Paper Trail Archives - Page 2 of 4

Day 5 and 6- Paper Trail 3

15 Sep

After an exciting few days in Lake Worth at Everything Scrapbooks and Stamps, Cheryl and I left to go down and visit my daughter Jessica and her family in Pembroke Pines.

It’s always good to see the little guys- they grow so fast and learn so much in between each visit. Daniel is 2 and is into puzzles (aka guggles) and will tell you I love you at the drop of a hat… except he has a cute contraction- “Ah lou”. I tried to get a good pic of him but that guy never stops running around!

Hunter is 7 months and has the best smile and chubby little legs you just want to [Read more…]

Day 1- Paper Trail 3

4 Sep

The #Paprtrail3 is finally beginning! Scotty, (my 1976 vintage camper), Big Daddy (Ford F-150) and I will travel down the East Coast from Virginia to Florida for a week, then head out to Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. We will drive up the California coast from San Diego to San Francisco, then out through Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Ohio and finally home! [Read more…]

Getting ready for the #PaprTrail3

30 Aug

Not much happening on the blog or social media, but LOTS going on here as I leave in FIVE DAYS for my two month adventure across America! Every day, boxes are arriving- the other day there were five separate visits from UPS and FedEx! My amazing sponsors are loading me up with great products to share with those who take classes.

I had the opportunity to do a Google hangout with my friends over at Bella Crafts Quarterly. (see some peeks at the new and improved Scotty!

[Read more…]

#PaperTrail Day 19

16 Jul

Since I was staying in the Hampton Inn and there was a magnificent breakfast to be had, I went for it! Good way to start the day…

I packed up, checked out and was on my way to The Doodlebug where I was to teach the Memories Mini. This is a mini-album made with just one section of the Sizzix Shopping Bag die.

I think they all came out really great- everyone added their own special touches to make them fit the person they were giving their book to.

Meanwhile the entries for the big giveaway were growing… I could hardly take the suspense!

Then it was time for another demo- I showed everyone how to use Craft Attitude. This is a product that I like to use because it gives the illusion that you printed directly on matboard . This isn’t really possible because it’s too thick to go through the rollers. Craft Attitude is a film- you print your image on an inkjet printer, cut it out and adhere to the matboard and then peel off the release paper- very simple and easy! I made an Artist Trading Block using pics and text from my visit to the Doodlebug. I left it there so they remember me 🙂

After the demo, I started packing up to get down to Mary’s Scrapden to teach the Chunky Book at 6. I got in the truck to pull up closer to the store to load up and heard someone yelling, “Eileen Hull- don’t leave!!!” I got out and turns out they were some ladies that had come all the way from St. Louis to see me and say hi 🙂 I felt very special. Turns out they have a scrapbook store called For Keeps Sake there so maybe I will see them on my next #Papertrail journey!

After a nice visit with my new friends, I drove on down to Mary’s Scrapden and was very excited to see my friends Ken and Linda Oliver signed up for class!

We had a nice relaxed time and partway through class, my friend Kim arrived from Tulsa, OK- she drove 550 miles! Crazy girl!

I have known Kim for almost 20 years- we were stationed together at Ft. Drum, NY with little kids and got to be good friends and crafting buddies.

We made quite the mess but isn’t that what creating is all about?

Kim and I checked into another Hampton Inn (two nights in a row I lived in luxury!). We got ready for bed, and we were talking and catching up on our families and next thing I knew it was morning! Time for a new day…

#PaperTrail- Day 15

23 Jun

After a five hour sleep in Scotty, I emerged and walked ever the bridge to the restroom. I saw a large crowd of Mennonite folks gathered in line at McDonald’s, so I went into the bathroom and brushed my teeth. When I came out the line had gone down so I got some breakfast and walked back to the truck.

But when I got to where I had parked, there was no Scotty or truck!

WHAT!???

