Eileen Hull

Three dimensional art... with heart

CHA Sneak Peek

Hi everyone! It’s almost time for CHA and I am freaking out, right on schedule 🙂 


Just wanted to pop in and post this video I did for the Sizzix blog last week. It’s a quick look at what will be coming out at the show. And I am very pleased to announce I figured out how to insert music into a video (!) for your viewing (and listening) pleasure. 


CHA will be held in a new venue this year- Las Vegas- so it will be nice to explore. Unless it’s too hot. Then I will not be leaving the hotel/Convention Center. Here’s what’s on the agenda:


Monday, July 22 Education Day

  • Designer Showcase set-up- this is where designers set up a tabletop display of their work in hopes of getting new clients. I am excited about mine (if I get all the parts done)… Come see me in Booth 116
  • Round Table Discussions- moderating a table at on “What CHA Designers can do for you”
  • Sizzix Rep and Retailer Training 
  • Helping my friend Ann Butler out in a class she’s teaching
  • Designer Section and Designer Council Meetings
  • get together with friends (including the one and only Jonathan Fong)

Tuesday, July 23 Show starts!

  • 8:00-9:00 Panelist on “Multiple Streams of Income” discussion
  • 11:00-1:00 demo new release Cherished in Sizzix Booth #627
  • 1:30 interview in Sizzix booth by Charity Wings
  • 2:00-3:00 volunteer in Designer Showcase
  • 4:00-6:00 teach workshop “Sizzix in 3-D” 
Wednesday, July 24
  • 9:00-10:00 Moderate panel discussion with Mike Hartnett on “Getting Your Work Published” Our panel is amazing- you should try and get a ticket- plus a special surprise giveaway 🙂
  • meetings!
  • 2:00-4:00 Demo in Sizzix
  • 4:00-5:00 Meet and Greet for Designer Showcase
  • 5:30 Paper Crafting Section meeting
Thursday, July 25
  • 9:00-11:00 Demo in Sizzix
  • 11:00-12:00 Volunteer in Showcase
I am getting both tired and excited at the same time looking at this. Amy Bowerman of Plucking Daisies, a blogger and friend I met at SNAP, is coming along to help me- so happy to have her along! Also Pam Bray from Scrapbook Flair, Pam Keravuori from Pamela Jane’s and Barbara Rankin from Black Hole Arts Studio made the most beautiful samples for me at the last minute- God bless you all- they are amazing!

If you are at the show, please stop by and see me- I love hearing what you all are up to. I will try and post about what’s going on but it’s a new place and not sure of the internet situation. If that doesn’t work, I will take pics and share when I get back home.

Thanks for stopping by- wish me luck!

Gift Box

Hi all- hope you are having a fun Fourth of July weekend! 


Just wanted to post this fun little gift box I made using the Square Box die and some beautiful Prima goodness. I am sharing it today on the Sizzix UK blog. It’s actually pretty big (3 1/2″ square) and could hold a cupcake for that special person. Make sure to head over to see how to make it. Lots of fun tips…
Will try and pop in with some new stuff but CHA is 2 weeks away and going crazy. getting ready! Thanks for visiting…

Bloom Card

Hi everyone! Wow, I can’t believe it’s already July!

Today is first Monday which means it’s Designer Connection time. Make sure you hop around and visit the blogs of all of the participating designers. Click on the blue button on my sidebar to hop around and see all the fun ideas! 
I think the theme is patriotic crafts this month but I am getting ready for CHA and just don’t have time to make a new project. If you are looking for the good old red white and blue though, visit here and here for other projects I have done in that theme.

It is rainy and gray here in VA, so thought I would post a happy card.

I used a bunch of dies in this card. The Watering Can is made from the 3D ScoreBoards die of the same name. I cut it from silver metallic paper, chopped off one of the watering cans, sanded it down to look old and rusted and adhered it to the front of the card.

The tissue paper flowers are cut from Flower, Layers #9, the butterfly is from Birds & Butterflies set and the grass is part of Flower, 3D #2. The word Bloom is from Bloom & Plant Markers and last but not least, the trusty Leaves die is used for the greenery.

The card background is a woodgrain stencil from Crafter’s Workshop– love that and use it all the time.

Back to work. I need to make a video, and as I have mentioned before, a 2 minute video takes me approximately 5 hours to make- ugh. I’m shooting for 4 1/2 this time 🙂 Wish me luck! Happy Fourth, in case I’m not back in time to say it… 

Birdhouse Decor

Have you ever been attacked by a protective mother bird? I was… and almost had a heart attack!

However it did give me an idea for a blog post 🙂 Here are a few birdhouse designs I posted on the Sizzix blog. Here’s to you, mama bird, and all moms who just want to keep our little ones safe!

These projects were made using the Birdhouse, 3D die from from my new Sizzix Picket Fence collection. No actual birds were involved or harmed in the making of these projects 🙂 For full instructions, please visit the Sizzix blog.
Thanks for stopping by!

Canning Jar Wedding Favor

It’s a world record- two blog posts in two days!

