Better Than Doing Laundry Design Team

2009-08-10T06:35:00.001-07:00

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!

2009-05-10T09:21:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-05-03T07:47:00.000-07:00

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 :)

2009-04-13T10:08:00.000-07:00

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

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

2009-04-13T10:06:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-13T10:02:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-22T14:02:00.000-07:00

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?

2009-03-21T21:00:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-09T16:55:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-03-05T20:27:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-22T06:43:00.000-08:00

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...

2009-02-21T22:24:00.000-08:00

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!!

2009-02-19T16:00:00.000-08:00

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...

2009-02-19T03:23:00.000-08:00

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?

2009-02-16T15:30:00.001-08:00

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!

2009-02-07T17:09:00.000-08:00

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...

2009-01-27T11:07:00.000-08:00

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...

2008-11-26T03:17:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-19T05:10:00.000-08:00

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

2008-10-21T12:53:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-15T12:48:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-14T13:54:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-05T17:44:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-30T19:44:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-28T14:35:00.000-07:00

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.

Pink Zutter Bind It All and BTDL

2008-09-11T12:39:00.000-07:00

Well, it is true the Zutter Bind It Alls have turned pink. As everyone eagerly awaits the shipment of the new pink bind it alls this week, I thought it would be fun to look at some projects from some of the members of BTDL.

Anita made this wonderful travel log with her bind it all. Here is a picture of just a few of the pages.

Tina used her Bind It All to make this beautiful Easter album that goes along with a tin. Here are a few examples from her album.

Check our boutique for more great projects from BTDL at http://www.btdldesigns.com/

We would love to see what you have made with your bind it all. Email us pictures at
BTDLDesignTeam@gmail.com and we will post them here on our blog.

Zutter Pink Bind It Alls are available for sale at www.michellesscrap.com

BTDL® and New Designer Stickles

2008-09-09T06:26:00.000-07:00

New Stickles!! Here at BTDL® we love our stickles, so we thought we would share. Isn't that what they teach you to do in first grade? But shhh... it is a secret. New Stickles are being released this month from Ranger. There will be eighteen new beautiful colors. Stickles are one of our favorite scrapbook embellishments. Melissa is particularly fond of them, rarely does she do a layout without them. Check BTDL Boutique for examples of beautiful layouts made with stickles.

TIM HOLTZ DESIGNER SERIES DISTRESS COLORS: A unique combination of variegated glitter sizes and a matte look to complement the nostalgic palette of Distress products. SUZE WEINBERG DESIGNER SERIES Glitz Colors:Intense Sparkle and Color for Extra Glittery Effects Colors: Glitz Champagne Grape Mermaid Ruby Slippers Sequins Tiara Colors:Distress Antique Linen Broken China Faded Jeans Fired Brick Frayed Burlap Milled Lavender Peeled Paint Scattered Straw Spiced Marmalade Vintage Photo Walnut Stain Worn Lipstick

Available for sale at www.michellesscrap.com

What's not to love?

2008-08-08T06:42:00.000-07:00

With Summer CHA 2008 came some fabulous new product, and as we all know, new product equals new fun! From great new tools to darling new paper, there is something out there for just about any scrapbooker. All I know is, I need another room to store all my new favorite pretties!

Some of our favorites so far are...

Graphic 45 has several new lines of papers. This is just one of the fabulous papers from the Past Playtimes line... Paper dolls, whimsical checkerboards, tea parties, toy soldiers and choo-choo trains ... very unique! The papers are double sided, and both sides are so beautiful, the only problem will be deciding which side to use! Of course, this paper would be perfect for an acrylic album...

Pretty baby paper in versatile colors, along with darling graphics, make "Baby Powder" from imaginesce a must have. Coordinated embellies will make a baby album almost as cute as your little bundle of joy!

Halloween is right around the corner, and Cosmo Cricket's "Haunted line" is absolutely to die for! So many awesome papers in this line, all of which are double sided. Traditional orange and black, funky purple and green, and funky and whimsical graphics that are perfectly distressed... Love the coordinated journaling cards and the stickers that can be used alone or with the blackboard.

My Mind's Eye never fails to please. This seasonal line, "Be Merry", will be a must have this holiday season. Bright and crisp, this playful paper will be perfect for pictures of kids in the snow, wrapping gifts, and trimming the tree. Very cute! They also have a LAUNDRY line the ladies at BTDL are dying to try :)

Rolled Hotdogs

2008-07-17T08:01:00.000-07:00

This recipe comes from our very own Mellisa or as you might know her thescrapbookexchange. It is a family favorite that everyone enjoys!

