happy halloween!

Happy Halloween my friends! I hope that you spend today having a good time (not scary time) with family and friends! I know Kyler has been excited for today!

Just a couple of more birthday cards that I received back at the beginning of the month. The card on the right is from Courtney. It is SO me don't ya think? The image is from the retired SU! set She's all That. Then Courtney added in a Cuttlebug background along with super cute patterned paper and some baubles...way cute girl! She also sent me a great gift certificate from Sweet N Sassy Stamps...thank you!

The 2nd card is from my friend Carol. Carol leads Kid In Christ at our church and I just love her to death! She is so special to me. She is on the Israel trip that Todd and I were going to be on. I can't wait to see all her pictures! Some of the kids from KIC also signed the card so that makes it even more special! Thank you Carol!

So, I hope you all have a super Friday and get everything done that you need too!

birthday cards

Good morning everyone! Today is the first day of posts that I have scheduled for you while I'm gone that aren't DT days. Obviously I won't be talking about personal stuff as much but know we are having a great time! Also, if I have time I will be, maybe, posting a picture or two from Hawaii but I'm not guaranteeing anything...k?

Anyway, I had to start with this super fun card that my friend Jennifer sent to me for my birthday. How appropriate is it...seriously...Jennifer is just the most wonderful stamper and a great friend! I love the Hawaiian penguin and the bright colors!

Below is the fun birthday gift package that I got from my friend Bev. She also sent me some fun ephemera to craft with. The BINGO cards are perfect to make something for Todd's grandmother. I'm thinking a notebook with the bigger BINGO cards would be SOOOO cute! I have many ideas rolling around in my head so I hope to get to using some of it soon!

Have a super day everyone! I'll think of you all! I'm sorry...couldn't help myself!

Belli challenge #40

Good morning my friends! Today is the day...we are off for our vacation. The kids are all set with grandma...all is good!

Today is Belli Challenge #40 day! Today's challenge is for anything Thanksgiving. Due to my time constraints I went ahead and made a card for Thanksgiving (although I might suggest you stop back next week for another fun Thanksgiving idea!).

I used my favorite turkey from SNSS Turkey Day set and the layout is from i{heart}to stamp this week. It is a great sketch so make sure you try it out! I also used some patterned paper from my LSS along with the Autumn Cuttlebug embossing folder (run through my SU! Big Shot).

I know you are dying to see what the other Belli Challenge girls have done so go ahead...click over to there blogs from my sidebar! You know you wanna...all the cool girls are doing it! LOL!

Have a great day everyone!

created by courtney challenge #11

Good morning girls and welcome to week #11 of the Created by Courtney Challenges. This week week we have a sketch to play with. This sketch was drawn by my friend Sarah over at Scrampin' Mama. I love this sketch! Oh, and I must toot a horn for Sarah as she just got accepted onto the i{heart}paper design team. Very cool, girl! Very cool!

I'm sure you want to hear all about this card, right? Okay...the patterned paper is from Cosmo Cricket, the stamps are from the Unity Stamps set called Hey Chick (I got the entire set for $2 this last Hip Hop!). How cute is this...I mean seriously! I love the birds with all their plumage. I added some bling on the feathers and added the Hey Chick sentiment and voila...a cute card!

Today will be spent getting the last few things done for the trip. I'm cleaning the laundry room, packing my bag, and getting the rest of my pre-posting done. Please know that even though some of my future posts may seem not so personal I am thinking of you all while I'm sunning myself in Hawaii!

Have a super day everyone! I can't wait to see all of your cards!

halloween banner

Happy Monday! Okay, I know I'm weird but I am excited that it is finally Monday! I don't know why that would be...LOL!

Anyway, Todd called me today and asked me to meet him real quick while he was at work so...I did. He had an RAK for me but wouldn't tell me where it came from so I took it home, pulled it out of it's envelope and look what it is! Holy cow everyone...look at this gorgeous Halloween Banner! I've taken four different pictures, as you can see. I wanted to make sure that you can see all the details this banner has. All the letters and pumpkins are embossed...all the papers are glittery and embossed, and the ribbon is a super grosgrain black with white polka dots. This is quite the work of art and must have taken forever to make!

