Eileen Hull

Three dimensional art... with heart

LIVE from CHA

CHA is the Craft and Hobby Association Trade Show, which is held twice a year. This is where you will see all of the new craft products coming out, learn how to use it and where to get it! The Winter Show starts on January 28 and goes till February 1.
Charity Wings is an organization that donates money or supplies to different charities. LIVE from CHA is a live event where you can watch streaming video from the show and complete a progressive 6″ x 6″ mini book/art journal with amazing manufacturers and designers. When you sign up, a kit will be mailed to you so you can be crafting along with the attendees! How cool is that?
I am honored to have been invited to be a guest on the show. AND Elena gave me ONE TICKET to the event to give away! This gift bag is full of crafty goodness worth over $50! You will also have the chance to win other great raffle prizes over the course of the show.
HOW TO ENTER:
You have until Thursday January 19. Do one of the following three things…
1. Tweet a link to this blog post on Twitter with @EileenHull in the post or…
2. Leaving a comment on my BLOG.
3. Leaving a comment on my Facebook Page.
The winner of the ticket will be announced here on my blog on Friday, January 20, 2012. Here are links to other designers that are giving away tickets this week:
Good Luck everyone!
If you’ll be at the show and feel like putting your dance moves to good use, 
She’s Crafty and Charity Wings are sponsoring a Craft Flash Mob! Anyone 
can participate if you are interested make sure to check it out.
If you want a good laugh, stand next to me 🙂

Categories:
CHA

CHA Sizzix Sneak Peek

Hi everyone- I am very excited! I get to give you a peek at my newest line of Sizzix dies being released at at CHA in a couple of weeks! I have been holed up in my studio all week making samples and just love what’s happening here.

First of all, I am working with papers from Creative Imaginations in the IOD line called Devotion. They are just beautiful. The only thing I don’t like is when I have to pick which side to use because I really like all of them! That almost never happens with double sided paper. 
OK so here’s a look at the new Bigz Borders & Hydrangeas…. 
some Sizzlit Swirls…
… and the XL ScoreBoard Box with Lid, Cake Slice. …
I can think of so many ways to use these! What a fun party favor for any occasion where cake is served. You could even coordinate them with the colors/papers from the event. Stop by the Sizzix booth for a demo!
I think these dies are a lot of fun and hope you will too. OK, back to work!

Punch needle

It’s the Designer Crafts Connection monthly posting day! Make sure to stop by all of the designer’s blogs for a look at some great projects. Click on the blue button on the sidebar for a look. The topic today is journaling but my crafty adventures took me in a different direction. I have always loved stitching and last week I discovered a new craft (to me, anyway).


I went to Michael’s the other day with my daughter. She was looking for a cross stitch sampler design that she could work on for her baby due in June. Being the helpful mother I am, I was diligently rooting through all of the books and kits that I thought Jess might like. I happened to come across a book on Punch Needle Embroidery. The projects fascinated me but the technique sounded fairly simple to do. After combing three aisles looking for a the required punch needle tool, I came up empty handed… so I came home and found supplies on line and ordered a kit and tools.

It arrived on Friday and by Saturday night I had finished it. It’s addicting. Here’s a pic of my first project (which I did when I was supposed to be making samples for CHA). There are some mistakes but overall I love the colors and fun bumpy texture of it. And no, you may not see the back of it!

I meet with a group of creative friends every month including Pat Sloan (I was a guest on her radio show and we discovered we live in the same town. She generously invited me into the group!), Patty Symkowitz, Amy Powers, Lorine Mason and Ann Weber (who are the bloggers in the group- hi guys!) along with a dozen or so other amazingly talented women. We grab tables at Wegman’s and check out everyone’s Show and Tell, catch up with each other, laugh a lot, quilt, sew and stitch. I’m happy I will have handwork to bring with me!

Now to figure out how to finish it... any suggestions?

Monogrammed Mirror

Happy New Year everyone! We had a great break and now I am getting back to work. Lots to do before I leave for CHA.

