Better Than Doing Laundry Design Team

queen-of-nostalgia@comcast.net (queen-of-nostalgia) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 13:35:00 +0000

I knew summer was winding down, but I couldn't believe my eyes when I went to the store the other day. Was I surprised by the aisles devoted to Back-to-School supplies? No. Was I taken aback by the Halloween decorations? Yes. But most shocking - there was an aisle getting prepped for Christmas! Seriously?

I love the holidays. Luuuurve them! But even I, the girl who has Christmas CDs stashed in her car when she feels the need for some Bing Crosby, have trouble thinking about a White Christmas when it is over 90 degrees...

I will admit, though, that I am so jazzed about Halloween! One of my favorite holidays ever! What is it about Halloween that evokes such good nostalgia? Is it the candy? The costumes? Even the colors of Autumn and Halloween are great. Ripe pumpkin and blazing scarlet, deep purples and midnight black, goblin green... Scrapbooking Halloween pages is fun because there are almost always good pictures to scrap, too. Kiddos in costumes, and Halloween parties...

Happy Mother's Day!

queen-of-nostalgia@comcast.net (queen-of-nostalgia) — Sun, 10 May 2009 16:21:00 +0000

When meeting a sister scrapper, we talk about favorite papers, the best local and online scrapbook supply shops, and the same question usually surfaces: "How long have you scrapped?" And so often, the answer is, "When I had my first child..." When expecting that baby, many of us get that nesting urge, and not surprisingly, after that sweet little one makes his or her debut into this world, we get the urge to document it. Photo albums, baby books... and scrapbooks!

I started scrapping kids, too, but my sisters' kids. Then I did my wedding album, and when I ran out of pictures, I did pages inspired by my cat (my fur baby). When I finally got my twin boys, I was so happy to do some cutie baby pages. Of course, now most of my personal scrapbook pages are dominated by those sweet boys...

So, to all the moms out there, whether they have little ones, grown ones, furry ones, or are that friend that "mothers" and looks out for all her girlfriends -

Happy Mother's Day!

A Glorious Morning!

queen-of-nostalgia@comcast.net (queen-of-nostalgia) — Sun, 03 May 2009 14:47:00 +0000

Is it safe to say it? Will I jinx it?

deep breath

Spring is here! It really is here! The grass is green and the flowers are starting to bloom! I got my first sunburn of the season, which is another sign that the snow and cold should be gone for good... besides, it is May for goodness sake.

I was at the Flint Farmer's Market in Michigan, one of the coolest venues I have done. Fresh fruit, live music, and for the first time, art vendors! I had a booth with my sister, selling some pretty altered art and such, and talking scrapbooking with sweet ladies. I also bought some vintage books and fresh strawberries :)

noreply@blogger.com (BTDL) — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 17:08:00 +0000

This sweet Valentine Tin is one of my all time favorites!

This is the sweet mini book insert I made to go inside.

noreply@blogger.com (BTDL) — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 17:06:00 +0000

This is a sweet Easter Tin that I did last spring.

noreply@blogger.com (BTDL) — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 17:02:00 +0000

Here are a few pics of some tins I have done in the past. I just wanted to share! This baby girl tin was a hit on Ebay and I ended up making special orders for baby boy tins just like it.

PAPER PIECING PATTERN CD VOLUME 3

noreply@blogger.com (BTDL) — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 21:02:00 +0000

YIPEE!!!! I finally finished my 3rd pattern CD!!!! I had recently gotten a MAC and I just couldn't figure out how to put the CD together! Well after some very long trials, it is finally done!! :) I have to say, I am rather proud of the piecings offered on this CD. On this CD you will find:

~ David Dog

~ Caitlin Cat

~ Dotty Dolphin

~ Bella Bunny

~ Casey Chick

~ Willy Wolf

~ Florence Flamingo

~ Philimena Flamingo

~ Frances Frog

~ Lucy Lamb

~ Penny Penguin

~ Cap and Bow for Frances Frog

~ Palm Tree

~ and Layout ideas!

