Eileen Hull

Three dimensional art... with heart

On Getting a Trademark…

You may have noticed on Facebook that I obtained a trademark on my logo and name! It took quite a bit of work and there was a reason that I did it. I thought you might like to know what exactly is involved and why you might want to consider it.

Disclaimer- I am not a lawyer and am giving this info simply as a person who has gone through the process!

Embossed Bird Ornaments

Just a quick post today… I wanted to share an idea that kept going through my head- I finally sat down and made it!

I die cut my Sizzix Scoreboards Bird die and wings from matboard, then ran it through the Big Shot with the Lace set embossing folder. I lightly inked the raised areas with Clearsnap ink, glued the wings on punched, two holes in the top of the bird and added a wire to hang it with.
A little birdie told me to wish you a Merry Christmas…

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! 

Stamped Mini-Album and InspiredCo ezine

I am so excited to show you what Pam Keravuori has created! She went to town with my new Craffiti Direct stamps and made a project using all three sets in one project!

I love how Pam uses materials and combines colors, don’t you?
Pam will share how-to’s next week on her blog, Pamela Jane’s Studio. This week she is busy having the roof of her garage taken off in preparation for the fabulous studio that is being added to her house!
Also, my friend Amy Powers, editor of the Inspired Ideas ezine, has published the Holiday issue! Go here to order. It is just so HAPPY- it will definitely get you in the holiday spirit and give you lots of ideas too!
Amy is also teaching a class with Big Picture Classes right now and I am enjoying it immensely (although I am not getting my assignments done- they are visions of sugarplums dancing in my head right now!)
I am blessed to live near (within lunching distance) of these two amazing artists and always look forward to sharing creative adventures with them!

Day 3 Stamp Release

I have featured one of my new Craffiti Direct stamps sets for the last two days and here is the last one. It is called Flower Sentiments and I am really excited about this set because it is so versatile! It comes with ten tiny sentiments which I will use all the time for tags and gift cards.  


The sentiments included in the set are:
  • happy birthday
  • congrats
  • thank you
  • so glad
  • hi friend
  • give thanks
  • I’m sorry
  • love you
  • best wishes
  • safe travels 

… and the words fit perfectly in the center of the flower! You can stamp up a bunch of cards and flowers, then fill in the sentiments as needed. Quick and easy! There is also a funky leaf, stem and quote stem. The stamps are available to purchase on the Craffiti Direct site.

But wait- there’s more! The flower shape fits inside some of my 3D Sizzix flower dies! If you have these Sizzix dies: Fringed Flower, Flower Layers #9, Flower Layers with Heart Petals, or Labels & Buttons, you are in luck! The Leaves die (smallest leaf) works with the leaf stamp in this set also.


Here’s a Thanksgiving card for you… 

  1. Stamp Barn Wood background in white on Desert Storm card base. Ink and blend edges in light brown. Stamp stem on card in black ink. (do not smear like I did :-()
  2. Die cut flowers and leaves from white cardstock. Stamp the flower image on top. You can get some interesting images if you stack two white flowers on top of each other, then stamp.
  4. Color flower in with markers. Die cut leaves and color.
  6. Cut an larger solid orange flower, add a glue dot in the middle, then place the smaller colored in flower on top.
  7. Assemble pieces on card and adhere with double sided tape or glue.
I can’t wait till Thanksgiving!  I am going to get out my Copic markers after we eat

dinner and just color in flowers all afternoon in every combo I like… after my nap of course! 

 
I showed you a box of tags and labels that I made using the Heart Tattoo set yesterday. I promised you a video showing how to make magic with this stamp set but decided to keep it with yesterday’s post. You can view it here.
 
Don’t forget- there are a few days left of a Rafflecopter giveaway– someone is going to win a complete set of these new stamps! It just takes a few seconds to fill it out. 


Thanks so much for following along to see what’s new with me… I hope you have a safe and blessed Thanksgiving!

Day 2 Stamp Release

Today is was 24 degrees out! I am definitely getting in the Christmas spirit… so here are some more ways to make quick and easy gift boxes and tags! 

 
The new Craffiti stamp set I am featuring today is called Heart Tattoo. I don’t have a tattoo… but if I did, I would get a pretty one like this 🙂  


These borders were so much fun to design. I like hearts but didn’t want “cute”, so I fiddled… and fiddled… and fiddled some more in Illustrator until I came out with two uncute coordinating heart patterns. They fit just right on an A-2 card. You can alternate borders in different colors to create a kind of wallpaper effect or just stamp one as the perfect accent on a card. They can also be joined and repeated as a stripe or border on a layout.


To make this project, I stamped on my Sizzix Box with Scalloped Flap (which you can find in Michael’s) and Labels & Buttons from the die with the same name. I used a watermark ink pad and some chalks to make color magically appear! I also used a permanent pen to decorate and letter the tags.

 
I used a resist chalking technique that I learned a while ago. I just love how soft it looks. When the color comes out it’s like magic. I did a video because it is something that you have to watch so I will post it on Wednesday.
 
EDIT: See the video here!
 

 

So here is the stamp of the day!
Don’t forget to take a minute and enter here to win a Rafflecopter giveaway. 


How would you use this stamp? What is your favorite type of stamp- cute, grungy, vintage, clean or graphic? I want to know what kind of stamps you are looking for… because I want to make more stamps- tell me what you want! 


Thanks for stopping by!