Rolled Hot Dogs aka... Heart Attack on a Platter:)

INGREDIENTS:
All Beef Hot Dogs
Dill Pickles (Sliced lengthwise same length as hot dog)
Velvetta Cheese - (sliced into long strips same length as hot dog)
Bacon Srips
Dijon Mustard
Tooth Picks

Ok, slice the hotdog lengthwise but not all the way through. Layer some Dijon Mustard in the slice, then layer the cheese and then the pickle. Take one piece of Bacon and secure one end with a toothpick to the hotdog, and wrap the entire dog with the bacon, securing the other end with another tooth pick. They look like this when they are assembled.

Place on a broilder pan, and broil until bacon is crisp. You will need to turn the dogs so all sides of the bacon are cooked completely. Please note that you will lose some cheese.

Here is what they look like cooked:

I DARE YOU TO TRY THIS. You think you won't like it... but you will. I have made these for many many skeptics and all end up asking me for the recipe. These are delicious and a great finger food! For a fun variation try using mini hotdogs for finger foods at parties. I gaurantee everyone will want this recipe!

If loving ribbon is wrong....

2008-07-09T12:57:00.000-07:00

...than I don't want to be right.

It's true. I am a ribbon lover. I always labeled myself a paper kind of gal, but after a recent order of ribbon came in the mail, I am smitten! Polkadotted, stitched, embroidered, florals, twill, ricrac... So many yards of ribbon, so little time.

The ladies at BTDL were recently asked which scrapbook goodie they couldn't live without. Jan (hocki1415), our designer of the month, shares my fondness for ribbon. Polkadots are one of our favorites, and Jan can't resist pink and black! Andrea (andreatdesigns)loves buttons, and I love how she incorporates them in her altered art and to-die-for handmade cards. Jules (juliespieces)is a flower girl - simply mention the word "Prima" and watch her swoon :) Her sweet bear family pages are often blooming, and so colorful you are tempted to smell the roses!

Tonya (rainedakota) loves her ribbons and flowers too, but when asked what her obsession is? Charms. Enameled, pewter, clay, silver... she can't get enough of these delicate dangling pretties. One look at one of her signature Designer Purse Albums™ with their fabulous hang tags, and you will be charmed, I'm sure :)

Anita (scrapinams) is our resident Prima Queen. Her collection of these lovely flowers makes me envious, and the way she uses these pretties on her altered tins is flower fabulous!The princess of Primas would have to be Sheryl (scrappy4477). Her love of these blooms is rivaled only by her fondness for letters - chipboard and Doodlebug! Sheryl has an eye for fonts too, as evidenced not only by her layouts, but her fabulous digi work! Check her blog for her latest freebies!

Tina (tycaalak) loves chalk and ink - look closely at her darling paper piecings and you will be wowed by all the subtle shading and highlights. Tina just released her first CD with patterns of some of her best loved paper piecings, and it is incredible! As for Melissa (thescrapbookexchange), her accent of choice is Stickles. A little sparkle here, a little sparkle there... I think she has every color available.

Michelle (antq.freak)is all about the Bazzill. Her collection is incredible; every color you could ask for, and every shade of pink imaginable :) Her latest layout is just tooo pretty! Another Bazzill fan is Sandra(cornerhobby). How she is able to turn these pieces of cardstock into her intricate, multi-layered piecings is beyond me.... she must have magic fingers, although she says she just uses her favorite tool, her Cutterbee scissors :)

Paper is Julie's (bdule) true love. She says she wants to marry pretty paper. Of course, how many weddings can she have? There are so many pretty papers out there. And too, I think the primas would get jealous - she loves them too!

Sandy (sandyvint)loves her sewing machine, and stitches on just about every project she makes. Her little stitched shingles on her "house" explosion boxes are perfect! Of course, all of the ladies at BTDL want to raid Sandy's car - she has a habit of filling her trunk with goodies and forgetting about them. Stickles, paper, flowers, buttons, ribbon - even a sewing machine - odds are good you can find it in Sandy's car!

What is YOUR can't-scrap-without-it item? Post your comment here, and from the responses we get, I will randomly draw ONE of the posters for a PRIZE. He or she will receive FREE SHIPPING on their next order at the BTDL Boutique. Contest ends July 31, so be sure to vote in the poll, and LEAVE A COMMENT telling us YOUR favorite product!

More than burnt toast!

