I Love Shoe – the snow globe

Department of Bad Puns, can you hold the line?

I Love Shoe.

If you love shoes,I Love Shoe - snow globe, Camryn Forrest Designs 2013

maybe you’ll forgive the pun.

Here is a shoe tree made of

… shoes.

In fact, so many shoes

we lost count at somewhere

past a baker’s dozen.

Still, some would say: not enough.

“I want to write a book about shoes that’s full of footnotes.”  ― Jarod Kintz

“Sometimes comfort doesn’t matter. When a shoe is freakin’ fabulous, it may be worth a subsequent day of misery. Soak in Epsom salts and take comfort in the fact that you’re better than everyone else.”  ― Clinton Kelly

“Above all, believe in true love and know that men are like shoes.
A couple is like a left and a right foot, and out there is your perfect fit. Sometimes you need to change styles and shop around to find it. Sometimes you have to break styles in, sometimes you feel like something that is unstylish but comfortable, and sometimes a style – as much as you like – just doesn’t suit you and will never fit.”
― Camilla Morton, How to Walk in High Heels: The Girl’s Guide to Everything

The best thing about this snow globe? One size fits all.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Crossroads – perspective on the divergent path

Crossroads, OOAK Escher Snow Globe, Camryn Forrest Designs 2012

… Two roads diverged in a wood, and I —       

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

 ~ Robert Frost, “The Road Not Taken”

When I thought of this poem, and the choices we make in life, I often thought of it literally: did I take the road less traveled when I move to a new city, or applied for a job, or learned a new skill? How about when I met new people and tried to understand their point of view? Should I make selections that others likely would not make? Does one see more or experience more on the backroads of life and not the highways? Does one need to make hard decisions to march away from the crowds to be true to one’s self? to reach new levels of understanding?

And then, with age, came a simple wisdom. As light and fresh as the first snowflake brushing against my face. I realized that the road less traveled by is a matter of perception, not location. If you are in a packed room, but your mind is not trapped there … you are on the divergent path as surely as if you were hacking your way through the overgrown jungle, discovering what only you could see and touch firsthand.

The perception of where you are, and where you want to be, is its own unique path. Or as a mentor once told me, “no matter what, the only thing you always have control over is your attitude.”  So the same staircase can be a “path less traveled” for one person and less so for another — if what they each think and feel is perceived differently. One staircase may take you away from pain, or toward love, or into the arms of adventure. It can be sure steps toward your goals, or a place to hide from your deepest thoughts. The same steps may represent bravery and risk, or may be the safe choice. It is not the stairway that creates the path less traveled, it is the attitude and perception of the person walking up, or down, or sideways. It is whether you see yourself moving forward, backward, or pausing before the first big step.

Crossroads, OOAK Escher Snow Globe, Camryn Forrest Designs 2012

 And so we have,
“Crossroads”
– a snow globe with a nod to M.C. Escher,

and a knowing smile to Robert Frost.

It’s all a matter of perception.

Crossroads, OOAK Escher Snow Globe, Camryn Forrest Designs 2012

Crossroads, OOAK Escher Snow Globe, Camryn Forrest Designs 2012

Crossroads, OOAK Escher Snow Globe, Camryn Forrest Designs 2012

READY — green heart snow globe

I think of the times in my life I was truly ready, and in contrast, those times I thought I was NOT ready, but I went for it anyway. Have you ever climbed to the top of a high diving board, looked down and thought: I’m not ready, I’ll never be ready! But somehow you manage to jump anyway?  And the best part is, it turned out better than you thought possible.

In sports, there’s a saying for those guys who are waiting on the bench, “always be ready when your number is called.”

Because, of course, we never know precisely when it’sREADY - one of a kind snow globe, Camryn Forrest Designs, 2012 our turn to shine.

For friends I know who are teetering on their personal high board, debating if they
are ready
to jump into something new
… and for those who are as ready as they can be,
just waiting for an opportunity to prove it …
… those with a fresh diploma, embarking into a new world full of dreams …
and especially those not sure they would love again.

This globe’s for you. READY when you are.

ready_angle

ready_back ready_side1

ready_side2 ready_top

Missed – The Empty Chair snow globe

Missed - Empty Chair Snow Globe, Camryn Forrest Designs, 2012

When people write a blog, sometimes they pour out their hearts to strangers, and tell you everything about how they think and feel.

For this snow globe, I can’t do that. You don’t get to know who inspired this, or why it moved me so. I can only say that I walked into a room once and saw an empty chair and thought, “You are missed.”

There is an emptiness and an ache when someone you love is no longer there, whether separated by miles, misunderstanding, or another type of finality. My heart grieves for those who are not  here with me, but whom I can still see when I close my eyes.

“You are missed.”

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Dances with Clouds – Balloonship snow globe

Where would you go, and how would you travel?

Dances With Clouds snow globe

Dances with Clouds … a battered airship carried by a hot air balloon, drifting high among the tatters and wisps of clouds. Sometimes you write a story and create artwork which illustrates the tale, enhancing the details.

And sometimes, as with “Dances with Clouds,” the artwork writes its own story without a word needed.

Sailing from one adventure and toward another, what story does it tell you?

This slideshow requires JavaScript.