So...now for the guessing part of where this came from. I'm going to guess that none of Todd's co-workers can make something like this so I'll say it isn't anyone there. I can think of only one or two other place that Todd goes that might be where he got it from but I'm not going to say. Whoever it is... I completely and totally love it!

As you know tomorrow is Created by Courtney Challenge Tuesday. I will give you a little hint and let you know that it is a sketch challenge and one I think you'll like! So...with that...I hope you have just a super Monday! See ya tomorrow!

page plans sketch day

Good Sunday morning everyone! I am really finding these Page Plans sketches to be so much fun! I hope that you are trying them with me! I've decided to post the sketch along with my card from now on so you can get to work on your card that much faster. So without any more blabber from me...here it is...

I thought for sure I was going to have a hard time with this sketch (instead I'm having problems with next weeks...lol!) but this just really fell together. I got this fantastic stamp at Unity Stamps for the distinct purpose of making a little Christmas gift list for my boys. It is called My Biggest Wish (hmmm...go figure!). This year the DH and I decided to get the kids four gifts (along with their stockings). Inside will be a little saying something like...

On the front of this card please list...
A gift you want
A gift you need
A gift you can wear and
A gift you can read.
Please return your list to me by Thanksgiving.

There are just four lines on the stamped image available so this is perfect! I used paper and self adhesive die cuts from the retired Winter Bright Simply Scrappin' Kit. I'm sure I could have used more layers and such but honestly...are my boys going to care? Probably not...they just want us to know what to get them for Christmas...lol!

So whatcha got in mind for this fun sketch? Whatever it is...have fun with it! I just want you to know that I'm working hard to get my DT work done for the time that I'm gone so if I don't have anything for you tomorrow just stay tuned...I'll be back! Have a great day everyone!

they arrived and a winner

Good Saturday morning! First I have to say...only 4 more days until Hawaii! Woohoo! And, believe it or not I only have things to accomplish in two categories....stamping and church. Two of the biggest categories but its all good right?

Anywho...the appliances arrived yesterday...yay! I have a picture of the fridge and stove for you but the dishwasher has not been put in yet...that is a project for tomorrow night (just imagine more white...lol). So the fridge is a Kenmore and I'm unhappy with it at this point. It has water only on the outside so we hook up the line...put water through it and then it drips and drips and drips. That is not cool. It didn't stop dripping until we turned the water supply off and ran all the water out. Guess I'll be calling Sears today, huh? I do love how big it is though. The shelves slide out and there is a ton of room inside. The range is a Maytag and is a double oven fridge. I'm so thrilled to have gotten this! We have tried for about a year to find one we really liked that was in our price range...so yay! We made our pizza in it last night and I realize we need to run it some more today to burn off some of the new appliance smell. I just feel so blessed to be able to have these appliances!

Okay, and I couldn't leave you without a card so I thought I'd show you this lovely card that my friend Stephanie made for me on the anniversary of Kyler's biological dad's death. I don't recall the name of the set that the girl is in but the grass is from Inspired by Nature which is new in the fall/winter SU! catalog. She cut the oval and placed the blue card stock as well as the image 'behind' the oval. It is SO lovely and I so appreciated receiving it that day. Thanks you Stephanie for remembering me on that day!

And, finally...the winner of the Halloween card giveaway as picked by Random.Jon is Dani! Yay, Dani! Thanks for playing along and I'll get that card out to you on Monday!

Thanks for reading through this long post! I have finished my Page Plans card for tomorrow and I think you guys will like it so please stop back tomorrow! Oh, and there is some great blog candy over at Lori's blog...go check it out!

Have a super Saturday!

friday brings us pia puddingtop

Happy Friday everyone! I hope that everyone has had just a super week this week! I know mine has gone by super fast which I'm SO happy about!

