Cards By Chrissy

Today on Kelly's Korner, her Show Us Your Life is to show off what you make. I have a little business I run out of my home called Cards by Chrissy. I hand drawn, hand paint, and personalize note cards and enclosures for all occasions. I would love to help you out with your Christmas shopping, so let me know what you need!!!! :) I have a gazillion designs and am always open to custom orders, so take a look at my etsy store at http://cardsbychrissy.etsy.com when you get a minute!

Looking for some adorable Christmas gifts for family, friends, or teachers? My hand-painted, hand drawn, personalized note cards are perfect for any occasion! :)

Each set includes 10 4x5 blank folded cards and matching envelopes.

Discounts apply to orders of 3 or more!

These are some precious enclosure cards I just made for a sweet little girl! These come in sooooo handy for birthday presents!

Some cute little pumpkins on kraft paper...

I love a cute bird!

whimsical flowers....

and my best selling card of all!!!!
Perfect for anytime of year!!!

New Fall 2010 sweet owls..... I can do a single owl for a boy or girl or the entire family!
These owls are super cute on enclosures too!

Upcoming Events:

November 12, 13, 14 - Lit'l Bit a Christmas - Jonesboro, AR Convocation Center

November 18, 19, 20 - Dazzle Daze - Conway, AR Events Center at the Fairgrounds

***Please come by my booth at either location! ***

How Great is Our God.... and Kiss Chase!

I feel like I need to shout from the rooftop my praises to God today. Several months ago, my friend, Daranda who is a 34 year old mom of 3 boys, was diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma. She started some very aggressive, and difficult, treatments very shortly after her diagnoses. I have watched our church and community gather around her and lift her up. But while so many people were trying to be a blessing to her family, it was really the other way around. Countless people have commented on her faith and peace during this trying time. When people were in contact with her they were encouraged by her strength and her faith in God. There have been so many times that my heart has ached for her husband and her sweet boys.... and as a mom, how difficult this really must have been on her. Well today, Daranda went back for a report from her doctors. She was told that her MRI and CT scan both came back clear, showing no cancer!

Today has been a day I don't ever want to forget. Just like God told Joshua to have his 12 stones of remembrance, I feel like this is one of my stones I will carry with me for the rest of my life! God Answers prayers! He is faithful! His plan is bigger than ours! For the last few months, every night at bedtime we would make our requests known to God and without fail, Macey (5) or Barrett (2.5) would bring up Mrs. A-WaNN-a (that's how Barrett says Daranda). I have heard their sweet prayers and the faith of a child when they brought this need to God. When I was tucking them in tonight, we got to talk about Praise reports.... and when God answers our prayers. What a precious moment! Thank you, God, for the plans you have for Daranda and all the lives that have been impacted by her walk with you! Thank you for letting our family pray for her and witness her miracle!!!!

And now onto other things.... like kindergarten recess. I have to share this because I laughed my face off after picking Mace up from school today. I asked her who she played with at recess, just like every other day when I pick her up, and she told me the names of two boys. This was the first bit that was shocking because she always tells me girls. Anyway, I asked her what they played. She told me it was a game called tag and that boy #2 kissed her today. I squeaked out a "WHAT?" and then a "WHERE?" She said he 'just sneaked up on her and surprised her and kissed her on her cheek!!!' By this time, I am cracking up thinking that my sweet baby has been kissed by a boy!.... and not just a boy she has known forever and all that, but a sweet boy that might think my sassy girl is a sweet girl!!!!! She has been in

kindergarten for a mere 40 days!!!! I'm not sure I'm ready for this kind of stuff! So the rest of the way home, I am grinning from ear to ear because I am thinking that this is soooo sweet and yet shocking at the same time! Please don't be shocked when I tell you that Macey quickly lined me out and told me, "This is not something that is funny! I do not like it when you laugh at me!" Well.... you can imagine that I tried really hard to bite my cheeks! After a few hours of reflection I have come to grips with kiss chase and still have a giant grin on my face! How sweet it is that she shared that tid-bit of info with me within the first 30 seconds after getting in the car with me today. If I can only be so lucky to have that kind of communication when she is 16! I love you Macey Clayton, and if I were a 5 year old boy, I'd wanna kiss your cheek too! :)

I am crazy about this rotten boy, too! This pic was by his request, " Mommy, ooo take picta me whi oooo?" (Translation: "Mommy, you take a picture of me with you?") Who could pass up a photo op like that?!?

