Eileen Hull

Three dimensional art... with heart

Craft Therapy Night

The more I hear about Cre8time, the more I believe in the mission- which very simply is to take 8 minutes a day out of your life to create.

You might think this is a given, considering that I basically create for a living. But sometimes the life of a designer is anything but that. In order to run a business, you still have to deal with things like taxes, paperwork, phone calls and the never-ending email. So although I am happy about the fact that business is booming, I have not taken the time this past week to refresh myself by just sitting down and enjoying the process of creating. And I was getting kind of cranky. Ask my husband…
So last night I had to come up with a project for the Sizzix UK blog where I post every other week. I decided that the time had come to let the pressure of the week melt away. I sat down with a pile of stuff and went to town. Boy did I have fun! Made a giant mess, watched some Golden Girls and just… created. And I really like what came out of it.

I took some dictionary pages (the A’s) and found words that I aspire to with their definition and just cut and pasted them on ATC cards. This size is so cute and quick and great for using up scraps. The ATC Box die I designed for Sizzix can hold about 2-3 cards depending on how puffy you make them.

There are other pics on the Sizzix UK blog too…

Don’t forget to take the time for yourself to renew your soul. 8 minutes a day- you can do it. What are the challenges that hold you back from cre8ting?

Big Picture Classes Giveaway!

Why is this year’s September so busy? It has been the craziest month ever! But September is almost over and that means the class I have been waiting for is almost here…
 
I am so excited to share this opportunity with you! My talented and sweet friend Amy Powers, publisher of the beautiful on-line magazine, Inspired Ideas, is about to start teaching her new twelve week class with Big Picture Classes. 
 
Amy’s class is called Craft Happy and I am all signed up and ready to go! It starts next week on Thursday, October 3. One of the things I am most excited to learn is how to make a stop motion video. Amy has all kinds of fun projects lined up for us plus videos and live chats. 
 
Lucky for you all, she has given me a FREE TICKET to her class to be won by a random reader. (See? I told you she was nice!). Just leave a comment under this post telling what craft that makes you most happy and you will be entered to win! 
 
This class costs $99 so whoever wins is lucky! And even if you don’t win, I hope you will sign up and join me and Amy for the next 12 weeks!
 
Leave your comments now! Someone is going to win this- why not you?

Welcome Scotty!

I might be crazy… but this weekend I bought a vintage camper that I have big dreams for.

 
I grew up in NY the oldest of six kids. My mom is an adventurer at heart and she loved nothing better than loading us all up in the family pop-up camper and setting off on a trip. I have memories of awakening at midnight with some strange man in our Country Squire station wagon backing the trailer into our campsite for Mom because she was not the best at that part of it. But she made it happen! 


We were driving home from NY a few weeks ago and saw an old vintage trailer on the road. The memories of those family camping trips came flooding back and made me smile… and think- wouldn’t it be FUN to have one of them and fix it up???


I am so blessed that I can actually do this! Our four children are raised and on their own and my husband’s stepdad who stayed with us for a year and a half is safely settled in his assisted living home. My husband is not only OK with it- he actually found the trailer on eBay for me- what a guy!

 

So here’s my new baby! It is in excellent shape for 36 years, don’t you think? There’s a little water damage on the roof, the outer paint job is faded and it’s tinier than I thought but I LOVE IT! I have plans for this baby that are so exciting I can hardly stand it but have to explore them before I spill the beans. Don’t worry- you will be the first to know!


There’s so much I want to do with it! It’s like having a little doll house to fix up. The inside is all wood (which is not in bad shape) but I plan to prime it white to start with to lighten it up. I definitely need curtains and new seat covers. They are pretty squished down after years of people sitting on them so I might add some foam cushioning on top of the original and then make a cover for all. It seems the years of collecting retro dishes, linens, and tablecloths are finally paying off- I will be able to furnish this in no time… with a couple trips to the garage, potting shed and basement, we’ll be good to go! 


Next there are the not-so-fun and expensive things that must be done- get a hitch and ramp up the towing capacity for my car so it can carry the added weight, give it a thorough cleaning, etc.


Anyway, I just wanted to share my exciting news with you all. I hope you will experience the fun of making over this trailer with me. Tomorrow I hope to share a video of it. So what do you say, are you along for the ride? 

Gelli Plate Fever

I saw a Gelli plate demo’d at an event I went to the other night and went home without it. And then kept thinking about the different things that could be done with it. Finally caved and went back and bought it. I had time to experiment the other night- just stood there and made paper using all kinds of interesting ingredients- really fun!

Here’s an album I did tonight for the Sizzix UK blog– go there for the instructions and pictures, but wanted to share just a glimpse of it here too. The flower and inside pages are made with the Gelli plate and paint.
Have a great weekend!

Crafting with Kids

Happy Grandparent’s Day to all of the grandmas, grandpas, mimis, pop pops, gigis, granddaddies, nanas, pops, or whatever name you are called by your little angels 🙂 

 
Today the Herndon Rotary Club partnered with AARP to put on the Classic Car Show on the village green. Grandparent’s Day was part of the celebration. I volunteered at the arts and crafts table because it is so much fun to watch how kids create. 


Have you heard of the cre8time movement? It’s about taking time each month, week, day to do something creative to recharge yourself. There’s a good video that describes the idea here. 


I admit it. I am partial to die cutting… so out came the Sizzix Big Shots and dies. Boy was that a blast! Those kids (and some parents!) just went to town… we had kids making butterflies and flowers, coloring them, decorating with stickers, markers, stamps and ink- some kids made boxes, until we ran out of matboard… 


Turns out we had record attendance and there were way more kids than anticipated. Luckily, we had enough paper and other supplies to allow everyone that stopped by to leave with a fun finished project. 