SOOOO???? Do you not think Pia Puddington is absolutely adorable? I absolutely think she is SO cute! My friend Debby gave me some images of Miss Puddingtop some time ago and I just had to use one! I paired her with some Debbie Mumm paper, SU! card stock, and some taffeta ribbon. Seriously cute! Oh, and I used this Saturday's sketch for you to try on i{heart}to stamp. You can see it HERE. I used my COPIC markers to color her and used some fun flock on the stocking cap and other fun white areas. For a little more contrast I used my Scor-Pal for a couple of vertical score lines down either side of the ribbon then held the ribbon with little swirly decorated ribbon holders. Oh, and the holly on her dress is all outlined with glitter pen.

So, I exercised today and that means I don't have to tomorrow...yay! What does that mean? That means lots of stamping for me tomorrow while I'm awaiting the delivery of my NEW appliances.! Yep, that is right we are stimulating the economy in our town and bought a new refrigerator, stove, and dishwasher this week. Can you believe it? I'm SO excited...my goodness...new appliances AND a trip to Hawaii...woohoo! I will take pictures when they are installed so you can see them! Does anyone else get as excited about appliances as I do? LOL!

Well, now that my pulse has come down a little after my excitement I guess I'll let you all get back to your day! I hope your Friday is SUPER! See you soon!

birthday thank yous

Yay! It is Thursday...that means we are under one week until our vacation. My goodness...I never thought it would get here and now I feel like I'm so far behind...go figure!

Anyway, I wanted to show you the thank you cards that I made. I must say...I love them. Do I say that a lot? Probably and that would be because I only post the stuff I really love. LOL!

These cards are made with items from three different companies. The card stock, thank you sentiment and ribbon are from PTI and the color is Dark Chocolate, the stamp is called Dream Tree and is from Unity Stamps, and finally the die is a 'Top Note' die that I cut with my Big Shot from Stampin' Up!. This is what I like about stamping....the ability to use several companies products to make something that, in my opinion, is really beautiful. I have to say that this card is not the card that I originally envisioned in my mind. I won't even go there with you but I will tell you that a simple mistake in the embossing powder that I picked up lead to the beautiful chocolate tree that you see here. You see...I was going to make that tree white...it probably would have looked just fine but I grabbed my clear embossing powder and after embossing the first tree I knew I had to leave it the way it was. I love mistakes that turn out that way!

Anyway, I hope this little card inspires you to make something very fun...with products from several company's products!

Have a super Thursday everyone and I'll see you tomorrow...woohoo it will be Friday!

belli challenge #39

Yay! It is Belli Challenge day! I've SOOOO been waiting to show you all this card! About the time I was working on my Belli Challenge for this week the House Mouse Challenge blog posedt their challenge (for last week...this week is anything but a card) sketch. I loved it and knew it would be great for this Belli challenge which is....can you guess? Yep! Pearls! How fun, huh? And, doesn't this sketch just totally lend itself to pearls?

Anyway...This card is made with a CaUTE House Mouse image (but I don't know the name...sorry), some patterned paper called Animal Crackers by ???, the Baby Cuttlebug embossing folder, Nesties and of course...PEARLS!!! Here is the kinda funny thing...I don't know anyone who is for sure having a baby girl. I just loved the colors and layout so I had to go with it! You all know how that is...right? It was a seriously fun card to make!

You all know how this works...make a card or anything really, with pearls...upload it to SCS or your blog and then link it back to Chris's blog for a chance to win a fun goodie! Below are the other Belli Challenge girls that are participating this week...

Courtney
Chris
Danita
Christi
Ceal
Shelly

I think I have everyone but feel free to go ahead and check the other players blogs (links in my sidebar for more inspiration!). Make sure you stop back tomorrow to see the birthday thank you cards that I made. They are so lovely...if I do say so myself!

Have a Wonderful Wednesday!

created by courtney challenge #10

Yay! It is another challenge day today! I don't think I've ever told you guys how much I love my challenges. They are really a lot of fun and best of all they keep me stamping which is the best thing of all! Anyway, onto today's challenge...

This weeks Created by Courtney challenge is all about pocket cards. As with most things crafting there is more than one way to make a pocket card. The directions for the card I made are HERE. It is called a crisscross card. The other type of pocket card is HERE.