Well... It's Fall at the Claytons!

This was our yummy dessert tonight! Pumpkin Bread!!!!! I think I could eat the entire loaf by myself.... but I won't! Happy Fall!!! :)

Here is a lil' shout out to my three favorites! There are days when I have this huge knot in my throat when I think about how much I love them. I really never had any idea I could love someone (all three of them) as much as I do. David - you are amazing! I fall more in love with you every single day! Thanks for being my BFF and my baby daddy! ... And Mace and Bear! You will never, ever, ever know how crazy I am about you! My favorite job in the entire world is being your mommy!!!

Look at that hunky daddy reading to my sweet boy.....

And the sassy sister!!!! This pic truly captures her..... hand on hip, eyebrows raised, .... and being a little bossy! I love you Mae-Mae!!!

Ok. Next, I am documenting the fall transformation that has taken place on my front porch...... and hold your breath! Drumroll, please................................

This is my fall wreath that I have used for the last two years and I was thinking that it needed a little sprucing up! So, after I fluffed it and brought it back to life after spending the last 10 months in the attic ..... I got these supplies.......

** I have no idea why this picture is rotated, but I have tried to fix it a gazillion times. Anyway, I bought a cardboard C and 1 piece of festive scrapbook paper. I traced the C onto the scrapbook paper and used the Mod Podge to put it together......

Super close up view.....

And the finished product..... I hot glued at coke tab on the back of the C and used floral wire to attach it to my wreath! :) Love how this little project turned out!

For my second project, I updated my pillow with my HOUSE NUMBER!!!! I found this cute patterned felt for $0.59!!!!! I found a font I liked, enlarged it to really big and used it as my pattern. Then I hot glued on!

TA-DA! The Front Porch.... Fall Style! :) These little touches cost me a total of $2.61! So there ya go, fall has finally arrived at the Clayton house.... and for just a few pennies! :)

Taste and See that the Lord is Good!

Welcome to the heart of our home! This week at kellyskornerblog.com, we are giving kitchen tours. I love, love, love that my cooking has improved so drastically in the 8 years I have been married to David! In our first house, I really couldn't have cared less if we even had a kitchen. I was so like a bachelor.... just give me one of those dorm fridges and a microwave and I was SET! ... There was a time when I really disliked cooking because I was so bad at it. I mean, who wants to eat 5,419 casseroles and rubbery, dry chicken? That was all I could cook!

We used to have this Monday night fear factor, spaghetti tradition when Katie, my sis, was going to school at Tech. She would come over and hang out with us and watch it. My spaghetti tasted sooooo good, back then.... but you should taste it now! :) I have really learned to love cooking and have become pretty good. The cooking standard in my family has always been my Grandma Hartshorn. When Macey tells me that a meal is as good as Grandma's, I know it is Goo.ooo.oood!

Ok. So now for the tour where the magic happens! :)

This is the view walking in from the garage. David picked out our wood floors and I must admit that I was a tad sceptical.... but I love them now!

This is the counter on the left side. I have had the cute "C" for maybe a year. Every time I try to hang it, it falls off the wall because there are two holes on the back.... and for the life of me, I can't get my nails to line up to hang it! I started threatening Dave that I was going to glue it on with my hot glue gun if he wouldn't hang it for me.... Well, he got all of the stuff out and was really going to hang it, until he realized that the electrical box (with 9 trillion hot wires) was exactly in the same spot I wanted my "C".... so needless to say, another failed attempt. Finally, I had this brilliant idea.... 3M command strips! That's all I'm gonna say! Worked liked a charm.

This is counter to the right. The bar looks into the living room and breakfast nook. I love my beefy, cream cabinets but I am trying to bring some more color into the kitchen. I found these super cute paintings at TJ Maxx for .... um, $12.99 each! And they have been worth every cent!

Breakfast area. We said we didn't want a glass table.... and sure enough this was on sale and now we have a .... you guessed it, .... glass table! I would love to replace the glass with wood either stained or painted to match.... we'll see! The door leads out to the deck.

Living room view from breakfast area and bar.

