Eileen Hull

Three dimensional art... with heart

Get Creative Holiday Hop

I was so happy to be invited to join in this hop by Jen Goode. She is an amazing designer, web and tech guru, penguin artist, and last but not least, a great friend. Jen is hosting a linky party on her blog featuring some cool crafts for this holiday season. Click on the logo in the sidebar for lots of holiday inspiration or see the link list below!

I made a Christmas suitcase using my Sizzix ScoreBoard Suitcase die using some great papers by Simple Stories I found in Archiver’s on my trip to Houston last week.

 First, I covered my suitcase with paper- see my tips for doing this on this Sizzix blog post. Some items that fit in the suitcase include gift cards, keys to a new car :-), deck of playing cards, pair of earrings, a small mini album, ATC’s, candy, post-it notes, etc.

As you can see from the pictures, I changed my mind halfway through 
designing this 🙂 That happens quite a bit and I think it make the whole 
process more fun and interesting to see what works and what doesn’t. 
I started distressing with white but it didn’t show up the way I wanted 
so I just went over the edges with brown ink- much better!

 

There are two prizes to win when you check out this hop! (Plus, there may be some blogs that will be offering giveaways so make sure you leave comments along the way.)

  1. 1 winner will receive 2 Sizzix dies designed by Eileen Hull valued at over $35.
  2. A 2nd winner will receive a goodie box filled with a variety of crafty materials valued at over $50.
Eileen Hull Sizzix dies prize Winter Holiday Blog Hop at 100 Directions
How to enter: Check out all of the great project ideas shared by the participating sites. GO back here and tell us what you like more… what project has most inspired you, what holiday festivities are you most excited about or what project are you most excited to try.
The Rules: You must be 18 years or older and a US resident (US shipping address) to enter. Winner/s will be randomly selected after 7pm EST on Monday, November 19th, 2012. If you are selected to receive a prize, you will be notified via email and you will have 48 hours to submit your shipping address or a new winner will be selected.

Don’t forget to click through and see what the other designers made! Here’s the linky party:

It’s Getting Chilly!

Well I finally gave in and turned the heat on…


I want to get a head start on the holidays this year (sound familiar?) and decided to get in the mood by creating a holiday vignette. I built a glittery house using my Sizzix ScoreBoard Pro House die and some Smoothfoam™ rounds as a base. 


I took a 12″ x 12″ piece of matboard and ran it through my Big Shot Pro. The house was assembled with iCraft tape by ThermOWeb. I like this kind because you can just tear it off and it sticks just as well as their SuperTape but no need for scissors! 

After the house was done, I stacked three Smoothfoam™ rounds measuring 12″, 10″ and 8″. After gluing the three layers together to make sure they did not shift, I sprayed the outside of them with spray adhesive and added crystal glitter and fake snow and sprinkled it all over the pedestal. Then trees, the house and a gate were added. 

I think I will put it up on top of the kitchen cupboard I have in my front hallway so I can look at it whenever I come in the front door.

This post is part of the Designer Connection. Make sure to click on the blue Designer Connection button to see what the other designers have created using Smoothfoam™. Keep going because there are giveaways to be found! For more projects made using Smoothfoam™, check out the Pinterest board here and like their Facebook page here.

Keep warm! Have a great Veteran’s Day weekend and hope you will tell a vet thank you…

Scrapp’n Savvy and Quilt Market

Finally back from Houston, TX! 

I started off the trip on my birthday which was celebrated for several days- nice! I was greeted at the airport by my good friend, Karen Burniston, fellow Sizzix die designer. She gave me an arrangement of hydrangeas (my favorite!) 

We had dessert from Ooh La La cupcakes that night (yum). Lucy and Katy had a little fun while Karen was at the airport picking me up.

The next day we went out to Scrapp’n Savvy to launch the first meeting of the Sizzix club.

What a fun time! We taught two sessions and I really enjoyed meeting the group. We made a project called Thankful Cupboard using the ScoreBoard Candy Drawer die. Thanks to Karrie Allen, store owner, for hosting such a great event and making me feel so welcome.


Karen brought me in to Quilt Market the next day which was really interesting. Sizzix was there displaying their quilting dies. Watching the demos by Linda and Rosanne gave me a new appreciation for the Sizzix cutting system. Can’t wait to test out some of the ideas I saw them show with fabric, on paper. 

