Eileen Hull

Three dimensional art... with heart

Ann Butler Blog Hop with Sizzix Cradle Die

I had so much fun making this project! It brought me back to my childhood days of making doll accessories. I was the oldest of six kids- with four girls in five years. (Mom- what were you thinking?) My sisters and I spent HOURS playing with dolls, making clothes and furniture, sending them on trips, having plays…

One Christmas, Mom made each of our forty dolls a new outfit and arranged them in the living room on all of the furniture and we came in after Christmas Mass to find them. What an amazing present! One doll, Bridie, even had a string of pearls and a blue velvet dress- I loved her…

So I decided to make a cradle from my new Sizzix Cherished collection.  And I used Ann Butler EZ-De’s stamps  and Ann Butler Clearsnap inks to make a doll quilt and pillow! I love the pretty ink colors- and being Clearsnap Crafter’s Ink, the colors are permanent… Having one inch stamps are handy for these small areas. It was so much fun to stamp out a tiny quilt in just a few minutes. Good job Ann!

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Make sure you see what all of the designers on the hop have created! I can’t wait to check them out:

You will need:

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Die cut two headboards from Golden Books. Cover a piece of matboard front and back with pages from the Golden Books, using spray adhesive to adhere. Die cut crib bed from matboard.

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Assemble crib using glue gun to secure. This is a job for a heavy duty adhesive, especially if it will be played with! Measure the inside of the crib and cut a piece of white fabric for a blanket. Use another piece for a pillow.

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Stamp the fabric using different color inks and alternating stamp shapes to make the pattern interesting. Since this was a small project, I used the one inch stamps. I could not find the orange stamp pad anywhere! I can pretty much guarantee it will turn up the minute I finish this post.

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Cut two strips of ruffled trim. Turn ends under and sew down or glue. Adhere to the crib with the glue gun.

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I put a small piece of batting in the bottom of the crib for a little mattress. Place blanket and pillow inside crib. Add doll and play!

Thanks for stopping by and remember to check out all of the other projects on the hop!

StencilGirl and Sizzix Artist Trading Blocks Blog Hop

Today is the day StencilGirl Talk and Sizzix get together and I am so excited!


Fifteen amazing artists from the StencilGirl Design Team will all be showing their art on one of my new Sizzix dies, the Block/Cube/Bank, 3-D AKA the Artist Trading Block™! 

The projects I have seen so far have been simply jaw-droppingly amazing… so make sure you stop by every blog and see all of them:

Eileen Hull (you are here)

The Block is part of my new Sizzix Cherished collection which is designed around a baby theme. But let me tell you, this die is not just for babies! First of all, it is a ScoreBoards die, which is specially designed to cut and score THICK materials, like matboard and chipboard. This technology is unique to Sizzix so you won’t find anything else like it! 

The Block measures 3″ square, can be assembled in under a minute and it is super versatile! You can use inks, paint, chalks, mists, or markers with your stencils- the rigid matboard makes the block nice and sturdy so you don’t have to worry about wrinkling or tearing- load on the techniques- the matboard can handle it! 

Artist Trading Blocks™ are the next big thing in the crafting world! Unlike tags and ATC’s, Artist Trading Blocks allow you to create in 3-D!  Why show only one side of your creativity when you can express yourself with multidimensional style? Make your mark on these six-sided blocks using all of your favorite craft supplies and techniques.

OK, so now for my project… I have to admit- I was slightly intimidated to design something for this hop having seen all the amazing StencilGirl DT’s work. Designing dies is a totally different process. Everything has to line up and be perfect or the die will not cut straight. So I am not used to the freedom I had here to just try things out and play. But it sure is fun!

I like to think of each 3″ x 3″ square as a mini-canvas to experiment on. They are quick and small and if you mess something up- oh well, move on and try again! With that attitude, shoot, I could play forever! 

So I gathered some of StencilGirl’s fabulous stencils, an assortment of inks, paint and brushes and went to town… and what came out was not too bad! Of course now I have more ideas of things to try… you know how that goes.
I started by lining up the two matboard strips next to each other and then placed the Words to Live By stencil on top. (note- if you want the blocks to be all going in the same direction, reconsider this method. We are experimenting though, remember?) After securing the stencil in place with post it notes, I took some Clearsnap Cat’s Eye dye inks and a stencil brush and transferred the ink on the stencil, varying the colors and blending them into each other. 

