Eileen Hull

Three dimensional art... with heart

The Sock Monkey Goes Greek

I am excited to join the other members of the Designer Craft Connection on this Sock Monkey challenge!

Sponsored by When Creativity Knocks, FoxRiver, manufacturers of the Original Rockford Red Heel Socks, Rit Dye and Judikins, the challenge is to make a project using the supplies we were sent which included a pair of the famous red heeled socks from FoxRiver, Ana Arujo’s instructional DVD on how to make a sock monkey and a cute little sock monkey rubber stamp from Judikins.

The first sock monkey I ever got was a gift for our first child. It became a toy that was passed down from child to child. I lost track of it somewhere along the way in our 13 army moves. I happened to mention to my youngest daughter that I was working on a sock monkey blog hop challenge and I wondered where ours went. She said, “Oh I have it!”, ran upstairs and came down with this:

Hah! Well, how convenient! After watching Ana’s great DVD on how to assemble the monkey, I was sure I could do it, but then I started thinking… This was no ordinary sock monkey- this girl had gone to college and was even an Alpha Phi Omega fraternity brother! Perhaps I could fashion some accessories for our newfound family heirloom. 

Well, you can’t go to college without some luggage. I decided to use one of my Sizzix dies to make this monkey a custom suitcase. I carefully cut up the sock to cover the pieces of the die cut, making sure to keep the stitches all going in the same direction. It looks kind of like tweed! After assembling the suitcase, I glued on a red monogram to match the monkey’s beautiful smile. FrayCheck was added around all of the raw edges to prevent fraying. I plan on making some thank you notes using the fun Judikins stamp and store them inside the suitcase.

Now, being a college graduate and all, I figured our monkey might need a cover for her laptop. So I cut one from my Business Card die. Before I cut it out, I trimmed a piece from the other sock I had left and adhered it on top of the matboard using spray adhesive, making sure to cut with the right side to the die so that it would score properly.

Although I’m sure I could spend many hours making a mini-laptop, I am pressed for time and ask that you imagine that there is an adorable little monkey sized laptop tucked inside this case.

Her attire seemed slightly scandalous to me (kids these days!) so I made her a quick red felt skirt which I cut from my Vase die and a matching red felt flower headband from the Flower, Layers #9 die.

I had a blast working on this. And glad that our sock monkey has a great new look!

For more sock monkey fun, visit the When Creativity Knocks website for details on a contest and giveaway. To enter, go to member login and Create An Account. The entry code is Sock Monkey. Enter now until December 19 and you could win the whole Sock Monkey Kit worth over $40.00 which includes: the Videobook “Sock Monkeys Go BanAnas”, One Sewn Sock Monkey Ready to be Stuffed, One Pair of the Original Rockford Red Heeled Socks, Button Eyes, Needle, Floss and Stuffing!

Please make sure to see all of the other fun sock monkey projects by clicking on the blue DCC button on the sidebar. It will take you to all of the participating designers’ blogs. Thanks for stopping by!

Go Longwood Lancers!

Designer Days Sale!

I just got the word that my next line of dies, It’s a Wrap is shipping right now! This collection is designed to help you package small gift items in a fun, yet practical way.


And to make a good day even better, Sizzix has decided to put all of my dies on sale for 20% off today, including the BRAND NEW ONES!

As you can see, these projects on the packaging are in purple, yellow and gray… so elegant and pretty… now imagine them covered with bright holiday patterned papers! These dies are so versatile- every project can be tailored to your style! Since the XL size dies are ScoreBoards (dies designed to be used with thick materials like matboard and chipboard), you will have a nice sturdy base to work with. Another beautiful thing about matboard is how great it accepts ink, paper, distressing, stain, mist, and paint. So much fun to embellish!

I don’t know about you, but know we give a lot of gift cards for the holidays and special occasions because they are so easy to keep on hand and stick in the mail. However, they are not the most personal gift- but with a little creative thought you can customize the gift card holder to make it special. Several of the It’s a Wrap dies are designed to hold gift cards so make sure to check them out.

The Triangle Box can be assembled in under a minute! I’m not kidding- I demo’d this die at CHA and asked people to time me. It really is that quick.
There are a few ways you can put this together. If you fold the outer flaps into the middle and match holes in the flaps, you can thread ribbon through and tie it, allowing a little more depth inside the box. Depending on where you tie it, it can be a flattish 3D pocket or a deeper triangle box. I decided to make a pocket bag to hold a gift card. 

  1. Cover the front of the matboard with paper using spray adhesive.
  2. Lay matboard on the die paper side down and run through die cut machine.
  3. Bend all of the folds 180 degrees so the fibers of the board are broken. 
  4. Fold box in half and thread ribbon through the corresponding holes across from the top, making a hanger.
  5. Cut Doily from white fleece and trim about one third of it off. Adhere to top of box and cover with a length of red ombre wired ribbon tied in a bow.
  6. Add “joy” glitter embellishment (.29 for three at Ollie’s Outlet!) to label die and adhere to front of pocket.
  7. Add gift card and head off to your holiday parties!

Head on over to Where Women Create for some more great ideas for holiday crafting!

