Eileen Hull

Three dimensional art... with heart

Getting ready for CHA!

All my designer buddies are busy in their studios finishing up final preparations for CHA. I thought you might like a look at what Karen Burniston, designer of the fabulous Sizzix pop-up dies, and I have been cooking up for a Sizzix workshop. We will both be working with our latest dies. Karen has a brand new system coming out that is SO cool called Pop ‘n Cuts– (click to see how they work)! Here are the cards she is teaching. Just wait till you see how quickly these come together! So much fun…

My release for CHAW 12 is called Sweet Treats. It combines all of my favorite things- sweets, treats, matboard and ScoreBoard dies! With so many beautiful papers, stamps, and embellishments out there, these dies are a lot of fun to decorate. And they’re actually practical too! What more could you want in a project? They go together really quickly so you can make lots in one sitting, making them great favors. Easy to personalize and embellish too. I’m loving these papers from Creative Imaginations– so romantic and pretty!

Stop by the Sizzix booth #949 at the show. I’ll be there demoing all of the Sweet Treats dies:
Sunday         10-12
Monday        2-6
Tuesday       10-12
Wednesday  12-2 
Here’s a look at what’s on my table…
See you in Anaheim! 
If you are not able to be there, come virtually through the Live from CHA site! I’m giving away a free ticket to see what’s going on at the show through streaming video. The winner will be picked tomorrow so you still have a chance- leave a comment here before midnight tonight!

EDITOR’S UPDATE: Congrats! The winner of the Live from CHA craft kit and event ticket is Monika! Please contact me so I can get you the prize- EileenHull@aol.com. Thanks- hope you enjoy it 🙂 See you there…

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!

Designer Days Sale!

I just got the word that my next line of dies, It’s a Wrap is shipping right now! This collection is designed to help you package small gift items in a fun, yet practical way.


And to make a good day even better, Sizzix has decided to put all of my dies on sale for 20% off today, including the BRAND NEW ONES!

As you can see, these projects on the packaging are in purple, yellow and gray… so elegant and pretty… now imagine them covered with bright holiday patterned papers! These dies are so versatile- every project can be tailored to your style! Since the XL size dies are ScoreBoards (dies designed to be used with thick materials like matboard and chipboard), you will have a nice sturdy base to work with. Another beautiful thing about matboard is how great it accepts ink, paper, distressing, stain, mist, and paint. So much fun to embellish!

I don’t know about you, but know we give a lot of gift cards for the holidays and special occasions because they are so easy to keep on hand and stick in the mail. However, they are not the most personal gift- but with a little creative thought you can customize the gift card holder to make it special. Several of the It’s a Wrap dies are designed to hold gift cards so make sure to check them out.

The Triangle Box can be assembled in under a minute! I’m not kidding- I demo’d this die at CHA and asked people to time me. It really is that quick.
There are a few ways you can put this together. If you fold the outer flaps into the middle and match holes in the flaps, you can thread ribbon through and tie it, allowing a little more depth inside the box. Depending on where you tie it, it can be a flattish 3D pocket or a deeper triangle box. I decided to make a pocket bag to hold a gift card. 

  1. Cover the front of the matboard with paper using spray adhesive.
  2. Lay matboard on the die paper side down and run through die cut machine.
  3. Bend all of the folds 180 degrees so the fibers of the board are broken. 
  4. Fold box in half and thread ribbon through the corresponding holes across from the top, making a hanger.
  5. Cut Doily from white fleece and trim about one third of it off. Adhere to top of box and cover with a length of red ombre wired ribbon tied in a bow.
  6. Add “joy” glitter embellishment (.29 for three at Ollie’s Outlet!) to label die and adhere to front of pocket.
  7. Add gift card and head off to your holiday parties!

Head on over to Where Women Create for some more great ideas for holiday crafting!

Sizzix Linky Party

Hello everyone! Welcome back… no blog hop today… but something very interesting instead!

First, I want to thank everyone who stopped by the Fresh Vintage blog hop to check out the killer projects created by all of the fabulous designers, to leave comments and participate in our giveaways. There’s one final event going on this week right here- it’s a Linky Party! This is where where WE get to see what YOU have created with your Sizzix products.

It’s really easy- all you have to do is post a link to your blog post that shows a picture of your project! Don’t be shy-  show us your stuff 🙂 Place your links below (many thanks to InLinkz for making this so easy to do!) How many Sizzix projects can we get?

Sizzix Fresh Vintage: Petal Power

Today wraps up the Sizzix Fresh Vintage blog hop with our twelfth and final die! I am so grateful to the amazingly talented designers who created the beautiful projects for us to see twice a week. Many thanks to Sizzix who supported this hop and also to you, our loyal viewers, who commented and encouraged us all along the way. My next collection, It’s a Wrap, just went up on the Sizzix site. Go have a look! Who knows, there might be a another blog hop coming your way again soon…

To view the hop, you can click on the Fresh Vintage blinkie on the sidebar. This will take you around to all of the designers on the hop OR you can click on the linky party below for a look at the projects.

There are three Sizzix giveaways going on right now and you have a good chance of winning some really cool stuff! If you would like the chance to win the Flower, Layers #9 die, answer the question about today’s hop on the Oh My Crafts blog. Go to Creating the Hive, a cool crafting community, and leave a comment for the chance to win the Caddy die (you must be a member to comment but it just takes a minute to sign up!). And visit Julie McGuffee’s blog for info on winning the Caddy die and more!