2008-07-08T12:59:00.000-07:00

The girls of BTDL decided to offer up some of our yummy recipes for everyone to enjoy. Each week we will add 1 or 2 new recipes to share with our loyal readers! This weeks recipe is from Anita (scrapinams) and it is over the top YUMMY! Enjoy your meal :)

You can find the collection of recipes in the side bar, under the title "More than burnt toast"

Chicken Pomodoro

2008-07-08T12:51:00.000-07:00

Each week one of the Designers at BTDL will be featuring a recipe.

This one is from Anita (scrapinams) enjoy!!

"Chicken Pomodoro"

**1lb chicken breast, pounded thin

**1lb roma tomatoes, cut in a medium dice

**1 large onion, minced

**6 good sized cloves of garlic (not a bulb ladies, cloves) pealed and minced

** olive oil

**1lb of spaghetti noodles, cooked and drained

1. season the chicken and grill or cook on stove until juice runs clear when pierced. Cover with foil and set aside to rest

2. heat about a 1/4 cup olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat

3. add the onions and the garlic to the pan and cook for 5-8 minutes until onions are translucent and garlic is lightly browned. if the garlic turns brown, your heat is too high. Don't panic, just turn it down :)

4. add the tomatoes to the pan, and saute for 3-4 minutes until tomatoes release their juice. You do not want to cook the tomatoes down to mush - this is a fresh dish.

5. slice chicken thinly and add to pan with another 1/4 olive oil. Toss to heat thru

6. Place spaghetti in a large serving bowl that has been pre-heated with hot water. Add the chicken mixture and toss to combine.

7. serve with freshly grated asiago and romano cheeses.

YUMMY!!!!!

So, where did June go?

2008-06-29T21:49:00.001-07:00

It seems like just yesterday we were coloring eggs for Easter and still telling our children to wear a jacket. Now the kids are out of school and it is time to buy some sparklers and fireworks! Where has the time gone?

Summertime can be one of the nicest seasons around. The designers at BTDL are scattered around the country. Down south, out west, up north, out east... we have ladies in just about every US timezone, as well as just about every climate. But no matter what the weather, there are some favorite events that we just love to scrap. Vacations, family picnics, summer blockbuster movies, days at the beach...

In addition to taking photographs, there are so many ways to capture those great summer moments, no matter how big or small. Journaling, of course, is one of the best ways to capture the magic of those memories. But don't forget the "little" things, too, that will help bring those memories back years from now... Below are some ideas of the "little" things that will add interest to your scrapbook pages, as well as make wonderful embellishments. Set aside a plastic page protector from your scrapbook and use it as an envelope to store all your goodies you find.

Vacations:
Ticket stubs, maps of theme parks, receipts from hotel gift shop, brochures from the hotel lobby, postcards, train schedule, business card from that little bistro you found that had the best pizza in town...

Movies:
tickets, reviews from the newspaper, clip of showtimes from the newspaper, write out a quote from the best movie you saw this season, a flattened popcorn box (not the one you ate from - I don't know that butter and salt are AF/LF :))...

Beach fun:
tags from your new swimsuit, the paper umbrella from that fancy frozen drink, the parking pass, postcards...

Family picnics and Barbeques:
recipe card of Auntie Edith's "Secret" recipe for sweet potato pie, the homemade invitation your 8-year-old nephew sent to everyone...

Birthday parties:
scraps of wrapping paper, a party hat (flattened out), birthday cards, the invitations, a list of guests, hang tags from a favorite gift, or the instructions to your three-year-old's new "easy to assemble" bike...

This is just a small list of things you could add to your book to make it more memorable. Ways to incorporate these items are also fun! Make a flower out of receipts or ticket stubs, use cards as envelopes or journal blocks, clip out pictures from brochures for instant clip art. That popcorn box would make a great pocket to store all those ticket stubs :)...

Inspiration

2008-06-06T04:55:00.000-07:00

It is the middle of the night, and I can't sleep. I didn't watch a scary movie, no one in my house has a fever, and it most definitely isn't the pile of laundry waiting to be folded. There is always a pile of laundry to be folded in my house.

No. It is the small stack of scrapbook paper I splurged on today, sitting quietly in my scrap room. New and beautiful 12x12 patterned paper, fresh from the local scrapbook store. The pretty pinks from Basic Grey's "Sugared" line... the distressed loveliness from My Mind's Eyes newest "Wild Asparagus" series... The whimsical and haunting flourishes of the "FLEURISTE" papers from Cosmo Cricket...Images of double matted photos are dancing in my head, and when I remember the cute grosgrain ribbon curled up next to that pile of paper, I have to get out of bed. Who cares that it is 3am? There is paper that needs to be trimmed!