My daughter called us to say she was engaged on Christmas Day. They were in the

Cayman Islands scuba diving and Galen gave Pam the ring. Yes, 60 feet under water!
However, we are still waiting to hear when the big event will take place.

I created this wedding favor in hopes it might get the ball rolling…

Supplies:
658453  Sizzix ScoreBoards XL Die – Canning Jars, 3-D
658443  Sizzix Bigz Die- Flower, Trinity’s
658457  Sizzix Textured Impressions Embossing Folders 2PK – Rosebuds & Seed Packet 

Set
656491  Sizzix Little Sizzles – 6″ x 13″ Mat Board Pack, 6 Cream Sheets
657900  Sizzix Big Shot
656657  Extended Cutting Pads

This die is a great value because it comes with a two sizes of jars- quart and pint, two lids
and an inner well to hold treats.
Die cut Canning Jar. To create a three dimensional project you will need to cut a
second jar piece. Emboss all pieces using Rosebud Textured Impression folder. You
might have noticed, I debossed the inner well section and embossed the front of the
jars. Oops. That’s OK…
ASSEMBLY TIP:
Lay the back sides of the jars facing down and place the middle section (right side
down) across the middle of the two jar bottoms. Mark with pencil. This will make both
jar bottoms level when you stand it up. Apply strong double sided adhesive or
use glue gun to adhere bottom tabs to jars.
Now adhere sides to jar. The sides may be adjusted to the width and height
you desire on the jar.
All taped up!
The jar stands about 5″ tall, 3″ wide and 1 1/4″ deep.
Side view…
For this project, the jar lid was used as a tag and tied it on with rickrack. Write in the
couple’s names with pencil.

Cut the lid from heavy silver cardstock. On the back of it, pencil in lines.

Place on a piece of foam and trace over the lines with an embossing stylus.
Adhere to the top of the jar using foam dots for dimension.

This die would also make a great card if you folded over a piece of cardstock and laid

the fold inside the cut line of the die. I think it would also make a cute recipe book…

What would you use this die for? I’d love to hear… Thanks for coming by!

Thanks for visiting- see you again soon…

 

Sizzix Giveaway

Have you entered the giveaway yet over on the Sizzix Facebook page? Theere is $120 worth of dies from my new Picket Fence collection! Enter by clicking here and then make sure to share the chance to win with your friends…

Did I enter it? Heck yeah! It only took about 5 seconds to do…
Since this is a wedding themed giveaway, I decided to show some wedding projects to keep the theme going.
My daughter Jess got married two years ago (as recounted here and here). On Christmas, we received the happy news that my daughter Pam will be getting married next year… One more daughter to go after that… but it will be perfectly fine if she waits a little.
Here’s a keepsake I did for Jess as seen on the Kool Tak™ blog. I love this picture of the two of them!
I used the Window Box ScoreBoards die and adhered fabric to the window well section using Kool Tak™ adhesive sheets, which worked great. I also used that product to adhere microbeads and glitter to the window section The wedding was in April and this color combo of yellow, black, white and gray really seems fresh and spring-y to me. It’s a little blingy but what the heck- weddings are fun 🙂
Are you all caught up on wedding and shower gifts, graduation announcements, etc? I am buying gift cards like crazy and trying to keep everything straight. Wish me luck…

 

Craft Attitude Faux Chalkboard Canning Jar

I have been working with a really cool new product called Craft Attitude. It is a printable film that conforms to the shape of what is under it. You just print your desired photo, text or images on Craft Attitude using your inkjet printer. Then simply adhere the film with a glue stick or spray adhesive to your base- paper, lampshade, fabric, etc.


As you might know, I love working with matboard. For years I have been trying to figure out how I could print on it. Matboard is way too thick to fit through a printer and could not pass through the rollers since it is so rigid. FINALLY, there is a solution… You can print on Craft Attitude, adhere it to matboard, and it looks just like it has been printed on! 


I decided to use my Sizzix ScoreBoard Canning Jars die as a base for some Fourth of July favors using this Jar die, matboard and Craft Attitude. 


The Canning Jar dies are now available at your local scrapbook stores or on the Sizzix site. They are a great value because you get two jar sizes on one die- a pint and quart- also two metal lids and an insert piece to make it 3D!

Print out the desired artwork for your project on Craft Attitude using 
an inkjet printer. There are actually nine versions of the Attitude lines- 
Quilt Attitude, Craft, Decor, Flower, Scrapbooking, Jewelry, Flower, Wood
and Shoe, but all of the film is the same, so any kind that you buy will work.
 
Die cut a piece of plastic from your die packaging in the shape of the larger jar. 
Tape it in position on your die. Line up your printed work with the hole in the 
plastic and make sure the design fits correctly. Roll through die cut machine.
Assemble 3D jars following directions on die packaging. Just add tape 
to the tabs on the inner well and place jar front and back on, then add lids.
 Print a faux chalkboard label with black background and glue on

off white matboard. I also outlined the die with a white pen. However, as 
with many craft projects, this went a little wrong… the white was TOO white, 
so I added a very light yellow copic marker on top of the white lines. I wound 
up actually liking this because it gave that kind of blurred effect that 
chalkboard has. So all is well 🙂



Die cut and adhere to box. Tie twine around the top of the jar. 