I chose the crisscross card because I love that you have more room for stamping or a written sentiment inside than the other type but that is just what I personally like. This card is made with Bashful Blue, Tangerine Tango, and PTI White card stock. The patterned paper is from SU! in the Holiday mini and is called Frosty Days. It is such CaUTE paper! The large snowflake is also from the Holiday mini and comes in a package of 69 pieces and is appropriately called Little Felt Flurries. The stamp set is also from the Holiday Mini and Mr Twigster has previously been seen on my blog. What a cute snowman, huh? The Christmas lights are part of the Mr. Twigster set. I just colored them in with matching markers and then added some sparkle to them. A clip and some ribbon on the top completes the combo. Now...you couldn't mail this card as is because of the clip but you could take it off for mailing or give the card on the outside of your gift.

So...has my pocket card inspired you? Go...hurry...make one yourself! When you do make sure that you upload it to SCS with the keyword CBCC10 and then place that link on Courtney's blog for a chance to win a little goodie! I know you want to see what the rest of the girls do so go and check them out below...

Courtney
Sarah
Sparkle
Dani
Heidi

Aren't they wonderful!?

I hope you have a great time crafting today! Come on back tomorrow for my Belli Challenge card!

jesus is born

Well, stampers it is the beginning of a new week (well, I consider Sunday the first day but...we'll go with Monday for blogging purposes...I'm weird, I know!). I'm hoping this week goes as fast as last week! I'm so ready for vacation!

Anyway, here is the Sweet n Sassy Stamps card that I told you I'd post. This lovely stamp set is called Jesus is Born and is a new set illustrated by Chris Dickinson. I paired the image and scriptures with some older Basic Grey patterned paper to make this simple yet elegant Christmas card. I also appreciate that these would be simple to replicate when needing to make several to many of them. The colors are Bravo Burgundy, Always Artichoke, and Mellow Moss.

Tomorrow is Created by Courtney Challenge day. What will it be this week? Hmmm...guess you'll just have to wait and see, huh? Teehee!

Hope you all have a super day today and get lots and lots accomplished! Ooohhh and did you see? We are down into the single digits now...woohoo!

page plans week 27

It's Sunday...wooho0! What does that mean? That is right...a new page plans sketch that you can see HERE. Remember how I said yesterday that today's artwork would be nothing like yesterday's? Well, am I right or what? The page plans sketch this week was to be a Halloween theme. I'm not much of a Halloween girl and only have a couple of sets that are specifically Halloween but I think this cat is cute and I really like the patterned paper.

Anyway, this stamp set is a SU! set called Haunting Halloween and the patterned paper is by Creative Imaginations (that I bought just for this card!). I have used Tangerine Tango for my base color and added Lavender Lace for the bottom panel (which has stars and "movement" on the panel but you can't really see it). The little bit of white layer really make the entire card pop. I have used my black and yellow Spica glitter pens for some wonderful sparkle. A little bit of black grosgrain and taadaa...a Halloween card! Whatcha think? Cute?

So...I just finished my Belli Challenge card for Wednesday and if I can say so myself, it is CaUTE!!! My goodness...I love it! In case you haven't figured it out...Sunday, Tuesday, and Wednesday's are my challenge team days and the rest of the week...free stamping...woohoo! Tomorrow I'll have a SNSS card for ya that is simple yet meaningful. Come back to see it!

And, now...if you've read this far I've decided that you deserve some Glory from Lorie. Since I don't send Halloween cards I thought I would give this card away. That and the rest of the patterned paper (which is cut into smaller, much smaller, pieces). I hope that you like the card enough to just leave me a comment with what your family traditions are for Halloween. Some people trick or treat, some fall festival, and some just don't do anything and all of it is okay. Just let me know...I'd love to hear! You'll have until Tuesday night to leave a comment.

With that...I hope you have a SUPER Sunday!

notebooks for hawaii

Good Saturday morning everyone! Isn't it wonderful to read it is a weekend? Ahhh....

