Eileen Hull

Three dimensional art... with heart

Ruffled Flowers

Some of you on Facebook may have seen my photo of the trim I found at the thrift store for two dollars a roll. That’s right. Don’t hate me…
ruffle-trim

closeup-ruffle-flowers
I asked you all what I should do with it and there were lots of suggestions- most people said pillows (this still might happen- I have tons left!). I wound up making ruffled flowers wrapped on a pencil.

When we go to visit my husband’s stepdad at assisted living, they have a cute little vase with pens that have flowers on top (so you don’t forget and take one) at the sign-in desk. I keep thinking it would be fun to do some for my desk. I like to use pencils because you might change your mind!

Check out How to Make a Flower Pencil Topper by Eileen Hull on Snapguide.


Head over to SNAP to see a linky party with lots of fun ideas!

Cousin Slide Bracelet

I am not a professional jewelry maker, by any means, but when I was offered the opportunity to work with Cousin’s new Slider Bracelet program, I had to give it a try. After watching their step-by-step video, I felt confident that I could make one.

Cousin is a premier wholesaler of jewelry making supplies and has been family owned for over 40 years. 
The Slider Bracelet system is now available in JoAnn Fabrics. I recommend if you want a quick, easy and fun project, head over and pick up supplies to make a few. This project would be a great gift for Mother’s Day! 
After laying out the bracelet exactly as the video described, I decided to add a faux leather 3D flower made with a couple of my Sizzix dies to the bracelet to make it a little more personal. The flower and leaves were attached to the slide with fishing line and some glue. I love the contrast of the turquoise flower and the red bracelet. I will have to make another one for Mom 🙂
Make sure to click on the blue button on my sidebar to follow along with the Designer Crafts Connection. You will see lots of inspirational versions of this project created by the amazing designers in this group.
Thanks to Liz Heggy and Cousin for giving me the chance to work with your cool new product!

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:

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…

Another Candy Jar Project…

Today is a Designer Connection hop! Make sure to click on the blue button on the sidebar to go through and see all of the great and inspiring projects from the amazing designers in the group! 


This weekend we had a sixth birthday party for my granddaughter. Trinity likes princesses, coloring, running and playing with her puppy she named Lake Sparkle Hull 🙂


I decided to make her a little mini album from the Candy Jars ScoreBoard die from my new Sweet Treats collection. This project went together really quickly and will be a fun reminder of her birthday party at Mimi’s. On the back of the pages I will put wallet size photos of her special day. 

 

 

  1. Cover a piece of matboard with fabric by coating the back of the board with spray adhesive. Lay the fabric on top, smooth it out and run the whole piece through your Big Shot with the Candy Jar die. Cut two of the smaller jar fronts. TIP: after adhering fabric, sometimes the edges will fray if it is handled a lot. To prevent this, add a little Fray-Check around the edges.
  2. Cut a piece of Bazzill 12″ x 24″ paper lengthwise into a strip 3″ x 24″. Score every 2 7/8″. 
  3. Accordion fold the paper strip. Run strip through Textured Impressions and emboss borders. Shade with foam applicator and inks. Write wording on the pages.
  4. Write book title inside the window of the die and pop back into the opening- add a little glue to secure it inside the book with front and back windows.
  5. Attach two end papers to Candy Jar pieces. Adhere pages to back of jars. 
  6. Tie velvet ribbon around the top of the front cover jar.
  7. Add tiny flowers (ink edges first), leaves and pearl centers to the front of the book and adhere with Zots.
  8. I also added a cute little black metal bird sticker from Momenta to the front. First I inked it with gold Viva Decor Inka Gold. I love working with this product for many reasons- one is it dries immediately and the colors are so rich and shimmery. You need some of this!
Thanks Stefanie Girard– I borrowed your idea to make a mini album from the Candy Jars! 

New Arrival and Fourth of July

Life has been so much fun! Last week, my husband, two daughters and I drove our RV down to FL to be with my other daughter due with her first baby. My husband’s 92 year old stepdad Ray is living with us so my sister Marie, a nurse, had graciously agreed to come up to stay with him while we were gone. Unfortunately, the same day we left, a record breaking heat wave started in VA leaving Marie and Ray without power/AC for three days.  But Marie is amazing and has managed just fine (so far). I am so glad I bought the little pool before I left in case it got hot…


We arrived just in time. Our new grandson, Daniel Benjamin, arrived on July 2. He is just perfect and he wants to wish you all a Happy Fourth of July! 

In the midst of all of this, I am finishing up my art for Sizzix dies for next summer and getting ready for CHA. Life is good!