One more fun thing… I’m not quite ready for this hop to be done. I want to see what you are working on! Do you have a Sizzix project that you would like to share? Join me and the Fresh Vintage designers next week when we do a big final Linky Party (like what you see below with the small pictures of the projects) This will open Monday, 11/7 at midnight and run until 11/11/11! Please stop by and post a link of one of your favorite projects! 

Petal Power is so versatile. You can cut fabric, fleece, paper and recycled materials. It actually makes a pretty big flower- about 6″ if you use the large and small petals. I can’t wait to see what the designers did with this one! Here’s a look:

I decided to make one of those rolled book page wreaths I have been seeing all over the place. 

  1. Tear 16 pages from a vintage book and run through Big Shot using Petal Power die.
  2. Cut a sturdy circle base that is about 6″ in diameter. I used scrap foamboard  but you could also use the cardboard from a frozen pizza. 
  3. Take drapery ring and adhere book page petals all around the ring with Zip Dry glue- large pieces in the back and small pieces in the front. 
  4. Cut a section of a colorful map page about 12″ x 2″. Trim top of map page with scalloped scissors. Ruffle/scrunch with your fingers and adhere to inside of drapery ring. 
  5. Get 5 kraft colored coffee filters. Grab each one in the middle and make a little ruffly poof. Fold the base in about 1″ and staple.
  6. Adhere coffee filters in a ring around the backing circle using double sided tape or glue gun. 
  7. Center a 3″ mirror on top of a large round (5″) recycled jar lid or foam board scrap. Place the drapery ring wreath on top of the jar lid and glue gun in place.
  8. Add a ribbon hanger and bow in the center of the wreath.
  9. Good luck taking a photo that does not include your face, camera or ugly basement ceiling. Mirrors are hard- forgot about that!


Additional Supplies:

6″ cardboard round, drapery ring, map page, book pages, 3″ round mirror

Sizzix Fresh Vintage: ScoreBoard Caddy

Welcome to the eleventh of twelve blog hops featuring dies from my Fresh Vintage collection. I hope you have been enjoying the fabulous projects created by these amazing designers.

To view the hop, you can click on the Fresh Vintage blinkie on the sidebar. This will take you around to all of the designers on the hop OR you can click on the linky party below for a look at the projects.

The featured die today is the ScoreBoard Caddy which has been specially designed to cut and score thick material like mat board. Matboard is my favorite art/craft supply ever. It’s nice and sturdy, you can ink, paint, chalk, mist and color it with markers. Cover it with paper or stamp on it. Whatever you do with this stuff, it looks great! The caddy can be created with just one pocket or you can cut two, and add another pocket on the back (like a beverage holder). The flowers and leafy vine also come with the die and are great for embellishments. 

The idea for this die on a trip to Aruba. My husband and I were delayed for 2 1/2 hours at the airport and when we finally boarded the plane, they offered us each a free drink. Although I was not quite ready for happy hour (at 10 AM), I took the little bottle. It was so CUTE I knew I had to make a tiny caddy for it. Unfortunately, it is not quite big enough! I have to work within the die specs and just could not make it fit 🙁 but that’s how the caddy came to be. And we had a GREAT vacation in Aruba!
Let’s take a look at what the other designers did with this die:

There are so many ways to fill this container. Pick a theme and have fun with it. For your friend who sews, tie up some fat quarters, add fun trims, needles and lace. Know a letter writer? Fill this with stamps, a pretty pen and personalized notepad. Chocolate fixes everything- send treats for a friend in need of cheering up. Put teabags and accessories in one for your favorite tea drinker. Hair bows and headbands would fit great in here. What would you put in the caddy?

To see dies and projects that have already been posted, visit the page above titled “Sizzix Blog Hops”. For a chance to win the Flower, Layers #9 die, answer the question about today’s hop on the Oh My Crafts blog today.
For my project I kept it simple. Had a big deadline today to finish up and deliver.
  1. Cut one divider piece and 2 pockets from aqua mat board. 
  2. Following instructions on package, assemble caddy adding pockets to front and back of divider. Cover divider with ledger paper on back side. 
  3. Color leaves and flowers with Copic markers, blending for depth. Add pearl bling to centers of flowers. Adhere to front pocket of box.
  4. Add a scoop of Perfect Pearls to a mister spray bottle. Spray mixture all over finished box. Let dry.
  5. I realized that the Memo Holder just fit perfectly in here! Did I plan it that way? Nope, but it worked out 🙂 Cut memo holder from heavy card stock. Place a matboard die cut on scoring board as a guide and score lines onto to paper memo holder.. 
  6. Emboss flap with Textured Impression folder. Add magnet closures.
  7. Wrap twine three times around outside of caddy and tie in a bow.
  8. Fill folder with post it notes. Add matching pencils and you have a fun little caddy for your desk. You may want to glue this to a base if contents are heavy or could get off balance.
A present for Trinity!

Special treat- Julie McGuffee is giving away the items pictured above! See the blue Designer Crafts Connection logo on my sidebar? Well, many of the DCC designers are also participating in this blog hop. Hop forward through these DCC designer blogs and see how many you can find with the Sizzix Fresh Vintage logo on their blog, then hop on over to Julie’s blog to leave a comment. She will announce the winner on November 8th, so check back.