...'twas the night before Christmas

...twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, ALL the creatures were stirring...EVEN the mouse :0)

We've had quite the day full of cousins, food, gifts, Magic Reindeer Food...and driving to see the lights on the Boardwalk on Virginia Beach HERE. We are watching Santa arrive via the NORAD site HERE (so super cool!)

While my husband gives the kiddos a quick bath (I've never seen kids so excited to get IN to bed), and wanted to post a quick "Happy Holidays" to all of blog friends out there. Thank you for reading my little blog, I appreciate each and every one of you!

My Time Made Easy ~Cutesy Cover~

Hello blog friends!

I hope you guys are all doing well! The holidays are on top of us, and with 5 teachers, baby sitters, my husband's employee, etc, to all give small gifts too...I always look for QUICK & EASY projects! This My Time Made Easy© template is just perfect for quick and easy!

Here is my second official My Time Made Easy© Design Team project (someone pinch me...still can't believe I get to say that!)This sweet little template is called Cutesy Cover. Think Crayon Box for an example of the size. I also wanted to note that I do not have a SCAL for my Cricut yet (hint, hint, Santa), so I am hand cutting, or using my trimmers to make all of my My Time Made Easy Pretty Packages©.

Did you know that this template is *FREE*?? It is just perfect for super quick gifts!! I know MyTimeMadeEasy.com is experiencing some "technical difficulties", (I honestly think this it is so cool...so many people were accessing the site at the same time and the server couldn't handle the volume, so they are switching servers), but Lauren Meader hopes to have it back up and running this afternoon!!


I was lucky enough to have this Pretty Packages© "Cutesy Cover" a little early :0) and made 5 of them to have on hand! They are the perfect size for a gift card, and some small candy stuffed in there too:0)


The base is downloadable paper calledPretty Printable© "That Hit The Spot" in Red, also found at My Time Made Easy©. I added some tiny magnets to the flap, then attached the red ribbon all over, which hid the magnets. To finish it off, I added a little penguin from JustRite Stampers to the front, colored with my Copics, and cut with Spellbinder Dies. I added a little Stickles Diamond for sparkle, and I was all set!


Pure cuteness.



supplies:
MTME Pretty Printables That Hit The Spot in Red, Papertrey Ink New Leaf Cardstock, JustRite Stampers Christmas Joy Boders and Centers Oval, Copic Markers, Spellbinder Oval and Oval Scallop dies, Papertrey Ink Pure Poppy Button, Martha Stewart Bakers Twine, Red Grograin ribbon, Diamond Stickles

My Time Made Easy!!!!

HELLO!! If you have found me from Lauren Meader's blog, my name is Catherine Doucette (aka, The Dancing Pear) and I am THRILLED to be a part of the new My Time Made Easy© design team. THRILLED!

A little about me: I'm a SAHM to a 6 and 4 year old, and design when I get the chance. I've been in the paper crafting world about 1 year now, and you can find my work in PaperCrafts, CARDS and Simply Handmade magazines. I'm on the design team for Lil' Lambs Boutique and Caardvarks too :0) In my life before kids, I earned a BS in Art, then ended up in the Human Resources/Marketing field until my oldest was born. I've always dabbled in some form of arts or crafts, and when I bought my first patterned paper 3 years ago...I was hooked!

Now, if you are one of my regular blog followers...this has been a hard secret to keep! I've been in the middle of this huge relocation with my family (2 small kids, a dog and a frog relocating 2 weeks before Christmas. Don't try this at home!). But, when Lauren contacted me about this opportunity, there was NO WAY I would pass up the chance to work with her. I've been working like mad and so happy to share my first template! So, if you didn't find me from Lauren's blog go HERE to learn all about this exciting new adventure called My Time Made Easy©!

Pretty Packages© In A Pinch


Oh, how I love a good template, and this first one is fantastic! AND right now it is on sale for $3!! In A Pinch© has this darling "pinch" at the top of the box. Such beautiful lines to this template! My kiddo's and I made a huge batch of "Magic Reindeer Food" to give to our neighbors this year. (This is simply high quality bird food, oatmeal, Christmas sprinkles...and some Christmas magic thown in...a great kid project!). I cut a window in the front of the template and lined the interior with a sturdy piece of acetate. The "food" is in a plastic baggie on the inside.

I created the tag from a JustRite Stamper 2" square wood stamper, then embossed in silver. I tied some coordinating ribbon, a few leaf punches and jingle bells!
After I cut this template, and assembled it all the way until you do the "pinch" (it has to be secured with some sort of ribbon to maintain the pinched look), I slipped the baggie of food in, THEN pulled the pinch tight with my bakers twine and embellished to my hearts content.

