Eileen Hull

Barn Sale Update

10 Nov

On Veteran’s Day weekend for the past 10 years, I have held the Barn Sale, a two day boutique featuring handmade crafts including iron work, wood, fabric, paper, glass, pottery, needle arts, jewelry, baked goods, (you name it- in ten years we have seen it all!) which is set up in the 100 year old barn located on our property. Each year’s offerings are slightly different and definitely always interesting! We have a very loyal and generous following and the show is enjoyed by vendors and shoppers alike. The atmosphere is relaxed as friends chat over steaming cider and cookies and kids run around playing in the leaves. We usually do a collection for our local food pantry and last year brought 26 full bags of groceries to the church.

This year, life has taken a different turn and unfortunately, I am not able to do the show as I have in the past. See last year‘s announcement, sneak peeks and show.

However, there is a Plan B! Watch this quick video to see what’s up:

I look concerned in this picture (thanks YouTube!) but all is well!

Interesting trivia- I am told they post the image exactly in the middle of the clip.

If you would like to receive the Barn Sale updates, sign up for my newsletter located on the sidebar. First one going out Friday, that’s 11/11/11!

Don’t forget to thank a veteran!

Sizzix Linky Party

7 Nov

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

3 Nov

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.

Tear 16 pages from a vintage book and run through Big Shot using Petal Power die.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Adhere coffee filters in a ring around the backing circle using double sided tape or glue gun.
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.
Add a ribbon hanger and bow in the center of the wreath.
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

1 Nov

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.

Cut one divider piece and 2 pockets from aqua mat board.
Following instructions on package, assemble caddy adding pockets to front and back of divider. Cover divider with ledger paper on back side.
Color leaves and flowers with Copic markers, blending for depth. Add pearl bling to centers of flowers. Adhere to front pocket of box.
Add a scoop of Perfect Pearls to a mister spray bottle. Spray mixture all over finished box. Let dry.
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..
Emboss flap with Textured Impression folder. Add magnet closures.
Wrap twine three times around outside of caddy and tie in a bow.
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.

Sizzix Fresh Vintage: Flower, 3D #2

27 Oct

Welcome back to yet another idea-packed Fresh Vintage blog hop! Today the fabulous designers will be working with the Flowers, 3D #2 die to create their projects. Wait until you see all of the ways they have used this die!

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 all the projects. To see projects that have already been posted, visit the page above titled “Sizzix Blog Hops”. For a chance to win this die, answer the question about today’s hop on the Oh My Crafts blog today.

You may be thinking this is just another flower die. Well, it is… but it has four separate flowers it! And you can make large or small flowers depending on where you place your paper. For complete instructions, head over to the Sizzix site where you can download a pdf instruction sheet and tips for assembling the flowers.

And now, let’s see what the designers have done with the die:

I love working with crepe paper and was very excited to find it sold at my local AC Moore store in the gift wrap section. I made a bouquet of flowers using the different flowers on the die.

DESIGNER TIP: Use masking tape on the die to show where to place your paper for the corner circle flowers. I like using materials with a little “give” so the petals fold naturally- fabric works great, as well as felt, fleece, coffee filters, and tissue paper. Bamboo skewers and lollipop sticks work great for stems as do pipe cleaners and wire.

Flower #1:

Cut 8 squares of crepe paper (or whatever you would like to use) for your flower. Fold them into quarters and place the folds toward the corner that is not getting cut. You can fold 4-6 pieces and cut at once.
Take a 1″ STYROFOAM ball and place it at the end of a skewer. Coat with spray adhesive, then sprinkle colored glitter on top.
Layer the stacks of flowers and punch a hole in the middle. Insert a brad and hot glue the glittered ball inside the flower. Add stem to back by inserting into styrofoam ball.

Flower #2

Cut 8 squares of crepe paper as mentioned above.
Poke a very small hole in the base of the fold, thread petals with floss, twine, thin wire or pipe cleaner and gather petals together.
Attach to base of skewer with glue or wire.

