2023 Favorite Projects for Eileen Hull Design Team

Hello Fans of Eileen Hull! It is the last blog post of the year which is traditionally where the teams show their favorite projects of the past 12 months. Never an easy task to just pick 3, but here we are. I will have links to 2 of the individual projects as well below. All of these wonderful dies are made by Sizzix.

1st, I have an announcement that I will be stepping down from Eileen's team. I have been on her Inspiration Team for 7 years!! It has been an honor & a privilege to design along such a wonderful group of women. Eileen, our fearless leader, is one of the kindest, most genuine & fun to be around people that I know. I have watched in amazement as she has tackled building an awesome community with her Eileen Hull Facebook Fan Club. She has had to learn so much tech along the way, all while being an amazing family leader of her kids & grand kids, as well as taking care of her aging mother. Super Woman in many ways traveling the country & building an etsy shop on top of all that!! Oh & did I mention she also designs awesome dies for Sizzix & other product lines along the way? Incredible human, & one of my all time favs, that Eileen. I wish both her & the team all the best as they continue to inspire all of us with their incredible talent. I will pop in and say hello once in awhile and you will still see me creating especially on Insta & FB. 

Here is a quick look at my 3 favorites. Below is the individual photo & blog link should you want to make one. All of them have full step by step tutorials just for fun.  

 

All right enough waxing poetic here are my 3 favorite projects of the last year, in order of dates. 1st up was in January of 2023, the snowy Frame, Pocket Journal. You can find the post here. I don't often work in purple but I should because I love it! 

 

Next up let's fast forward to September. Which for the record feels like was just last month. However time is a "big ball of wibbly wobbly time-y wimey stuff" as said brilliantly in Doctor Who. It was also time for a Nature Journal! This project was made using the aptly named Field Notes Journal. The paper is gorgeous 49th & Market.

 

Love how wide this spine is!! The rub on's for this line are divine. You can find the tutorial link here.

 

Last but not least is... drum roll please. The Ephemera Keeper! I don't have a blog post on this but it was created using the Wrap Journal. The Sunflower die is front & center. 

The inside is full of envelopes using another favorite die of mine the Journaling Card, Envelope, & Window thinlet set.  

Here is a peak at one of the envelopes. Each envelope creates space for lots of fun ephemera. The tea pot creates the closure. This paper line is also a favorite by Stamperia called Bauhaus. All the art! Well that is it for my annual round up! I hope you have enjoyed my Eileen Hull inspiration as much as I have enjoyed bringing it to you. I will see you around! Take care & remember to get inky!!

 

The Magic of Mother Nature Field Notes Journal for Eileen Hull & Sizzix

Hello Fans of Eileen Hull, today I have this awesome Field Notes Journal that is chock full of the newest Sizzix releases. This month the design teams are working on all things Fall or Halloween. Play along in the fan club- links below. This project is also chock full of my newest obsession- 49th and Market. If you haven't tried these papers, ephemera, washi, acetate, rub-on's their lines are so chock full of fabulousness! They are a makers dream.

*Affiliate- some of these companies have given me product to use, play & experiment with. The ideas are my own but I tend to work with companies whose products I like so enjoy the inspiration.  **some of these links are affiliate, I receive a small percentage from the company at no cost to you. This helps me deliver free content!

This is my journal. Just love the images! You can see the 4 brighter images are acetate, the title is a rub-on. That cute little lady bug just adds so much nature. 

Recycle That Cardboard!

I try to recycle when ever possible & the beauty of Eileen's Score Board Dies is they cut those heavier materials easily. You can of course glue the paper to the cardboard & then cut it. I find it easier to cut separately as I tend to be directionally challenged. As you can see I used a priority mail box that I had received as my cardboard. Painting the edges of the cardboard helps if your paper alignment is a bit off.

 

 

I have done many a tutorial on how to put together these journals so I will link one below if you need those steps. Today I will focus on decorating and the inside pages. Once the book was put together, a piece of canvas was adhered using Collage Medium. 

 

The best part of 49th and Market rub-on's is you can use them on fabric!!! It takes a little extra rubbing but looks fantastic. Once the spine is adhered there are actually 5 holes. I like my signatures to be chunky so decided to only have 3. After the canvas had dried I re-punched the outside & middle holes. This spine measures just over 2 1/2"! Love it. After my inside paper was adhered I added a strip of canvas there too & re-punched just those 6 holes.