I covered the top of my Pretty Package In A Pinch© with this adorable Pretty Printables
Pretty Printables© "The 12 Days of Snowflakes" in Red. Plus, the "belly band" is created from the "That Hit the Spot" Red Pretty Printables© patterned paper. So cool that you can download paper!! Digi paper is new to me, but I'm already hooked :0).


The top is complete with a little poem I printed off the internet!


*whew* so glad I finally get to tell the world about My Time Made Easy© :0)

Thank you so much for stopping by, you'll see a lot more Pretty Packages© coming soon!


Now, scoot back to Lauren's Blog to go meet the other super talented members of the My Time Made Easy Design Team...you'll be blown away!

Other supplies: Papertrey Ink Pure Poppy cardstock, Neenah Classic Crest, Spellbinder Nestabilities Dies, Martha Stewart Bakers Twine, Martha Stewart Holly Punch, Hero Arts Pearls, Copic Markers

~Home Made~

Hello blog friends :0)

I made this adorable little house a few weeks ago and thought I would share :0)

Made from the Home Made Timeless Template by Papertrey Ink, it is cuteness in a box! I wanted it to look like a Gingerbread House, but a classy one appropriate to give as a gift. My daughter's very special teacher got this filled with a Starbucks gift card, a handmade ornament my daughter made for her, and lots of candy. This little box is very sturdy and makes an impressive gift!


The windows and doors are from the Home Made stamp set, also by Papertrey Ink! So very clever!


I can't wait to use this over and over again :0)



I used my Copic's to shade the tiles on the roof, and to give the door some extra dimension.

I'm sorry...I'm too tired to chat :0)
Have a great weekend!

Blog Candy!!

**EDIT** The blog candy drawing is now over. THANK YOU ALL for leaving me such kind comments, I wish I could give a little to everyone! But, the random winner is

Anonymous said...
Catherine thank you for the beautiful ideas. yOU are truly creative. tryanholder@yahoo.com

Have fun packing!
Tricia

I've emailed Tricia, if I don't hear back from you by tomorrow morning, I'll pick someone else. Thank you :0)

So, in honor of me moving, and finding some wonderful items that I never got around to using...I'm giving away my first BLOG CANDY!!

Here's a peek, there is a ton of stuff in here!


You have until Thursday, December 10th, at 8:00am EST to leave a comment. PLEASE make sure if I cannot link back to you, that you leave a working email for me to contact you. I will mail this out Friday morning, and I want to be able to contact the winner on Thursday!

Thank you for following my blog!

A little birdie~

Hello blog friends!

I haven't had much to share recently, with the move just a little over a week away, Christmas just a few weeks away...and lots of design team work due...I just haven't had much time for my little blog.


So, I was working with my Copic's today for one of my design team projects (you'll get to see it soon :0)) and thought I'd share this TOO CUTE penguin from JustRite Stampers (Lil Lamb's Boutique is now carrying them. Woo HOO!) Usually when I am making one image, I'll go ahead and color several so I'll have an image ready if I'm in a pinch, or turn them into gift tags.

Here he is "up close and personal"!


Have I mentioned how much I love Copic's? *sigh*

Caardvarks MICRO Challenge ~ Color~

Hello friends!

There hasn't been one of these for awhile...a MICRO challenge at Caardvarks!! These micro challenges are just to get your creative juices flowing :0) This challenge is being sponsored by Your Next Stamp , and you have a chance to win one of their cutie patootie stamps! Head to Caardvarks for all of the details!

Boy, these colors were out of my comfort zone! I don't mind using one or two of them at a time, but ALL?? Now that's a challenge!


As you know, with my time crafting time being limited right now... I needed a fast card! AND, truth be told...I should have changed my "low ink" cartridge on my printer...since this printed for me as much greener colors...sorry there is no yellow! The colors looked dark and light green on my paper :0)

This card's inspiration came from my front door! I have a "shiny bauble wreath" on my front door (sorry, the weather was terrible today, I'll try tomorrow to snap a quick pic), so whaa-laa...punched circle wreath.




The cardstock was all from scraps and stash...but the ribbon and stamp are from Papertrey Ink. I *gasp* cut apart one of the sentiments from "Holiday Button Bits" to make it fit on my tag!

So, let's see what you guys can do with these colors!! You can also head over to Caardvarks to see what the other design team members created with this challenge :0)