Eileen Hull

Three dimensional art... with heart

CHA sneak peek #2

This week has been a blur. As I get ready for the big CHA (Craft and Hobby Association) Show starting next Saturday, I am feeling overwhelmed, excited and nervous. I am displaying my work in the License & Design Section. This is a place where artists and designers set up their work and hopefully attract the interest of manufacturers looking for the latest and greatest new thing. I don’t know why but it seems that all of my best ideas come to me at the last minute. Anyone else out there feeling my pain?

The one thing that I feel really good about is my new line of Sizzix dies that will be debuting at the show! The collection is called Fresh Vintage and the dies were designed to be used with paper and lots of other materials. I’m talking recycled cereal boxes, tissue paper, vinyl scraps, leather, fun foam, coffee filters, glitter chipboard, felt, fleece, bubble wrap, you name it. Here’s pic of one of the new ScoreBoards- a vintage suitcase that can be used to hold treasures, jewelry, a small gift or whatever you decide. The dies will be shipping in May.  Will try to post from the show!

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!

How to make Guest Towel Cupcakes

Happy New Year everyone! Just wanted to share the instructions for the Guest Towel Cupcakes that I demo’d on Cool2Craft yesterday.  This was a quick and easy five minute project idea that I got from my super creative friend, Jonathan Fong.

You will need:
Sizzix Big Shot die cutting machine
Sizzix ScoreBoards XL Die – Cupcake Holder, Ruffle by Eileen Hull
6″ x 13″ piece of matboard
double sided tape

washcloth
Instructions:
  1. Die cut matboard cupcake. Decorate if desired. Fold cupcake on score lines and adhere ends with strong adhesive. Save the remaining die pieces for another project.
  2. Lay a washcloth down in front of you with a point facing you. Fold into a triangle. Starting with the wide side, start folding over about every inch or so toward the small end.
  3. Turn the strip toward you and roll it up. Secure with a rubber band. Push up the middle of the cupcake into a dome shape.
  4. Place washcloth into cupcake holder. You are done!
NOTE: You can also cut the cupcakes from paper. Wouldn’t these be cute cut from patterned papers that match the colors of the event or room where they will be displayed?
View previous post here to see cupcakes and upcycled cupcake stand. Why not make a batch? Use as favors for wedding or baby showers, for a special gathering celebrated in your home or just for fun for you and your family! This cupcake die is so versatile- many uses for it make this a great investment.

Games Night 1-1-11

Wish you could smell this! It just says “holiday” to me… I packaged up a few batches and gave them to my neighbors last week.

I can’t wait to have all my kids together. It’s the first time since last New Year’s Eve that all four of them will be here with us. Somehow I thought it would be easier to gather everyone when they were older but now they have jobs, classes, and trips of their own.

For the past eight years on New Year’s weekend, we hold a big gathering out in the barn called Games Night. Friends and family travel from miles around to make sure they don’t miss one. A potluck dinner starts the night off usually consisting hearty fare and yummy desserts. Then the games begin. The crowd forms into eight teams and settles down to play Spoons, Pictionary, Taboo and one other (we throw a new one in to keep them on their toes). It’s pretty cold oout (typo that looks like I am trying to be Canadian!) there because the barn is 100 years old and not insulated. But for the past few years my husband has rented a huge industrial heater. This year he called a little late and the one we got last time had been reserved by the University of Maryland for a football game (is this thing heating the stadium?) so we had to get the next size up! I will post a pic of this. I am hoping there will be room to fit the people! We play four rounds of games and at the end, the winning team is awarded prizes.

The really fun thing about Games Night is the mixture of people that attend. We invite people we know from all areas of our life- neighbors, people from church, work, Rotary, book club, military, choir, the kid’s friends, etc. and somehow at the end of the night, everyone feels like they know each other. We are so blessed with great kids, family and friends. Wishing a healthy and happy New Year to all of you. Thanks for stopping by!

Triple Play Blog Hop- Week 7: Treat Toppers

Welcome to our last round of the Triple Play Blog Hop! At this time I personally want to thank all of you, designers and readers, for hopping along with us on our 7 week journey. It has been totally amazing to see the beautiful and creative projects that everyone shared and I hope they have inspired you to try out some of the techniques and ideas presented for inspiration!
And on to the project for this week- the ScoreBoard Treat Toppers die. The holidays is a great time to use these toppers to wrap half a dozen cookies for yet another cookie exchange, for jewelry and small gift presentations, handmade crafts or candy and other baked goods… you see where I am going here- lots of possibilities. The die is loaded with pieces that all work together so it’s a great value that you will use over and over again. Although this die is designed to work with matboard, you can easily run through paper as well and just fold in half! This is a great way to use up your paper scraps and make adorable packaging.

