Eileen Hull

Three dimensional art... with heart

CHA Sizzix Sneak Peek

Hi everyone- I am very excited! I get to give you a peek at my newest line of Sizzix dies being released at at CHA in a couple of weeks! I have been holed up in my studio all week making samples and just love what’s happening here.

First of all, I am working with papers from Creative Imaginations in the IOD line called Devotion. They are just beautiful. The only thing I don’t like is when I have to pick which side to use because I really like all of them! That almost never happens with double sided paper. 
OK so here’s a look at the new Bigz Borders & Hydrangeas…. 
some Sizzlit Swirls…
… and the XL ScoreBoard Box with Lid, Cake Slice. …
I can think of so many ways to use these! What a fun party favor for any occasion where cake is served. You could even coordinate them with the colors/papers from the event. Stop by the Sizzix booth for a demo!
I think these dies are a lot of fun and hope you will too. OK, back to work!

Punch needle

It’s the Designer Crafts Connection monthly posting day! Make sure to stop by all of the designer’s blogs for a look at some great projects. Click on the blue button on the sidebar for a look. The topic today is journaling but my crafty adventures took me in a different direction. I have always loved stitching and last week I discovered a new craft (to me, anyway).


I went to Michael’s the other day with my daughter. She was looking for a cross stitch sampler design that she could work on for her baby due in June. Being the helpful mother I am, I was diligently rooting through all of the books and kits that I thought Jess might like. I happened to come across a book on Punch Needle Embroidery. The projects fascinated me but the technique sounded fairly simple to do. After combing three aisles looking for a the required punch needle tool, I came up empty handed… so I came home and found supplies on line and ordered a kit and tools.

It arrived on Friday and by Saturday night I had finished it. It’s addicting. Here’s a pic of my first project (which I did when I was supposed to be making samples for CHA). There are some mistakes but overall I love the colors and fun bumpy texture of it. And no, you may not see the back of it!

I meet with a group of creative friends every month including Pat Sloan (I was a guest on her radio show and we discovered we live in the same town. She generously invited me into the group!), Patty Symkowitz, Amy Powers, Lorine Mason and Ann Weber (who are the bloggers in the group- hi guys!) along with a dozen or so other amazingly talented women. We grab tables at Wegman’s and check out everyone’s Show and Tell, catch up with each other, laugh a lot, quilt, sew and stitch. I’m happy I will have handwork to bring with me!

Now to figure out how to finish it... any suggestions?

Monogrammed Mirror

Happy New Year everyone! We had a great break and now I am getting back to work. Lots to do before I leave for CHA.

My youngest has gotten a real job! Soon she will be moving out on her own 🙁 I decided to make her something for her new place. She loves bling- her screen name has been Glttergirl since she was in middle school.

You will need:

one clean 12″ x 12″ mirror tile 
frosted contact paper
flat Swarovski crystals in 3 sizes
craft knife
transparency sheet
Copic markers
12″ x 12″ frame without glass

  1. Go to the Duetica site and create your monogram. (mine was sized at 215 pts) 
  2. Import the letter to Illustrator. Highlight letter and click Type> Create outlines. Print sheet.
  3. Place transparency sheet over printed paper. Cut a piece of frosted contact paper about 5″ x 5″. Remove backing and adhere to transparency sheet, lining up with letter printout. 
  4. Run transparency and contact paper through printer.
  5. Cut out letter with craft knife. Do not cut through the transparency, just the contact paper. When letter is all cut out, remove the background contact paper. Letter will remain. Carefully peel from transparency and place in position on mirror tile.
  6. If desired, color in letter with Copic markers.
  7. Add Swarovski crystals to letter if desired. Adhere crystals with Zip Dry glue.
  8. Place in frame and hang!

Another (and much easier) option would be to cut the letter from vinyl on your Sizzix eClips machine. Unfortunately, I had some technical problems and was not able to do it. Instead of crystals, you could substitute with dots of Stickles.

