Putting Mt Lion on a new HD

Getting a new HD for my MBP. 
Seems like most people clone the current drive then swap.
I would kind of like to start fresh and not bring any extra stuff on to the new drive.
I don't have a bunch of software.  I would just need to export my iphoto and itunes libraries.  Nothing else would be a big deal.
Is it possible to put the new drive in an external enclosure, format it, and then put Mt Lion on it?  I'd have to purchase Mt Lion.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks
TL

Hello tsl90,
Thank you for providing the details regarding installing Mountain Lion on a new hard drive for your MacBook Pro.  You can install Mountain Lion on your new hard drive while using it as an external drive.
I recommend following the steps in the section titled "Installing OS X on an external storage device" in this article:
OS X: About OS X Recovery
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4718
Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.
Best,
Sheila M.

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