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!

eBarn Sale!

As I mentioned in this post, the Barn Sale is taking on another form this year!
Two newsletters have gone out so far featuring products created by the amazing Barn Sale vendors just for you! Each week you can view what is available and order from a selection of five specially designed products. Sign up for my newsletter on the sidebar if you’d like get the mailings.
Here what we have for sale so far:
Doorway Ornament by Lorine Mason- $18 
Can be personalized with your address!
Snowflake Ornament by Connie Cook $10 or 3 for $25
Soy Candles handmade by Teresa Balkin $12
available in 12 scents
God Bless America ornaments- $20
Hand soldered and designed by Charms & Flourish
Angelworks Mixed Media Collages by Ann Krier- small $20, large $25
Proceeds donated to charity for kinds
Kid’s Apron by Angie Colwell- $15
Handpainted Santa Slate $30 one left!
Christmas Dish Towels by Merry Stitches $8.50 
Assorted Magnets by Eileen Hull $4 each 3/$10
If you would like to order anything, please email me at EileenHull@aol.com. If you are unable to come and pick up your order in person, shipping charges will apply.
Please join us in the Barn 
1127 Devon Street, Herndon, VA
on Dec. 10th 
from 10 AM till 2 PM 
to celebrate the 
10th Anniversary of the Barn Sale!
There will also be lots of additional items for sale in our Cash and Carry area. Please take a few minutes out of your busy holiday schedule to enjoy the company of your fellow shoppers while you snack on yummy treats and hot cider in the relaxing atmosphere of the barn. List of what will be available is coming soon!
Thanks so much for being such great customers and we hope to return next year with the usual format! Please pass this info on to others that you feel might be interested. We appreciate your suport 🙂

Journey to Oz Suitcase

I was wowed by a project sent to me by Susan Tierney-Cockburn. I met Susan at CHA Winter this past January and she showed  some projects she created with my dies. One of my favorites was a house and garden she created with the Pro House die to honor the memory of her daughter Kelly who had recently passed away from breast cancer. See Kelly’s Garden in this post. Each flower was lovingly designed and crafted by hand. Susan has also written a beautiful book entitled Paper Bouquet which is available on Ellen Hutson’s site.
Here is “The Journey”. Susan used my Sizzix ScoreBoard Suitcase die, Graphic 45 papers and a ruby slipper created by Ellen Hutson. Every time I look at it, I see more details. Holy cow, this is amazing! Look at the little oil can- the teeny tiny poppies- this gorgeous ruby slipper! That paper covering Dorothy’s suitcase looks exactly like her dress in the movie!
Make sure you visit Susan’s blog where she has posted a recipe for Emerald City Brownies. More deliciousness! Here’s the story of how Susan created the project in her words.

Life is a Journey and like Dorothy, I am thankful for the friends, I’ve met along the way, who have taken this journey with me.  This concept is key when I was inspired by Eileen Hull’s “suitcase” die cut by Ellison/Sizzix and, like Dorothy and the friends she met along her way, I’ve found my way back home. These last eighteen months, after losing our daughter, Kelly to breast cancer, it’s been my friends who have given me support, helped me find love in my heart again, and shown me courage to help me continue on my journey.

One of my dearest friends, Ellen Hutson, who I’ve come to lean on considerably, has even designed a ruby slipper to complete this profound project of mine.  I’m in awe of every one of her shoe creations, but I have to say, this ruby slipper is the best ever!  It became the perfect “vessel” to show off my red poppies–the ones that put Dorothy and her companions to sleep and the symbol of my state of mine after such a great loss.
Lastly, I have to mention Graphic 45’s “Magic of Oz” paper that finishes the project.  The gingham design for Dorothy’s suitcase is a perfect match and the “cards of the characters” gives the box a familiar look to enhance the story.  However, it’s not just a story I’ve watched on television as a child based on the book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, but a greater meaning I’ve discovered watching it as an adult. 
These little suitcases can hold the most wonderful “treasures”!  And, just like my mother, I love chocolate, and always have a stash when I need some!Dorothy’s Suitcase–scared and unsure how to get home, she begins a magical journey, meeting friends who will help her along the way.
The Scarecrow’s Suitcase–he thinks he lacks a brain, but his common sense helps guide and develop a plan to save Dorothy in their quest to reach the Wizard and return home to Auntie Em and Uncle Henry in Kansas.
The Cowardly Lion–a sweet character, afraid of his own shadow until his friends need him.  He has the courage to help Dorothy in her most perilous situations.
The Tin Man–probably my favorite, who longs for a heart from the Wizard.  However, he has the biggest heart of all and puts his friends first when they need him.
I hope you all think about the friends in your life that you take with you on Life’s Journey when you look at this project–I know I do.
I love how Susan shares her process with us and makes this an experience rather than a craft project. Thanks so much Susan and Ellen- this is a touching account and exquisite workmanship.
Susan sent me some great photos of the individual pieces which, due to technical ineptitude on my part, I am unable to share with you. I recently made the switch from PC to Mac and am having trouble doing what should be basic operations, like pasting in a photo! Please tell me someday it will come to me… in the meantime head on over to her blog to read more!