I can't really handle a ton of things on my refrigerator, so my friend Sara helped me come up with this brilliant idea. She had a frame she had gotten on sale for super cheap and I had a piece of sheet metal cut to fit it. It hangs in the little hallway that leads to the pantry and the master bedroom right off the kitchen. We have lots of Christmas pictures and art work on display!

Last, but not least.... my two assistants! Macey and Barrett were lots of help.... when they weren't eating the lettuce plain!

Thanks for coming over! Check back often this week.... I have lots to blog about! :)

Dining Room Details and Decor....

Well, welcome back to Kelly's Korner Tour of Homes. My baby sis, Erin, got married last weekend so I am doubling up with my master bedroom pics at the bottom of this post. Cause I was a tad too busy to blog! :)

Ok, I'm just gonna start out with pure honesty! One of my top priorities I had in designing our house before we built 2.5 years ago was for the dining room to be the first thing you see! We are the kind of people who LIVE in our house, so our Living room is very used!.... and sometimes looks like we have children..... or are having a garage sale in there. For me the dining room is the easiest room in the house to keep clean, therefore I needed it to be the first thing seen from my foyer.



This is the arrangement I have on my table. It is a wire candle hurricane that I added some floral foam and moss to build the base. Originally, I just had the yellow flowers and the grass and ivy, but when we moved in I updated it a tad with some 1/2 price Hobby Lobby finds.

This is the view from the corner of the living room (where the carpet starts). We have hardwood floors in the foyer, dining room, kitchen, and breakfast area.

This pic is taken from the right corner of the dining room. I love how we put the slanted cased-opening from the dining room in to the kitchen.

View from opposite corner looking into foyer and living room.

AmAzInG crown, tray ceilings, arches and columns! Compliments of my extremely talented, and rather handsome, husband! :)

That's the grand tour of our dining room. David and I used our income tax return from our first year of marriage to purchase our dining room furniture. We loved it 7 years ago and are still very happy with it. I thought I might want to buy a hutch or buffet to match, but when we got moved in, I really liked just having the table. The only decorations I have in here are the arrangement, and mirror with sconces.

Even though we don't have 3 meals a day in this room, we have some wonderful memories of holidays and special occasions we have shared with family and friends..... and we have plans for lots more!

And now for a little tour of the master..... one week late! :)

I got this bedding at TJ Maxx and found a couple of solid pillows that I liked to go with it. You can't see it, but my absolutely favorite thing about this room, is our memory foam mattress topper that my in-laws got us a few years ago! It has truly changed my life.... forever! :) (I know, I'm kind of dramatic sometimes!) BTW: I HATE our lamps! I got them at Dollar General 100 years ago and am dying for new ones..... but just haven't found the perfect ones yet! Suggestions?

My mom came to stay with me for several days after we moved in, and boy did I put her to work! I had been eyeing this fabric at Hobby Lobby, so I used a 40% off coupon and saved over $100 on it! We made these "LuXuRiOuS" curtains and SHE made the matching pillows for my bed.... Thanks Momma! I will gladly make some curtains and pillows for Macey someday when she grows up..... with my stapler and hot glue gun! haha

And finally, these pics were taken when Barrett was about 3-4 weeks old. I love them! I am so glad I have these sweet pictures of my precious babies frozen in time! We have a matching armoir and chest of drawers that match our bed, but I am so not into the accessories I have on them, that I left them off! But just imagine the most amazingly decorated chest and armoir and we can both pretend that's what my master BR looks like! :)

Thanks for coming over! I have big plans for several posts this week... and to continue showing you my home next Friday!

The Living Room Tour

One of the little things I do for me just about every day, is to take some time to read Kelly's blog at Kelly's Korner. She is truly an inspirational person... and we would so be friends in real life if we really knew each other! haha.... she is totally missing out, right? :) Anyway, each week she does a little thing called "Show Us Your Life" where other bloggers can post and link to her website. All that to say, that this week in SUYL it is House Tour: Living Room. So here goes....

I have been really excited about this because I am so proud of my home... not just my house. David and I have always worked really well together when we remodel or build. He is the logistics person and contractor and really the person who knows everything about construction. I, on the other hand, just know what I like. So I come up with stuff, and draw really special (aka horrible) pictures to get him to understand what I'm thinking.... and he tells me if it can be done or not and we go from there. Our house is truly a labor of love! David did everything in it with the exception of brick, plumbing, electrical, roofing and carpet. He is such a talented builder and contractor and put sooooo much time and love into building our house..... I would have helped out more, but I was kind of gigantically pregnant with Barrett... (we moved in when he was 6 days old!) How's that for timing!!!

