Scrapbooking Resolutions...

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...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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