Group Post: My Time Made Easy Spring is Here!

Today is the My Time Made Easy group post, so you there are lots of goodies to see!   I'm showcasing Well Contained which is just one of all the wonderful items being released today.  It is so versatile with a holder and a gift bag that slips inside. 

And just look at the gorgeous, rich papers from the Regal Round Up set.  Well Contained went together beautifully and it holds a lot of dark chocolate nuggets!

I used a piece of clear mylar to cover the window - didn't want ANY of those nuggets escaping!  The pretty tag and setiment are from the Round Off stamp set and the butterfly is from the Spring is Here set.  Here's a shot of two templates with the bag sitting to the side:

The matching card was so simple to create with that gorgeous tag and pretty papers.

You can see the entire March release in the New Products section at My Time Made Easy.  There are a lot more wonderful creations to see: 

Lauren Meader

Katie Cotton

Kristin Bueter

Tangii Crane

Lisa Kind

Debbie Marcinkiewicz

Farida Rone

Linda Hammerton

Lori Kalus

Mara Campbell

Pattie Goldman

Enjoy looking at all the projects and thanks for stopping by!

Color Challenge at Craft Us Crazy

Craft Us Crazy has a new challenge and is it loaded with COLOR!   Here's the inspiration picture for the next two weeks:

Lots of pretty colors, stripes and fun flower to inspire.  Our sponsor for this challenge is  Robyn's Fetish.

For prize info check Craft Us Crazy for the details.

She's a cutie, isn't she?  Can you imagine that darling dress and high heels to do LAUNDRY? I think you can see the influence of the inspiration picture.  And I'd rather be doing almost anything other than housework - laundry included! 

Be sure to go by Craft Us Crazy to see the other DT's take on the color inspiration picture. 

Preview Day 2: My Time Made Easy

Oh, this is exciting - my first post for My Time Made Easy!  The actual release date is March 1st, but I get to show you the new Round and Round Pretty Packaging template now. 

Round and Round is not only a wonderful oval shaped box, it also comes with handles to turn it into a basket!  Very cool.  The darling bunny and eggs are from the new Spring is Here Stamp Set - it has 31 images!  (And the sentiment Big Hugs is from that set, too.)

I popped the eggs off the box a bit so that the lid would slide down inside them.  I found that Round and Round easily held 3 easter eggs filled with goodies.  The papers - even the shredded blue on the top - are from the March release set Spreading Spring Cheer.  Aren't they springy and cheerful?

The matching card (love that bunny) uses the same stamps and one of the papers.  (The sentiment is from another new stamp set:  Round Off.

The pretty chevron paper is cut using the Fine Finish Tags cut files. 

I had a blast putting this together - the template is a dream to work with - goes together very easily.  The fun doesn't end here, be sure to check out these wonderful ladies creations:

Lauren Meader

Debbie Marcinkiewicz

Mara Campbell

Linda Hammerton

Farida Rone

More goodies to see tomorrow on the official release day.  Thanks so much for stopping by and come back tomorrow! 

My Time Made Easy DT Announcement

Here's the BIG NEWS:  I get to be a part of Lauren Meador's My Time Made Easy Design Team!  I've been creating with Lauren's templates for several years now and I LOVE them - so I'm very excited to be joining a wonderful bunch of inspiring ladies on the design team.  (See the entire list on the right side of my blog.)

   If you're familiar with her store, you know the darling and high quality items.  If your new to My Time Made Easy, just wait until you see the templates, papers, stamps, and cut files.  In fact, you should go look now!

 Sneak peeks for the March release start tomorrow, so check out Lauren's blog for all the details.   My first post will be Wednesday.  Can't wait for you to see it!

Easter Ensemble at The Hybrid Chick

Monday is my day for a tutorial at The Hybrid Chick.  I knew when I came across such darling bunny images, I would have to try printing on fabric again.  Easter is so fun - it brings back memories of hunting eggs for Lauren's birthday.  Her birthday is in April and we had lots of Easter Egg hunts for her birthday party. 

I love this picture (from 1988, when Lauren was two) - the Easter bunny missed an egg and the expression on her face when she opens the empty egg is priceless!  You can see she's got a little pout starting, even though there's quite a few more eggs in her basket.

Check out The Hybrid Chick for a tutorial on the bunnies and tri-fold card.  Hope you had a wonderful weekend and thanks for stopping by!

I'm Bananas Over You!

I think it's already spring here - 68 today and 75 tomorrow!  I just hope it's not summer next week!  You know I love cold weather and we didn't have much this year.  LOVE sweaters and jackets...look kind of funny in those when it's 107 outside...

This little packet is the prototype for a friend's nephew's party - with a monkey theme, of course!  The monkey and banana are part of the Create a Critter cartridge from Cricut.   The invitation is on the cloud paper and it slips inside the tiny kraft bag. 

Well, I need to go cut out some more monkeys!  Hope your week has been good so far...

Fancy Card

I've been catching up on some housecleaning  straightening (I don't know how my craft stuff ends up everywhere when it has its own room) and creating some goodies for a new gig that I'll tell you about later this month.  The weather is beautiful today - lots of sun, for a change!

I want to share that Chocolate Mint Brownie recipe I mentioned awhile back.  It's from 100 Best Holiday Cookies.  I don't think we've baked  much from this cookbook, but based on the brownies, I think we need to be using it a lot more!  I have to say, hands-down, these are the BEST brownies ever and I've been looking a long time for a homemade brownie to love.

1 C butter

4 squares unsweetened chocolate

1 1/2 C granulated sugar

3 eggs

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp mint extract

1/2 tsp vanilla

3/4 C flour

Preheat to 325 degrees.  Grease and flour 9" square baking pan.