So here is a look at our humble abode...

Front porch - I'm ready to decorate for fall but I just can't bring

myself to it when it is 92 degrees! Come on in!

View of Foyer from Front Door....

View of Living Room from Foyer. The foyer is on the right and the dining room is to the left. David built our mantel and did all of trim work and I love it!!!

Living Room looking into the breakfast nook. I love a good project and my next one is curtains! I have a good idea of the style that I want and maybe I can get inspired to find some fabric and make some.

Since we have lived here, I think I have had the couch in like 8 different places. I had it kind of diagonal for a long time, but obviously it was too close to the kitchen bar. I kept finding Barrett in my kitchen sink with water running and soap everywhere, so the new location of the couch seems to work the best.... especially for safety!!!

My mother-in-law brought a friend over to see Macey and Barrett this week and gave us the biggest complement. She said, "You can't even tell kids live here." We have had our share of baby equipment in the living room, but for now we use the drawers and cabinet space in our entertainment center to hide the kid clutter...

Okay, this is my closing thought. Even though I am super proud of the four walls, roof, and decor that make up our house, it doesn't compare to the people and memories and traditions and love that make it a home! I could not be more blessed! I love that I will have these pictures to show my kids some day (I am sure they will get a big laugh out of all the things I think are so cool right now). But most of all, I want them to look back and know that

as for this house, we will serve the Lord! Joshua 24:15

And PS... If you need any construction/contractor services.... I sure know a good one!

Clayton Construction Company

longest blog in the history of the world....

Here's to randomness! CHEERS!

• I so can't wait for fall to be here and stay here! I mean, if I can't wear my white sandals, then I might as well pull out the fleece!
• I really got spoiled to having my children as my alarm clock since I quit teaching 2.5 years ago. It was always so sweet to wake up to a babbling baby or a sweet, soft little girl wanting some fruity pebbles.... All that to say, now I wake up to an alarm clock on my phone at least 6 out of 7 days of the week... and hit snooze at least 3 times each morning. aaahhh, the good ole days....
• I mopped my floors yesterday and they stayed clean for exactly 2 hours! WOW! Lucky me!!! Maybe I can do it again tomorrow!
• I'm in the process of redecorating Macey's room.... still have a few projects before it all comes together. She informed me yesterday that it looks like a KID ROOM! and she wanted it to look like a grown up room! How dare a 5 year old girl have a KID ROOM! Who ever heard of such!?! .... LOL

This is the before.... check back soon for the finished product!

• I am so excited that the Hog game is on this weekend and my amazing, handsome, work-a-holic husband has declared the couch as his primary residence on Saturday! Wooo-hoooo! We love having him home and I am pumped about cooking some of his favorite foods, listening to my kids fight, and the roar of college football on all day!


• I've been feeling a little nostalgic lately. When I drove back to Jonesboro last weekend, I took some backroads through lots of fields and watched the sun set behind them. I LOVE end-of-summer sunsets during Harvest and listening to some loud country music.... My mind wondered off a bit and I began to think about how many times each of those fields had been farmed and how many times the fruits of the labor had been reaped.... all that to say, God is faithful, the south is amazing, and there is nothing, nothing like being 10 minutes from 'home'.


• Macey is taking Kindergarten by the tail! She is loving every minute of it.... She was star citizen last week for Friendship! So proud of that sassy girl. She is just a sponge. I bought a set of sight word flash cards thinking I would be so ahead of the game and I could work with her on them. Good one... she new 93 out of 100 on her first time through them!!!! She loves to read and be read to. She asked me last week if I had ever read the book, "Who will call you Mother?" ... or something like that, and then told me the author and the illustrator.... trying to jog my memory for me! I love, love, love that girl to pieces. Macey is a test of my patience at times as she is the DEFINITION of STRONG WILLED CHILD!....And it is really like parenting myself sometimes! :) Today, I did have to take some disciplinary action with her due to her sassy mouth, stomping, glaring, sweet little self! After we had a talk, I sent her to her room and told her to write me an apology note or draw me a picture.... This is what I got:

I'LL TREASURE IT FOREVER. Macey is saying, "I'm Sorry" and the mom is saying, " I forgive you". Sweet, sweet!