Add metallic painted lid and adhere with strong adhesive.
Think of all the ways this can be used! I can’t wait to explore the options further. 

Would you like to try Craft Attitude? If so, click on the link in the sidebar- there is free shipping right now but not sure how long it will run. Thanks for stopping by…

I Love the USA Blog Hop

Welcome to the I Love the USA blog hop- sponsored by my amazingly talented friends Laura Kelly Walters and Jen Goode!

Laura has designed a line of fabric for Joann Fabrics and her bloggers friends have teamed up to show some cool ways to use it. Jen is the technical whiz who made it easy to navigate the links, giveaway, html stuff, etc- thank you! This hop was especially fun because along the way we received little treats and surprises in the mail to help keep our creative mojo going.

Here’s who’s up today:

  • Jennifer Margeson- Laura Kelly Designs
  • Niki Meiners- 365 Day of Crafts
  • Eileen Hull- you are here!
  • Melony Bradley- Mel Designs
  • Lorine Mason- It’s Sew Lorine
  • Cathie Filian- Cathie and Steve
  • Jen Goode- Projects for Preschoolers

Thanks to these generous partners who contributed product and inspiration to the hop:
General Fabrics, Plaid, Fiskars, Coats and Clark, Buttons Galore and More, Joann Stores, Cre8Time, and Expressionery!

I made a couple of things… once I got going it was hard to stop. The fun colors and cheerful peeps just make me happy. Do you Cre8Time for yourself to enjoy the satisfaction of making something? You really should!

First up, a wreath.

A 12″ STYROFOAM™ wreath was wrapped with blue ribbon. I used some 3D flower dies I designed for Sizzix to decorate the wreath:

I added fabric to both sides of a 6″ x 6″ pice of Phoomph, an adhesive backed foam stabilizer. Then I ran the whole piece through the Sizzix Big Shot die cutting machine. Solid color felt and paper pieces were also cut and added to the flower layering process. I adhered them to the wreath with hot glue and added patriotic buttons to the flower centers. A red and white pipe cleaner is used as a hanger.

 

I am co-hosting a luncheon today for fellow military spouses here in
the DC area. Our theme is Flag Day- perfect timing! This wreath will
hang on the door to welcome our guests.

 

My other project is a framed and matted piece.

I covered Crescent matboard with Laura Kelly Walters fabrics and created a shadowbox behind it with a little scene of the peeps.
(FYI, I was not sure how this would work but it came out great- will definitely be using this technique again.)

Here’s how I made it:
  • Coat the matboard with Mod Podge Fabric , then lay your fabric on top of the matboard piece (right side up) Mod Podge the fabric. Let dry overnight.
  • Using a Logan mat cutter, cut a 6″ square window in the fabric covered matboard. A piece of red matboard was selected as the second mat and cut 1/4″ smaller.
  • Make a shadowbox of the blue matboard for the backing.
  • Stitch “I heart the USA” using Coats & Clark embroidery floss.
  • Add the peeps (extra pieces of fabric that I had already Mod Podged) by adhering with Zots. Don’t you love the guy doing a cartwheel?
  • Adhere fence piece (part of my new Garden Gate Album die from the Picket Fence Sizzix collection.) Arriving now in your local scrapbook stores!

I had a great time playing with Laura’s fabric.

Wooden Wedding Sign

I was asked to make a sign for my friend’s wedding. She wanted it to say, “All the roads led to you” which I love. She has a happy ending story and I am so excited for her in her new life.

So I went to Lowe’s and bought the wood I needed. Although the power saw was out, the nice employee cut the wood for me with a hand saw. Upon checking out all options, I decided to use a picket for the stake because I liked how it looked. All told, I think the sign was made for less than $5 in materials!

Lace Front wigs

After painting all of the boards white with some leftover paint I had on hand, I asked my husband how he would attach the boards to the back. He helped me by screwing the boards to the back. (I was considering gluing them but will admit it’s very sturdy the way he did it)

Then it was time to break out my Sizzix eclips electronic die cut machine. I LOVE that you can cut your own designs on this!

I laid out the text I wanted on the computer, selected a font, saved in the appropriate file format and pressed “cut”. The machine cut out the words from vinyl chalkboard material (I didn’t realize till after it was cut that it was chalkboard- I just saw black…) After cutting all of the words, I used a piece of clear contact paper to transfer the letters to the sign. And that was pretty much all I did… did give a brief coat of spray sealer in case it rained on wedding day and signed the back too.

I really like how this turned out and it makes me want to make more signs…

Thanks for stopping by!

Eileen

 

Picket Fence

I have a post up over on the Sizzix blog about my new collection of dies called Picket Fence.

They are shipping any day now and I can’t remember when I have been this excited about a collection of dies. Gardening was the inspiration and the dies work great for favors, cards, invitations, albums and table settings. I hope you’ll take a look and try one (or sixteen) out 🙂
For more info and ideas, check out my post on the Sizzix blog and come back here for looks at projects all through June!