Welcome back to A Time to Play and another Fun and Fabulous Fashion Look Book! This look book spans the week of May 11- 17, 2025,  so I'm looking with fresh eyes at what worked for me and what didn't. 

We have a mix of fun motifs and animal print as well as bold color and the classic denim. One thing I want to note here is the repeat of dark turquoise, but swapping the bottom print for a top print the second time. I always look at the patterns of what I wear since I find it fascinating. 

So, on to the Winning Look for this Look Book! Jazzy Zebra has the type of dynamic that makes my eyes happy, with the juxtaposition of the striping on the wrap and on the zebra striped top together; I also love the flow of the wrap that gives it swing and an airiness. I love the shimmer of the chosen scarf that is now one of my favorites. Burnt orange happens to be one of my favorite colors, a dominant one in my wardrobe color palette, so that's a win in and of itself. I also paired it with white jeans and burnt orange nylons. 

The Winning Jewelry below is a multi strand beaded necklace with varying hues of orange and white (a lovely choice I found at an antique shop!), along with an orange drop beaded earring (one of my mainstays) plus bracelets in sparkle beads, bold orange and gold, burnt orange and a bi- colored wood--a nice mix! 

I've also included a mixed media sketch of the Winning Look from my evening journal entry; I love using colored pencil, pastel and fine pen to create these fun looks and enjoy the detailing. It's all drawn by memory, not referencing a photo. 

Ok, now for the Runner UP! I choose Denim on Denim! Now the Denim Jacket ended up being a bit too warm to keep on past the morning, but I do love how it structures well over the denim dress; they are a good match. Denim on Denim is a popular choice in fashion right now. This look was also featured on one of my LIVES on YouTube. (See playlist below) Good for future reference! I also love the jewelry I chose to accentuate the feminine with gold and faux pearl necklaces and a lovely white lace scarf. This really worked nicely and I would wear this again. I don't have many dresses in my wardrobe but I like this one, my newest piece.  

So there you have it! Which look is your favorite and why? You're welcome to comment below. You're also welcome to share your favorite wardrobe choice, including color, silhouette or a favorite accessory! It's FUN to Share Our FASHION in Community! 

You are welcome to check out the Fashion Styling with Dawn Playlist below for more inspiration and subscribe so you don't miss it when I go LIVE with Fashion Styling! 

Thanks so much for joining me for this Fashion Look Book! 
​You have yourself a Delightful Day and Remember to have FUN with Your Fashion! 

Welcome back to A Time to Play! We continue to have FUN with Fashion with Look Books from previous weeks and I have so much fun picking a Winning Look and Runner UP with fresh eyes. 

This week is from May 4-10, 2025. I chose 6 looks to feature here which encompasses casual, vibrant color, embellishment and fun accessories! It amazes me how much just one element can make all the difference in the way a look comes together. 

My Winning Look from this look book is Easy Embellishment (second row, middle). This look features some of my favorite wardrobe pieces. I started with a brown under tank for warmth, and a long sleeved embroidered tunic with metallic studs and v-bottom. With this I chose a light neutral pant to bring balance with the browns on top. I love this striped wrap (I wear this one a lot!) and one of my favorite scarves with a zebra stripe with some burnt orange tones, that now has a dominant space in my scarf collection (I recently reordered them...video to come!) This was a new ensemble once again, bringing in more experimentation--always! 

The Jewelry from the Winning Look is below (see image). It includes a fun wood and clear beaded necklace (one of my long standing mainstay pieces) as well as a striped/marbled beaded necklace in brown/metallic tones, my long standing circle wood drop earrings, and bracelets in wood hues, tan and sparkle beading. Such fun to wear, bringing even more texture to the nicely embellished tunic! I love layering up my accessories; it keeps it fresh and inspiring! 

I've also included a fun mixed media fashion illustration sketch that I created in my evening journal from the Winning Look. I draw these from memory; I don't use a photo reference. It keeps me on my Fashion toes! 