• Barrett is pretty much hilarious! Today out of no where he told me this: "Me not get my name on board at muuaaa-day-ouuuut!" ... He didn't even go to school today, and it looks like he is really listening closely to my conversations with Macey when I pick her up every day. We are working on potty training (with Barrett, not Macey haha)... YUCK! I know there are worse things to come, but I really hate this job. He is so not into it..... but I am really sick of buying diapers. I can't wait to have that $40 a month to spend on something else..... maybe Dave Ramsey! haha!


• Last random thought: I LOVE MY BIBLE STUDY GIRLS! God is so real and alive in me. I love watching him weave people and things into my life to make me a woman after his heart. We are on Week 2 of Conversation Peace and it is all over my toes. I have a choice in how I use my words and my tongue... either for life or death! My goal is to let God direct my words and clean up my filthy mouth! ...(calm down, I'm not a potty mouth, but God sure has plenty of room to work in me!) So glad to be sharing this experience with so many AmAzInG women.

Disclaimer: I know some parts of this post sound a tad sarcastic, but I LOVE MY LIFE, MY HUSBAND, MY KIDS, AND OUR CRAZINESS! I HONESTLY COULD NOT BE HAPPPIER!

A Little Bit Of Summer.....

Arent' these just the cutest kids you have ever seen? I am just crazy about them.... and they sure add a little CrAzY to my life! :)

Macey (5) and Barrett (2) July 4th, 2010

This post is devoted to capturing some funnies that have made Summer 2010 so mememorable!

Barrett has discovered a crazy love of mud and mud puddles! Along with frogs and worms and rocks and sticks. One night after supper I let him play with the water hose and he filled this hole that we have in our flower bed with water.... and this is the progression of his fun! He ended up sitting in all that nasty, muddy water and loving every second of it!

Macey is getting so excited for school and is super ready! After we had had supper and played outside one night, she asked if they could have a "HEALTY SNACK". Please let me interepret her note that she left for me on the bar: Fruit snacks and Donuts! She is is mother's daughter! :) Sounds healthy to me.... however, I told her that was not an option at 9:00 pm and offered her a banana with some peanut butter instead. You can see in pic two how she feels about that! But she's a happy girl eatin' that peanut butter! :)

My sweet, little, busy, into-everything two year old sure does keep me on my toes! I found him in is room with Barbie when I noticed things were A TAD TOO QUIET! Obviously Barrett was concerned about Barbie's diaper rash and made sure she wouldn't have any trouble with it for a reaaallllyyyy long time! :)


This is how Daddy gives a bubble bath! He fills the water up and lets the bubbles almost spill over the top. No wonder they want him to give them a bath! :) They had so much fun I just had to share these!

And now back to that busy boy..... After hearing Macey scream to the top of her lungs, I ran into her room to find the air vent cover OFF and both of them peering down the air duct..... I wonder what they found. Oh, look, it is Barbie again..... I had to lay down on my stomach to reach down and rescue her. Just when I pulled her safely out, I realized I better hurry..... Lots of doll house family and pieces were still down there! The pile is what I dug out of the vent.... no telling what is too far down to ever be seen again! :( But, boy he was proud!

And this pic is of Sunday Morning, July 4th! I am so blessed to be married to such an amazing man and to have these two wonderfully made kids! I had a fantastic birthday weekend with my family in Jonesboro. I am one happy girl! :)

Better late than never.... I have been wanting to post my favorite bible verses after Kelly did on her blog. But I am having a terrible time narrowing it down to one.... or even a few. These below are some of my current faves. If you are like me, you might cling to a verse for a while and then God reveals a new one to you that becomes your favorite. I have a journal that I write verses that really speak to me and it is always great to go back and read the verses that carried me through difficult times and the the ones that I held onto in times of joy and triumph.

Romans 8:28

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Isaiah 43:2

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you and when you pass through the rivers they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned up; the flames will not set you ablaze.

Phillipians 4:6-7

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Joshua 24:15

As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

These are just a few verses that I love. God's word is so real and alive. I love how HE grabs my attention and and makes it so .... real! More than ever before, I have a stirring in my spirit for more of God. I am hungry for more of His word and eager to spend time with Him.... I am excited for what He is doing in my life and my family. My last comment and thought:

HE IS FAITHFUL!