Blog - Eileen Hull

#PaperTrail Day 11

13 Jun

Another fun day on the road! Today I visited Life’s Memories & More. Before I left, I checked the Facebook page for the store to say I was on my way and saw that they had put a sign up on the building- so cool! There was also a welcome banner out on the fence but I was concentrating on guiding Scotty in and missed it.

The store is located in what used to be an old elementary school. When I asked where the restroom was, Tanya sent me to the Principal’s Office! AHHH flashback!

We started off with a demo of the Mini-Album and then went right into class, the Bloom Box. We used the Blocks/Cube/Bank as the box and then filled it in with beautiful paper flowers that we colored with my Clearsnap ColorBox Blends inks. The fun texture was created using the Animal Prints Textured Impressions folders and then colored in with Blends to look like cobblestones.

Tanya and Barb show how you can make more than flowers out of coffee filters..

There was a great turnout and everyone did a beautiful job with their boxes and flowers- each one was as different as the person that made it. It has been great meeting everyone and spending time with them.

A special announcement is coming up later today- stay tuned, Papertrailers 🙂

#PaperTrail Day 10

12 Jun

Today was busy from the minute I woke up! I escaped unscathed from Motel 6 and headed out for the Inspiration Station. I ran into some traffic where they were tearing up the road and it was super bumpy. I could almost hear Scotty gritting his teeth but we made it with 10 minutes to spare before class was to start. Luckily I was able to park right across the street from the store.

The store was built with metal facings-you can see them just to the left of Debbie- kind of an early version of siding. I had never seen anything like it. There may or may not be a resident ghost- glad it did not make an appearance today…

I ran in, set up and we were off!

First up was a class from 10-12, then a demo from 1-3, and another class from 6-8. It was BUSY! People were in and out all day long. The first class went really well- we used my Sizzix 3D flower dies to make the project below.

As soon as that was over, the demo/make and take started. We made the Sizzix Mini- Album and there were lots of great ideas exchanged. Finally there was a lull- we sat down, took a breather and had some dinner. Then it was time to set up for class at 6:00! We made the Friendship Box again…

I was happy to meet Kim, who created these really cool Sizzix Artist Trading Blocks and will be teaching them for their Block of the Month club!

By the time I packed up and got to Sturbridge, it was almost 10:00. Tonight I decided to stay in the Scottish Inn in Sturbridge. It was the name that got me- Scottish/Scotty. I like this hotel- the number on the door is neither chipped nor written on a piece of masking tape which can only be a good sign, right?

I really enjoyed meeting everyone and I applaud Debbie’s customers for supporting their local scrapbook store. Many thanks to my sponsors- Sizzix, ClearSnap and ThermoWeb for the supplies we used in class today!

Don’t forget to come back tomorrow night for another update on the #PaperTrail!

#PaperTrail Day 9

11 Jun

Bella Art is a really pretty and friendly store located in Johnston RI.

The Comfort In was only about 20 minutes away so I arrived a little after the store opened. But I still was dragging in supplies thirty minutes later. I just want to show it all! Scotty was parked on the side of a restaurant so I was able to maintain my pull through streak and not have to back up. Whew.

The class that we did today was the Chunky Book, a mini-book made with the Square Box Sizzix die. So we started to work…

Ta da! What a beautiful job they did on the chunky books! There was one person in class that called in sick to work so she could come so she didn’t appear in some of the Facebook pics to protect her identity 🙂 her secret is safe with us!

class

Scotty and I felt like movie stars with everyone posing and getting pics around the camper.

I finally got to meet my friend Amanda Youkilis. We keep missing each other when I am in town so Amanda finished a night shift and drove all the way so she could come and meet me. Love when I can put a face to the name!

Here my new friends are taking a pic of me at the same time I am taking one of them!

After class I enjoyed a delicious dinner at Siera’s with Maryanne, Sarah and Annie-Lou- perfect way to end a fun day. Rhode Island folks were very friendly and helpful and I hope I can come back some time!

There was a big storm rolling in so I jumped in Big Daddy and got moving to the next spot- Stafford Springs and the Inspiration Station. Tonight’s lodging was a disappointing Motel 6. Really kind of creepy. But I am up and out of here by 9 so it’s only for a little bit. Time to get some beauty rest. See you tomorrow for another #papertrail adventure!