The designers at BTDL are often asked, "Where do you get your ideas?" Many times, it is a fabulous product that gets the creativity going. Song lyrics, old family photos, movie titles, that adorable picture taken at last week's family barbecue... what inspires you?

We would love to hear some of your stories of favorite inspired layouts, unusual sources of inspiration... What inspires you?

To organize or not to organize... that is the question!

2008-05-19T18:46:00.000-07:00

I started out with a tote that I stored my scrapook materials in. Then I bought a few little boxes. Soon I commandeered a bookshelf in the guestroom, and the next thing I know... I had taken over the entire room. How is it that this innocent hobby became an obsession, an obsession that requires massive amounts of storage and work space?

With all of the goodies out there available for scrappers, finding a good way to store all the pretties we "need" can be a challenge. From large, 12x12 papers to tiny little brads and snippets of ribbon, the range of storage needs are vast. And if you are like me (read pack rat), I take the "scrap" in "scrapbooking" seriously. I can't bear to toss my pretty scraps! One never knows if, the next time you go shopping, that particular paper will be gone. Sold out. No reordering in sight! Perish the thought! So I have baskets full of scraps. I tell myself that I will most definately use them for cards. Or tags. Or future piecings. If I just had one more drawer to store the latest scraps I saved....

And ribbon. Oh, ribbon... wherefore art thou so unruly? Why does the ricrac insist upon hiding in a tangle under a spool of polkadotted grossgrain?

Whether you have a box on a shelf or an entire wing of your house to scrap in (hey- a girl can dream), what are some of the best organizing tips you have found? Maybe you have a foolproof way to store your ribbon. An ingenious way to sort your Primas? A method for managing mismatched scraps? A system for keeping your workspace tidy? Share your tips!

What's Hot, What's Not...

2008-05-08T04:22:00.000-07:00

Recently, the designers at BTDL were doing some much needed Spring Cleaning. No, we weren't washing windows. Or dusting. And we were definatelynot doing laundry... we were organizing our scrap spaces! If you are like us, you have your stash of papers, tools, embellishments, ribbons, adhesive, chipboard... well, the list goes on. So many fun products, so little time!

And how times have changed! A few years ago (OK, more than a few) fancy edged scissors were all the rage. Crinkle edges, lacy edges, zig-zag edges, swirly edges, "torn" edges... And who could forget shape templates? Square or rectangular photos were passe, and every photo had to be a circle, or heart-shaped, or star shaped, or cloud-shaped...

Trends come and go, and will even come back again. What trends do you see as "hot" right now?

What's new at BTDL

2008-04-28T09:22:00.000-07:00

Busy, busy, busy...

The last few weeks and months at BTDL have been a flurry of activity! We are just wrapping up our Grand Opening of our online boutique, BTDLDesigns.com
which features paper piecings, altered art, premade scrapbook pages, custom albums.... there is a plethora of goodies to choose from :)

We are still keeping busy at eBay as well. We are launching a new series of artwork tonight called "Masterpiece Mondays."

While each and every piece we make is a work of "heart", we thought it would be fun to challenge each other to create a piece that pulls out all the stops! Goes beyond the distance, raises the bar so high a giant could limbo under it, detailed to the last drop-dead-gorgeous... and as a result, "Masterpiece Mondays" were born. This is the night where BTDL artists list a piece they have dreamed of for months,sweated over all week, and held nothing back in the attempt to knock you off your seat! Be sure to stop over to eBay and see what we have been up to!

We are also launching our themed challenge for May. As each day gets a little warmer, each artist is welcoming summer with a summer-themed project.

Simply search 'BTDL' at eBay, and see what hot new items are making a splash!

A note on Ebay's Recent Fee and Feedback Changes

2008-02-07T16:52:00.000-08:00

Hoping to send a message to Ebay, sellers across the United States are participating in a week long boycott from buying and sell on Ebay. To understand the newly released fee structure and changes in feedback, please check out the link below which provides a complete outline.

http://www2.ebay.com/aw/core/200801.shtml#2008-01-29054823

The boycott will take place February 18th - February 25th - and many of the BTDL Girls will be supporting this boycott. For any questions, please feel free to comment!

Welcome to the BTDL Blog Debut!

2007-09-11T17:06:00.000-07:00