Look for this and other Pattern CD's from BTDL Artists on Ebay and our BTDL Boutique!

Thanks!

Tina - TYCAALAK

What is everyone up to?

noreply@blogger.com (BTDL) — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 04:00:00 +0000

There are lots of new goodies up for auction right now on ebay from BTDL Designs Team Members. Take for instance Julie's latest layout:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190295100525&_trksid=p3907.m32&_trkparms=tab%3DWatching
Look at her darling new little girl piecing. This is the latest original design from Julie. You wont find another little girl like this on ebay. Kudos for originality to Julie.
Also, Sandra aka cornerhobby has come out with her latest piecing... Lilly. All her piecings are original artwork started from her actual drawings. This is her latest sweet little girl:

http://cgi.ebay.com/OOAK-Lilly-Girl-Orginal-paper-piecing-Cornerhobby-BTDL_W0QQitemZ330316129147QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item330316129147&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A0%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

And who could resist this sweet little dog from Andrea? I just love her piecings.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Puppy-Dog-paper-piecing-by-Andrea-T-Designs-BTDL_W0QQitemZ130294194712QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item130294194712&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A0%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

Tina has the cutest little animals on her Easter layout this week, perfect for anyones favorite Easter pictures:
http://cgi.ebay.com/EASTER-BASKET-Paper-Piecing-Premade-Page-BTDL-TYCAALAK_W0QQitemZ220380491854QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item220380491854&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A0%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

Of course I could go on and on here, but just click on the title of this posting and it will take you to see all of BTDL's Designs.
Have a great weekend,
Michelle

These are a few of my favorite things

noreply@blogger.com (BTDL) — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 23:55:00 +0000

Well anyone that knows me knows that I love scrapbook supplies. Paper, Primas, Ribbon, and now stamps. You name it and I want it. So I thought it only fitting to talk about whats new from the Craft and Hobby Association (CHA) this past January.

Basic Grey has always been my absolute favorite, so lets start there. Marrakech and Porcelain have been released already (bottom two line) and in April they will release Wisteria and Lime Rickey. I have to say the Porcelain and Marrakech lines are not a bit dissapointing, in fact far nicer in person. I really didn't think I would care for the Porcelain but when I received it, I fell in love with it.

Next, I have to talk about Prima. They never fail to satisfy. They have come out with plenty of new flowers, along with studs, crystals, stamps and paper. The flowers below are Prima Dandies but they also have Prima Damsels and Daisy Dreams just to name a few. I really liked the Flirty Little Secrets line of paper, but My Mommy and Me is adorable also.

I could go on and on here folks. My present addiction is stamps. I have just discovered Sugar Nellie, Whiff of Joy and Stampavie. These stamps are adorable. There is of course also Magnolia's Tilda line too. I am waiting on some Copic Markers and supplies so I can start using these wonderful stamps. Hockima (AKA Jan) has been using the Tilda line in the cards she has recently been listing and they are just adorable. Okay if you insist I will show you a couple stamps!

.

Could those stamps be any cuter? I don't think so. If you want information on purchasing any of this merchandise please contact me, Michelle, at casdanben@aol.com. I will be sure to share the cards I get done in the next couple weeks, and maybe I can talk Jan and Sandy into sharing some too!

noreply@blogger.com (BTDL) — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 04:27:00 +0000

Hi Ya'll, it's Anita, or Scrapinams, and I wanted to share a couple of photos of my new scrap space in progress. You will see in the posts below photos of Jan and Michelle's great spaces and I am hoping that we get a few more photos up soon. I am in the process of remodeling one of my daughter's rooms into my new scrapbook studio! Which is a major pain in the rear end let me tell you, but I am pretty excited about it none the less.

