Recently, someone asked me a question about fashion and about how one might develop their own sense of fashion. It was definitely a question that got me thinking about my love of fabric and design. It only took a moment for me to realize that I was already implementing a very effective tool for developing a sense of individual fashion and expression. ..my fashion album.

Now, many of you are probably thinking that cutting out clothing, shoes, and snippets of anything else inspiring could be a huge waste of time, but hear me out! How many of you have looked through a magazine and found yourself earmarking pages or saying, “I would love to have a ______ like that”?

A fashion album could easily be called an inspiration album. I find myself cutting out pieces of furniture because I love the lines. I snip wallpaper because I love the pattern. Many elements can be used to recognize your personal fashion sense; whether it be in the realm of clothing or home decor. I mean people pay to have a n “expert” discover these things for them – save the money and take a journey into yourself.

I will cut out pieces from magazines over months and slip them into my photo pages. Over time I come to find I have an entire outfit – and typically not the outfit originally published in the magazine. I will find a pair of shoes in October’s issue, a pair of pants in August and a shirt in July; as you can see in my example pages above and below.

It’s pretty apparent that I have a love for vintage designs. However, it is SO obvious when you flip through my album that I am pretty bohemian and eclectic as well. And while I am very familiar with my own style choices, there are times that even I will learn something about myself by looking through it. A couple weeks ago I realized that I probably had six or more shirts and jackets that donned the same collar style. After realizing that I evaluated why I liked the rounded collar so much. It’s feminine, it’s soft, it’s set further out to the sides so that the buttons can still be seen in all their glory. Simple things, but they are revealing.

Being that I am learning more and more about sewing, my hope is that I will one day be able to find similar patterns and/or design my own based on these pieces. It’s also like playing paper dolls as an adult! However, in most instances I cut the heads away so as not to compare myself to the models and to focus on the pieces themselves.

So, get clipping! I am eager to hear what you learn about yourself.

Now, isn’t he just the cutest turtle you ever did see?  I mean, he’s so cute that he’s a ladybug’s man.   I had a lamp similar to this style when I was a child, but it was Jack and Jill by the well.  The colors and style just make me happy as can be.  This lamp is definitely old, but it is in perfect working condition!  The turtle is actually the knob to a music box that plays “Rock-a-bye Baby”.

The lamp shade was the only thing that was missing, but I found this one the next day for $2.  I am thinking of covering it in this striped fabric.  What do you think?  The fabric is nice and thin so the light shines through it in a pretty, night light sort of way.

Elionai loves it.  She always want to take the turtle off, especially when he is twirling around ever so slowly to the tune.  It is as if she wants to catch him and make sure he doesn’t come down “turtle and all”.

We went camping over the Labor Day weekend and it was wonderful to get out of the heat wave of the valley and into the green pine trees up north. Somehow the two hour trip managed to take us nearly eight hours in the midst of holiday traffic and car accidents that brought traffic to a literal stand-still on the highways, but it was worth it.

We went on a walk to see how many different types of mushrooms we could find. All the mushrooms you see here were within something like one hundred yards of our tent.

We pulled into the campsite after nine at night so we set up our tent in the dark and crawled into bed.

We met a couple who have lived in their RV in the area for at least the last six months. They were a nice couple but a few things about them couldn’t hide the fact that they were the kind of people that could live out in the wilderness for lengthy stretches of time. The advice she gave me that included dumping the body of anyone you might have to shoot in the wilderness because “you are not innocent until proven guilty and you will be sued for everything you have by the deceased person’s family” told me that I didn’t wanna be on her bad side.

However, they were full of very useful knowledge as well. They informed us that the ranger could ticket us for setting up camp within a quarter mile of a man-made watering hole that is meant to serve the local wildlife. I think they are called water tanks, but they aren’t tanks at all so don’t be misled by the name.

It rained for a bit each day – only a tad. However, on the last night there was a downpour. Thank the Lord our tent was watertight and the baseball-sized moths couldn’t get inside while we slept!

Doesn’t this all just make you think of a land of make believe? The angle of these photos makes it rather easy to imagine we are just a few inches tall. It makes me think of fairies and fanciful tales of flight.

It makes me think of Fern Gully!

I’d like to dedicate one day a week to a topical photo series. This will be a great way for me to practice a hobby I really enjoy while passing on some inspiring photos of places and things you may not experience in your own neck of the woods. I’d be interested in hearing what sort of series interest you so don’t be shy!

Goats have horizontal slit-shaped pupils.

Pregnancy duration is approximately 150 days. Twins are the usual result, as with this litter. Birthing is known as “kidding”.

On Yom Kippur two goats were chosen and lots were drawn for them. One was sacrificed and the other allowed to escape into the wilderness, symbolically carrying with it the sins of the community. From this comes the word “scapegoat”.

Last week I made a Goodwill run and happened upon this great game called STARE! Yes, we are “one of those families” that love to play games and Goodwill is the place to find them cheap. Take this one, for instance, it sells retail for $29.99 at places like Target, yet I paid a whole $1.99 for it and it is in like new condition. Above you can check out some examples of the artwork from such sources as Norman Rockwell, DC Comics, Action Comics, old advertisements, product packages, movie posters, and more. I always feel so elementary adding lines like “and more” to a sentence, but sometimes enough is enough and I simply want to get to what’s next.

So, the object of the game is to “stare” at the card you receive for 20 seconds and study as much detail as possible before it is snatched away from you and the interrogations begin. So, go ahead…give it a shot! I have enlarged a single card for your eyes to study – remember, only 20 seconds. Go…

Now, don’t look again and try to answer these questions:

1. You can partially see the man’s reflection in the back mirror. True or False

2. There are three swirls on the box of Cheer. What colors are they?

So, how did you do? Do tell! And to wrap things up with a bit of personal nostalgia – I had to pick this game up as well – for my children, of course!  Do you recognize it? Come on, if you’re a member of Generation X I bet you’ve played it or watched your sister and her friends play it (like my hubby).

Here is a great resource I found as a result of this game that had all the pieces but no instructions. If it’s a Hasbro game, have no fear – pay the cheaper price and just download the missing instructions.