 

 

Embellishments Rule!

Next up was to just decorate the cover. Again it is so easy with all the ephemera that comes in these packs. This book was made with the Vintage Artistry Nature line (links below). You can see from the cover, simply layer your pieces & glue. I also added Sizzix Effectz Liquid Gloss to the eyes of the butterfly. You can see from the top photo it just adds this nice 3D crystal effect once dry. It goes on milky then dries clear. You can also see from this photo (cover shot too) how 2 brads were added & then my elastic band was run through, stitched & made to go over the backside of the book. More on this below.

 

 

To create the closure I knew I wanted something different. Also wanted the ability to enlarge the band as my book grows. Here is a shot of the back of the book. This was accomplished by using a dress pin. The elastic band was folded and then pinned. As my book expands I can just release some of the elastic and re-pin. Of course a charm had to be added! The band was added to go behind the book leaving the ephemera on the cover free. 

 

 

 Adding a Title. 

The Magic Of Mother Nature is the perfect title for this book! It is a rub-on, again put on canvas. The edges were pulled to make them fray & distressed with a bit of water & Distress Ink. 

Time to Jazz Up the Spine.  

With the success of the rub-on's of course I needed to add some to the spine! The imagery is just gorgeous with incredible detail. Adding these after my spine was done allowed me to easily navigate the holes. There is only 1 signature at this time, this book allows the freedom to add one at a time. I simply ran my elastic through the middle of my signature (booklet) 2x & tied in the middle of the booklet.

 

More goodness on the inside cover. Love the frame from this die cut. Created this embossed pocket that has an acetate insert. Did you know rub-on's work great on acetate as well as canvas? The best part is you can create multiple peekaboo images that change as you pull tags out. 

 

 

Here is a close up of the frame. It was cut from more of the cardboard & then painted. Once completely dry, stamped images were embossed. Love, love this look. The acetate has both rub-on's & is stamped with Archival Ink. Eileen's flowers were inked, stamped & embossed. So dynamic & shiny! 

A look at the bottom layer when tags are pulled out. Other images were strategically added to peak through the window. These were cut using the Library Pocket & Card. These dies are fabulous for junk journals. Especially love adding the tabs! 

 

Inside pages

Let's look at some inside pages. 49th & Market plus Eileen"s Library Card die work so well together! I have used it here sideways, as a tuck spot. Added those cute little bird rub-on's, so fun. 

 

 

Another thing I love to use in my book is cards as pockets or flip ups. In this case a top loading pocket & a flip up. Inside is a lovely surprise, a tiny envelope with little treasures. 

Let's look at the treasures. The tickets are ephemera from the same paper line. I just love this tiny envelope, and the wee heart. Made with Eileen's Envelope, Folder & Flowers set. Note the butterfly centered in the heart die. The stamp shape is from the Snail Mail die. Pocket full of fun. 

 

This pocket was made from the Folio Pocket, a bit of inked paper, the heart from the Envelope set. Just love that simply adding a few elements to a pocket adds so much interest. 

 

 

As promised a link to book assembly plus inspiration on another great book! Same idea though, cut 2 covers add Redline tape & assemble. That is it for now. Please follow my other social media sites for more inspiration (links on the right side). Also make sure to check in weekly on Eileen's blog for the teams latest inspirations. Join the Eileen Hull Fan Club for 2x weekly live events. Get the latest scoops there! Have a great day & make sure you get inky!

Supplies:

Eileen Hull diecuts by Sizzix

•  Field Notes & Specimen Card
• Envelope, Folder & Flowers  
• Snail Mail
•  Folio Page, Pocket & Flowers 

Sizzix-  Effectz Liquid Gloss

49th and Market - Vintage Artistry Nature Study- on sale 25% right now

Tim Holtz- Loop pins, mini paper clips (love these), Tokens 

Thermoweb

• Ultrabond
• Super Tape or Redliner 1/4"

April Stamp Release for Eileen Hull with Maker Forte!

 Hello Stamping Fans of Eileen Hull! It is time for a new Maker Forte release. Always fun & the best thing is these stamps pretty much work together nicely. I am busy teaching so instead of one big project I will give you 3 ways to use Eileen's newest member of the family. As always there is a FB live release & blog hop. All the details are below.

 Here is my trio of projects. Make sure you check out the blog hop as there will be so much great inspiration. Remember if you miss the live you can always check out the replay. 