My youngest has gotten a real job! Soon she will be moving out on her own 🙁 I decided to make her something for her new place. She loves bling- her screen name has been Glttergirl since she was in middle school.

You will need:

one clean 12″ x 12″ mirror tile 
frosted contact paper
flat Swarovski crystals in 3 sizes
craft knife
transparency sheet
Copic markers
12″ x 12″ frame without glass

  1. Go to the Duetica site and create your monogram. (mine was sized at 215 pts) 
  2. Import the letter to Illustrator. Highlight letter and click Type> Create outlines. Print sheet.
  3. Place transparency sheet over printed paper. Cut a piece of frosted contact paper about 5″ x 5″. Remove backing and adhere to transparency sheet, lining up with letter printout. 
  4. Run transparency and contact paper through printer.
  5. Cut out letter with craft knife. Do not cut through the transparency, just the contact paper. When letter is all cut out, remove the background contact paper. Letter will remain. Carefully peel from transparency and place in position on mirror tile.
  6. If desired, color in letter with Copic markers.
  7. Add Swarovski crystals to letter if desired. Adhere crystals with Zip Dry glue.
  8. Place in frame and hang!

Another (and much easier) option would be to cut the letter from vinyl on your Sizzix eClips machine. Unfortunately, I had some technical problems and was not able to do it. Instead of crystals, you could substitute with dots of Stickles.

Once you cut the letter, this project goes really quickly. I love how it turned out and hope Maryanne will too! 

Recycled Zip Drive Cases

My husband was going through a bunch of his computer stuff the other day. What a mess! I thought the shredder was going to explode. But I happened to spy some cute little cases in the trash which I snuck out.

We usually give gift cards to my nieces and nephews for Christmas so I thought these were the perfect size to doctor up and give them in. I decided to use an old book of sheet music as the background paper. 

  1. Use the insert that came with the case as a template, cut pieces of sheet music to size and score folds on a scoring tool
  2. Cut a piece of foamboard to fit exactly inside the case.
  3. Decorate foamboard and sheet music with stamps.
  4. Add double sided tape to the back of the gift card and place on foamboard.
  5. Insert into case- you are done!
  6. I added a label designed and printed on the computer. 

You could also use ribbon and lots of other embellishments to pretty this up. My time is tight right now so I went simple. You could also use old CD cases in the same way.

I am flying to Miami on Friday to drive back to VA Saturday with my newly expectant daughter, her puppy and bunny. Woohoo, road trip! Merry Christmas everyone!

New Noodle Queen!

I know you all have been waiting with bated breath to hear who won the Noodle Contest… you can go to this post to see all of the projects.


(drumroll) And now for the winner…. It’s Kathryn, who received the most votes for her noodle portrait of Amy Winehouse! So congrats, your bag of goodies from Noodles and Company was sent out yesterday! I asked Kathryn to give us a little background on how she put this project together and here’s what she said:

The hair is made out of Ramen noodles. Use the kind that comes in a bag, not the cup. The bag noodles work better. The face is just made out of Tabasco sauce. You can make a similar piece of artwork with any person or character. You can also use the ramen for a person with a lot of facial hair (beard, mustache, etc.). The hardest part is to paint the plate with Tabasco sauce to make sure it looks like the intended person.


This is a very cool project but involves drawing skills which I lack. Maybe if I had a photo taped below and worked on a clear plate, I might be able to trace the main features though…hmmm. Might have to try that.


Remember I told you that I made an appointment at Noodles and Company to try the Grown Up Mac? Well, we go on Friday at 12. Looks like Hayward (my husband) and Ray (Hayward's 91 yo stepdad who lives with us) will be joining me for lunch. I'll let you know how that goes.


I apologize- not sure what is up with Blogger tonight but the spacing is all weird. Too tired to fiddle with it tonight! It has been a frustrating day and I need to calm down with a good book. Night everyone!