Eileen Hull

Sizzix ScoreBoard Blog Hop- Rectangle Box

28 Apr

Welcome everyone, to the third of five Sizzix ScoreBoard blog hops. Every two weeks, we give you a sneak peek at one of the new dies from the soon-to-be-released Celebrations collection, so you can see lots of ways it may be used. I am very grateful to the talented designers who have taken the time to work with each one and make them look so good! This week the featured die is the Rectangle Box which measures 3 3/8″ x 1 3/4″ x 1 7/8, a great size for small treasures such as jewelry, pins, a gift card, or of course, chocolate. Please hop on down the list and see what everyone has done with their boxes!

Ann Butler
Candice Windham
Carla Schauer
Cindi Bisson
Einat Kessler
Jen Goode
Julie McGuffee
Karen Burniston
Laura Bray
Lisa Rojas
Lorine Mason
Madeline Arendt
Marisa Pawelko
Melony Bradley
Michelle Cummings
Niki Meiners
Roxi Phillips
Sandy Laipply
Sparkle Studio
Veronica Goff

IF YOU LEAVE A COMMENT here or on any of the participating designers’ blogs, you may be randomly selected to win a ScoreBoard die, a $40 value. We love hearing your thoughts on what we have done- don’t be shy. On May 12, you will want to come back- we’re making cakes! Thanks for stopping by.

I heard that my friend Lisa was in the hospital last week. The funny thing is, if you met her, you would never know she constantly battles an ongoing condition. She always has a smile on her face and lives her life joyfully. I first met her a few years ago at CHA- she is a fellow designer and also a member of this hop! We all decided to go out for dinner one night. Everyone was in the mood for KFC and so about 8 of us piled in her little car and headed off for some finger lickin’ goodness. Every year we try and get together and hit our favorite spot for dinner together. So Lisa, this project is for you! Keep smiling, girlfriend…

Here’s how I made Lisa’s box.

You will need:
Sizzix Big Shot
ScoreBoard Rectangle Box die
Bigz 3D flower
ice blue matboard 6″ x 13″
old dictionary page
Krylon spray adhesive
ribbon
coordinating color paint chip
small leaf
Zip Dry Paper Glue
Melissa Frances crown
Clearsnap stamp pad
three brads

Instructions:
1. Adhere book page to matboard with spray adhesive. If you want to position words to be in a certain place, cut to fit before adhering. I used an old dictionary page with the word “friend” on it. The right side always faces down on a ScoreBoard die.
2. Assemble box. I used brads to attach the flap but you could also use ribbon or just red line tape.
3. Add embellishments. I tied a green/blue ribbon around the top of the lid and added a flower made from a Martha Stewart paint chip and glued it to a clover that was left over from a St. Patrick’s Day project. The crown was white and I rubbed it lightly with silver metallic ink for a little glitz. Had to have a crown- Lisa is the StampinQueen!
4. I used two strong magnets as closures. I put one under the flap and aligned the other one on the back side of the front panel.
5. Add get well wishes and some chocolate!

SIGN UP TODAY! Laura Bray, an artist with an M.B.A., will teach you how to create income by doing what you love. Specifically designed for the creative personality, this online course will teach you how to develop a successful business and how to have fun while you do it! Laura is one of the great designers on this blog hop and her two week long ecourse is called Multiple Streams of Income for Artists & Crafters. I am excited and honored to be part of this program and will present a segment on Product Development. The course will be held May 3-14 and cost is $32. I hope you will join us!

Hope you enjoyed our hop today. Come back on May 12 and don’t forget to comment- you could win a die!

Multiple Streams of Income Ecourse

28 Apr

Are you a crafter who would like to make money doing what you love? Laura Bray, one of the great designers on our Sizzix ScoreBoards blog hop, is offering a two week long ecourse called Multiple Streams of Income for Artists & Crafters. Learn how to increase your revenue stream by using your artwork in many ways. I am excited and honored to be part of this program and will present a segment on Product Development. This will be an on-line live chat where we’ll discuss developing a product concept and getting it to market. The course will be held May 3-14 and cost is $32. This is a great value for all of the information you’ll receive. Hope you will join us!

Also please stop by Cool2Craft on Monday, May 3 at noon EST where I’ll be announcing WHO WON the ScoreBoard die for this round of the blog hop. We’ll see several versions of the teacup, designed by my fabulous designer friends, and hear about where the ScoreBoards are going… road trip!

It’s not too late to get in on the Sizzix giveaway! Leave a comment on the Rectangle Box blog hop just below this post and you’ll be in the running to win a ScoreBoards die. Make sure you do it by 6 PM Monday May 3. Good luck!

Purse Organizer for Mom

27 Apr

Here’s my latest project posted on the Sizzix blog. I am trying to be organized and get my Mother’s Day present done and in the mail ON TIME this year! Instructions to create this using the ScoreBoards Checkbook Cover die- who says you have to make a checkbook with it? My mom is a diehard list maker. She also does a lot of traveling so now she can carry her list supplies in style when she’s on the road.

“The List” was sometimes a sore subject among us six kids when we were ready to go out and play on Saturday mornings. We knew we were not going anywhere until the work was done, but always tried to get out of it/slip outside/have an asthma attack, etc, usually to no avail. Here were some of the predictable jobs that might appear on the list: dust and straighten, vacuum, clean bathrooms or mop the floors. Even when the job was done, it had to be checked to make sure it was done PROPERLY. After having children, I came to the conclusion that list making was a great idea and incorporated the jobs into my mothering style. I found a list I made a while ago called “Summer Rules” which is hysterical now but I was quite irritated when I wrote it and there is a definite edgy tone to the manifesto. I think I had found stacks of clean folded laundry in the dirty clothes hamper and snapped.