Once you cut the letter, this project goes really quickly. I love how it turned out and hope Maryanne will too! 

Recycled Zip Drive Cases

My husband was going through a bunch of his computer stuff the other day. What a mess! I thought the shredder was going to explode. But I happened to spy some cute little cases in the trash which I snuck out.

We usually give gift cards to my nieces and nephews for Christmas so I thought these were the perfect size to doctor up and give them in. I decided to use an old book of sheet music as the background paper. 

  1. Use the insert that came with the case as a template, cut pieces of sheet music to size and score folds on a scoring tool
  2. Cut a piece of foamboard to fit exactly inside the case.
  3. Decorate foamboard and sheet music with stamps.
  4. Add double sided tape to the back of the gift card and place on foamboard.
  5. Insert into case- you are done!
  6. I added a label designed and printed on the computer. 

You could also use ribbon and lots of other embellishments to pretty this up. My time is tight right now so I went simple. You could also use old CD cases in the same way.

I am flying to Miami on Friday to drive back to VA Saturday with my newly expectant daughter, her puppy and bunny. Woohoo, road trip! Merry Christmas everyone!

New Noodle Queen!

I know you all have been waiting with bated breath to hear who won the Noodle Contest… you can go to this post to see all of the projects.


(drumroll) And now for the winner…. It’s Kathryn, who received the most votes for her noodle portrait of Amy Winehouse! So congrats, your bag of goodies from Noodles and Company was sent out yesterday! I asked Kathryn to give us a little background on how she put this project together and here’s what she said:

The hair is made out of Ramen noodles. Use the kind that comes in a bag, not the cup. The bag noodles work better. The face is just made out of Tabasco sauce. You can make a similar piece of artwork with any person or character. You can also use the ramen for a person with a lot of facial hair (beard, mustache, etc.). The hardest part is to paint the plate with Tabasco sauce to make sure it looks like the intended person.


This is a very cool project but involves drawing skills which I lack. Maybe if I had a photo taped below and worked on a clear plate, I might be able to trace the main features though…hmmm. Might have to try that.


Remember I told you that I made an appointment at Noodles and Company to try the Grown Up Mac? Well, we go on Friday at 12. Looks like Hayward (my husband) and Ray (Hayward's 91 yo stepdad who lives with us) will be joining me for lunch. I'll let you know how that goes.


I apologize- not sure what is up with Blogger tonight but the spacing is all weird. Too tired to fiddle with it tonight! It has been a frustrating day and I need to calm down with a good book. Night everyone!

Reverse Canvas Project

I don’t think I ever showed you all the project I made in my class with the fabulous Cathe Holden at The Creative Connection this past September. Cathe had everything all kitted up for us so we just followed along and did what she told us. I was sitting next to Deb Berger of Scrapbooks, Etc. so we had a nice chat while we assembled our projects. Tauni had a small small glitter malfunction, but aside from that we behaved and all finished our projects. Here are more photos of the class on Cathe’s post.

The project background was what looks like an old paint by number winter scene. Does anyone else remember these? Ah, the smell of the paints! It seems like they were oils- could this be? How did my mother ever let me do that? 

We inserted the copy of the painting into the back of a canvas, turned it over and covered the wood frame with some old Christmas photos that fit perfectly in antique slide mounts We added a personalized banner, glass glitter, some snow and a bottle brush tree.

I’m getting ready to hang this up- finally decorating! 

Noodle Frame

This project was soooo quick and easy! At this time of year, projects like this are great when you need something at the last minute. These were materials I had on hand. The frame was purchased about 2 years ago for $1.99 and I had been meaning to sell them at the Barn Sale but never got the art done for the frame opening. So luckily, this was already spray painted and ready to go. The noodles were left over from last year’s noodle extravaganza, so this took about 10 minutes to make! Good thing-my week is crazy with lots of deadlines! Oh and shopping, baking, parties, etc. 