Inspiration Team Tuesday {Summer Fun Projects}

10 Jun

Hey everyone! I’m so lucky to have such a talented Inspiration Team to keep the creativity going while I’m away on the #PaperTrail. Every Tuesday the Inspiration Team will have a fresh batch of creative projects to inspire you to share YOUR art with heart in our June “Summer Celebrations” challenge. Let’s see what the Inspiration Team has in store for us this week…

Michelle Zerull has an incredibly creative project filled with summer fun from the inside out! This is the most clever use of my food jar die to date! I just love how Michelle has used the food jar to create an interactive street fair scene. Talk about a super creative take on the summer celebrations challenge!

Stop by Michelle’s Blog for more details on this oh so creative summer fun project!

Anna-Karin Evaldsson shares how to create an artful container for your creative supplies using my Coupon/mini shopping bag die! Her nautical embellishments atop a sand and sea soaked background make this piece a lovely summer fun treat sure to keep your creativity flowing throughout the seasons!

Anna-Karin’s blog for more on how to create this fabulous and functional art supply caddy.

Amy Bowerman has created a sweet Father’s Day keepsake featuring America’s favorite past time…baseball! Amy used my Mini-Album die to share the love of the game and Dad on his special day.

Stop by Amy’s blog for a fun tutorial on how to create this Baseball themed Father’s Day Mini-Album!

Now it’s your turn! Share your Art with Heart HERE for a chance to win a Sizzix prize pack! Stay tuned next Tuesday for more Summer Celebration creations from the Inspiration team!

In case you missed any of my adventures on the #PaperTrail you can catch up with what’s been going on below.

There’s lots more fun to come so stay tuned and ride along with me on the #PaperTrail! For real time updates and sneak peeks you can follow along with me here…

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Eileen

#PaperTrail Day 8

10 Jun

I awoke to the sound of rain outside my room and remembered I had left Scotty’s windows open! Ran out and closed them and then couldn’t get back to sleep. I had stayed at the home of Michele Muska, a friend who I met through Jo Packham at Quilt Market last year. What a great hostess she was! I have been so blessed on this trip to have stayed at so many places that felt like home.

Michele made this delicious Overnight French Toast last night and then baked it this morning. It had crumb topping- you would not believe how good it was. Mmm mmm.

Then we went out to the camper and cranked out some work! Michele needed favor boxes for a work project, some labels for a shower she will be attending next weekend and boxes for a class she is teaching in November. She used my Sizzix Triangle Box and some Inkadinkado stamps she had. We chatted as we worked so it went quickly.

Poor Scotty. I had covered the table with contact paper before I left and apparently the Big Shot got bumped around a good bit in the cabinet where it was stored because the screws on the bottom of the machine were falling out and scraping the table when we cranked it. The good thing is I have more contact paper so will have to repair it when I have a chance.

Then it was time to say goodbye and head out into some rain and traffic on my way in Rhode Island where I will be teaching at Bella Art. I was driving through this little town and saw a really cool thing…

flags

It was called Field of Flags and had flags covering the front of several yards. I didn’t get a very good pic but I didn’t want to have to turn Scotty around. God forbid!

I also took a break from driving and did a little shopping for some new tops to wear. Ate dinner at Applebee’s and read my Kindle while I enjoyed a Chicken Oriental salad.

Tomorrow starts six straight days of classes in five different stores!

Here’s my $50 room at the Comfort In in Providence- a huge improvement over the last one. I would say Priceline has redeemed itself- wouldn’t you?.

Have to get up early tomorrow and cut some #ArtistTradingBlocks for my friend Joanne Fink and get them in the mail. Can’t wait to see what she does with them!

Good night my friends!

#PaperTrail Day 7

9 Jun

Another beautiful day in NY, but it was time to move on…

I left with a well-caulked (and hopefully water-tight) Scotty and some happy memories of the visit.

Today I visited the Heirloom Stamp Show in Springfield MA. Had a moment of confusion when I pulled in the entrance and noticed a sign that said Gun Show Today.

I asked the parking lot attendant what the deal was on she said “Oh yes, there is a gun show and rubber stamp show”. Hmmm.

I found the correct show and walked it. I wound up running into store owners from Great American Stamp Store, BellaArt, Stamp and Scrap Nest, Kept Creations and Stamp Happy. We had some interesting discussions about the struggles store owners are faced with. Enlightening to hear thoughts from their perspectives. That is a tough job, my friends. Buy local!

Then I was en route to the lovely home of Michele Muska. Her home is situated on a pretty lot with beautiful gardens and outbuildings. She made a delicious meal for us and I am not sure of the name if it but I was quite hungry and gobbled it right down! We stayed up chatting till late. Michele is so creative- I don’t think there is any craft she hasn’t tried! It is so much fun to see all of her supplies and projects throughout her charming home- I want to just look at everything- so nosy! I also met her Mom, who lives next door, her husband, son and nephew (who backed my truck and camper in for me) Everyone is so welcoming and nice. It feels like home.