I checked the parking lot twice- just could not figure it out. Could it be that those people who told me not to sleep in the camper were right? Were there really people who had time to sit and wait till I finished sleeping and went into the bathroom, then came over and hotwired the truck and droved it away? Or had it been loaded into the back of the truck and hauled away to be resold on the black market? Many bad thoughts were going through my head as I walked in to report this to the police. I happened to see a truck driver walking in and said, “I can’t believe it but my truck has been stolen!” He said, “Where are you headed?” I said to Erie and he said he had just come through there and that I was probably on the wrong side of the highway.

Oh thank God! I was so happy I couldn’t believe it. And realized how Scotty had become my little traveling buddy. I felt like Tom Hanks and his battered volleyball Wilson…

Much relieved, I continued the 60 mile drive to Erie, PA. I spent the afternoon with my best friend since second grade, Irene.

I had to finish the video for Sizzix so she went and ran some errands. After I finally finished the video, Irene took me out to Beach 11 in Presque Isle State Park. It was huge- just like the lake- and we sat on the beach and ate sandwiches for lunch.

Then we visited a beautiful garden center where she found some flowers to fill in the garden.

At about four, I rolled on to Chardon, OH where I arrived just in time for a delicious (and healthy) meal at the home of Maureen and Kenny, my husband Hayward’s cousins. After dinner we walked the dog around the neighborhood and I retired to my beautiful guest room intending to write a blog post but instead getting a much needed night of sleep.

What I am seeing from visiting all of these kind people who take me in is that my hosting skills need serious tweaking!

Stay tuned for another chapter soon…

#PaperTrail Day 12

14 Jun

I had a call from my husband. His stepdad Ray, who was 95 and not doing well for the past few weeks, passed away a few minutes after Hayward arrived to visit him. Funny how you are always surprised when someone passes away, even when they have lived their life and are ready to go. Ray married Hayward’s mom when they were 72. She had a stroke and he took very good care of her for three years. Ray came to live with us when he was 90 for a year and a half when he started needing more help. It was always an adventure having him there and I learned a lot about aging and living with dignity. RIP Raymond Sullivan…

I will be ending my tour a little early to drive to his funeral on June 23 in NJ.

But meanwhile I am here and the show must go on…

Today I was at Beautiful Impressions for the Grand Re-Opening teaching a fun little washi (or as some people have called it -wasabi – much more fun name!) tape Recipe Book using my Sizzix Canning Jar die.

I also was very pleased to meet an amazing artist, Vin (who made the sign below)…

Mad I can’t remember his last name but am too lazy to run out to the camper to find it- who demo’d colored pencils and calligraphy. He had the whole place gathered around watching him- I learned a lot and now I want some colored pencils to play with!

Ann and I attempting to take a double selfie and not doing too well 🙂

A pic of me and the new owner of Beautiful Impressions, Mary Callan. (and Scotty of course…

Scotty took a hit and I don’t know who did it or when. I just noticed today that a light cover is off the top left part of the camper and the little metal awning over the door is pulled off on one corner. I think I would have felt that if I were in the truck which makes me think someone did it while I was parked… boo on them…

Went out in the camper to get something and snapped a picture of the pretty banner given to me by CardMonkey Jarvis on the beginning of the trip and curtains made by the lovely Lorine Mason before I left.

Stopped in Joann’s and found fleece on sale. Have ideas for a future class!

I am happy to share this Mini- Album demo from Inspiration Emporium filmed by Natasha Hensel. She has quite an impressive library of You Tube videos and I can’t wait to take a look at some of them…

OK, I know you are all waiting to hear about where I stayed for the past two days… That would be the Westbrook Inn B&B! Now I have hit the opposite end of the spectrum from the Motel 6 and Travelodge! Here are the grounds… they are dark because I hardly spent any time here and took them at night…it was quite elegant…

Working on a Sizzix video tonight and getting ready for another demo and class tomorrow…

Thanks for following me on the #PaperTrail!