Eileen Hull

Three dimensional art... with heart

CHA Sneak Peek!


I’m excited to share a look at some of my new Sizzix dies that will be released at the Craft and Hobby Show (CHA) in a few weeks. The collection is called Fresh Vintage and I can’t wait to show you the whole batch because I love it! Stay tuned for more…

A couple other things for you today… first of all, we have a winner of the Noodle Contest! Lynda’s Wreath made from noodles really blew our judge Jaclyn away! So Lynda will receive a $10 Anything gift card from Noodles and Company. Thanks to all of the contestants who sent in their entries- such fun!

I got my Creative Women newsletter today written by my designer friend (and Triple Play Blog Hopper), Melony Bradley. I always love to see what cool ideas Melony has to share and today I was surprised to see one of my designs in the newsletter. This New Year’s Resolution Board first appeared in All-Occasion Paper Crafting (2005). The funny part about it is that it’s been 6 years since I have submitted the project and those resolutions are still ones that I am trying to keep (obviously not too successfully!).

What a great job EcoHeidi Borchers did with her first show today! Here’s the link to the replay of her show.. I love all of Heidi’s eco-friendly and super crafty ideas and can’t wait to try some of her clever projects!

Back to work. CHA Show is 17 days away!

CHA fever!

Oh boy… life is nuts right now! While we were in Florida on vacation last week, my daughter called to ask if I could help her drive cross country as she changes her Coast Guard assignment from San Francisco to Miami. The girl who was going to ride with her backed out and decided to fly! So arrangements were made and now I am running around like a crazy person trying to get two weeks of work done in one before I leave 5 days after I get back for CHA! I know- I should have started sooner… 🙁 Oh well..                                      

Here’s some fun news that I have not been able to spill the beans about till now.

America’s Next Top Crafter is BACK! Think you have what it takes to craft your way to the top? Two LIVE episodes are being held in the Westcott booth at the upcoming Craft Super Show on Friday, July 30th from 1-1:30pm and Saturday, July 31st from 12-12:30pm. You can sign up at the Westcott booth to be a contestant in this exciting live craft challenge. Celebrity judging panel, fabulous prizes and giveaways for all competing crafters! All complements of Westcott… Cutting Made Easy! The event will be hosted by Marisa Pawelko, of Modern Surrealist. I think that Marisa won this contest the last time they had it but have to check with her on that. You may remember Marisa’s cool and colorful designs she shared in our last ScoreBoard Blog Hop.
I am especially excited because I am going to be a Celebrity Judge for this event! I can’t wait to see who wins and what the contestants come up with. If you will be attending the show, please stop by the booth and see what’s happening!

Anniversary and 100th post!

What a day… the time has gone by so quickly and I can’t imagine what life would be like without my Hayward.

And who would ever have thought I could come up with that much to say to fill 100 posts on this blog? Of course if you know me, you’re saying, “That’s a joke, right?” I will admit that I may have inherited a wee gift of the gab from my Irish half.

In fact, there have been many times in my life that I laid in bed thinking to myself, “WHY did I say that?” Something happened this week that reminded me how important it is to think before hitting the “send” key. It’s bad enough to be replaying badly spoken words over in your head, but those do, thankfully, fade with time. The words that travel through cyberspace may never be taken back so take an extra second to consider if you want your message out there forever for the world to see. Thanks to my fellow Council members Vicki, Linda, Lorine, Brenda, Ann, Katie, Phyllis, and Kirsten who handled a tough situation with grace and patience. The Council is an amazing group of women I am proud to call friends.

Things are getting crazy here. Lots of deadlines. I am working on my next batch of stuff for Sizzix and planning for Demo Days in the Barn, on October 16-17 from 10-2 each day. I’ll be giving a sneak peek at my new Sizzix Scoreboard dies due to be released in November. We’ll have make and takes, door prizes and giveaways. November 13-14 is the annual Barn Sale here and Fairfax High School Show is the following weekend! In the meantime, a really exciting opportunity for another whole product line and a large order for Christmas cards from a corporation has to get done!
Also on the horizon, it’s off to the Garlic Festival next weekend in NY with my Mom and sisters. We have a booth called Family Fleece and sell fleece hats, baby seat covers, scarves, etc. We like when there’s a nip in the air so parents are reminded to cover their children’s heads but I curse global warming- it’s been 75 degrees the past 3 years! Nevertheless, we have a great time catching up on the latest family events and enjoy a few whiskey sours with dinner at one of our favorite restaurants.
I hope your fall is shaping up to be exciting and full of promise as well!

Categories:
CHA

What’s new in crafts?

Maybe it’s just me but… are you noticing a lot interesting things on cards lately that you wouldn’t expect to find? Pleats, ruffles, flocking, doilies, lace, texture and dimension are all the rage as I scan through the cards at Target, my source for all things trendy. Letterpress is extremely hot as evidenced by one trip through the Paper Source, a beautiful, high-end paper and gift store.

At CHA (big trade show put on by the Craft & Hobby Association) this summer, the latest word on the street was prepare to see sewing and fabric arts crossing over into the craft arena. SEI, a paper company known for their bold graphic style, has partnered with Robert Kaufman fabrics. That makes sense to me. You go to the time and trouble to develop some really cool graphics for paper, why stop there? Midwest Modern, a style spearheaded by the amazing Amy Butler, is here to stay a while. “Green” crafting and up-cycling (formerly re-cycling) is now in and using environmentally safe supplies is preferred, even at a higher cost. Birds, especially owls, scalloped edges and lots of greens seem to be going strong.

Stay tuned for another update as soon as I recover from all these “research” trips. Don’t tell me YOU can get out of Target for under $50…

Categories:
CHA

CHA is over!

and wow- it was fun! I can finally tell you that my line of Sizzix dies has been released! I’ll post photos when I can. The dies are designed to cut and score thick material such as- MATBOARD and chipboard. There are eight designs available and they are called ScoreBoards. They are officially released in December so won’t be available for a little while yet. I’ll keep you posted 🙂

The show itself was actually somewhat small compared to other years. However the companies that were there were serious and doing quite a good business. There was a record crowd for the consumer SuperShow which was held immediately following the trade show. The booths were exciting and CROWDED. I didn’t even get to walk the whole show- the crowds were crazy. Anyway, more to come on this later… along with photos!

Bahamian flowers

I am a sucker for a deal. That’s why I found myself on a three day cruise to the Bahamas last Friday and not running around like a maniac getting ready for the Craft and Hobby Association’s Summer trade show which is now 6 days away! The cruise was on a converted ferry boat and was $158/person for 3 days. We went with 3 other couples and had basically no expectations. But it was great. We had a day in Nassau which was hot but really interesting. We explored the island a little and rented a jet ski.

So, now I am back… I am so excited to see my new product up in the Sizzix booth after 2 years of working on this. I have been testing the product at home and think people will like it- I hope so, anyway. Our seminar, “Licensing for Project Designers” seems to be under control and I had an email today from a CHA member who had some questions about something she is working on and how to proceed. She is attending the class so hopefully others will join her 🙂 My Designer Showcase display is getting done tonight. In fact I am on a Krylon high as we speak, after spraying my foamboard display pieces. The press kit is coming along too, slowly but surely.
I want to thank Violette for her enthusiam after winning my book, Matboard Magic, on the Inspired at Home radio show last week. I met Violette at CHA a year and a half ago. Her booth was next to ours and she was a lot of fun to talk to and hang around with. She is from Canada and has a new book out- check her web site to see it. I love her studio- it’s painted purple and she has some really cool projects she’s working on. I would love to be able to show you my studio but you would run away screaming! But good job, Violette!
OK, now back to work…