Eileen Hull

Three dimensional art... with heart

Second Annual Holiday Noodle Party!

It all begin around this time last year… 

My husband and I wandered into a new Noodles & Company restaurant that happened to be doing it’s carry-out training but was not open for business yet. Although they couldn’t take our order, we were presented with a nice big bag of FREE steaming hot food, which we immediately took to our car and ate! (It was 9 PM and we were hungry!) Read about that adventure here.

Well, when I got home I was so grateful for the yummy meal, I blogged about it. The next day, I was contacted by Noodles & Company who had read my post! After some discussion, we decided to put together a fun holiday on line event: the Noodle Contest! The winner, Lynda, was crowned Noodle Queen for her beautiful holiday wreath. 

So the other day, I got an email from Noodles, (as I now call them since we are BFF’s), offering  dinner for me and a guest to try their new Grown Up Mac. I already know what kind I am getting…  Anyway, after making my reservation, I suggested that we return for year 2 of the Noodle Contest since everyone had such a good time last year.
So please join us for the the Second Annual Holiday Noodle Party starting Monday, December 12 and running through Friday, December 16.
If you are the proud owner of a holiday noodle ornament or decoration you would like to share, please blog about it and head on over here to post a photo on the Noodle linky party! This event is open to all and extended in the spirit of fun and sharing the love of crafting during this holiday season. It can be a project created by you, your child, or anyone. The only requirement is it must contain a noodle of some kind 🙂 Here’s my gift card holder from last year:

The linky party will open on December 12 and projects will be accepted until December 16. During that time, readers will be able to vote for their favorites. The creator of the winning project will receive some fun promotional goodies from Noodles & Company and I’ll also be giving away one of my Sizzix dies to a random commenter. Post early so everyone has a chance to see your work. Please share this with your social media friends! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!

Handmade Holidays

Tip Junkie handmade projects
Around this time every year, I get the itch to start making things for family and friends. Is it a reaction to all the commercials and electronics that surround us as the countdown to Christmas begins? Maybe. The act of planning a project in my head, gathering the materials, and finally, assembling the design into a pleasing finished product just soothes my soul. While I am working on the project, I am thinking of who I will give it to, where they might put it, the significance that it has of the relationship between us, and that is something you just can’t buy.

I’m not saying I don’t enjoy technology as much as the next person. I love all the cool things that you can do with it. But creating handmade items seems more in keeping with the Christmas spirit to me. So if time allows, I’m going that route this year. Are you with me?

Here’s a project that’s a lot of fun and easy to do once you get the hang of it. 
I used a candle that had a couple of dents in it- probably got it on clearance somewhere! In this case it doesn’t matter since you cover the candle with sheet music. I loved what I used- it was an old music book and had drawings of cute little kids sledding down a hill mixed in with the music.
You will need:
ModPodge matte finish
old sheet music (preferably in a winter theme)
candle
berry ring
matboard scraps
Sizzix Primitive Star die
Sizzix Big Shot
crystal glitter or Epsom salts
  1. Coat candle liberally with ModPodge. Wrap a page of sheet music around candle and smooth so there are no air pockets. Add another coat of ModPodge.
  2. Roll candle in tray of glitter or Epsom salts, making sure to cover surface well. 
  3. Use Big Shot die cutting machine and star die to cut stars from matboard. Coat stars with ModPodge and press into glitter/salts.
  4. Trim where needed. Allow to dry.
  5. Place candle base in a berry wreath and add glittery stars to the wreath. 
  6. Be careful when lighting candle and do not leave unattended. 
Thanks for stopping by. Do you plan on making gifts this year? What are you cooking up?

Give Thanks!

I really wish there was a little more time in between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Store decor seems to go from Halloween right straight to Christmas. I think Thanksgiving is getting short-changed! We should dedicate more time to giving thanks for all we have, don’t you think?