Some of the booths were amazing. 
Moda had a vintage trailer and were playing off the latest trend- glamping (glamorous camping). So cute… 
My apologies for the blurry photos.
Fairfield created a whole display where everything was created with their batting. 
This booth won a display award.
I also happened to meet Mr. Amy Butler (as he introduced himself) aka David Butler. He has designed a new line of man fabrics. Loved his display. 
Blurry again- ugh. He’s cute- trust me 🙂
Sue Spargo has such a great eye for color and I love what she does with wools!

Sandy delayed our return flight so my traveling buddy, Lorine Mason, and I had three additional days to hang out. 

Thankfully, Karen and family rescued us and we were able to spend some more time with them. We also got to visit with Gretchen Schmidt, help put together some kits for Karen’s next class and watch Shark Tank. 

On the homefront, my husband was dealing with the waters of Sandy as they came into our basement (where my studio is). Thankfully, he is an amazing guy and stayed up all night bailing it out and everything is fine. 

Finally headed back…
Home sweet home!

Neenah EPC Treat Bag

Halloween is almost upon us! Ann Butler had approached me a while ago to see if I would be interested in working with Neenah EPC film. 

Since I am a big fan of their paper, I was very interested to see another product from them… and so glad I tried it! It comes in white, black, blue, red, and green and is sold in 12″ x 12″ sheets, which is nice if you have a large project you would like to cut.

I found this cute little canvas bag a while ago for $2.99 and decided to make a bag to hold candy for my granddaughter when she goes out trick or treating. I designed the bag so that it could be used at Halloween or any time. I laid it out in Illustrator, but you can use whatever software you are comfortable with.

The Sizzix eclips is one of my favorite tools lately because of the ECAL software which allows me to cut files that I design… and I am just drawing up a storm lately 🙂 I saved the image as an .svg file and imported it into the eclips.

Things to remember when working with Neenah EPC film:

  • if your design contains text, make sure to mirror image it so that when you cut it out, the letters will be going in the right direction!
  • follow instructions on package
  • make sure that the material you are ironing onto will accept heat (the bag I have has a plastic lining. I will have to make sure not to melt it!)
  • if you need some help, watch this video which explains the process step by step.
  1. Design image on computer and save in desired format.
  2. Reverse text to mirror image.
  3. Lay EPC film right side up on eclips mat. Load and cut design.
  4. Carefully peel away background design leaving your image you want to transfer.
  5. Iron on die cut scalloped circle label. Stitch around label. Add glitter dots on scallops. Tie on a spooky black ribbon…
Want to see some other cool projects made with EPC transfer film? Here’s our blog hop schedule…

September 20 Melony
September 27 Ann 
October 4 Eileen
and stay tuned for
October 11 Jonathan
October 18 Debra 

So… where can you get this fun material? If you are not able to find it in your local craft store, you can purchase it here at Amazon. I liked this material and think you will too 🙂 Check back for some more fun ideas in the near future! Thanks for coming by…

Designer Crafts Connection Hop

Today’s hop day! Click on the blue icon on my sidebar to see all of the fun Halloween and fall projects created by my crafty designer friends. 

My Halloween project is a candle screen. Instructions for the project can be found here.I used an orange battery operated tealight that I found at Michael’s… a good alternative to fire when you are making a candle screen from paper :-).

SPECIAL GIVEAWAY! 
If you leave a comment below by 7 PM tonight, you will be eligible to win the Sizzix ScoreBoard Candy Jar die, which I used to make the project.

Thanks for stopping by and Happy October to all!

All Things Altered Blog Hop

Time for another fun blog hop put on by Pam Bray of Scrapbook Flair! Take a look at all of these cool fall projects:

Cut four jar dies from Crescent Bright Core orange/black matboard. (I love this and use it every Halloween. It’s orange on one side and black on the other. The core is orange instead of the usual white. It’s a little thicker than regular matboard which makes it nice and sturdy.)
Stamp a distressed pattern on the jar with black ink. Cut 4 jar lids from black paper and adhere them to the jars. Brush over the lids with silver metallic ink.
Adhere a piece of orange cardstock to black cardstock. Cut four pieces 2 1/2″ x 1″. Score in half down each long side- these pieces will be used to hinge the box together.
 
Fold paper on score lines and add adhesive to the orange side. Place in each corner of the jars until you have a box shape. Distress corners with black ink pad.

