Happy Halloween!

Here's Maddie in her Halloween costume. Yes, she's a lion. And yes, she totally hates us. She wears little sweatshirts and shirts from time to time, but man she hated her lion suit. I think it made her too hot... but isn't she still cute?

And yesterday two exciting things happened... I got this package of cards from my blog friend Lynnette with several swap cards! Aren't they fantastic?

What's interesting is I could tell you at first glance who's was whose.  Awesome cards... Kelley E, Kelly A., Lynnette and Winter! You girls are some FANTASTIC card makers!

Lastly... Chase and I spent last night painting our dining room and kitchen. Actually my downstairs is all one color! If you don't know this trick, painting one color really makes your space really open up. So if it's a color you really love go for it!  I do have plans to really do some special things in my dining room (aka bead board), but since we weren't sure when we would get to that we just painted. Also, now I have to change out my seat cushions.

Chase and I headed to Knoxville tonight for the Tennessee v. South Carolina game. Can you all start praying for no rain. My Alabama lovin' husband may not be very happy on the way back if we have to sit in rain the whole time!

Also, don't forget about Everything But The Kitchen Sink. I posted the new challenge yesterday, or you can get the link off my side bar.

Everything But The Kitchen Sink Challenge 2

Woo Hoo! It's time for another Everything but the Kitchen Sink Challenge! I hope you are all ready to play along. Kelly Marie will be hosting this challenge, so here's the link to the challenge entry where you can post your entry to Mr. Linky >>>> HERE!

And now for Kelly's challenge:

I really gave myself a good laugh when I took the picture above. Something about the Amy Butler fabric and toilet paper... just funny. For this challenge Kelly's giving two stamp sets away to the big winner! But we will also be picking 5 Domestic Divas as well! There were just so many great cards the last go round, it just didn't seem fair not to feature more! And here's the big prize!

Kelly's challenge was just that for me - A CHALLENGE, but I loved it! It was so fun to really think how I could use toilet paper in a creative way! And let me tell you my creative way was MESSY! Here's my card:

Cardstock: Kraft, Bashful Blue(SU)

Stamps: Head in the Clouds (Sassafras Lass), Polka Dot Basics (PTI), and a random OLD stamp from Michaels dollar bin!

Ink: Chocolate Chip (SU), Cheastnut Roan (ColorBox); Black (Momento), VersaMark

Have you figured out how I made the clouds? Yep, that's just the dot for Polka Dot basics. I like how it kind of makes the clouds look "fluffy."

And that tree - yep completely toilet paper! I just dyed it all with my ink pads and used that same technique I use for my flowers. If you are interested in learning how to make my little flowers check out my video here.

For more fabulous inspiration check out the other Everything But The Kitchen Sink Girls:

Ann

Kelley E

Lynnette

Winter

And head to Kelly Marie's blog for all the details and Mr. Linky!

I can't wait to see what you all come up with! 

Cards!

Good news... Chase and I are doing some painting this weekend, so you might get some long over due decorating posts (do bats count). So check back in for that.

In other random news, I just started a new book (see my side bar). It's pretty fantastic so far. What are you reading? Anything good?

Tonight I just have some older cards to show you. I made both of these for the Embellish magazine call. Unfortunately neither got picked for the magazine. Normally, I don't think I'd admit that, but I know I've had more rejected than accepted. And I think it's good to just admit it. However, now that I think about it, I never talk about the card that get balanced. Anyways, all that to say here's my nod to perseverance! These may not have made it, but other will. Actually my first boss taught me a good saying "SWSWSW - Some Will, Some Won't, So What." My first job I was in charge of sponsorship sells and obviously that was about persevering too!

Now that I look at these, they both look super masculine. Oh except that blue flower! Ha!

__________

Also, don't forget to check back early tomorrow morning for a new EVERYTHING BUT THE KITCHEN SINK challenge! It's a good one, and certainly something to get you thinking outside the box!

Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger

Have you all gone to check out this week's Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger? Check it out. Not only am I excited that Cath picked my card and inspiration, but I'm also excited to see how everyone creates something different from my trigger!

Also, I posted late last night, so scroll down for that!

Halloween Decorations and an update on Maddie

Well, my time line for showing you my Halloween decorations is almost running out. I can't say that they are super original because I saw an idea I just loved. This is totally ripped off from Country Living. Here's what I did:

First, I drew half a bat. You can totally download and print this out from Coutry Living, but I didn't have access to a printer!

I used poster board for my bats. I wanted something just a little thicker than cardstock. I cut two different sizes of bats.

And up they went! They are so fun... especially at night. I can't wait for Halloween. We got Maddie's Halloween costume in the mail today. She's going to be a lion. It's way cute. Speaking of Maddie, we gave her a bath tonight. We have only taken her to the groomer. We haven't ventured into this yet ourselves. I thought she was going to hate it, but she actually did pretty well. The only bad thing was she was freezing.

Look how cute:

And here's Maddie and I playing her favorite game. I think it goes something like this:

Maddie: I'm going to eat your hands off... JUST KIDDING!

She loves it! It's so funny.

I'm off to work on somethings for Everything But the Kitchen Sink! I hope you'll play along on Friday!

Papertrey Ink Blog Hop

I always love participating in Papertrey Ink's blog hop, unfortunately I'm usually too forgetful to remember! This morning I was thinking about everything blog related I needed to get done this week (Halloween Cards all posted, Everything but the Kitchen Sink Challenge (coming on Friday so be watching), two sketch cards, OH! and today's the 25th! It's pretty miraculous!

Yesterday I was churning out cards, so I decide this would be the perfect challenge to start on my December Daily album. If you've been reading my blog for awhile, you'll remember last years album here. Here's the challenge:

It's time for our annual Holiday Hop!  Show us your best upcoming holiday plans for cards, gifts, wraps
or whatever else you have up your sleeve!  With everyone's cumulative efforts the participant list will be
an amazing resource!

I knew that my polka dot basics, bitty box paper, and PTI cardstock would be staples to making this album. I didn't really try to use PTI products, it's so fun that they work themselves into every project. The first thing I did was gather up my supplies. 

 

For the base of my album I am using 7 think bingo cards from 7 Gypsies. I knew I wanted something kind of special for the front. So I started off with the second size label in pure poppy and decided to stitch my 25. I just drew it out and stitched it with this awesome twine from Farmers Marker called shabby green.

 

And here's the finished look. I just used a simple shipping tag and added dimension with polka dot basics with versa mark, vintage cream ink, and some brown. And don't you love that natural looking ribbon? Ahh... I found it in the trim section at JoAnn's.

I also got done the first page. If you aren't familiar with the December Daily Album check out Ali Edwards site for more information. Basically the idea is to set up your album before December, so you can add pictures and establishments as you go through the month! Here's my first day:

Because I was working with the back of my ribbon, I just tied some more twine to give it interest and used a number index card for the date. If you look closely at the background of the card you will see that I stamped the tree from Home For the Holidays from PTI. It looks so nice and vintage in real life! Plus who doesn't love Bitty Boxes! AHHH!

I can't wait to see what else everyone else did!

Embellish Challenge - The Cure

Wow... I was planning to have this posted by last night, but thanks to my friend Kelley, Chase and I were cleaning like crazy last night! And seriously... can I just say how giving Kelley is? When Chase and I first moved into our house, not only did she help me paint pretty much all of our house, but she also helped me clean! I mean... who does that? Kelley.

So here's the challenge:

October is breast cancer awareness, so Ashley brought out the pinks! And here's what I came up with:

 

Stamp: Grainy Background (Unity); Vintage Sentiments (Papertrey Ink)

Ink: Basic Gray (Stampin' Up!)

Cardstock: Pretty In Pink, Basic Gray (Stampin' Up!)

