From Courtney's Closet #22 - an inspiration challenge

Hi everyone! Well, tomorrow's Halloween, and even though I already did a pumpkin outfit a few weeks back, I still had to celebrate Halloween in today's From Courtney's Closet post!! I didn't want to do another completely Halloween-y outfit, so I did what only made sense - found inspiration from Courtney in her Halloween costume!! I'm sorry for the blurry photo of her this week - I've told you before, taking her photo is no easy task! But my sister convinced me that it's such a cute photo despite the blur, it was ok to use. :-) Yep, Courtney is a dalmatian this year!! It goes with her big brother's fireman costume. I don't know if anyone remembers but many weeks ago, when I was first getting excited about Halloween, I declared that I already knew what they were going as, and I was going to attempt to make Courtney's costume! I knew it couldn't be *that* difficult to sew some black felt spots on a white onesie... Well... then I found this little dalmatian costume, already made and oh so cute, at Walmart for only $8, and decided that was less than it would probably cost me just to get the materials for her homemade costume, not to mention the time to make it which I never seem to find enough of... so I took the easy way out!! LOL Maybe someday I'll be one of those cool moms who makes amazing homemade costumes... (or maybe not...!) So for this week's card, I pulled out my retired Stampin' Up Yappy Day set that I LOVE. I got to go all out with the polka dots this week - it was "required" since I dressed my baby girl in a polka dotted costume!! (I know Monica is going to give me a hard time about that! LOL!) The card is pretty self-explanatory, pretty simple, but I think it's simply CUTE! And not too shabby for a gal going on very little sleep and a lot of Diet Coke...!! :-) So does this inspire you at all??? Keep in mind you don't *have to* go with a dog theme! If you do come up with something, please let me know - I'd LOVE to see it! And if you upload on Splitcoast please use keyword FCCC. Last week's outfit was a real challenge for nearly everyone, just as I predicted. But some brave souls did take on the challenge, and the results were fabulous!! Anita and Katie's cards are so cute this week, using the birdie die from the Stampin' Up Big Shot! Look at the ADORABLE little nest Katie created! And of course I *love* how Anita used that Top Note die that I covet! LOL (in related exciting news - I have the Nestabilities version shipping to me soon from Ellen's store!! WOOHOO!!)Berenice played again (yay!) and used the CUTEST round bird image!! Love it!I love that Diane chose to use the Big Flowers set from SU to mimic Courtney's pants, and again an adorable green bird!!Maria's card is just adorable - I love her teal faux stitching and how she made the scalloped strip - too cute!How could I not love Megan's card?? Just look at all those polka dots!!! :-) And I love the fun clip she found, and added the "hey chick" rub-on to - so cute & clever!Here's a great example how inspiration comes differently to different people - I love how Sue went a more elegant route with her card! I'd love to see it in person, she says it has a lot of shimmer the camera couldn't capture.Sue's niece Katie played again via email (Katie you need to get a blog, girl!!) :-) and sent me this adorable creation. I just love that little birdie image she used!!And finally... well... how could this possibly NOT be my favorite?? I mean, I know it seems "rigged" - she used a Hambo stamp which you all know I LOVE, and it happened to be a Hambo stamp that I sent to her... but just LOOK what she did with it?? Isn't Leslie's card way beyond fabulous?!!? I guess we expect nothing less from superstars like her. But wow. This just blew my mind (and brightened my day!!). I have your address Leslie, some goodies will soon be on the way... :-)Thanks ladies, you most certainly conquered this challenge with flying colors!! And thanks everyone else for stopping by today!

• Stamps: Yappy Day from Stampin' Up
• Paper: Real Red, white, DP from AMuse and Paper Studio
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
• Accessories: Cuttlebug Swiss Dots, black grosgrain, MM big red brads, Copics, prismacolor pencils

Ok I have to share a couple more post-post photos with you. This is big brother Carter in his fireman HAT - I cannot get him to wear his fireman coat!! But I did dress him in a firetruck shirt to go with his hat...! This was his costume at school this morning - they did a little pumpkin patch and invited the parents to stay and watch the kids do their pumpkin hunt. True to form, Carter quickly chose a pumpkin, put it in the back of a dump truck, and pushed it around the playground the rest of the time I was there.