Showing posts with label #PaperTrail. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #PaperTrail. Show all posts

Saturday, 19 July 2014

Summer Happenings




I hope you all have been enjoying your summers! I am back from my #PaperTrail Tour teaching crafts from my vintage camper. Read about my teaching travels on my blog here.

It was so much fun I am now gearing up for the next one. Here's my feature in Where Women Create! Road trip!


I leave on September 2 for TWO MONTHS. There are all kinds of fun events planned along the way, including stops to teach in stores, visiting craft celebrities and I'll be teaching private classes too. Scotty is being set up as a Pop-Up Trailer Shop as we speak, and will be loaded up with dies and vintage embellishments. I can't wait and am so blessed to be able to take the time to do this. I hope you will follow along on my Facebook page and blog where I will be posting pics and videos.

My Inspiration Team has been going to town creating beautiful projects while I have been on the road. Please hop on over to my blog on Tuesdays to see the latest designs from them- I promise it is worth the trip! Each month we have a theme for our Art With Heart Challenge. For July it is Red, White and Beautiful. You are invited to play along and post your latest creations- there's a fun prize involved too!
Here are a few inspirational peeks...


Visit Shelly's blog for a great tutorial on how to construct this amazing Garden Tote.


Michelle Zerull shows how to make a cool Mail Box.


Anna-Karin Evaldsson created a summer album- love it! 
Rina Gonzales makes a cool summer banner from the Canning Jar die.


Here's a fun patriotic block from Tracy Evans.

A flower arrangement by Donna Budzynski makes a great patriotic centerpiece!

On Thursdays we have new projects posted on The Artists on the Block site where artists from all over the world are taking the Sizzix 3" Block/Cube/Bank die to the next level- exploring new techniques and combining the blocks to make storage pieces- so inspiring!

Pam Bray created this beautiful block for her son's wedding. So many flowers and all handmade!


Next time I will share more Team ATB photos. Keep on crafting...

Saturday, 24 May 2014

Art Journal and More


Life has been crazy for me lately and I apologize for missing a few posts. My daughter got married at the end of April and the day before the wedding I broke my ankle!


Thankfully it is almost good as new. That is lucky because on June 3, I leave on the #PaperTrail, a month long teaching trip throughout the country in Scotty, my vintage camper.


I invite you to follow the trip with me on my blog. I will be teaching classes in scrapbook stores, attending events like the Country Living Show and a big stamp show, meeting up with crafty celebrities and seeing the country. I can't wait! Just check my blog for updates or follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to see where we are and what is happening.

My project today is an Art Journal made using the Mini-Album from the Cherished collection.


Although the packaging for this collection is decorated in the baby theme, the dies are very versatile. The Mini Album has been one of my favorites to work with lately. There is a metal opening built into the die that you can use with Movers and Shapers dies to cut windows in the cover of the album. This is a ScoreBoards die that is designed to cut and score thick material like matboard or chipboard- or any material up to 1/16" thick that you can cut with scissors. It always surprises people to know that you can run matboard through the Big Shot with embossing folders.



For this project, I cut two windows in the Album cover and then embossed the die cut squares with the Animal Print folder. I used the Gelli plate and my new ColorBox Blends inks from Clearsnap to ink the cover and pages of the mini-album Art Journal.



I also used Stencils from StencilGirl and embossing paste from Wendy Vecchi to get some dimension on the pages. I also free handed text on the pages and added some photos of our family. There is a special technique I use to bind the pages really quickly. I like this method because in addition to being fast and easy, the pages of the book lay flat when you are writing in them.

And now, here are some of the projects the Eileen Hull Inspiration Team has created in the past month. They blow me away!

The Inspiration Team Coordinator, Amy Bowerman, of Plucking Daisies has this thing about gnomes! Read about it on her blog...


 I love this soft and shabby Caddy by Melissa Phillips. I also love what she says about hope. See the post on her blog here...


 Beth Watson has made a chandelier of hydrangeas. Wow- very cool. Check out her post here.


These are just a few of the amazing projects featured on my blog by this super-talented team of designers. Check every Tuesday to see what the Inspiration Team is up to and on Thursdays you will see posts from Team ATB (Artist Trading Blocks). They have been stepping up the game so high I can't imagine how they will keep outdoing themselves, but they do! For more out of the box projects and lots of inspiration visit The Artists on the Block.

Thanks for coming by and I hope to see you on the #PaperTrail!

Saturday, 15 March 2014

DIY Wedding Favor Boxes


Wedding bells are ringing! My daughter is getting married in six weeks! The replies are starting to come in and Pam and I are gearing up to start making the wedding favor boxes. 

I happen to have a few Sizzix boxes for her to choose from :-). She decided that she would like to give Jordan almonds in a little net bag. This is the same favor that my mother gave at her wedding many years ago!

 

The almonds will be packaged in the 2" square box from the Blocks/Cubes ScoreBoard die. (I haven't bought them yet- afraid I will snitch them)


These blocks above are decorated in a Baby theme but they can easily be changed to accommodate any style- the block are a blank canvas to decorate! By adding paper, embellishments and trims, you can make boxes for any occasion.

The colors in Pam's wedding are white, aqua and violet. Her invitations are thick white cardstock that are embossed with the new Polka Dot and Starflower folders and then lightly inked over in aqua to show off the embossing. The boxes will match that theme.

You will need:
 
  1. Die cut boxes from white matboard. You will need to cut 2 strips to make one box. 
  2. Place strip in embossing folder and run through Big Shot. You will notice that it takes a little more effort to roll this through but it works fine. The matboard is thicker than paper so there is a bit more resistance.
  3. Lightly ink over embossing in aqua.
  4. Add 2" black and white photo to top of box. (*I used a product called Craft Attitude which is a film that you can print on, trim and glue directly to the box and it looks like the image is printed right on the surface- cool stuff!) 
  5. Add double sided tape to three of the four tabs. Remove the release paper and assemble box, leaving the top flap without adhesive to open and close the box. Here's a video of the Square Box being assembled- same idea for this one.
  6. Add almonds to box!
And now for some more great news... drumroll please! The Eileen Hull Inspiration Team has been announced! 

Meet the Eileen Hull Inspiration Team! | Eileenhull.com #lovesizzix

I can't believe how much talent we have in this group! Check out my blog to see a bio of each designer and links to their sites. Every month we will have an Art With Heart Challenge with a certain theme. You are invited to post your creations along with the team. At the end of the month, someone will win a prize package.

Many thanks to my Inspiration Team Coordinator, Amy Bowerman of Plucking Daisies for making this all happen. I am looking forward to seeing what these amazing designers create!

Please LIKE my Facebook page. That's where I will be posting my travels. In two weeks, I am headed off in my vintage camper for Phase 1 of the #PaperTrail, a teaching extravaganza. The camper is my mobile studio and will be crafting my way around the US. Stay tuned for updates on my blog! Yes, I know it's right before the wedding- it's just how things worked out... 

Thanks for stopping by...I think life is about to get a little crazy!