Pattern Paper: Bitty Boxes Raspberry Fizz (Papertrey Ink)

Ribbon: Hibiscus Burst Saddle Stitch (Papertrey Ink)

Accessories: Lemonade Woolies (Basic Gray); Black Rhinestones (JoAnn's)

Oh I just realized I can submit this in the ruffle challenge as well. It's a good thing I'm defaulting to ruffles these days! I hope you all are having a great weekend!

Court

The Tuesday Trigger... or maybe not.

Last night I was reading Cath's latest challenge on her blog, and well, apparently I can't read! I thought the challenge was to come up with your own trigger... wrong! But just for fun here was my trigger from CB2:

And here's my card:

I actually really like it. I did realize after I was done that I could enter it into the ruffles challenge! Ha ha... lesson learned ... read!

Stamps: Glee, Thanks (American Crafts)

Paper: White (PTI), Gray (SU)

Pattern Paper: Ripe Avacodo (PTI)

Ribbon: White Satin (PTI)

While I was posting this Maddie almost fell out off my desk and I almost had a heart attack! How do you people have children? I don't think I can handle it! BREATH...

2 Videos - Shopping in San Diego and a flower tutorial.

Hey guys! I've got two videos for you tonight... I'll try not to post for a few days, because after watching them both even I am tired of my allergy stricken self!

First up... a quick recap on my shopping in San Diego:



If you are curious about the store I mention in the video here's the link. If you want to watch it YouTube just click here.

Here's a second video on how I make my fabric flowers!


If you make any flowers please let me know. I'd love to see them. If you want to watch the video on YouTube, just click here.

Just Us Girls Challenge

As I was checking in on everyone's blog I saw that my blog friend Dana is on the Design Team for "Just Us Girls". I loved the colors she used, and I can use all the Christmas card motivation so I got to work!

Stamps: Merry and Bright - PS I so need to buy some Christmas stamps!

Paper: Real Red, Aqua Mist, Vintage Cream

Pattern Paper: Bitty Boxes Aqua Mist

Ribbon: Bottom - May Arts

Ink: Vintage Cream

Also, a few of you asked for a tutorial on how I make my flowers! I'm going to try to get that done this week! It's really not hard at all!

Thanks for stopping by!

We're Back!

We're back! And now I need a vacation! Unfortunately the ocean breeze did nothing for my allergies and I came back feeling worse than when I left, but thanks to liquid Aleve I was able to soak up all of the fun! We hit the zoo, Coronado Island, Torrey Pines, and of course the most important, two scrapbook stores! Woo hoo. I think I'll make a quick video about my experience at those stores. I did want to share this card I made awhile back. I actually really like it, so I'm not sure why I haven't shared it. I think it's my love of all things neutral.

Here are a couple of my favorite pictures from the trip:

I'm off to watch some football. Tennessee has an off week, so I'll have to cheer for my hubby's team tonight! Also, I can't wait to catch up on what all you've been up to this past week!

San Diego Scrapbook

I got my scrapbook finished right before we left for our trip (which I'm probably on by the time you read this). I did want to show you how it looks all together.

I did add a few finishing touches... check out side view:

 

I love how messy it looks. I can't wait to show it you all finished! Also, the first time I posted this I didn't mention that I used a couple of envelopes. Envelopes are a great way to stick random stuff in, especially when you are toting it around on a trip. 

So I've packed my scrapbook up, my mono multi, my sissors, and my black su writer, and we're off to the zoo. No for real, we are going to the zoo. 

 

Now, you bloggers, don't have too much fun without me!

CPS 137

*** Hopefully by the time you read this I'll be in San Diego (sorry had to type that) ***

I needed to make a birthday card, and my stash of cards is completely low. Basically all I have is I LOVE YOU cards, and I don't know about you, but I can't just hand those out to everyone. So no more I love you cards for me.

Here's the CPS sketch:

And here's my card:

It's pretty busy, but I uaully think that any time I use my Sassafrass paper. Here's a closer look:

The image was originally colored on the stamp, then stamped. I had to go back and make some of the lines cleaner (basically everywhere). I did leave the belly and I like how it has a softer feel. 