Cut the square piece of the Cupcake Stand die from the same matboard. Stamp the orange side as you did the outside of the jars. If you don’t want orange edges, color them in with a Sharpie marker. I also Sharpie’d the sides of the jars where they connect to give depth.


Add spooky embellishments. (I used Jolee’s glitter spiders) On the back jar section, cut a piece of clear packaging and add a spider partway up so it shows through when you look at the candle. What does the key unlock? Find out… if you dare!


Tie jute around the box of the jar lids.


The candle is decorated with a rub-on bat and then inked with black.


The square cupcake stand is used for the base of the project. I added kraft paper krinkle stuff to the inside of the box to raise the candle up a little.
Happy Haunting!
To make this blog hop even more fun, I have a giveaway! Some lucky person who leaves a comment below will receive one of the Sizzix Candy Jars die used in the project!

 Make sure to go all the way through the hop because there are other great prizes all along the way…


Don’t forget to leave a comment- let me know what you would make with the Candy Jar die. You could be the winner 🙂

Work Smart with Duetica

I am back home after two weeks in the Caribbean celebrating our thirty-second anniversary! I am so blessed to have such an amazing husband… and good friends.
But now it’s time to get back to work. My friend Lorine Mason (also seen above) and I talk almost every day about various projects we are working on and she will sometimes end our calls with, “Work smart!” That is a reminder worthy of posting somewhere conspicuous. Work or Pinterest- help me! This is going right next to my computer…

I did something I’ve been wanting to try for a while… and that is cutting vinyl on my Sizzix eclips machine using two of my favorite Duetica fonts- Mandolyn and Woodwynde.
  • First lay out your text in your software editing program using the Duetica Lettering Arts Studio fonts.(I used both a script and traditional font for interest and tried several versions of the phrase until I got it just the way I wanted.) 
  • Create an outline of the text and save it as an .svg file

  • Open the ECAL software on the Sizzix eclips cutter and insert the text. 
  • Lay a piece of aqua vinyl adhesive side down on cutting mat and cut with eclips. (You may have to play around with the settings- you want to cut the vinyl but not through to the backing paper.) 

  • Cut a piece of transfer paper (or contact paper) a little bigger than the size of your text. Remove the backing so you have a piece of sticky film. Place the film over the text. 
  • Burnish the phrase on the front of the contact paper so the letters peel off easily.    NOTE: I forgot to order transfer tape with the vinyl but I wound up using contact paper which worked fine.
adhesive side up

  • Position cut out vinyl text on the wall or where desired. Burnish into place using your fingernails.
  • I picked up an 8″ x 10″ frame at The Closet for $.50- it was missing the glass, but I don’t need it for this anyway…
  • Cut a coordinating mat with an inside window large enough to fit your text. Glue mat to the inside of the frame.
  • Center frame and mat over text. Hang frame on wall!  
Look at the great detail that the eclips was able to cut. And don’t you just love these Duetica fonts? I can’t wait to add vinyl to other areas of my house! And wouldn’t it be great to put up sayings for special occasions? The possibilities are very exciting! 

Vinyl is fairly inexpensive and the fact that you can cut your own sayings is super cool! I ordered mine from Oh My Crafts. 
 
I can’t wait to try more! Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend…

Industrial Chic Composition Book

I was so excited to be invited to join the Susan Lenart Kazmer Industrial Chic Blog Hop. The display of this product in Michael’s caught my eye and the cool metal jewelry pieces and findings intrigued me. So of course I said yes! Now, you know me, I love my paper. I wanted to come up with an idea combining the metal elements and paper. 
A couple of weeks ago, I lucked out and found composition books for $.39 at Big Lots. (why did I only buy 3???) I decided to use the book as a base for my project- an inspiration journal. I am always tearing things out of magazines to inspire me when I get in a rut. But they sit in a huge pile and I never look at them because it is too overwhelming. So I decided to tape them into this book. Since I am the only one who will be looking, I don’t need to line anything up or be neat about it. Love using washi tape for this!