Anyway, getting back to the project, I hope you will look beyond the product name and craft outside the box. Imagine what else it could be with a little creative thought.

Our next blog hop is coming up on Wednesday and I can’t wait to see what everyone has done. These designers never cease to amaze me!

I am in need of 2 more people to follow this blog- I have 98 and would love to have 100+. All it means to follow me is that you might check back every once in a while and see what’s new- no pressure. 🙂 I also love to hear comments so don’t be shy- take a second and say hi!

Happy Earth Day

22 Apr

I just returned from a beautiful week in Aruba and here is the view from our room. Unbelievable! The place we stayed at had a lazy river winding through the pool area where we spent many hours. We also snorkeled over a huge wrecked ship. When I put my mask in the water and saw thousands of fish right below me, I could barely catch my breath. So clear, deep, colorful and alive!

Speaking of nature, we have a fox family of eight living next door under our neighbor’s shed. I am able to see them from my garage door and run up and watch them whenever I need entertainment. The six kits are quite a handful. Each day the kits are venturing further away from home. Poor tired Mama just rolls her eyes and herds them back. They have been spotted throughout the yard, running around with chipmunk carcasses clamped between their teeth, having a great old time.

If you would like to check out some very cool recycling Earth Day type projects, visit the Craft Critique Earth Day Carnival. See if you can pick mine out… hint- it involves my favorite beverage 🙂 It makes me happy to see more people jumping on the recycling bandwagon and using their creativity to recreate new projects from old stuff. Hope you did something special to celebrate our beautiful planet today. I went to my favorite thrift store and found some cool materials to create with. Will post when I have figured out what I am doing with them.

Recycled Packaging Bookmark

20 Apr

Here’s a cute little bookmark I made from the packaging from Sizzix dies. They come in a nice acrylic box but it’s a pain to store the die in it because I am always using them. It just takes too long to put them away every time. I just store them in a divided drawer I found. Instead of setting it down as though it was a drawer, I stood it up and use it as a shelf. The dies fit PERFECTLY and I can read the labels so I know what to grab. Long story short, now I have piles of these clear boxes. I had seen a post on the Sizzix blog, where Cara (Sizzix designer/artist extraordinaire) ran it through the Textured Impressions machine and used the embossed plastic on a card. I have to admit I was surprised that it held the shape of the impression and had to try it out.

Yes indeed, worked like a charm… I used Copic markets to further accentuate the embossing and colored in green stems and pink flowers to make them stand out. The edges of the matboard were inked in green and I added rhinestones to make it pop. The corners were rounded with my trusty Corner Chomper and I adhered the plastic to the backing with a small line of double sided tape. A small hole at the top was punched and ribbon added for a quick and easy bookmark! These would so easy to do assembly line style for teachers, a party favor or your book group.

Sizzix ScoreBoard Teacup Blog Hop

14 Apr

Welcome everyone! I hope you are as excited as I am to see what the amazingly talented and creative designers have come up with for this round of the blog hop featuring the teacup die. We have also been challenged by color guru, Brenda Pinnick, to use one of the two color palettes she created for us as part of her series at Color U and incorporate them into our designs.

Hop on over to all of the other designers’ blogs and see their takes on the teacup. Leave a comment on any of them- this makes you eligible to win a ScoreBoards die!

Ann Butler/Mary Beers
Bonnie Bruns
Candice Windham
Craftside- A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world
Debra Quartermain
Einat Kessler
Jen Goode Designs
Julie McGuffee
Laura Bray
Lisa Rojas
Madeline Arendt
Marisa Pawelko
Melony Bradley
Michelle Cummings
Niki Meiners
Roann Mathias
Sandy Laipply
Veronica Goff
Sparkle’s Tea Cup

Leave a comment below and vote for your favorite project. The designer who created the project getting the most votes will win that die.

Here’s how I came up with my project… I don’t normally design with red, except around the holidays. I’m not sure why… red is a strong color and maybe I am a little afraid of it. But it was one of the colors in the challenge palette so I gave it a whirl. The problem I had was getting the white ink to cover the red background- the stamped flowers wound up looking pink because the red was showing through the white ink. I used a cool Sakura Souffle pen to bring in some dimension to the design by dotting around the flower edges. I do like the lacy look of the finished teacup and the strong contrast between the colors. Thanks Brenda, for reminding me not to be afraid of color. Red is my friend now.

To make this project, you will need:

Sizzix Big Shot
Teacup ScoreBoard die
red matboard piece 6″ x 13″
white pigment stamp pad
red stamp pad
flower stamp
Sakura Souffle pen– white
Queen & Co pearls
white rickrack
vellum
scallop border punch
red line tape

1. Cut teacup die from matboard. You will need to cut two of the teacup shapes from matboard.
2. Stamp flower three times with white ink on front of teacup. Stamp flower around the saucer shape also. Add pearls to flower centers. Outline edges of the flower petals with Souffle pen.
3. Cut several strips of vellum with scalloped punch and arrange on front of cup as seen. Ink edges of cup and saucer with red ink. Outline scalloped edges with Souffle pen.
4. Assemble teacup. On the teacup shape in back, you will have to fold the matboard against the score in toward the middle of the cup. Be careful to bend gently without breaking it off.
5. Apply lines of strong double sided tape to the sides of the teacup inside strip. Assemble the box.
6. Stamp or write message on teabag tag. Fill box as desired!

There are so many uses for this die! What would you put inside?

Thanks for stopping by the hop. Please make sure to vote for your favorite! See you in two weeks for the next one…