I have a custom room now, which is really nice, but it is in the middle of the house and it is open to every single person who walks thru the house and it is in the room right next door to my hubby's TV. Also, I have decided that I need to remodel my kitchen this year, and I want a really BIG kitchen. The area that is now my scrap studio will have to become part of the kitchen so I needed to find a new space for scrapping. I decided that my daughter Heather's room would work really well. Now, before ya'll think that I just booted my kid out of her room to support my obsession with scrapbooking,,, let me just say that Heather is now in her sophmore year at Texas A&M University, so it is not like she is using the room these days. I spent a weekend clearing the memories of Heather's childhood off of the walls (which was tearful) and got everything cleared out and the carpet pulled up. I now have some of the cabinets in the room, but I am waiting on a couple of the custom cabinets to be built and delivered. As soon as those are done and in the room I can install the counter tops and get all the stuff moved from one room to the other.

Here is one set of the cabinets, I plan on using these to store my completed albums as each little cube is 15 inches tall. I put a TON of embellishments on my pages and I have to stand my books up because the pages are so thick they won't lay down. I have two more of these shelf units (there are two stacked here) that I will be putting on top of the counter top for other storage.

And yes, I did paint the walls, everyone seems to ask me that when they see these photos.

These shelves came from a retail store, as did the other shelves, and these will hold all my punches, my cans of stuff, by jars of buttons, my
doo-dads and all the other little things that I have that I like to keep out so that I can just look around and see what I have to work with instead of having stuff hidden away in drawers. If I can't see it, I will forget that I have it and I won't use it. I have about another 20 shelves I can add to this unit if I need them, so I will have plenty of space!

Of course I have the drawer units in the closet to store project specific stuff in. I picked up this entire set of drawer units on clearance sale at Joann's, on a day when they had 50% off red tag clearance, so I got ALL OF THEM for only $60!!!! Can you believe that!!! It was the deal of the century!

I am hoping that the last two cabinets come in SOON! and I can get the countertops installed and all my stuff moved over. I will post more pics as more work happens.

Stay tuned!

Anita

Welcome augustus60

noreply@blogger.com (BTDL) — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 14:43:00 +0000

BTDL would like to introduce Katrina a.k.a. augustus60!

Katrina graduated from Law School some years ago, although she doesn't currently practice. She has a wonderful family and two very nice dogs. She is an "army wife" to a deployed soldier 2005-2006, but her hubby, thankfully, is home safe and sound at present.

Katrina has been creating paper piecing artwork for many, many years and is an avid scrapbooking fan. She only realized recently – and with great excitement - that there is a market on ebay for this type of artwork. She creates paper piecings using lots of original artwork (drawn and painted) among the high quality scrapbooking papers she use exclusively. She also incorporates her own small, completely original sculptured flat back pieces as embellishments, and she is in the process of creating a line of resin "flat backs" from her own sculptures.
Katrina has been sculpting dolls and miniatures in polymer clay for years, and she's taught polymer clay, portrait and figure sculpting to novices and very well known sculptors alike. She is very proud that her original sculptures have been displayed in fine homes, galleries and publications worldwide. She is also an excellent drawer, mostly fairy and mermaid illustrations, with a painting or two once in a while. Katrina says, "I love ebay because it has given me and many others a forum for the artworks we create!"

Welcome Katrina, we are so HAPPY to have you on board!
Check out Katrina's work here!

A Place to Call My Own...

queen-of-nostalgia@comcast.net (queen-of-nostalgia) — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 06:24:00 +0000

Whether it is an entire wing of your house with built in shelves or a humble yet lovely laundry basket you tote your paper and scissors in, scrap space is precious real estate. I used to claim squatters rights to the kitchen island for my scrapping, and have since taken over the fourth bedroom in our house as my studio.

Ok, and I still will camp out on the kitchen island to scrap, even though I have an entire room devoted to my favorite hobby. But I love having my space, a place where I can spread out my pretty paper and supplies, listen to music I like, and cut and paste to my heart's content.

I have been cleaning and reorganizing my scraproom for the last week, so I can't show you pictures of my room yet (it is almost done! I will take pictures the second it is perfectly clean, because I know that it won't stay that way long!) but I do have some photos of other BTDL members' scrap spaces to share.

