditation. when i finally stopped, i had release of tension from my shoulders, and i felt serge of engery. i still have not been able to find anything on the bowl and what this process means. i do know i will be looking for bowl, and will use this in meditation. if anyone knows anything about this, please post a comment...

chi bowl

you can see around the edges of the bowl the energy of chi caused the water to begin to boil.

reggio emilia private school

ashley is very proud to be teaching at kumara

school. it is based on the teachings of reggio emilia, a region in central italy. the teachings ensure the children design their own living spaces, plant their own gardens, prepare their food. the tiny little ones are doing amazing creative productive living. below you will see some of their working enviorments.

handpainted curtains

the children design their surroundings...can you imagine preschool children doing the designing?

suit of armor

this is a hand felted suit of armor that ashley helped the children felt of wool.

the art room

creations of the art room

playground

play structures the children designed

garden grows

the garden the children planted

view from the little red barn

the barn is surrounded by the forest//// a barn in modern times, in a forest....fitting for a girl that loves vintage

little red barn

ashley moves into a little red barn, circa early 1900's.

what you can find at alameda flea market

every month, the first sunday of the month, a special flea market event in the city of alameda, california occurs. starting with this post i have many of my favorite things.... unique because the flea market sits on almost an island, surrounded by the bay, with a view of san francisco, and the breeze of the bay, it was a divine shopping expedition.

everything:

glass from the past

images of alameda

the flea market in alameda california was a photo delight.

dollys of alameda flea market

these tiny treasures were unearthed in germany from world war II era. i have many of them at home calling for a special project. i found a very special dolly.....and i have just seen her....do you see the little dolly with the orange dress on? if you look closely you can see she has wings...i have never seen a dolly with wings .... so i have this special dolly as part of my collection, to me signifying new ways to fly, change in my life...

treasures of alameda

who could possibly resist these tiny treasures by the sea...

alameda flea market

queen of all flea markets, flea market by the bay. this past weekend i hopped in the car with my dear friends Eddie and Yvonne down the highway to the bay. we found our kids in the mission district, headed out to have puruivan food at the local eatery. San francisco is always a delight for food destinations, and our kids know the best. in the morning we headed to the flea market and this was the first treasure i found, and for 225.00 this large statue goddess would have been a steal, but after graduation and italy i had to pass.....