When we decided that we were going to take a trip this fall I knew it would be necessary to have a notebook to be able to journal each day as I have a horrible memory. While we've had to change the vacation destination a couple of times I still think I will need a notebook to keep track of everything we are sure to do.

I actually made two notebooks. A 4"x4" notebook for my purse or whatever bag we are traveling with (below) and a 6"x6" notebook to journal in at the end of the day (to the right). I'm even thinking with the 6"x6" journal that I will use one page per day and go ahead and add a picture from each place when we get home.

To make these notebooks I used my Bind it All along with the front/back pieces that came with my "kit" when I first got my BIA. I covered the front/back with cardstock from the retired Summer Days Simply Scrappin' Kit (SU!). I also used the die cut pieces that comes with the kit to decorate the outside of the notebook. I have to say this was really easy to do (I made both in just a couple of hours). I'm really pleased with the out come, too. Most importantly...I know I'll be able to journal my memories while I'm gone in bright and fun Hawaii style!

So, today....today I'm going to do some serious looking at my wardrobe to see what things I should for sure take with me to Hawaii. I just got a great pair of capri's yesterday and a couple of new shirts (on 60% off the lowest marked price clearance) a couple of weeks ago so I really think I'm good but I just want to be sure. I've done pretty good with my weight loss but had a horrible Friday so I need to jump back on that wagon today too...lol! Easy Saturday this week I guess, huh?

Alright...I hope you have enjoyed a little taste of my Hawaii but make sure you come back tomorrow for something completely different!

silly turkey

HAPPY FRIDAY!!! This week has seriously gone by FAST...zoom, zoom! Just a question...did you get everything done that you needed or wanted to? I tried but I think I'm perpetually behind. Ugh!

Anyway, I wan to share with you the first card that I made for the SNSS blog. This silly turkey just makes the cutest cards. I mean really...how could he not make you smile? The background is made with the Autumn Cuttlebug embossing folder and some Debbie Mumm paper that I got for my birthday. I added a couple of strips of ribbon that I got at the $1 spot at Target, colored the turkey to match and there you have it! What family member wouldn't like this card? I can't wait to send it along!

I don't know if any of you follow PaperTrey Ink and their new releases but this month they are starting a series of releases of templates called Timeless Templates which are made by Lauren Meader. Why am I mentioning this? Because I believe these templates will definitely make our gift giving easier. Please go HERE to check it out. Wanna know the best thing? The templates only cost $5 each, you download them on your computer (therefore you can use them as many times as you'd like), print them on your printer, each template includes an idea sheet with several idea for use, AND Lauren has done an amazing job with them! Go see Lauren's blog HERE. You'll see wonderful ideas and feel her passion for her product. PTI and Lauren are even offering the Stocking Stuffer template for FREE just so you can see the wonderful quality of the templates!! Yep, free!!! Now you want to go check it out don't you? And, yes...I downloaded the free template and bought the other two while ordering some more of the wonderful white PTI card stock. Go check it out!

So there you have it...my card and enabling for the day! I hope you will make today just a wonderful day!

bellaholic sketch challenge 1

Good Thursday morning friends! My goodness how this week has gone by quick! Did you see on my side bar that it is now less than two weeks until we head to Hawaii? Woohoo!

My friend, Sarah, is in charge of making the sketches for the new sketch challenge on Bellaholics Anonymous...the Yahoo group. Well, I just could not resist trying the first sketch as it looked sooo cute! Go HERE to see the sketch.

I wanted to make a birthday card for a friend who recently told me that her favorite color is dark blue and that she likes earthy colors. Yeah...I was having a hard time thinking of how to make a fun, cute birthday card out of that combo. I have used Cupcakahbella along with some patterned paper from one of my old 3 Little DReaMs kits for this card. I colored the Bella and the cupcake in blue's hoping it would make them look elegant and not so cutsie. For the corner piece I used a flower from K&Company. I'm not sure that this is the card I want to use for my friend so that is why I've posted it here. Plus I wanted to make sure everyone that frequents my blog sees this fun sketch!

I hope that you all have a fantastic Thursday and I'll see you tomorrow!