This is Jan's space. Not only do I envy her organization, I covet her flower collection, and I am positively drooling over her ribbons! I think I could go shopping in her scraproom, and with all her pretties organized so nicely, finding the perfect combination of embellishments would be a breeze! Maybe she can help me finish organizing my room...

And speaking of ribbons - I think Michelle has the most perfect ribbon holder ever. My favorite part of her scrap space? The inspirational words on the wall. Love it! Michelle also has a beautiful view of her pond from her window. Of course, with all the wonderful papers and pretties in her room, the wonderful view has some competition.

Stay tuned to see more pictures of BTDL scrap spaces. Wait until you see Julie's scrap space with these lovely half wall partitions that are positively brimming with pretty papers! Hopefully by then I will have my room organized, and have some nice pictures to share :)

whoo hoo!!

noreply@blogger.com (sandyvint) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0000

I got off early and am looking forward to having four days off. My husband is fixing supper and I plan to just veg out this evening. I want to crochet some new lightweight flowers to list and maybe make another paper bag album or three. I just can't wait to wake up in my bed in the morning. Mind you, I woke up in my bed this morning, but much earlier than I wanted to. Have you checked out the BTDL auctions? These girls have some awesome things listed. I hope to join them soon. I'm off to ensconce myself on the sofa in front of the TV with the new thread that came today, and my magnifying glass and energy drink and start crocheting. Be watching for a new auction with some dainty crocheted flowers.

i am so tired...

noreply@blogger.com (sandyvint) — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 11:23:00 +0000

It's five thirty a.m. and i'm going to work in an hour. one more twelve hour shift and then i'm off for four days. Four days that I can use to create something. I can't wait for seven p.m. Right now I just want to lay my head down, but tonight I'll feel revived. I've got a list of what I want to get done, but I think the biggest thing is some more crocheted flowers crocheted with tiny thread. And I've ordered some things that have come but I haven't opened the boxes. It'll be like Christmas in February.....

Where am I?

noreply@blogger.com (sandyvint) — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 23:30:00 +0000

It took me forever to get here and I'm not even sure if I'm here......well, yes, I know I'm here, but I'm not sure where here is. Hopefully, I'm at the Better Than Doing Laundry blog. Anyway, that's where I intended to be when I started wandering around in cyber space. So what's going on with everybody? I finally had a day off, and managed to list three items in my auctions. That doesn't sound like I did much, but for me it's huge. Just getting out of bed is a major accomplishment, although that seems to be the case more when I have to go to work.

We are excited to announce that we have added two new members, Augustus60 and Crafty_pieces. Be sure and check out their auctions, they both have some really special items.

Well, my husband is fixing supper......yes, you heard me right......so i'd better wind things up here so I can eat the gourmet meal he is preparing. Tonight I think it's Hamburger Helper. Yummm....

BTDL Welcomes Stephanie!

noreply@blogger.com (BTDL) — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 01:09:00 +0000

BTDL is just thrilled to announce the addition of our newest member... Stephanie!! She sells on ebay under the ID steph_1999. Stepanie is a very busy lady. In addition to participating in ebay and selling her beautiful scrapbook pages, she is a busy mom to three young children. She makes such cute little bears and has an eye for color. Here are just a couple of her pages (my favorites). I couldn't resist showing the close up of the little bear, isn't she sweet? You can see more of Stephanie's work by clicking on the title of this thread, or by searching BTDL on ebay. Also, check our webstore www.btdldesigns.com as Steph will be adding her wonderful designs to the store as time permits. Welcome Stephanie, we are so glad to have you!

Scrapbooking Resolutions...

queen-of-nostalgia@comcast.net (queen-of-nostalgia) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 19:07:00 +0000

With 2009 officially here, it is high time to make sure that this year is two-thousand-and-divine! There is something about January that makes me want to reorganize everything in the house, and the best room to play in is the craft room!

Time to cash in those awesome gift cards from craft stores to lay in some supplies for new pretties, and clear the shelves of old supplies that have been there for far too long. You know what I mean...