The Runner UP this week is A Punch of Color which features tie dye colorful fun with oversized tunic with pockets, orange/yellow jeans, and one of my favorite tasseled plaid scarfs in red and green, which brings lovely texture to the mix! It is overlaid with a fun light wrap featuring Frond motif with gold threading. I love how these pieces work together so well with that similar color scheme! 

Well, there you have it! Which look is your favorite? You're welcome to comment below and share! What wardrobe ensemble really brought you joy recently. I'd love to hear about it in our Fashion Community! 

Below I have shared my Fashion Styling with Dawn Playlist for more fashion inspiration! You're welcome! (if you haven't already, you're welcome to subscribe to my YouTube Channel, for Fun Fashion, Playful tips and Inspiring Music!) 

You have yourself a Delightful Day and Remember to have FUN with Your Fashion! 

Welcome back to A Time to Play! 

If anyone knows me, a stop at the Art Supply Store is always on point, and Hubby brought me to Michael's in time for Mother's Day so I could go Shopping! Woot! 

I share each item and my plans for them in the video above if you want to watch and listen to my art plans! 

Below I list off the items I purchased:
Stock of pencils I already use: Prismacolor Soft core Colored Pencils & Staedtler 6B & 8B pencil
Staedtler Metallic Colored pencils (impulse but thoughtful purchase!)
Heart punch
Strathmore Toned Tan paper
Prismacolor pencil sharpener
Black ink pad by Ranger
Alpha stamp set
Artist Loft bullet journal

So I've got some new things to experiment with for my daily sketching and fashion illustrating. So fun! Keeping things fresh is important for creativity. 

You're welcome to share about your mother's day gifts or how you are getting creative and Playful right now! 

I wish all the MOMS who read this blog a delightful year ahead. 

​Have yourself a delightful day and remember to Play! 

Hello and Welcome Back to A Time to Play, where we celebrate taking time to get creative and playful, whether it's just a few moments or for longer periods of time. 

I love playing with clothes and getting creative with my ensembles from my wardrobe pieces. Talk about having Fun with my Fashion! I want you to have just as much fun as I do. 

So I'm sharing another Fashion Look Book, this was is from the week of April 27, sharing 6 ensembles and their themes! I have so much fun with these daily doses of looks that I find interesting and dynamic.  Scarves took center stage this week; between sparkle and multi colored hues to leopard love, we had it all! 

I like to refresh my memory on what I wore in previous weeks so I pick with fresh eyes which look I loved the most, with comfort and dynamic in a good balance. 

So without further ado, here is my Winning Look: Highlighting Gold! (See center top image)
This was a new ensemble for me, working with a gold ole standby, a short sleeved tunic with vibrant burnt orange and blue; and what's amazing is how the newer wrap coincides with the same color palette! I was so surprised with how well each piece worked with each other, so I had to choose a two toned cozy blue scarf to complete the ensemble, along with a pair of fabulous blue denim jeans, blue shoes and gold nylons! I really love the magic of the animal print motif with blue edging! 

The jewelry for this Winning Look is below, with a multi strand in gold bead and circle enhancements (highlighting gold!) along with drop gold earrings, gold bracelets and some blue beaded ones as well. So much fun to wear! 

Our Runner UP look featured my leopard print and floral power scarf paired up with a leopard print jacket  along with some color blocking with black tunic and neutral jeans. I had fun with this one, never having put this look together before either! It's all about experimentation, my fashion friends! 

Don't be afraid to try something new, even if it involves a really bold color choice or a Busy look with prints. If your eye loves it, just go for it and have fun! 

I have provided my Fashion Styling with Dawn playlist from my YouTube Channel below for your creative fashion pleasure. Enjoy! 

And Remember to have FUN with Your Fashion! 

Welcome back to A Time to Play! Today we are sharing a new Fashion Look Book, dated the week of April 20. I really enjoy looking back on previous wardrobe ensembles to see which look I loved the most! It also gives me opportunity to see what color schemes and patterns I was attracted to. 

Many of this week's looks were neutral in tone with a couple of very colorful choices mixed in! 