  1. Cover front and back of notebook with an old atlas or dictionary page using spray adhesive. (I got this atlas at an auction in a big box of junk for $1!) Trim the excess paper with a craft knife and distress the edges with brown ink.
  2. Choose three colors of Viva Decor Inka Gold and blend them on a scrap of glossy paper so the colors meet and overlap. Spray a little water on top and then blot off. Trim to size. I love this product because it dries almost immediately and contains beeswax. Once it dries you can buff it up and wow- really nice effect… the colors are beautiful! 
  3. Stamp an image on top of the inked paper- I used a Unity stamp set from my friend Susan Weckesser called “Sing your song”– love it! Color images in with Copic markers and add a little glitz accent on the leaves and sun with Stickles.
  4. Trim stamped image to size for the front of the book. Outline edges with stitching lines using a permanent marker.
  5. Create a banner with the phrase, “East, west, home is best” (or whatever you want to title your book) using the Duetica Mandolyn font. (In the top corner of the map of Kansas is Ft. Leavenworth, where we lived for a year.) I love using the Duetica Lettering Arts Studio. For one thing they have beautiful fonts! And each font comes with 10-20 versions of each letter. So if you want to add a swash at the end of the sentence you can do it- it gives a customized handwritten look to your text. 
  6. Make creases in two sides of the banner to make it pop up and add glue dots under the tail sections. If you do not want a cover that is so dimensional, then fold banner flat under and adhere. 
  7. Cut dimensional flowers from brown coffee filters from Flowers, Layers #9 and ink edges with Copic markers.
  8. Cut grass strip from Flowers, 3D #2 and Leaves using shopping bag fabric.  Cut butterflies from Bazzill paper using the Bird & Butterflies set and lightly distress with brown ink. Position elements on book and adhere with glue dots.
  9. Finally, position your cool metal Industrial Chic embellishments where desired and adhere to book. I didn’t have the right color brads so I inked colored ones with silver alcohol inks so they blended in. 

Holy cow- look at this list of artists that are participating! Check out their projects here:

10           Barbe St. John 
11           Cheryl Bodkin Waters 
12           Cindi Bisson 
13           Gretchen McHale 
14           Jenny Barnet Rohrs
15           Kari McKnight
16           Lindsay Obermeyer
17           Seth Apter
18           Suze Weinberg 
19           Tami Bayer
20           Theresa Cifali
21           Tracie Stivers Lampe 
22           Traci Bautista
23           Jen Crossley 
24           Eileen Hull– you are here!
25           Pam Carriker 

26           Sandy Martin  

Thanks for stopping by!

Drawer or Box? You decide…

On the Sizzix blog, I showed this Stacking Drawers project I created using the new Candy Drawer die from the Sweet Treats collection.

I promised to show you another way the die can be configured to make a box with a lid- yes- all from the same die… It’s all in how you tape it up. 

The drawer part goes together the same either way. Add strong double sided tape to all tabbed areas. Fold the drawer up and center the square piece on the bottom of the tabs. Press into place.


I also decided to emboss the frame section of the drawer so I ran it through the Big Shot with a Textured Impressions folder.

Add tape to the two segments of the box nearest the notched end. Place the drawer section on top of the second segment and fold and press the notched end up to the edge of the drawer. This forms a fun little box that opens and closes. I love that this box may be used in different ways!

I couldn’t resist adding some glitter. Take your Versamark Watermark stamp pad and run it over the raised areas of the embossing. Pour glitter on top and shake off excess. I love these new Momenta metal stickers and this one was just what I was looking for. Add sticker first, then glitter.

Wishing a Happy Birthday to my son Chris who is in Afghanistan. Can’t wait to give him a huge hug…


Thanks for stopping by!

My Craft Celebrity Friend, Tiffany Windsor

Ever wonder what makes craft celebrities tick? Let me introduce you to Tiffany Windsor, whose innovative new craft product, Cool2Cast, won second place out of over one hundred entries in the Innovations Showcase at CHA Winter 2012.
Tiffany wears many hats- she is the host of the popular web TV show, Cool2Craft, which airs on Mondays at noon (and also may be seen on demand at her site). She and her sister, Eco Heidi Borchers, demonstrate all kinds of inventive techniques on the show- many of them developed by their mother, Aleene Jackson (yes, THAT Aleene!), years ago. These techniques are classic- the colors and supplies may have changed, but bread dough roses are still amazing! Tiffany also consults for manufacturers and chains, does speaking engagements, designs product, and gives back to the craft community by serving as a member of the CHA Designer Council and as head of the PR Team. She is always there to help promote her fellow designers and is well-respected and admired for her dedication and professionalism.