That random pile of paper that you haven't looked at in two years, let alone used, but you hate to toss it. So you just keep putting new paper on top of it?

Or how about that pack of chipboard letters that only have the X, Q and a few random U's left? It is sitting under that giant roll of pink polkadotted ribbon you got on sale, but haven't used yet, because now that you look at it, the pink is more of a salmon...

Time to clean house!

With Winter CHA 2009 going on right now, a ton of new product is being unveiled, and hopefully shipped to a store near you :) It is your duty to clear your shelves of dusty papers, forgotten flowers, and bent brads to make room for your new pretties!

If you are like me, the thought of organizing all your supplies and tools can be overwhelming. Tell you what - let's form a support group! Come here to share tips for organizing, send "before" and "after" photos, and we will cheer each other on! I'll go brew some coffee and whip up some chocolate cupcakes....

And hey, you don't have to wait for me to get started! Cupcakes take about 20 minutes, and time is of the essence! Get going!

Here is my suggestion. If you have a workspace, like a table or countertop, divide it into quarters (seriously - use some masking tape). Near the table on the floor, have a big old box marked "GET RID OF". On the table, one area will be for PAPER to keep, the next area will be for EMBELLIES, the next area for TOOLS and such, and finally the last quarter will be for the "I AM NOT SURE WHERE THIS GOES, BUT I REALLY WANT TO KEEP IT" items. Of course, you may be a ribbon freak and decide that you want to have a ribbon area, or a spot just for Prima Flowers.... Don't overwhelm yourself. Start big, and you will sort the piles later. The goal is to whittle your stash of goodies down to what you actually want to keep. You can go through the embellie pile later, hopefully with some storage containers for you to organize all those buttons, brads, etc....

Don't feel bad about weeding out supplies. I know I hate to throw anything away. But after a while, you realize you can't keep everything. And face it - you know you are never going to use that salmon spotted ribbon...

To alieve the guilt, you can donate your surplus supplies to your niece who is learning to scrap (don't give it to your own kids - they will just mess up their bedrooms with their new prizes and you will have to clean again). Niece-less? Call your local school or church or senior center, or have your kids ask their teacher or librarian if they would like some free artsy supplies. I was an English teacher for years, and let me tell you - teachers always need supplies!

So get some boxes, roll up your sleeves, and get going! Cupcakes will be ready soon, and I want to see some progress...

queen-of-nostalgia@comcast.net (queen-of-nostalgia) — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 11:17:00 +0000

It's beginning to look a lot like....

queen-of-nostalgia@comcast.net (queen-of-nostalgia) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 13:10:00 +0000

Christmas! Whether you live in sunny Arizona or chilly Michigan, one thing is for certain: The winter holidays are on their way. All you need to do is walk into the stores and see aisles of tinsel, trees decked out with twinkling lights... there is even egg nogg in the dairy section of the grocery store!

I still need to put the last of the Halloween decorations in the basement....

But there is something about the winter holidays that have a special magic to them. Waking up to frosted windowpanes and a dusting of snow, the smell of hot chocolatet that takes you back to when you had your first cup, full of marshmallows... This is the season of magic!

No matter what holiday you celebrate this season, there is that promise of magic. And as a scrapbooker, one of my favorite hallmarks of the season is...

NEW SCRAPBOOK PAPER!

There are some absolutely lovely lines out this season. Stay tuned to see some of the favorite picks from BTDL :)

Trivia Tuesday

queen-of-nostalgia@comcast.net (queen-of-nostalgia) — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 19:53:00 +0000

We had such fun with last week's trivia question, we decided to do a trivia question each Tuesday! This week's prize....