A few weeks ago, the Duetica Design Team was privy to a sneak peek at a new font soon to be released! It’s called Woodwynds and I love it! Lots of swirls and curliques. I decided to do a matted piece reminding me to give thanks every day. And who knows, I may just keep it up all year!


There are 15 versions of this font. Starting with a plain serif, each successive version contains more and more swashes as you click through Woodwynds A through P. The good thing about this system is that if it starts looking too swirly (really? is there such a thing?), you can intersperse your phrase or title with a balance of undecorated and decorated letters creating a truly unique final project that pleases your eye.
I decided to use the words, “give thanks” so I am not limited to the holiday. Here is my project and how I created it!

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  1. Decide what size you want to make your project. (I used an 8″ x 10″ frame without the glass. I triple matted the artwork using my Logan 750 Simplex mat cutter– favorite tool of all time!)
  2. The artwork was designed in Illustrator to fit in a 5″ x 7″ cutout. The text “give thanks” was added using the Woodwynds font by Duetica Lettering Arts Studio. Make sure to balance your type so that all of the swirls add value and do not distract from the message you are trying to get across. Plain and more decorated letters were alternated resulting in a fun yet still readable result. (I’m loving that “k” that descends below the line!) 
  3. In keeping with the fall theme, the message was printed on kraft paper in orange and green text. After printing the artwork, Stickles glitter glue was added on top of the letter forms to accentuate them. A fairly heavy line was applied to the larger letter strokes and then spread out to thinner areas with a toothpick.
  4. Acorns and 3D flowers were adhered with Thermoweb Zots. The flowers were die cut from fall colored cardstock using the Sizzix 3D Flower die designed by Beth Reames. The larger flower was cut from a page in a child’s Golden Book. Other accents include dimensional leaf stickers.
  5. Since the flowers added dimension to the project, a spacer from foamboard was built to bump up the matboard from the artwork. Omitting glass from the frame helps with photographing the project since there is always a glare with glass!
  6. You can use this technique for many different occasions. Quick and easy!

Valentine Coupon Book


Don’t tell my husband but he’s getting a special Valentine this year. We were looking through some old papers a few weeks ago and came across coupon books that we had given each other on our fifth anniversary, when we had two little ones and money was tight. I decided to revisit the idea and give him one this coming Valentine’s Day. Of course, in the early days, all these cool supplies and tools were not available to create with. Technology is a wonderful thing. I’m happy to share this project with the FaveCrafts viewers! Click here to see the Blog Hop

You will need:

Heart brads (Recollections)
Wired ribbon
Cream cardstock
Mat board scrap
Fleece scrap

Spray adhesive
Faux velvet
Foam strips
Strong double-sided tape

Box assembly:
  1. Run 6″ x 13″ cream mat board through the Big Shot using the Notebook Pocket ScoreBoards die.
  2. Center Textured Impressions folder at the bottom of the cut out box and run through Big Shot again. Repeat on back side.
  3. Using spray adhesive, adhere red faux velvet to a 5″ x 5″ scrap of mat board. Position Primitive Heart die on scrap and die cut with Big Shot.
  4. Cut a scrap of teal mat board to 2 1/4″ x 3 3/4″. Round corners if desired.
  5. Die-cut a small flower from fleece using the Box w/Scallop Flap & Flowers or other small flower die you happen to have. Punch a hole in heart where desired and poke a brad through the flower and secure to the heart.
  6. Use foam tape to raise heart and position on top of scrap teal rectangle.
  7. Mark and punch holes for three heart brads on side of box. Insert.
  8. Assemble the box and use double-sided tape or brads to hold together. Wrap ribbon around top of box and tie a bow. Adhere heart piece to box.

 
Coupon book:

  1. On the computer, lay out a 3″ x 5″ coupon book cover and pages, inserting desired coupon offers available. Print and trim to size. Round corners.
  2. Punch hole at top of booklet and insert brad or ribbon to keep book together. This also makes it easy to remove a page when a coupon is redeemed.
  3. Slip coupon book in Notebook Pocket box. Present to your lucky recipient and be ready to pay up! Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone!