So, without further ado, the Winning Look is Dynamic Design, which features a serious pop of color with the purple scarf which lit this look up with a super fun dynamic that I didn't see coming! Wow! Pairing it up with a leopard print jacket and a fun tunic with ribbed sleeves in black and with the main body in white, black, wine and red abstract color! This tunic is one of my mainstays that always looks good! I also am wearing purple jeans to tie it together. I absolutely love this look! 

The Jewelry for the Winning Look (see image below) features a beaded necklace and drop earrings set in a deep red/wine color with a floral pendant. I've had this set for many years since it works so well with my wardrobe. Bracelets are a mix of grey, black, red and purple. 

I've also included my fashion sketch of the Winning Look from my personal journal. I have so much fun using mixed media to render by memory what I wore each day. 

The Runner UP for this week's look book is Serene Green! I absolutely love the dynamic design of the button front 3/4 sleeve top and light olive ribbed tank, with light olive jeans (my favorite pair I think!) with olive nylons and my favorite green shoes. The striping on the dynamic cut cardigan sweater works well with the design on the top, which I've never paired together before. Love experimenting! The scarf I wore is one that has a lovely silver threading that I don't wear as often as I'd like. Very pale off white color that I don't have a lot of in my wardrobe. But it is a nice neutral. 

So there you have it! Which look is your favorite? Do you have an ensemble in your wardrobe that is a Winning Look for you? Leave a comment and share! Let's have FUN with our Fashion in Community. We are here to support each other with putting looks together that help us feel confident, content and clear on our fashion choices! I've included my Fashion Styling with Dawn playlist for your creative inspiration when you choose your next wardrobe ensemble! You're welcome! 

Have yourself a Delightful Day and Remember to have FUN with Your Fashion! 

Welcome back to A Time To Play and my Sketchbook Series. If you would like to read the first in this series, see this link, which is an introduction to the purpose of the series! 

A couple of years back, I was watching one of my favorite artists, Sandi Hester, sharing about how she was digging out some old photos to sketch, using a mix of media. So I decided I wanted to dig out my old photos and try my hand at sketching loved ones and friends! 

Fast forward to a few months ago, I finally had the space and time to do so (see first Sketchbook Series post to get the full story; link above)

I decided to start with my own kids. I sorted through some of their younger years, and decided which ones inspired me to sketch. This was super fun just choosing the images. 

One was of my daughter, Sarah, at Christmas time in her lacy little red dress sitting in a dining room chair. She knew her picture was being taken and she felt like the star of the show. 

I had fun with this sketch. I used the negative space/shadow to create the lace on the dress. I decided to add color to the dress to give more contrast to the lace. 

One of my goals with sketching is to erase as little as possible, making adjustments as I went with the successive darker layers adding dimension. I start with 6B pencil and move to 8B when I have the structure fully fleshed out. 

The other sketch (on the right) is of my daughter, Hannah, looking like a total Cool Kid, with sunglasses and wearing one of my scarves with a floral print. Her stance is adorable and focused and the facial expression is priceless. That's why I chose this image. A moment captured in time of her personality really shining through. 

The jacket she is wearing had a lot of folds and creases in the arms especially, so this was a fun challenge to tackle. I also loved the way the sunglasses came out, so fun with this cool vibe. 

I'm glad I was finally able to get back to my initial inspiration to get and sketch those early images. I also decided to sketch where my daughters are today with our extended family each with their own sons. It has inspired me both as a mother and as a grandma. Yes, now I have two grandsons! I will share more about them in future posts with other sketches so stay tuned! 

Using pencil, getting back to the basics, to capture loved ones who are near and dear to my heart is the best! My love for my children and grandchildren goes beyond anything I could describe and what way to capture that love than through my creativity. 

So that is my continued Sketchbook Series story; I trust it will inspire you to dive into what is calling to your heart and soul and with your creative direction, manifesting it into your world. 

Use your voice; you are the only one who has it. And the world needs to hear and see it. 
Let us celebrate our creativity together in community! You're welcome to leave a comment below about how you are using your voice to express what and who is near and dear to your heart. 