...a darling gingerbread house made by juliespieces. It is over seven inches tall! Perfect for your winter pages :)

This week is a bit like a "scavenger hunt" in that you have to match each creation listed below with the BTDL member that created it! Below are nine different BTDL artists' work, and each creation was made during the month of October. Just be the first person to email us with the correct designer for ALL of the pieces listed below:

1. Layout with a "quilt" and strawberry bear
2. Layout with a dancing skeleton
3. Layout entitled "Little blossom"
4. a handcrafted album with a cover reading "Grandmas are just antique little girls"
5. a set of tear bears dressed as a mummy, candy corn, vampire, mummy, and pumpkin princess
6. witch bear holding sign "Halloween is a real treat"
7. Layout entitled "Fabulous Fall"
8. Layout with teapot shaped like a penguin
9. embellie set in a mother goose theme

Hint: Some are on auction right now on eBay... and some have already ended. But you can also look at "completed listings" in your search...

SEND your answers BTDLDesignTeam@gmail.com

Tuesday Trivia

noreply@blogger.com (BTDL) — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 19:48:00 +0000

We have a winner on our trivia questions already!! Boy was that fast! We have decided to have weekly Tuesday Trivia on our blog and forum and offer prizes weekly so be sure to check back next week and see what the question is!

Congrats Heather!

BTDL Trivia Contest

noreply@blogger.com (BTDL) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 20:54:00 +0000

Would you like a chance to win this wonderful collection from My Mind's Eye Laundry Line collection? (size 8x8) In addition you will get one paper pieced animal of your choice from Tycaalak/Tina. Just be the first person to email us with the correct answers to the following question.

WHO ARE THE THREE NURSES ON THE BTDL DESIGN TEAM?

SEND your answers to BTDLDesignTeam@gmail.com

Here is a link to Tina's animal piecings, winner will choose one from this list

http://www.btdldesigns.com/index.cfm/fa/subcategories.main/parentcat/24032/subcatid/62590

Scrapbook Sketches

queen-of-nostalgia@comcast.net (queen-of-nostalgia) — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:44:00 +0000

Even though I scrap every day (when I can!) sometimes I hit "Scrapper's Block" and need something to help jumpstart a layout. I will browse magazines (Scrapbooks Etc. is my favorite) or will look at my completed pages for inspiration.

Here is one of my sketches I created for a single page layout...

Simple and clean, there is still room for embellishments. I usually make one of the upper mats into a pocket (perfect to tuck in journaling tags or extra pictures). Look for more sketches to come! Some will be for single pages, double, 8.5x11, and 8x8 sized pages...Depending on what mood my muse is in!

BTDL designers will also be sharing some paper piecing patterns... Keep us bookmarked, and be sure to sign up for our monthly newsletter for sneak peeks!

BTDL Top of the Line Design Contest

noreply@blogger.com (BTDL) — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 02:44:00 +0000

We at BTDL are excited to announce another contest for our wonderful customers. We always wonder what happens to the piecings and embellishments you buy from us on our website and thought this would be just the way to get a peek! So click on the logo to be taken to our site for all the details on the contest. We look forward to seeing your submission.

Wishblade, Cricut, Silhouette, KNK--Lets talk cutters

noreply@blogger.com (BTDL) — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 21:35:00 +0000

Cricut, Cricut expression, wishblade, silhouette, KNK, craft robo.... cutters, cutters everywhere!!! Lets talk cutters!

As a new owner of the Cricut Expression I am thrilled with it in general, but I think ever cutter has a down side. In my opinion with the Cricut Expression it is the mats. My gosh, they dont last long at all do they? I wonder if Xyron Wishblade mats are any better, or any of the other cutters? Opinions please.... I would say the Cricut is pretty easy to use, they have a quick start guide and if all you want to do is cut from their cartridges you can pretty much get going right away. I recently purchase the Sure Cuts A Lot program to use with my Cricut. This program allows you to cut any true type font in your computer, when the cricut is connected to your computer with a USB cable. It also lets you cut any SVG file. There are tons of patterns available on net in SVG format, many are free!

Tell me what kind of cutter you have and what your likes and dislikes are? I would also love to hear tips on increasing the life of your mats and blades for that matter. Tips to using SCAL, or Inkscape if you create your own SVG files. Please also post any questions, I will do my best to answer, or get the answers to them.