I outlined some of the words with a black permanent marker and then colored them in with Copic markers. Don’t you love to color?
Here comes the experiment… I took the Song Birds stencil and a very detailed Wing stencil and decided to try and layer them. I wasn’t sure if it would work with two layers but what the heck… I laid the bird stencil down first where I wanted it, securing it with more post its, and then added the Wing stencil on top. To get into these tiny areas, paint seemed to be the best choice. I loaded my stencil brush with black acrylic paint, wiped most of it off, and then applied it using a circular motion over the  stencil. Because this one is so detailed I wasn’t sure I could reposition exactly in the same place so I made sure every area was fully filled in before I took the stencil off. Success! Then I outlined the bird with black marker. 

I used the Peacock Feather stencil and black paint to fill in other areas on the blocks and that was it! 


I did not tape this block together because I will be sending it to CHA and will fold it flat to ship. Due to the sturdiness of the matboard, no tape is necessary to keep it in the block shape! 

It was hard to stop and I created another project- a set of blocks I call “A Tribute to Tie-Dye”… but this post is already too long so will share it next week. Here’s a peek…

I would love if you would like my Facebook page and see what’s to come in 2014. I have a brand new product launching! But my lips are sealed till Jan. 11. It’s killing me people!
But wait- there’s more- a giveaway over on StencilGirl Talk consisting of SG product and a Block die! All comments on the hop are eligible for the giveaway. The more blogs you comment on, the more chances you have to win. The giveaway will close on Friday, December 13th at 11:59PM Central Time. 

We have lots of plans in the works and will be posting lots of inspiration over at our website, The Artists on the Block. Please stop by to see what’s new and LIKE our Facebook page too! Feel free to post your latest projects so we can ooh and ahh over them!

Head on over to the amazing Mary Beth Shaw‘s blog to see the rest of the projects. Thanks for stopping by! 

CHA Workshop Sneak Peek video

It’s hard to believe that I am so deep in CHA preparations already! There is a lot in the works and hope I can keep up with it all.


First, I am teaching a Sizzix Workshop with Amy Bowerman of Plucking Daisies at CHA. Registration opened today and the class sold out in 20 minutes. Wow. 


But don’t despair- you can still be part of the fun! We are looking for CHA samples showing all of the different ways to use this Blocks die. If you are interested, contact me at EileenHull@aol.com. 


I made a little video about what we’ll be doing in the Workshop-
many thanks to Amy Powers. I am taking a class called Craft Happy over at Big Picture Classes and loving it. The first week, she showed us how to make a stop animation film so this is my attempt at one. It really was fun to make. Thanks Amy!


The class features one of the dies in the new Sizzix Cherished collection… it will not be released until January, but here’s a taste of what can be done with it and how easy it is to assemble! Watch the video and see just a few ideas…

Just a sad note about my little Scotty trailer. Now that the weather is getting cold, we put her in the barn to keep dry. Yesterday I was raking leaves and thought I should check in and make sure all was well. I turned on the light and noticed a large brown stain on the floor. Oh no… turns out I had the refrigerator set at max and it exploded a 12 pack of cherry Diet Pepsi inside and it was leaking out to the floor. What a mess! I am a bad mother 🙁 So that’s turned off for now, but at least I know the fridge is working great! I need to get out there and start painting because I have some deadlines to make for this baby. Wait till you hear what’s up with this trailer!


Next week I have an exciting announcement to share- stay tuned… I’m telling you- this place is hopping! 

Craft Therapy Night

The more I hear about Cre8time, the more I believe in the mission- which very simply is to take 8 minutes a day out of your life to create.

You might think this is a given, considering that I basically create for a living. But sometimes the life of a designer is anything but that. In order to run a business, you still have to deal with things like taxes, paperwork, phone calls and the never-ending email. So although I am happy about the fact that business is booming, I have not taken the time this past week to refresh myself by just sitting down and enjoying the process of creating. And I was getting kind of cranky. Ask my husband…
So last night I had to come up with a project for the Sizzix UK blog where I post every other week. I decided that the time had come to let the pressure of the week melt away. I sat down with a pile of stuff and went to town. Boy did I have fun! Made a giant mess, watched some Golden Girls and just… created. And I really like what came out of it.

I took some dictionary pages (the A’s) and found words that I aspire to with their definition and just cut and pasted them on ATC cards. This size is so cute and quick and great for using up scraps. The ATC Box die I designed for Sizzix can hold about 2-3 cards depending on how puffy you make them.

There are other pics on the Sizzix UK blog too…

Don’t forget to take the time for yourself to renew your soul. 8 minutes a day- you can do it. What are the challenges that hold you back from cre8ting?

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…