Have yourself a Delightful Day And Remember to Play!

Hello and Welcome back to A Time to Play and for another Fashion Look Book, from the week of April 13-18, 2025. It's a fascinating process to review the looks from previous time, giving me a fresh eye to determine which look I loved the most and why. 

This Look book features a mix of prints and solids, from large florals to abstracts to color blocking fun! We're always looking for balance between comfort and dynamic design for a winning look. 

Without further ado, The Winning Look is A Citron Zing! First of all, Citron is now one of my favorite colors. The jacket is super fun with dynamic cut with cut outs for a cool breezy design. What's really fun about this look is the top: it features a mix of building skyline and collage, and this happens to be one of my ole' standbys! I've had it for years and I still love it. I chose a dark olive neutral jean to tie it together with leopard print shoes to highlight the texture of the shirt design, The scarf is lightweight and shorter than most from my collection and it features a snake skin design which really complements the shirt design and color palette. It doesn't overwhelm the overall look, which I appreciate. It's a good mix of silhouettes. This ensemble I have never worn before, so I had fun experimenting! 

The Winning Look features jewelry below (see image); it includes a multi strand black metallic necklace with faux pearl enhancement, a long beaded necklace in brown hues and a third long strand in gold and faux pearl. So I had some FUN with layering up my jewelry for lots of texture and contrast. With that, I matched up a gold drop earring with faux pearl. Both the necklace and earring were found at an antique shop: super fun and elegant. My bracelet stack featured some fun beading in white, gold and grays. Love the texture this brings! 

Now, the Runner UP is Ease in Green, which is all about breezy flow with the long white tee and wrap to the wide leg pants with fun frond motif to give it some color. Plus my favorite long silk multi colored scarf that is super comfy and easy breezy. 

So there you have it for April 13-18 Fashion look book! 
Let me know in the comments which look is your favorite and why; you're also welcome to share what your favorite wardrobe choice is right now. Fashion Questions are also welcome! 
We can have FUN with our FASHION in community! Woot! 

I have also included my Fashion Styling with Dawn Playlist and the LIVE video I did with the second look from this week, Moving with Metallic, in case you'd like to view the replay. Such fun! 

You have yourself a delightful day and Remember to have FUN with Your Fashion! 

Hello and Welcome back to A Time to Play and another look book to share from the fashion assembles I wore the second week of April, 2025! It was a really fun mix of leopard print, low lights, plaids and mixes galore. Yay! I absolutely love experimenting and this week was no exception! 

With the weather sort of unpredictable with the beginnings of spring, some day were warmer than others, so sometimes sweaters and sometimes not! But always with layers and scarves to add my secret sauce! 

So this week of April's Winner was Color Palette Play, where I mixed a button front cardigan sweater with zebra design and a colorful mix of black, white, pink, purple and red. Woot! What I loved about this ensemble is the combination of leopard print scarf with similar color scheme to the sweater. The rest is black and white, Black light wrap and white jeans, to keep the rest of it simple and basic; but put it all together and it's anything but basic! 

The jewelry choice was so fun: multi strand black and white beaded necklace with black and white earring, and bracelets in red, black and white with some leopard print! Love this so much!

The Runner Up, A Mixi Mix, is very similar in style with a fun colorful design on top with leopard print scarf in similar color scheme, and this look has a cardigan sweater in leopard print as well. Neutral pants keep the bottom simple. 

Both of these ensembles were brand new combinations so it was fun experimenting! 

This inspires me looking back on what I wore and I trust it will inspire you when choosing your next wardrobe ensemble. You're welcome to comment below on which look is your favorite and why as well as how you have been experimenting. You are also welcome to leave any fashion questions below! I might just answer in a video as well! 

Thanks for joining me in this Fashion Community! It's all about learning what your own personal aesthetic is and using your creativity to dress with confidence! 

​Remember to have Fun with Your Fashion! 

Welcome Back to A Time to Play, my new blog where I share what I am doing to make time for play as an artist, a fashion stylist, musician and creative! 

Today I am excited to share the beginnings of my Sketchbook Series!
But first, Let me tell you how it all began. 