Also I forgot to mention that I got to drive my brother-in-law Mike’s Corvette yesterday. I felt like hot stuff. Very smooth car to drive.

Time for bed… Stay tuned to see what happens of Day 8!

#PaperTrail Day 6

8 Jun

I awoke to a beautiful day. My sister and brother-in-law live on three tranquil acres near Woodstock, NY. Kathy has a really cool garden and I walked around with her and took pictures while she tidied up and fed the bunnies. A bird family has taken up residence in her hanging geranium basket.

We had a nice relaxing day. One of the things I always want to do when I am visiting her is go to the dump.

They have all kinds of random things that people leave there that you can take if it strikes your fancy. They also collect garbage, accept recycling and you can leave your big pieces like old appliances, swing sets, outdoor furniture, etc. My favorite thing to do is throw the glass bottles in the glass dumpster. You would not believe how much fun that is!

I didn’t see anything interesting till we got to the big scrap pile. There I found a rack that I will use to hold dies, a galvanized trough for inks, a weird lamp that I may or may not keep and pins samples to as a display and some metal pieces with brackets for labels which I am not sure what I will do with but were small and cool enough to bring along and think about.

We also went to a few antique stores and estate sales. I found a cool wooden box with nails and hard ware in for $20 plus a nice yellow yardstick (I collect them from so that one day I can use them as a chair rail). Kathy and I shared a wooden box of sewing supplies- I got the box and she got the sewing stuff. When we got home we cleaned them up and they look a lot better. Got some Chinese food for dinner and then drove to my nephew Garett’s place to pick up his daughter Jana for the evening. Garett is a metal work artist and has all of these amazing pieces throughout his place.

Here are two necklaces that he made for his sister and girlfriend…

This is one creative family! Thanks Kathy and Mike for the hospitality, for help with Scotty and laundry service!

Tomorrow I am off to Springfield MA to the Stamp Show. Another day of fun! What are you up to this weekend?

#PaperTrail Day 5

7 Jun

Today I went to the Country Living Fair in Rhinebeck, NY. Luckily, my sister Kathy lives only about 30 minutes away from there. So I stayed over at her house the day before and we drove over together. The original plan was to bring the camper, but Scotty was leaking water and needed some special attention which my BIL Mike graciously agreed to help out with. The weather was perfect- about 70 degrees and sunny! Kathy and I picked up my niece Katrina and her 20 month old Kira and we were on our way. Somehow we lucked into a great parking place and unloaded the stroller and baby supplies and set off.

The first thing we saw as we came in were four little vintage trailers set up owned by members of Sisters in the Fly, an outdoor adventure club for women. Read the interesting story of how this group started here…

I got to talk with the trailer owners and mentioned my water leaking troubles and they were happy to give me some good suggestions on what the problems could be and ways to deal with it. Their trailers were so amazing and all fit out with accessories reflecting their styles. I was there an hour and hadn’t even gotten to the show section!

Inside there were food booths of all kinds and barns and pavilions set up with vendor displays.

When I knew I was coming to the show, I emailed my friend Jo Packham and said, “Jo, you know everyone. Who should I go and meet?” She wrote back right away and said, “Jen O’Connor of Earth Angels!”

I found her booth- it covered half of an entire pavilion and was filled with all kinds of vintage treasures- textiles, quilts, lots of assemblage, wearables, paper goods, stationery, home decor, jewelry (some by one of my favorite artists, Lisa Leonard), and one of a kind pieces. Jen was at the register so I chatted with Jocelyn, one of the artists.

Oops looks like I gave Jocelyn antenae! 🙂

Then I got to meet Jen… turns out she lives about 20 minutes from where I grew up and is one of five kids. She’s one of those people you feel like you have known forever so we had a nice chat and then she had to get back to the check-out counter. Lots of people in line!

I wandered the fair and found all kinds of fun stuff.

I bought a beautiful new bag from a company called Sassy Sparrow. It’s run by the Zimmerman family (7 kids!) and their product is right on trend with fabric and color. I love it!

I found my Instagram friends, The Modern June, who had her new book out and yards and yards of pretty oilcloth! Next door to Kelly (who is the Modern June) was TwistStyle, Mary Ellen Kim who also had a great busy booth. Thanks to both of them who took a minute out to get a pic of us!

We spent the whole day at the show and came home tired, slightly sunburned and excited about our new purchases. We ended the day with pizza and mini pies made by Katrina.