Tiffany is no stranger to crafting- it’s a family affair! Here is our interview with her; read on to hear of her inspiring journey and all that she has accomplished in our industry…

Hi Tiffany! What is your favorite craft?

That’s way too difficult for me to decide! I am a self-proclaimed hard-core crafter which means that anything goes! I’ll try just about any craft product and technique and put my own twist to it. I am definitely most excited about my new product launch for Cool2Cast. It can be used in so many ways in so many creative categories so, OK… if I have to pick a favorite – it would be Cool2Cast! I have been developing the launch of this product for the past 3 years and I never grow tired of it and find new ways of using it every day.

How long have you been crafting? 
My first memory of a crafting project is at the age of 3 when I crafted an Easter basket with Styrofoam, chenille stems and ribbon. I have always been enchanted with ribbons and I remember how much I loved weaving the ribbons in and out of the chenille stems to make a basket.

Why did you start crafting?
In my family there was no choice 🙂 My mother’s business was in a major growth spurt when I was a young child, so the crafting business was a part of our everyday life. With 5 active kids, Mom gave us crafting supplies from her retail store to keep us busy. Fast forward to my adult years when I really embraced crafting for myself, I find crafting to be totally relaxing. Crafting is like a moving meditation for me. It’s my zen time.

Why do you keep crafting? 
About 10 years ago, I decided I was finished with crafting. Kaput, stop, end, no more. I was on total overload after having hosted and produced over 2,000 episodes of the Aleene’s Creative Living TV show for 6 years without a vacation. I thought I never wanted to see another craft again. I stepped away for about a year and in that time of soul searching I realized that crafting was really a passion for me. And sharing my love for crafting is a passion for me! So many people over the past 60 years have been enjoying the wealth of ideas in the Aleene’s vintage archives, I knew that I wanted to keep that heritage alive. That’s why in 2009, I started the Cool2Craft Community and TV show in an on-line format. It is the perfect way for me to keep connecting and sharing with the creative community.

What is your favorite crafty brand and why?
Aleene’s of course! Since I use glue in almost all my projects, I love that there is a glue for EVERY creative need. From basic all-purpose glues, to industrial strength and dry adhesives, to specific use, it is glue heaven in my studio.

Have you ever injured yourself crafting?
Thankfully no. But I do have an aloe plant handy in the studio whenever I try to use a glue gun. It’s excellent for glue gun burns.

What is your favorite crafty word? 
How about a crafty quote – “Get creative. Get inspired. Be cool!”

Tell us about your crafting space…
Since moving back to the west coast last year, I was able to set up my dream studio at my sister Heidi’s house. She had an enclosed patio area that was just being used to collect stuff so we cleared it out and I set up 6 crafting tables utilizing doors from the local ReStore (Habitat for Humanity) and set them on 3-shelf bookcases from WalMart.  Now I have lots of tabletop space to create on, and lots of underneath storage. And, it is a rare day that any of the tabletops are empty!  

Did your parents or grandparents craft?  Was your love of craft inherited? 
For anyone who doesn’t know, my Mom is THE tacky lady. Yes, Aleene of Aleene’s Tacky Glue, pioneer of the modern day craft industry. My sisters and I have often had the discussion of would we have been crafty if our Mom was not Aleene?  The rich creative environment in which I was raised definitely had to influence my love of crafting. I did work outside the craft industry for about 10 years so I have experienced my creative side both inside and outside the industry. Many people don’t realize that Aleene was not really a hands-on crafter. She had a natural talent for marketing and brought together design teams. I really inherited my crafting talent from my dad who is a very talented artist and craftsman. From my mom, I inherited the gift of visioning and perseverance. Mom forged paths that no one else even envisioned.  

What trends are you noticing in the Craft Industry? 
What I love about watching the craft industry right now is to see it re-awakening to general crafts. For so many years, the focus was totally on scrapbooking and papercrafting, so many general crafts and craft basics were overlooked. Now is the time that everyone seems open and ripe to get their hands onto products that have been ignored for so many years. I really salute the mixed media artists for showing the consumers that it’s OK to create and play and layer and glue and glob and sprinkle and have fun trying new techniques.

Can you give us a list any blogs or websites you write for, or that display your work – www.cool2craft.com, www.ilovetocreate.com, www.favecrafts.com



Thanks so much for your time, Tiffany!  Wasn’t it interesting to hear about growing up as part of a craft dynasty?