Cozy October with Ageless Style

Ageless Style is a monthly style challenge and link up for women of all ages.   Each month we pick a different theme and style an outfit based on that theme.  This month's theme is "Cozy October" and was picked by Jennifer.

We decided to initiate our newest Ageless Style member, Jennifer, by having her pick this month's theme.  Jennifer chose "Cozy October" which is great because it is the perfect theme for fall and it also leaves a lot open for interpretation.  I had actually never even heard of the phrase "Cozy October" before Jennifer mentioned it, and now of course, I'm seeing it everywhere.  Isn't that crazy when that happens?  I even saw a sweatshirt that said "Cozy October" but of course they didn't have my size (the story of my life).  I actually don't even know why someone created the phrase "Cozy October" because the weather really isn't consistently "cozy' in October, even in the frozen tundra of Wisconsin where I live.  Most days we are still in the 60's and 70's and early October this year was down right hot!  I think November is more of a "cozy" month.  Anyhow, here is how I interpreted the challenge:

Since most days in my neck of the woods are cold in the mornings and evenings, but hot in the afternoons, I layer, layer, layer....removing and/or adding clothing as the temperatures drastically change.  Here is an outfit I recently wore on a fall trip to the sweet little town of Galena Illinois where the day time temperature was 78 degrees but it was only in the mid 40's in the morning,  This is the outfit for the day time high.

And here is the outfit I wore that same day, early in the morning when the temperatures were in the middle 40's.  I added a thick cropped neutral sweater and a leopard print scarf.  I love scarves for these kind of days.  If you notice in the photo above my neck and chest are quite exposed;  adding a scarf brings instant warmth to those areas.  I actually use scarves more in the spring and fall than I do in the winter.  In the winter my coat goes up to my chin, making a scarf unnecessary.  But in the spring and fall my coats/sweaters never go that high up making a scarf very necessary to stay warm.

I chose a leopard print scarf because leopard is really trending this season, plus the colors blend in well with the rest of the outfit.

I could have tucked my shirt in to look more polished, but I was afraid of it getting wrinkled knowing I'd be removing the sweater later in the day, I also think it helps break up the long line of beige.

Because I was outside in the sun walking all day I wore a felt brown hat.  Boy, did I get a lot of compliments on this hat.  Many women are afraid to wear hats, but they really do complete the outfit.

I carried a brown crossbody bag for security reasons and because it went with my outfit 😁

I normally would style this outfit with a cute pair of brown booties, but because I was walking all day, I chose a comfy pair of neutral flats.

If you recognize the top, that's because it was from my latest Stitch Fix box.  I'm so glad I kept this top.  It's so versatile!  The pants are new from a local boutique in my hometown and they are already sold out.  They are so trending this year!  I love the shorter length too so you can show off your cute shoes 😀.  They are by Kut from the Kloth which has many similar options.  Everything else I'm styling is old.

And now be sure to check out what the rest of the ladies in the group are wearing and link up with as well.  Next month's theme is "Chocolate Brown and/or Cream" and was chosen by ME!  If you want to join us, just email me before November 20th,  (email address located on my "contacts/follow" page in the side bar) and I'll include you in next month's post.

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

Amy ~ Amy’s Creative Pursuits

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Bo ~ Bo's Bodacious Blog

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Jennifer ~ Overflowing with Thankfulness

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Joanna ~ My Slice of Life

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Jodie ~ Jodie’s Touch of Style

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Leslie ~ Once Upon a Time and Happily Ever After

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Mireille ~ Chez Mireille Fashion Travel Mom

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Marsha~ Marsha in the Middle

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Handmade Cards to Celebrate Fall

Hello! I am back from a fall break and probably my last vacation of the year until the holidays.  We drove down south to spend some time with the grandchildren during their fall break from school but we also made a couple of fun stops along the way of which I will tell you all about in my next travel post.

I always give the grandchildren gifts/cards for all the holidays/seasons.  They don't celebrate Halloween, so I keep my cards/gifts fall themed.

My first card uses a stitching die from Spellbinders.  Spellbinders has all these neat monthly clubs you can join where you get their latest product at a discount.  I really like the idea of combining sewing with paper crafting and I think their stitching dies are really different so I joined that club.  Every month I receive a new die in the mail, and this was September's die "Stitched Sunflowers".  Isn't it beautiful?  It is perfect for fall cards and thank you cards. 

This was probably the most challenging stitched die I received because the floss kept catching on the petals.  After a lot of frustration, I finally figured out to turn the die upside down while I was sewing.  Also, each petal had to be sewn individually or the thread would be seen as you went over to the next petal.  So it was a bit time consuming as I had to cut and tape the thread after finishing each petal.  Not all stitching dies are this complicated.  But the result is beautiful, and I love it!  My daughter went crazy for it too and said "That is one card that needs to be framed".  

To make this card I cut two sunflowers out, one flower center, and the leaves.  I did some ink blending on everything to make it more natural and interesting, then I stitched away and adhered everything together.  I did pop up the top sunflower and the brown center on dimensionals.  I used gold metallic floss on the flower and a light green floss on the leaves.  Everything was then glued to a blue patterned fall designer paper then I added a few fall gems and a stamped a fall sentiment.

Spellbinders had a huge sale recently, so I saw that as an opportune time to buy a couple of new dies. This die is called "Truckin' Through the Seasons".  I love this die for its versatility because it includes other items you can put in the truck bed like presents, Christmas trees, etc.  