Flower #3:

Cut a stack of the smallest flowers (in the center of the die). Punch a very small hole in the middle of the stack.
Insert thin floral wire into center of flower and add a pearl bead. Hot glue in place.
Wrap stems into one, staggering flowers. Add a leaves to the stem if desired.

Flower #4
Happy Accident #517- When I took my crepe paper streamers down from the shelf, I saw they had been bleached randomly by the nearby fluorescent lights. I couldn’t have done that if I tried! I am setting them right back there for more cool bleaching when I put them away 🙂

Using the fringed section of the die, tear a strip of from a roll of crepe paper about 30″ long. Fold up until you have a piece that fits inside the edges of the die.
Run through Big Shot.
Add 1″ of tacky tape to the end of a skewer.
Keeping section folded, wrap around skewer and secure the end with floral tape.
Fluff! Add leaves if desired.

BONUS: FELT FRINGED LOOP FLOWER

This is a great topper for a gift and is nice and full when cut from wool felt. You could also use on a headband or pin.

Cut 4 pieces of wool felt about 4″ x 12″. Fold in half lengthwise and then into thirds so you have a piece 2″ x 4″.
Lay felt on top of die with folds inside the cutting lines of fringe.
Run all pieces through Big Shot. Open out to 2″ x 12″.
Stitch along the raw edges with a basting stitch.
Cut a matboard circle about 2″. Apply double sided tape to one side.
Start winding felt from outside, edges in, spiraling into center.
For center, coil one strip of felt around a knitting needle and stitch or glue piece to itself. Press into place!

See? Lots of ideas! What would you do with this die? What materials would you use? Thanks so much for stopping by- see you on Tuesday!

Sizzix Fresh Vintage: ScoreBoard Suitcase

25 Oct

Hi everyone and welcome to the Fresh Vintage blog hop. Today is exciting for three reasons: it’s my birthday, first post from my brand new computer and the Suitcase is one of my favorite dies!

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 all the projects. To see projects that have already been posted, visit the page above titled “Sizzix Blog Hops”. For a chance to win this die, answer the question about today’s hop on the Oh My Crafts blog today.

The Suitcase is a fun die- just the right size to fit a gift card, small piece of jewelry, ATC’s, a deck of playing cards, mini- album or hair accessories. Or it wouldn’t it make a great favor box or goody bag for a party or special occasion? You could also cut it out of patterned paper and score the folds in just a few seconds on your scoring board for a more customized look or embellish the suitcase with rubber stamps, inks, paints, ribbon straps, luggage tags, or beading. This die is really versatile. What would you put in here?

I can’t wait to see what the other designers have created for this hop! Let’s take a look:

It was so hard to choose what I wanted to do this time. I decided to make a cool vintage suitcase in black and cream using a hound’s tooth stencil from Crafter’s Workshop and then fill it with a few different things.

Cut suitcase die from mat board.
Place the stencil over the suitcase box and lid, and pounce Tuxedo Black Memento stamp ink with a foam applicator. Also stencil the small tab piece.
Ink the inside of the box and lid by randomly swiping the inked applicator over the surface. Ink both sides of the handle also.
Fold up the box and add brads to each of the four holes in the corners.
Add tacky tape to the back of the lid tab and adhere to the inside back of the suitcase.
Add tacky tape to one side of the small tab and adhere just to the edge of the front of the lid. The pressure of the tab against the inside of the suitcase will keep the box closed. Attach the handle to the suitcase with more tacky tape and you are done!
I decorated the front of the suitcase with orange velvet ribbon, a Fringed flower and a Katiedids Creative Component. I added crystals to the outside of the component and then filled with Dimensional Magic to embed the crystals. Then I added a few more drops to the center and placed an orange card stock coil into the center.
Add whatever fun things you want, add a card and you are set!