Let's break down my projects & see how versatile these babies are! You can use them for planners, journals, journal cards, junk journals... it goes on & on. Also very good for labels.

Idea #1: So we may have had family visit. I may have made Lemon Drop Moonshine for us to enjoy. Not really moonshine as it is not distilled but that was the name of the recipe. It was super tasty but only lasts 2-3 weeks in the fridge & then must be frozen. 

I made super simple labels for my delicious treat, with the best by date on them. Simply stamp with archival ink on a sticky back label, trim & adhere. I would have made fun tags but they are being popped in the freezer. Fun tags next time! 

Idea #2: How many of you have 1 million Project Life cards from back in the day? Well how about pulling them out & adding a little something, something like die cuts & labels? I can use these for journals, junk journals or hey even those Project Life albums. Love how these little die cuts just adds some pretty dimension. For reference the flower comes from Shadowbox Frame #1, the stem from Wreath & Snowflake & the house from Shadowbox Frame #2. See supply list below for links.

Idea #3: Adding the labels to the cover of a Full Size Journal Booklet.  These stamps are so fun as you can change the label frame & put different words in them. Now time for you to hop! Here is the link to Eileen's blog with a list of the team who are playing with the stamps this release. Lots of great inspiration to be had!

 

Supplies: 

• Eileen Hull Stamps by Maker Forte - Making Plans
  
• Eileen Hull die cuts by Sizzix- Shadow Box #1
• "                        "               - Shadow Box #2
• "                        "                -Wreaths & Snowflake
• Sizzix Cardstock Sheets
• 
  

December Roundup of My Eileen Hull Favorites!

Happy December, cannot believe I am saying that! This month the Eileen Hull Inspiration Team is doing a roundup of our fav projects for the year. It is always fun to go back & look at the progress a year makes. I could not narrow it down to 3 so I added in a bonus project.

Here is the roundup of my Top 4. I will post the individual pic & the link to the tutorial below. Thanks so much to Eileen for letting me be apart of this amazing group of creatives & the community she has created!!! This is truly a wonderful group of people and I feel very blessed to be apart of it.

Favorite #1: This may well be one of my all time favorites. The cork fabric is amazing & befuddles me. How can it look just like cork but fold & bend like fabric? I also love, love, love the ribbon-charm attachment on the spine. So tactile. it sounds fabulously clinky when it moves. 

Favorite #2: This wee little fabulous Travel Portfolio made from the Tiny Book Case. The photos are tiny as you can see below, using the coins for reference.  

It is a snap shot of travel through the years. It was fun to add in all the bits and pieces and ephemera.Working small was also different yet surprisingly satisfying.

Favorite #3: 

This organizer was made using the Gift Box die. I really love the junk journal feel to this. Now I just need to make more cards to put in it! 

Bonus favorite #4: 

This is an interesting one, this Gratitude journal that was made in September. I made 4 changes to the cover from the original, that is in the linked post. See if you can find them. This book was another fabric journal but made with printed napkins. Love the techniques on this book, some of my favorites. Thanks so much for joining me in my creative year roundup. It has been a crazy year for sure & art has helped to keep me slightly sane. 

 

If you want some fun inspiration the Eileen Hull Teams are here to help you create some magic in the month of December. This adventure is happening in the Eileen Hull FB Fan Club. I hope to see you there. Moving into the holiday I hope you have the chance to make some art!

Pocket Notebook Gratitude Journal with Eileen Hull

Join me today in making a Pocket Notebook, Gratitude Journal. As most of us head into an uncertain September, I thought that putting the focus on gratitude would be a good idea. With a student that is not looking forward to online school, this is the perfect project to help her find joy. I cajoled my teen into this project with an eye on her mental health. So grab a cuppa cause this is a photo heavy post!!

Gratitude Journal

The idea is to take a photo everyday of what she is grateful for. She can also use past photos. This is to encourage her to find the happiness, that for the moment might be on hold, but something that can be looked forward to returning in the future. I want my teen & myself to focus on doing what it takes to get through these insanely trying times. The Eileen Hull Inspiration team theme this month is the great outdoors so I designed my cover accordingly. 