My class at Kept Creations was cancelled so I am postponing my trip to Springfield to Sunday. That was I can spend more time with my sister and her family. When we got home last night, Mike caulked all of the seams outside and also screwed in some bolts that had come loose so Scotty is fixed up and ready to go.Thanks Mike!

Thanks for following along…

#PaperTrail Day 4

6 Jun

My day began in a McDonald’s parking lot in NJ.

A steady rain was coming down but I was tucked nice and warm in my Scotty bed. The sound of the rain on the roof was very soothing and I dozed in and out for a little while… until I simply had to go in and use the facilities. Then it was time to hit the road and get up to CT for the next event- a Chunky Book class at the Great American Stamp Store.

Amy and I had come here on the first #PaperTrail adventure and had a great time. This store is loaded with stamps, papers, dies, inks,and everything else you might need to get your craft on.

The owners are Judy and Jamie and Jane (middle) was working the register while we crafted. (don’t you love the ribbon background?

I got to the store with an hour to kill so I re-organized my supplies and started loading up the cart to bring the supplies in. Unfortunately it was still raining pretty heavily, so getting everything in there was a pain but I was glad I had brought my cart to haul it on.

I need to buy bungee cords. On on the way over to the store, the giveaway die fell off the cart and when I realized it wasn’t there, I ran out and saw it in the middle of the street, run over. :-0

Noooooo! BUT I am happy to report that the die is fine- we tested it. Those steel rule dies just take a lickin and keep on tickin! Phyllis was the lucky winner- congrats!

I was so happy that Amy of Plucking Daisies could join us! She is also the co-ordinator for my Sizzix Inspiration Team and Team ATB and does an excellent job of keeping it all together! We didn’t have too much time to talk but I will see her again at Beautiful Impressions June 13-14.

We made quite the creative mess with our Chunky Books, but it wouldn’t be a good class without lots of stuff everywhere! Each book turned out so great- I got lots of ideas when we had show and tell at the end.

Poor little Scotty just couldn’t take the rain and sprouted two more leaks (that I thought I had fixed). Also many bolts and latches were broken off and bounced out of place with all of the potholes on the road. So it was off to my sister’s in NY- my BIL Mike is a whiz at fixing things and I hope he can help me repair Scotty. I don’t look forward to another three weeks with rain leaking in…

Tomorrow we are off to the Country Living Fair. Talk to you soon… Don’t forget to follow me on Facebook and Instagram for more pics and happenings!

#PaperTrail Day 3

5 Jun

I got up this morning after a late and frustrating night. When I pulled into the Travelodge in Lancaster at midnight, I was greeted by a locked lobby door and a sign posted on it that said Eileen Hull- go to the Red Roof Inn to get your key. No address or phone number of the Red Roof Inn to be found and typed in 4 point font.

I set off in search of the key. Battery was almost dead on my phone so I decided to drive around to see if I could find it. No such luck… I made a mistake and turned right which took me down a bunch of winding and very narrow roads with no Red Roof Inn. Finally after 45 minutes, I found it. Got to my room and found this…

The room itself was not too bad except that there was no light over the bathroom sick, no garbage cans and no outlets. However the shower was good, which helped a lot in the morning. I did go in in the morning and offer my suggestions to the guy at the desk, who said he would pass it along. Right.

That’s OK- time to move on. Showers and sleep really do work wonders. The weather was beautiful and I set off for Pages in Time, a picturesque old schoolhouse/now scrapbook store, set in Lititz, PA- Amish country. Note to self- when in this area and the GPS says it will take 35 minutes to go 11 miles, believe them! I thought how can this be right? There are horse and buggies here, farm machinery on the road and lots of lights. Glad I built in some extra time…

I arrived at the store, parked and opened the curtains and windows- so pretty!

I hauled in the supplies for class and the demo. We had a fun time making the Sizzix Mini- Album. This is such a versatile die (if I do say so myself). I love that the spine is adjustable so you can make it 3/8″ or 1 1/8″, depending on how many pages you want to include. These would be great to make at a kid’s birthday party!

Then we worked on our Artist Trading Block. We doodled on them and I think everyone was surprised at how great they looked with a few little tips on enhancing your lettering. I always love when we are sitting there working and people talk about their kids, their families, jobs and life- I think that’s one of the main reasons that I am doing this…

Now I am sitting out in the camper. I have the laptop set up and a Coleman lantern going, my power source gadget is going and extending the computer battery so I can finish this post. I will go in to BK where I am parked and hit the bathroom, get a refill on my soda and get back on the road. It’s the Great American Stamp Store in Westport, CT tomorrow! Good night!

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