Melt butter and choc in double boiler.  Remove from heat and beat in sugar, eggs, salt, mint, and vanilla until well blended.  Stir in  flour.  Spread batter in pan.  Bake 35 mins. until top is firm and edges begin to pull away.  Cool completely.

Frosting:

Beat 6 tblsp butter, 1/2 tsp mint extract, and 2 drops green food coloring at medium speed until fluffy.  Add 2 cups powdered sugar, 1/2 C at a time, beating well after each addition.  Beat in 2 to 3 tblsp milk, one tblsp at a time, until spreading consistancy is reached.  Spread over cooled brownies.

Drizzle with chocolate glaze (1/3 C semisweet choc chips and 2 tblsp butter melted in microwave).

Yummy, yummy, yummy! 

This fancy card is made with some wonderful digital images from Made by Janet.  I love silhouettes and find it very hard to resist them when I find them!

Paper Issues new challenge is Tape It Up!  I've just got some washi tape from Impressions, so I'll have to get right on my contribution for the challenge.   Also, we've got a great deal - if you want to shop at Paper Issues and get a discount of 20%, just use the code chouxchoux at checkout!   Have a wonderful week!


Monday Linky:  Make It Monday

Favorite Color/Embellishment at Craft Us Crazy

It's new challenge time at Craft Us Crazy - how about favorite color and/or embellishment?  That's almost as easy as Anything Goes!  I say that, but I have to confess I sat there for awhile thinking:  "Do I have a favorite color or embellishment?"  How can I not?  I've always had problems with the favorite color question.  But, I can say I do love a really pretty blue/green combination - maybe teal or aqua.  LOVE the color of this butterfly - so that's what I'm going with.  Not sure I can even deal with the favorite embellishment thing! 

For this challenge, the sponsor is Digital Delights.

The prize is a $5.00 gift voucher. 

One of my longtime customers asked for a gift box and a couple of things to go inside along with some butterfly earrings she bought for a friend.

  I used the Wonderfully Wrapped template from My Time Made Easy. 

I also made a set of simple butterfly tags using the same butterfly from the front of the box.

And a soldered butterfly charm.   

How about you?  Do you have a favorite color or do you have trouble with that question, too?  Be sure to go by Craft Us Crazy to check out the other DT inspiration and join in the challenge, too! 

Happy Valentines Day!

Valentine's Day is almost here.  Dennis and I hardly ever go out on the actual day.  We don't like to fight the crowds at nice restaurants.  And besides, Dennis can make a steak that rivals just about anywhere we'd like to go anyway! 

Dennis loves chocolates - so I always get him two of the biggest hearts full of chocolates that I can find.  Easy and he's thrilled! 

I found this darling vintage nutcup on Etsy.  I scanned it in and enlarged it a little to create a Valentine gift. 

It turned out really sturdy and holds quite a few Kisses.  It's really cool how it sits on folded legs.  

And that little boy and girl are so very sweet.

I'm going to link my Love Banner over at Really Reasonable Ribbon.  Their challenge is pink, red, and ribbon.  I think it fits!  And I hope you have a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Card and Candy

I can remember as a kid going into people's houses that would have candy dishes in the living room.   I don't remember specifics just snatches of being with my mom and being offered a piece of candy from a pretty little dish.  Was it the candy or the dish that made such an impression?  I found several fluted heart tins at one of our local antique stores and thought one might make a sweet valentine candy dish.   So maybe it was the dish, as I really didn't think about the actual candy until later!

I painted the tin and used silver and red chenille stems for the handle.  Glittered it up, too!  At this point,  my daughter is thinking, "Oh, no!"  She likes vintage things in their original condition.  And for a lot of things, that probably is best.  But...this heart tin is getting a new life and will be loved!  I'm thinking I should have put some of those cute circles on my kisses to cover their bare bottoms! 

Oh, aren't valentine cards fun to create?  Such sweet images - love all the angels and cherubs.  The glitter's a little easier to see on the card.  Must have had better lighting!

The bottom part is a flashcard from Iralamija.    Hope you're having a great week!  Off to work on some other things....

Thank You, Beatriz

WOW!  Okay, so excited here... I won 12 collage sets from Beatriz Jennings!  I was like a kid in a candy store going through her Iralamija shop making a list of her beautiful collections.   Now my mind is going crazy with all the creative possiblities!   By the way, it was my heart pincushion that won the day.  Thank you, Bety, for you generosity!

Yes, this card also includes an image from Iralamija.  Isn't she a cutie?  I actually used this sweet little girl several years ago to make a Valentine decorative hanging.  So she and I go way back... The papers behind her are also images from collages in the Iralamija store. 

I've been oh, so busy this weekend getting all my Valentine orders finished (there were twelve to finish of this card alone).  I think I'm done and now need to make deliveries over the next couple of days.  Hope you've had a lovely weekend and thanks for stopping by!

Anything Goes at Craft Us Crazy!

Anything Goes - well, that's pretty easy!  The sponsor for the Anything Goes challenge at Craft us Crazy is Bugaboo Stamps. 

The prize is 7 digi images! 

This oh, so sweet strawberry girl is from Bugaboo Stamps and they have a lot of wonderful digi stamps to offer.   I made a strawberry basket using a template that was designed by Lauren Meador when she was designing for Papertrey Ink.  I believe it's still available there.  It's super easy to put together. 

And of course, I thought the basket needed a strawberry as big as the one in her wheelbarrow!   Be sure to check out all the projects at Craft us Crazy and link up one of your own "Anything Goes" projects!