Sizzix Diecut Organizer with Eileen Hull Journal

Hello die cutting fans, today I am making a Sizzix die organizer using Eileen Hull's Passport die. If you are anything like me you may find yourself with either lots of unused dies and/or lots of die cuts that you can never find when you need them. You may also have lots of dies but find when it is time to add one, pulling everything out is too daunting. Either way you may not be using your die cuts to their potential! 

I am here to change that with an organizer that is functional, fun & easy to make! A pretty place to store your die cuts so you can batch cut & have easy quick access when you need to find that special flower, butterfly, or tag...plus it is full of color & looks great sitting near your desk. 

Inside my journal I added photo albums to store my die cuts. There are plenty of spaces to add to this collection & it will be easy to see my cuts if I need to pull any out to pop them on my projects. Let's get started!

Start by cutting a spine using the Passport die. Cut 1 spine piece using the Passport die & cut this piece in half. This technique allows you to create a book in whatever size you want. The signatures of this book are soft covered mini photo albums that fit 4x6 pictures. I cut 2 pieces of mat board larger than the front of the books, it ended up measuring 5 1/4"x 7".

Using Eileen's color blends spritz the mat board with a very light spritz of water & color both side of the spine. The water helps the ink to blend smoothly. I used a paper palette to get the colors flowing. Create the outside covers the same way using random color with the Color Blends. Add to the covers with stamped images. I will adhere paper to the inside of the covers so there is no need to color the other side. 

I wanted to add some foiling to the covers. Place down a stencil & using Deco Foil Transfer Gel, scrape a layer with a palette knife. Set aside until the gel goes from white to clear,it will take 30 minutes to an hour. 

Heat your laminator so it is warm-10 minutes. Place pieces of foil over the raised gel area. I chose to use different colors, in keeping with my cover.

Place the cover between a folded piece of parchment paper & send it through the laminator, the folded side first. 

Peel off the foil & voila you will have a raised foiled image- very cool. Here is a little sneak-gotta love the shimmer & how metallic sparkle the images turned & because I used different color strips the colors are very dynamic. 

I did the spine using the same technique.

Next I decided to add a name plate to the cover using one of Therm*O*Web's Clear Designer Transfer Sheets. I die cut "Doodles" & "Distressed Lines" using Eileen's Journal die. This die comes with 3 other images, a tab, hinge & book plate. I ran it through the laminator per the instructions using the Fancy Foils in Glittering Green- this foil has the look of embedded sequins- very different. 

Once the foil was pulled off, the swirly circle image was covered in foil on a transparent sheet. This piece I backed with paper cut from the same die shape & adhered with brads. The whole thing is very shimmery like the circle on the far left. Hummm the potential for fun with these sheets is great & they come in many different flavors!!   

Next up was paper from Dylusions Creative Dyary, they are pre-printed with Dyan Reaveley's fabulous backgrounds. I tear them out of the book & use them in other projects. They were used for the inside covers, pocket, & name plate. I also cut them & added a Dylusions stamp and then a quote for the first page of every book. I made 3 books but realized they are pretty thick so there is really only room for 2 with the idea the books will expand as I add die cut shapes in the sleeves.

All that was left was to string my book & add a closure. I get a lot of questions on how to string these books especially when the elastic is hidden from the spine so I did a video on 2 different ways to string the book. 

The final touch was to add a title. I used a Sizzix Thinlet from Eileen's set Book Plate Hinge & Label to add a title. The die is being held down by Therm O Web's purple tape, which is perfect to hold your paper down when you die cut & easily pulls up without damaging the paper. 

Here is a shot of the title added on & a good view of the foiled images! I hope you enjoyed this project, leave me a comment & take time to make one yourself!! Have a great inky day. 

*this post was sponsored with product from Eileen Hull Designs by Sizzix & Therm*O*Web* thanks to these companies I can bring you this fun project!

 

Journal Spots for Planners or Journals using Eileen Hull ColorBox Blends by Clearsnap

Hello Blogland, I am here today with a tutorial on how to make journal spots, titles & embellishments for planners or journals. I also have 3 videos for you!!! This is my Eileen Hull Inspiration Team blog post for July. Clearsnap generously outfitted us with a set of Eileen's ColorBox Blends. I will be sharing a number of posts with fun techniques using this ink in the upcoming months. I will also be using some of the new Book Club 2 Collection by Sizzix that are now available!

Here is the collection of products that I am using today. I am going to keep my journal spots & tags in a container right on my desk so I can just grab & go. That way when my stash gets low I can just add to it! 

Video Part 1: In this video there is a quick overview of ColorBox Blends. These inks are very unique holding 10x the amount of ink than a regular stamp pad. I also show a  Travelers Notebook style journal that fits in Eileen's Journal Book die cut. I make them from scrapbook paper & create journal spots for them. 

While we are at it how about recycling or creating with those unused planners? Let's make fun tags that show the day & date so you know when that fun memory was created or journal spots to document what went on in that photo. 

In this video there are also lot's of fun ideas on how to quickly jazz up your journal spots. The 1st set of cards were cut out of planner books taking advantage of the dates, words, I used the die set called Credit Card Sleeves & Tag. 

Next up, using stamps from PaperArtsy & Seth Apter with the blends, an overview of the different journal spots I made with some tips & tricks. 

Video Part 2: You can create along with me! Let's get started by stamping, distressing edges with multiple colors, masking off parts of stamps to create these unique cards. Also in this video is how to use the ColorBox Blends. How do you create an image easily with multiple colors? How do you make a stamped image look like it was made with watercolors? 

How about some tips & tricks if you make a mistake while stamping? Like how to turn a fail into success! In this step I used Tombo Twin Tones Dual Tip Markers to fix a stamping mistake. 

Video Part 3: In the last video of this series I finish up the journal spot from video 2. Next up how to color a white journal card while still allowing for easy writing. A few tips on making swatches & creating colors by mixing the inks. Finally let's add some stickers to change that date or "birthday" tag for another use. How to use stickers from PaperHouse Productions to add the cool factor. 

I hope you enjoyed this series of videos & have a chance to craft with me! Making these journal spots will make your scrap booking, card making, or journal documenting easier! Leave me a comment if you would like to see more of this type of crafting!

Supplies: *disclaimer I received product from companies to create with in this blog post but the ideas & views are mine. PS: I do really like them!

• Eileen Hull's ColorBox Blends by Clearsnap
• Eileen Hull's die from Sizzix- Credit Card, Sleeves & Tag
• Stamps by PaperArtsy
• Stamps by Seth Apter
• Twin Tone Markers by Tombo
• Stickers by PaperHouse Productions

Resin Obsession Art Journal Cover

Hello Resin fans, I have a blog post up on Resin Obsession blog on how to make an art journal cover. This is a fun bunch of techniques including some pens & crayons I used that surprisingly worked well with the resin.  

Here is my cover, I just used an inexpensive traveler's notebook to create this & I really love how it turned out! You can hop on over to the Resin Obsession blog for a full tutorial & lots more photos!! Let me know how it goes...