Everything But The Kitchen Sink WINNER

Yes, we have a winner! And let me tell you we all had such a hard time. Rather than just one of us picking the winner we tried to do this by committee. I think that's really a great thing, since we all appreciate different styles etc.

So are you already tired of my talking... okay I'll get to it. Drum roll please...

goes to the maker of this fabulous card:

 

Randee you're the winner.  Email me at CourtneyMBaker@gmail.com, and I'll set up getting your prize. 

 

And again can I just say all of the cards were amazing. The creativity really blew me out of the water! I hope you'll all come back and join us on the 31st when we tell you next month's challenge. I've already heard the idea, and I can't wait to try it myself! 

Also, to my fellow bloggers, sorry for the lack of comments lately! Again I haven't been feeling well, so between that and trying to get out the door it's kind of crazy! Hopefully I'll catch up when I get back!

2 Sketches 4 You

I needed a quick thank you card tonight, and I decided to try a "2 Sketches 4 You" challenge for the first time. Here's the sketch:

And here's my card:

 

Stamp: Thanks - American Crafts

Pattern Paper: Cherry Hill - October Afternoon

Ribbon: Black Stain - Papertrey Ink

Cardstock: Krafts - SU

I hope you all had a great weekend. I'm actually not feeling too hot. I think my allergies are going crazy at the moment. If you aren't from Tennessee you should know Tennessee is one of the worst places to live for allergy sufferers. I'm looking forward to a few days in CA to hopefully make me feel better!

Get Sketchy

Well, today is a special day. Today I turn 27. For a few weeks I thought I was turning 28, but I was wrong. In honor of my birthday I decided to set apart some time to do what I love best ... make something. Well, my sweet hubby is off on a mission trip with the middle schoolers, so it was easy to do.

I got a sweet card from my friend Winter, and little stamp set. So I couldn't resist inking it up! Here's the sketch:

And here's what I came up with:

Stamps: Fright Night - My Favorite Things

Ink: Black Tuxedo - Momentum

Markers: Combination of Stampin Up Writers and Copics

Pattern Paper: American Crafts

Also, please notice that little spider. It's one of my favorite things. The body is actually made up of a black rhinestone. This set had a little spider stamp, but I feel like it would be really easy for anyone to recreate! I also, cut out the little pumpkin pals and popped them up! I also covered them with crystal effects.

Check out the rest of the entries here.

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Also, I don't talk about work much, but one of the things I've been working on lately is creating a Facebook page for LifeWay Christian Stores. You would all make my week if you would go become a fan here!

Gradient Is Radiant

Tonight is the last night to enter the Everything But The Kitchen Sink Challenge!

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Tonight after cleaning and taking Maddie back to the vet, I sat down to participate in the latest Moxie Fab Challenge: Gradient Is Radiant. To be honest at first I was a little stumped, but once I thought about paint it was all down hill from there.

I started with my wood grain stamp and some white and purple paint. I used my paint tray to mix my shades, and painted them on my stamp.

And here's everything pulled together:

After I got it completely finished I decided it needed something else. So I took some diamond Stickes and added them to some of the lines in the wood grain. It looks pretty cool in person!

Stamps: Halloween Tags (PTI)

Paper: Black (SU), White, Spring Moss (PTI)

Ink: Black (Momento), Green Chalk (Technique Tuesday)

Ribbon: Black Satin (PTI), Twine (May Arts)

Punch: Upper Crest (Fiskars)

Also, just a quick update on Maddie. Remember this card I made earlier this week?

Well, on Thursday I got a call from Chase and it went something like this:

Chase: You know that circle card you made last night.

Me: Yea.

Chase: Well, Maddie really loved that card.

Me: Really? (still confused)

Chase: Yep, I found it outside the bonus room. She ate it.

Truly, Maddie really does not chew... except crafts. I'm wondering if it was the glue... but check it out now.

A dog after my own heart. :)