I used Stephanie Barnard’s stamps on this project and loved how they fit so perfectly on the different pieces. It was as though they were made for this die! Thanks Stephanie- I know you planned it that way! And I don’t know about you, but I love to color. The stamps lent themselves to some fun coloring with Copic markers and these I owe to Colleen Schaan, the Copic Queen, and another one of our blog hoppers!

You will need:
Big Shot die cutting machine
Treat Toppers ScoreBoard die by Eileen Hull
Little Sizzles matboard pack 6″ x 13″
Notebook Pocket ScoreBoard die by Eileen Hull
House ScoreBoard Pro die by Eileen Hull
Holly4Christmas set #14- Stamps of Life by Stephanie Barnard
Memento stamp pad- black
Copic Markers– assorted reds, greens and grays
silver marker
silver stamp pad
paper
coordinating glitter paper
silver glitter
glue pen
Tiny Attacher

Instructions for Toppers:

  1. Cut Treat Topper die from cream matboard piece with Big Shot. 
  2. Stamp messages on scored pieces of the die with black Memento ink.
  3. Color images with Copic markers shading as you go to give depth to the text or design.
  4. Add embellishments, such as bells and ribbons to complete design.
  5. Package gift items in clear cellophane bags.
  6. Staple or tape bags together.
  7. Add toppers by taping, tying with ribbons or stapling sides together.

HINT: Tim Holtz’s Tiny Attacher works great for stapling layers together.

For gift card holder:

  1. Cut red matboard piece 9″ x 4″. Score at 4″ on red side. Fold up.
  2. Cut a piece of coordinating paper the same size and adhere it to the white side of the matboard.
  3. Cut a pocket from paper to hold gift card and adhere to inside of folder. 
  4. Cut/punch various embellishment dies to coordinate. (I used MS snowflakes, bird, EK Success tree, 2 circles for snowman, and Plaid white HD paint for snow along with some stickles to add sparkle)
  5. Cut front bumpout section for the House die and use as front porch and door. Add strips cut from glitter paper for roof and add faux snow.
  6. Add bells on jump ring tied to ribbon on top of roof.


For bag of spices:

  1. Stamp topper and color in with Copics.
  2. Use double sided tape to adhere front and back of topper to cellophane bag.
  3. Thread ribbon through slits and tie on corner.
  4. Cover oval die cut with paper.
  5. Layer smaller scalloped oval piece on top and label contents. Ink edges.
  6. Adhere to outside of bag.


For bag of bells:

  1. Stamp topper and color with Copics.
  2. Run double sided tape on front and back inside of topper.
  3. Cut about 10 inches of ribbon and lay on fold inside.
  4. Center and press toppers closed into place on top of bag.
  5. Tie ribbon in middle and hang from tree!


But wait, there’s MORE… I have saved the best news for last! Karen, Brenda and I have so much fun on this hop, we have decided to keep it going by launching our own Triple Play blog! Here you will find new projects, guest bloggers, tips and techniques for using our dies along with some great videos, color hints and some sneak peeks here and there of upcoming releases!  Keep the inspiration going- stop by and leave us a comment or two and check back frequently for new posts. We are also on Facebook– please “like” us and let us know what you thought of the hop. 🙂 We would love to see any pics of projects you have created using our products so send them on in or post them on our FB page.

Thanks so much, my friends. It has been a blast. Warm wishes for a wonderful holiday season to all of you!

I love Noodles & Company!

So last night when my husband got home from work, I asked the usual, “What would you like for dinner?” (note- this does not mean he will GET it, my asking is merely an acknowledgement that at some point there will BE dinner). My favorite nights are when he says (as he did last night) “China King”. I have been doing some serious cleaning out/rearranging of my studio for the past few days,so was quite happy to get out of here for a nice meal. So we set off for China King….

As we pulled in to the parking lot we noticed that there was a new Noodles and Company. It’s a chain but not sure if it’s just in the local area or what. You can probably imagine the menu selection- every ethnic noodle you can think of. So we decided to go there instead. We walked in and noticed that everyone in the place had the same thing on. No one was sitting down eating either. I asked the nearest black shirted employee if we could have dinner there and she said no, that they weren’t open officially till next Thursday but if we were interested she would be happy to give us a nice hot bag of food! Apparently it was a carry-out training session so they had a supply of food and no one to eat it. We happily took the food and thanked them. As we were leaving, they came running out with dessert! Rice Krispy treats and 2 giant cookies. What a fun thing! We sat out in the car and ate this tasty meal of tomato soup (you have to try this!) and Thai chicken and noodles.

Wouldn’t it be nice if more people did stuff like this? Speaking of giving stuff away, St@rlight is the winner of the Texture Boutique machine donated by Sizzix for commenting on the last blog hop. Congrats- please email me with your mailing addy- EileenHull@aol.com.