Several years back, I decided that I wanted to get back to the Basics of my art practice by using supplies without color. Specifically I wanted to use pen and pencil, like things were when I was a young artist, only this time, I wanted to continue to hone my drawing skills but with a different approach.

Contour drawing is basically using line to create an image. Whereas using Shape and Shadow to create an image is a completely different approach. So I decided that I would get back to pen and pencil with the Shape and Shadow approach. I did several drawings this way and was very satisfied. 

Initially I did some sketching when out running errands with hubby, but since then, I didn't find a consistent time to invest in this approach. 

That changed about 5 months ago. 

Here is what happened. I was watching some shows in the afternoon with my iPad on my lapdesk for a time; then I decided to switch to watching my shows on a TV and I had space on my lap once again. 

I noticed I would get bored and annoyed during commercial breaks and decided I would use that time to create! Yes! So I set me up my lapdesk with a lamp for good lighting (I absolutely have to have good lighting for my creating space no matter where it is!) Plus my sketchbook and pencil bag of art supplies with include 6B and 8B pencil, sketching pencil for starting a new drawing, and pencil sharpener with pink erasers. 

It is very important to me to have my supplies ready at hand so I don't have to get up for anything!  

Furthermore, I decided, after being inspired by another artist who was doing drawings of old family photos, that I would pull out some of my own decades-old pictures of family and friends and put my hand to the shape and shadow approach to rendering with pencil. I was super excited to have a regular time to get back to the basics with my drawing skills. I've never lost my penchant for this activity! I always find it fascinating, challenging and rewarding to do. 

So every afternoon, when it's time for my shows (usually between 3 and 4 p.m.), I get out my supplies, set up my lamp and prepare to draw during commercials, while I sit comfy cozy on my bed! 

I have done quite a few drawings over the past few months and I plan to share some of them in future posts with my new Sketchbook Series. Yes! 

Thank you for reading my sketchbook story and for being a part of my Time to Play! 
What playful activity can you incorporate into your daily routine that would bring you excessive amounts of joy? You're welcome to leave a comment below and let me know so I can cheer you on in community! 

​Have yourself a delightful day and Let's remember to Play! 

Play Prompt: 
What would you like to engage in to add more play into your every day? Is there a specific thing you do in your day that could make space for something fun? 
Set a time that works for you that you can look forward to without stress or struggle. It's all about the joy of creating and doing something fun that is doable and repeatable! 

Welcome back to A Time to Play and one of my favorite ways to play is with color, texture, layering and silhouette with my wardrobe ensembles! I love to experiment with different looks to see what pleases my eye and what is comfortable and yet dynamic to wear. 

This look book is from March 31 through April 5, so two weeks ago! I love looking back on my fashion choices to see what really worked for me comfort wise and what I love visually as well. 

So our winning look is Easy Earth Tones! with over 2 thousand views on my YouTube channel so this one is popular! 
What I love: the coziness of the leopard print sweater wrap with ribbed sweater underneath  was a perfect combination of softness and texture, plus the texture of the tassels from the wrap and the scarf together. It was an easy look to put together and very comfy! (This was when we had a big dip in temperature during early spring so this look really worked!)

The jewelry for this ensemble (see below) was a mix of a wood beaded necklace and long brown necklace with smaller stacked beading (a recent purchase at an antique store). Bracelet stack features all wood beads and the earrings are a wood circle drop earring with silver accents. So, Wood won the day! 

The Runner UP features my favorite color, WINE, and the tunic features embroidery with my favorite colors, red, wine and burnt orange. So color really wins this look for me, plus the coziness of the scarf was extra comfy and really brought in some nice texture! Over 1,000 views on my YT channel! 

So that's my look book to share some Fun with Fashion! Leave a comment with your favorite ensemble. I'd love to know what you love and why. 
Let's have Fun together in this Fashion Community! 

And Remember to have FUN with YOUR Fashion! 

PS. My Fashion Styling with Dawn playlist is below for your convenience! My delight is for you to be inspired!