To make this card I chose a pretty fall patterned designer paper and adhered the truck to the paper.  I decided to add a little fall poem about pumpkins to tie in with the pumpkins in the truck bed.  I stamped that on a piece of golden card stock then added some flowers and vines from the same die set.  Everything was then adhered to a gold foil card base.

I think these die cuts are a lot more work than simply stamping and coloring, so I don't understand why crafters like them so much.  I think it might be because people don't like to color, but I've become very skilled at coloring, so I enjoy it.  Every single piece you see in the truck below had to be cut in a different color, ink blended, then glue back together.  It's a long, pain-staking process in my opinion.

This next card was really hard as that tractor and all its veggies was a lot of small pieces, but I sure like the way it turned out.  It's a great card for a little boy and it can also be used for other seasons/events.  I can see filling the trailer with Christmas trees for the holidays and doing the tractor in red instead of green.  This die cut is called "Thankful Tractor" but I can't seem to find it on their website anymore so it must be sold out.

To make this card, I once again very painstakingly cut all the little pieces out of all the different colors of card stock, ink blended everything, then glued them back together.  The wheels were popped up on dimensionals,

Once everything was complete, I just glued it to some fall designer paper and adhered it all to a green card stock base.

I also made some fall tags for all their fall gift bags.  If you're wondering where Lazarus' card is, I didn't make him one because he is only five months old and I ran out of time.

The leaves were die cut with old Cuttlebug leaf dies then ink blended.  The tags were cut using a Spellbinder's tag die, and eyelets were installed in the holes of the tags

And here are all the little ones holding their fall cards.  I know, they look so thrilled 😆 I think they were just anxious to see what was inside their gift bags and I make them open up their cards and take a photo first.  Trust me, they do love the cards.  They even keep their favorites in little boxes and Alethea even keeps the unicorn shaker card I made for her birthday on display on her dresser.

And here you can see few photos of them being a little more excited opening their gift bags.

I always give them a new fall outfit.  They really do enjoy receiving new clothes.  The rest of the items in the bag are a few candy treats, some healthy snacks, and little toys/books.

This was the outfit I got for baby Lazarus.  Isn't it cute?  Brown is definitely this season's "it color".

And here is baby Lazarus wearing his new outfit.  Isn't he adorable?  I love his smile.  The sweater goes so well with his auburn hair.

The grandchildren love activity/sticker books.  They go through them so fast though!  They love them so much, when they get a new one they start working on it immediately and don't stop till it's finished.

Well I hope you enjoyed my fall cards and a little insight into my family.  There will be more fall stories to come in future travel posts.

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

My Stitch Fix Rejects

Back in August I ordered a fall box from Stitch Fix.  I kept three of the five items in that Fix.  In case you missed it, HERE is the post where I show the three items I kept.  I mentioned in that post that I would show you the two items I rejected in a later post.  Well today is the day!  Here are the two items I returned:

41 Hawthorn  Tiffany Tulip Sleeve Blouse

Cost:  $49.00

I really liked this top and I even pre-approved it when I saw it in my box, but I ended up returning it because I felt it aged me and I had a difficult time styling it.  I prefer it styled with the pants above, but the color just wasn't right.  The more on-trend style of the pants, plus the heels, modernized the top, but the color was off.  So then I tried it with white ankle pants and flats (pictured below);  now the colors looked better, but I also looked like I was retirement community material. 😂. Now I'm old enough to be living in a retirement community, but I don't want to look like it.  

I also returned the top because I have found through my years of experience with Stitch Fix that if you do the math you have to keep everything and get 25% off your entire box, or, you have to return at least two pieces because otherwise what you keep ends up costing more than if you kept the entire box and took the 25% off.  For example my entire box was $364.00.  If I kept the whole box and received the 25% discount my total would be $273.00.  However, if I chose to keep the three pieces that I did (the jacket, the pants, and the fall blouse in my previous post) plus this top,  the total would have been $295.00...$22.00 more than the whole box.  It's really shame it works this way, because otherwise I think I would have kept this top.

Fortune & Ivy Adene Knit Fitted Ponte

Cost $69.00

When I saw this dress in my box preview, I wanted so badly for it to work. I was so excited to have a casual olive green dress for fall and I imagined all the different ways I could style it.  But the second I tried it on, it was a disaster;  which is funny, because usually it's the opposite for me:  I don't like it, till I try it on. 

The number one reason I hated this dress was how big it made my boobs look.  Oh my gosh!  This is a classic example of how clothes can make all the difference on your body type.  Just compare the difference in the size of my bust in the photos with the blue floral top to the size of my bust in the green dress.   It's crazy!  I look like I went up five bra sizes.  The second reason I did not like this dress is because it was uncomfortable.  I should have taken a clue from the name of the dress "fitted" and "knit".  This is a really structured, tight fitting knit and I felt like I was wearing a straight jacket when I had it on.  The third reason I didn't like it was style, both the color and the style of the dress reminded me of my Class A Army dress I wore many years ago when I was in the Army Reserves.  And finally, and this reason is also related to style, I had no idea when I would ever wear this. If I wear a dress, it's usually to a casual event, church, or a wedding.  The style of this dress if more appropriate for an office.  Since I don't work outside the home, I just had no purpose for this dress.

I did try it on with the cute camel Liverpool Peplum Jacket which was also included in the Fix (and that I kept), and adding the jacket made all the difference in the world for it helped camouflage my bust.  However, I can't buy something with the intent that I would always have to wear something over it.  What if I get hot and want to remove the second layer?

 

So what do you think?  Did I make the right choice rejecting these two items?  I'd love to hear from you.

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!