 

Collage with Napkins

If you follow my blog you know I love making fabric covers! They are so nummy & pliable, just feel great in your hands. Another thing I love is using napkins & tissue to collage. I do a lot of that in my art journals but haven't so much on the covers of my books. This is a technique I thought my daughter would be interested in too. I simply cut 2 covers from foam adhesive using the Pocket Notebook die cut. Grab a bunch of napkins, &/or decorative tissue paper.

 

This journal comes with the possibility of 5 signatures but I made mind just a bit smaller & went with 4. Cut your canvas piece about 3/4" to 1" larger then the size your covers will be. There will be some shrinking of the fabric. Decoupage the cover & dry it before adding the adhesive.

If you are using decorative napkins you need to peel off the excess layers. Most have 1 or 2 layers of white tissue. This helps make the napkin translucent and also prevents air bubbles. Hot Tip: put a piece of scotch tape on the back of the napkin & carefully pull up- the layers will pull apart. The white left over tissue is perfect for stamping on. 

Decoupage Time

There are many ways to do this. You can use the whole napkin, blocks of different napkins, or tearing pieces & collaging them. Simply apply decoupage glue to the canvas & lay the napkin piece down, then add the glue on top. Be careful as the tissue is fragile.

Hot Tip: if you want to cut out an image you can use scissors or wet a small brush & brush around the image. Then gently tear the image out. This helps the edges of the image sort of melt into the background. 

Tim Holtz also has quite a few tissues that have wonderful images. I used themby tearing pieces to separate the colored images. You can see the text, numbers & postmarks for example. 

 

Eileen Hull Facebook Live

Eileen recently did a collage cover on her weekly Facebook Live. She also has it posted on YouTube. Be sure to join the Eileen Hull Fan Club on Facebook for all sorts of extra inspiration & fun! 

Once your canvas is dry it is time to create the cover. Remove one side of paper off the foam adhesive Pocket Notebook pieces, line them up & press them onto the canvas. Use a cropodile to punch the holes through the canvas. Line them up & punch following the outline of the foam adhesive. I like using the bigger size so I can add the bigger size eyelets. It helps add strength to the book.  

Measure & cut an inside fabric or piece of scrapbook paper. Remove the other side of paper from the adhesive including where the 2 pieces overlap. Adhere your inside piece. Re-punch the holes. 

 

If you like sew around the edges of the book just outside the edge of the foam, leaving at least 1/4 of an inch. Here is a pic of the inside fabric by Tim.

Decorate the Cover

Let's make a bee embellishment! I pulled out my Tim Holtz Layered Bee die cut. This die comes with an embossing folder that matches. I cut the die with mat board & then ran it through the embossing folder. I cut out another bee, cut & colored the wings to use as a mask. 

Next up some embossing powder! Put some embossing ink on a craft mat & dab a bit on a hard sponge or piece of foam. Swipe directly across so only the high points get inked. Emboss using Eileen's Black Magic powder. If you miss a spot repeat. To get the lines on the body, I used a Ranger embossing pen (you can see on the photo below the difference).  

 

 The wings were embossed with Etched Platinum. I also die cut another piece out of acetate & embossed it then cut out just the wings. These were covered with alcohol ink in a few different colors. 

Also added a bit of Stickles to add a bit of glitter- sadly it is really hard to see in the photo. 

Let's Make a Honeycomb Piece!

I wanted a legit looking honeycomb & Sizzix has the die for it! I cut out this piece with light cardboard. Painted it with gesso & once that was dry stamped on it with archival ink. Then it was embossed with Distress Glaze in Rusty Hinge. 

 

The Rusty Hinge Stain is translucent so the stamping shows through. It is shiny luscious. The inside of the honeycomb was painted using Seth Apter's ICE. It is also translucent & gel like so it created the perfect honey look!

Here is a close up of how that ICE looks in the honeycomb. The flower was made from card stock using Eileen's Heart Petal die cut then run through an embossing folder & distressed. 

 

Finally the elastic & beads were added. I kept it simple just cutting 4 strands of elastic & tying them in the inside of the book.

 

Supplies:

• Eileen Hull Pocket Notebook & Heart Petal Flower die by Sizzix
• "        " Foam Adhesive Sheets
• Tim Holtz Layered B (retired)
• "      " Pattern repeat (honeycomb)
• Eileen Black Magic emboss
• Seth Apter Etched Platinum emboss & Ink
• Tim Holtz Tissue Paper, Embossing Glaze,  Quote Chip, 
• "        " Faded Type Stamp set
  
• Seth Apter ICE in Melted Butter,