Triple Play Blog Hop: Week 4- Thanksgiving Table Decor

On behalf of Karen, Brenda and myself, I want to wish you all a blessed holiday. Designers, we are so thankful for the chance to get to know you and appreciate all of your hard work and wonderful projects. To our viewers, your comments and feedback have been so positive thoughout this hop- thanks for supporting what we do! Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope you have a little time to relax after the turkey and pie and enjoy these fabulous projects that our guest designers have cooked up for you! It’s the Triple Play Blog Hop Thanksgiving Edition 🙂 The featured die this week is the ScoreBoard Pro die: Frame & Frame Back w/Stand by Eileen Hull.


There are so many ways to go with this die. The frames nest inside each other so there are LOTS of them! You can layer them or use separately, making this die a great value. Each of the designers received a set of pieces to construct a frame. The decoration was completely up to them. Take a spin through the blogs to see amazingly clever ideas for using this versatile frame die.

I decided to do a Thanksgiving project. Unfortunately, this holiday seems to get lost sometimes, but it’s one of my favorites. I decided to add a burst of teal to the traditional autumn colors. Not only teal, but teal GLITTER! Yummy…

You will need:
Sizzix eclips
Seasonal eclips cartridge
Big Shot Pro die cut machine
Frame & Frame Back w/Stand by Eileen Hull Pro die
autumn colored papers
glitter cardstock
wired ribbon
rickrack
foamboard
double stick tape
glue dots
spray adhesive
gold Stickles
buttons and embellishments

NOTE: If you would like to cover the matboard piece with paper, coat the back of the paper with spray adhesive and place on matboard, then run through die cut machine. The pressure of the machine will ensure that the paper will stick well to the matboard and cut all pieces exactly the same size.

Instructions for “Give Thanks”:

  1. Use eclips machine to cut “Give Thanks” sentiment from brown.
  2. Adhere patterned paper to matboard and then die cut for the back support piece. Cut frame and flowers from aqua glitter chipboard. Add 1/2″ strips of scrap foamboard under the scalloped frame as spacers to give the project dimension.
  3. Make a ribbon rose by gathering both ends of one side of wire. Wind the ribbon in a spiral around the middle piece, speading it more open as you go. Secure the last section with a glue dot or glue gun under the rose.
  4. Add other embellishments and papers as desired.
  5. Secure easel stand to back of frame with strong double sided tape.



Coaster and Wine Glass charm:

  1. Cover the 4″ piece that the flowers are punched from with patterned paper (see directions above). Normally, this piece is just thrown away. But if you cover it with paper you can make a coaster! Or a set of them…
  2. Add gold Stickles dots around the border of the coaster.
  3. If desired, add a smaller piece of cork to the bottom of the matboard.
  4. With a piece of 16 gauge colored wire, twist into a spiral and start wrapping around the stem of the glass. Add glitter flower and continue twisting wire. Make another spiral at the end.

Placecard:

  1. Cut postage stamp frame from patterned paper covered matboard and smaller square from mat scraps. Cut an easel back piece, trimming down top to accommodate smaller size.
  2. Cover front of mat scrap with brown paper and center as desired inside frame. Write name on placecard.
  3. Add flower, leaves and mini rickrack to embellish.

 

Ready to check out the rest of the projects created with the frame die? Wherever you see the Triple Play logo, click on “hop ahead” or “hop back” to bring you to the next designers’ blog where there will be another cool project waiting. At any point if you want to return to the Sizzix blog you can hit the center “Sizzix” button or just click on the logo.
Have a relaxing turkey day! Thanks for hopping by 🙂
Leave a comment below and you could win a Sizzix Textured Boutique embossing machine! You have until next Wednesday- what would you use this die for?