Here’s how I made it: 
  1. Spray paint a frame. I used red paint- it took about three coats to cover the frame. After the frame dried, I sanded off the edges to distress it a little and wiped brown ink over where I had sanded. 
  2. Insert photo- this is one of our family from last year’s Christmas.  
  3. Add some fun green tree shaped noodles and snowflakes in natural by applying glue dots to the back of each noodle and sticking on frame where desired.
  4. Tie a coordinating ribbon on top of the frame.
  5. DONE! Great gift too.

Tip Junkie handmade projects

Second Annual Holiday Noodle Party is in session!

Welcome to our Second Annual Holiday Noodle Party! Here’s where you can post your fun holiday projects using noodles 🙂

Pasta is everywhere you look. At World Market I purchased trees and snowflakes. At Ikea, they had really cute mooseheads. And that’s not even getting into the more standard fare like rotini, linguini, fusilli, fettucine, spaghettini and penne, to name a few, that may be found in your local supermarket. 

 At Big Lots, I found a package of Beer Mug Pasta (wow).

All of these cool little shapes may be used to create with! They are natural, edible, inexpensive, available, and accept inks, paints, glitter and mists. Are you crafting with noodles? If so, you are in the right place!

The linky party starts today, Monday, December 12 and runs till Friday, December 16 at midnight. This event is open to all and extended in the spirit of fun and sharing the love of crafting during this holiday season. Here’s how it works:

  • Post a blog on your site with a picture of your project and enter the URL of that post below from now until Thursday, December 15.
  • Enter as many projects as you would like. 
  • It can be a project created by you, your child, or anyone. 
  • The only requirement is it must contain a noodle of some kind 🙂 
  • Please vote for your favorite design on Friday, December 16. 
  • The project that gets the most votes will receive a bag of goodies from our friends at Noodles & Company! I’ll also be giving away one of my Sizzix dies to a random commenter. 
  • Post early so everyone has a chance to see your work. 
  • Please share this with your social media friends and invite them to join in!
WE WANT TO SEE YOUR PROJECTS so link up below:

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Barn Sale Adventures

The day dawned bright and sunny. The doors of the Barn opened at 10 to a steady stream of customers looking for just the right gifts for their family and friends. There was hot cider and coffee, muffins, bagels and cream cheese, cookies and my special meatballs.

Things were going along great. Happy shoppers were leaving with bags of treasures. As the show was winding down and I was chatting with a customer, my friend Sandy came over and crossed her hands in front of her throat. It took a minute but I finally grasped the fact that she was choking and wanted me to do the Heimlich Maneuver on her! I don’t know about you, but I have never had to do that before to anyone. She turned around and I made a fist, positioned my arms around her and gave two (what felt like) pretty good compressions. It wasn’t working! So I asked my daughter Maryanne who was sitting there writing people up if she knew how to do it. She said yes and started working on Sandy whose lips were getting bluer by the second. It was shocking to see how fast it happened! I started dialing 911 but at the same time I knew she wouldn’t make it till an EMT arrived. THANKFULLY, on the fifth compression, the meatball was dislodged! Her cheeks got pink and she was able to talk again. I have to say that Sandy and Maryanne never lost their cool and handled the whole thing with minimal drama. But it was quite scary.
The lesson I learned was don’t be afraid to squeeze hard and right up under the ribs. I encourage you to take a minute and review the correct way to give the Heimlick Maneuver.  I can tell you, as an eye witness, that it works! Maryanne says she learned this in Girl Scouts. 
The other thing I learned (again) is that life is so fragile. Every day is a gift and I am so thankful for my friend Sandy, my brave daughter Maryanne and all of the other amazing people that God has placed in my life.
Here’s a pic of Maryanne helping to count the money at the end of the day. So, whew, all’s well that ends well. Thanks to the great vendors for setting up and all who attended and supported the Barn Sale and we hope to see you again next year!