I am happy to report that my husband Hayward was one of the volunteers in the booth so I was able to educate him on how to operate a Big Shot (how is it possible that he does not know this after me blabbing about dies for FOUR YEARS?) Could be he was totally yanking my chain, but whatever.

Here he is, busily cutting down paper using my handy dandy 
Westcott paper trimmer before the crowds arrive.
And then they arrived… and kept arriving!

 

Bob Packard of EmbroidMe was a quick study and showed everyone how to make 3D flowers using the Trinity’s Flower die. Many thanks to ThermoWeb for the icraft tape that you donated to the cause- we used it to hold all of the flowers and boxes together! 

Did I mention it was about 90 degrees? Note to self- next time wear shorts.
 
Elsa was to our left and she was running the butterfly and card section- sorry did not get any pics of that- too busy. Hayward wound up at the bracelet station- he gets the sunburn award 🙁
 
We were right next to a portable stage and it was cool to watch them just fold it up and drive away.

Rotarians rolling an antique hearse up the bike path and across the street to the Adams-Green Funeral Home… getting their exercise.


It was a great event. But I must admit after it was over we were quite ready to pack it in and head home for naps… ahhhh.

I hope you were able to do something cre8tive this weekend! 

Crafty Sightings

Getting back in the loop after vacation has not been easy. Can’t the summer last a little longer? The weather has been in the 70’s the past few weeks… just perfect!
 
FYI, one of my husband’s dream has come true- we have a hot tub! We found a reconditioned one and have just the perfect spot for it. He has been busy getting the chemicals right, testing pH balance, regulating heat and jets, etc. Last weekend he built a little mini deck so we can get in and out without using a step ladder. I was impressed with how fast he put it together. Lucky we live right down the street from Home Depot- it was a three trip project 🙂


I was grocery shopping the other night and had to check out the Fall issue of Crafts ‘N Things. The page opened to a set of fall projects created by designer friend Melony Bradley. What a fun surprise to see her project made using my Sizzix Caddy die! Wouldn’t this be a cute teacher’s gift or a nice way to customize a birthday present? Melony always designs with recycled materials and I love that about her work. That brown paper flower is probably made with packing paper… just a guess.


Thanks to all who are working with my ScoreBoard dies- I love seeing what you do with them! 

Baby Shower Flower Wishes

Here is a pic sent to me by Lorraine Fletcher, who took the Cutting Flower Garden class that Pam Keravuori and I taught in June at Angela’s Happy Stamper. What a fun group of ladies we had that night!

Lorraine said she “made this bucket of flowers for a friend’s baby shower (it was a girl), then attached leaves and had the ladies at the shower write Bible verses on to encourage the new mum.” Lorraine is Australian- I want her accent so bad!
 
Thanks for sharing what you create with my dies- it’s so much fun to see what you do with them! 

Hanging Desk Organizer

Here’s another handy dandy desk organizer below which was originally shared in Bella Crafts Quarterly and created by Lisa Rojas. Have you seen this e-zine? Tons of projects, tips and techniques from the experts and features. Get your FREE issue here! 
Floral_Memo_Board

Lisa used my Sizzix Window Box die, Vine #2, and Clay Pot to create this pretty project. The colors are so soft and I love how she made pencils with flowers on the top- they are so easy to grab that way… and the post-it notes fit just right in the well of the windowbox… You could also tuck a photo behind the window.
Thanks for stopping by!

 

Felt and Burlap Birthday Cake

Linking up today with tatertotsandjello for one GIGANTIC link party! Go here if you want LOTS of inspiration.




I have always loved making paper cakes because it combines two of my favorite things- cake and crafts. 


 I used my Sizzix flower dies, wool felt and something I received yesterday- a box of matboard from my friend. Connie edited my first book, Matboard Magic, and now works at Crescent Cardboard. Lucky for me, Connie was cleaning out her office and asked if I would like a box of matboard samples. Um- yeah! It arrived a couple of days ago… 
Guess which one is my favorite? Yes, right there in front- burlap matboard! Wow! I really wanted to try it out right away so I decided to make a burlap cake topped with yummy felt flowers.
First I designed and created the cake, then started die cutting a bunch of flowers using my Sizzix flower dies. I had so much fun! I like to cut out each flower in several colors and then start mixing and matching shapes from different flowers and combining them so each one is unique. Once they were cut and stitched together (OK some might be glued), I started arranging the flowers on top of the cake. I also used the Borders and Hydrangeas die as borders on the cake. I really like how the nice bright colors pop on the burlap. 
 
Die cutting wool felt is one of my favorite thing these days. The felt has a nice body and holds it shape but the best thing about it is NO FRAYING! It’s also fun to add decorative stitches.
 
Finally, I arranged the flowers on top of the cake and adhered them with glue.
 
Ta-da! Turn off the lights and light the candles… 

Quick Bag Re-do

Just a quick post. Here’s a project that took 15 minutes- at most!

I found this cute bag for about $1 either at Target or Dollar Tree (it was a while ago!) I love having these bags on hand for taking a bunch of mail and packages to the post office, bringing needlework to my quilt meetings, or gathering stuff to bring to my daughter’s (she always welcomes a few boxes of her favorite cereal).

What a surprise- I happened to have fun foam in exactly the same colors of the bag! 
Here’s how: die cut three of them from Sizzix Butterfly die in yellow, orange and pink.
Arrange the solid butterflies down the bag, and add a little double stick tape on the outer part of each wing to hold them down. Then stitch them onto the bag and rub off the adhesive. That’s it!
Enjoy the rest of your summer!