Something's Fishy! Collaboration with The Crafter's Workshop & Eileen Hull

Hello Eileen Hull fans! Did you catch the Chapter 4 Release party and blog hop on October 1st? If so, then you know that Eileen's latest release is awesome! Here's what she had to say about it:

"The Chapter 4 Sizzix Release is exciting for so many reasons – there are two never-done-before designs! One is the Full Size Journal which is a Bigz Pro size – you will need a machine with at least a 9" throat to cut this die- like a Big Shot Plus or Pro. Not to worry, if you don't have that machine, Eileen will have the pre-cut pieces available in her Etsy store for you to work with. The other new technology is a 3-D Embossing Folder! It's called Sweater and is oh so cozy. Also new this release is a Bigz Notepad Die with lots of options for materials and uses, and a Heart Mandala Thinlits Die to decorate with! "

Today I'm sharing the tutorial for the mixed media Full Size Journal cover I made. We're doing a collaboration this month with The Crafter's Workshop so I've incorporated some of their fantastic stencils and other products into my make.

Front of the cover…

… and the back!

Let's take a look at how I did this and also how I saved it from a big oopsie. (ug)

I used a fun image transfer technique to apply those goldfish to my cover:

Step 1 - I'm kind of anal about how my images lay out so I "composed" them in a graphic layout program (Adobe Illustrator) on my computer.

I printed out the sides in black and white using my laser printer (important to use a laser printer or copier!) Also VERY IMPORTANT is to print out your images REVERSED.

I took into account the spine overlap for the placement of my fish images. The plan was to have the halves line up across the spine when the cover was assembled.

Next step is to paint over the toner images with acrylic paint. This painted layer will show through once the image is transferred!

Step 2 - Prepping the covers; I used a brayer and Fresco paint to lay down some color. (Other side of mat board for the insides of the cover were collaged with marbled paper and text pages from a fishing book.)

I also stenciled on the fronts:

Step 3 - Now for the transfer! I tore away the excess paper from the images.

I applied a layer of gel medium to the cover and then laid the images face down into it, squishing out any air bubbles. You need to make sure you have a good layer of medium on your substrate. I think mine was a little thin and was drying too quickly which led to an incomplete transfer of the fish images. You'll see later.

Once it was all dry, it was time to remove the backing paper. This part is a bit of a pain but patience is the key. Spritz sections of the paper with water and then gently rub off the soggy paper, revealing the image! You'll see areas of the fish where I didn't have enough medium so the image didn't stick and rubbed away with the paper. It definitely more of a distressed look!

Step 4 - Cutting out the cover parts. If you have a 'directional' pattern, you need to be careful about how you position your matboard when you cut the cover. If it's not flipped the right way, things like this happen:

I made two "front" covers. grrrr

In Eileen's recent Facebook Live, she shows how to put together the Full Size Journal Die and how you mark up your die so you don't make mistakes like this! Obviously I need to do that. You can watch the video here.

I really didn't want to redo the cover so I came up with an (imperfect) fix. The spine sections are supposed to overlap but I cut the back cover the wrong way. So, I just lopped off the scored spine section from the back cover.

At this stage, I also coated the cover with Gloss Varnish to
brighten the image and get rid of the 'paper residue haze'
from the image transfer.

Of course now my planned overlap of the fish images across the spine was completely screwed up but what are you going to do? I decided to live with it. ;-)

On the inside of the cover I taped the two pieces together with cloth book repair tape. It is flexible and has strong adhesive. I could also add more paint accents over it to make it blend in. I used my Crop-a-dile to punch through the tape that covered the holes in the spine for binding.

Once fixed, I continued decorating the cover.

I added some paint marks and used a stencil to add some TCW Turquoise Stencil Butter accents. It goes on really smoothly and has a beautiful metallic shine. I also used the Stencil Butter through the Flying Kitty stencil on the front. I lightly sprinkled it with some black embossing powder while it was wet. Once it was dry, I heated it to emboss the powder. You could still see hints of the turquoise through but the black made the cat much more of a focal point. I also stamped the words with paint and foam stamps as a final step.

Whew, that was long! I hope you give the image transfer technique a try. It's a fun one to have in your box of tricks. Thanks for stopping by and be sure to keep an eye on Eileen's blog for more inspiration from the Educator and Inspiration Teams.

Also keep an eye on The Crafter's Workshop blog to see how their Design Team utilized Eileen's dies in their projects this month!

Supplies used:

Dies:

Eileen Hull Sizzix 

Full Size Journal Die  ( Sizzix / SB )

The Crafter's Workshop supplies:

Stencils: Secret Garden, Mini Cell Theory, Mini Flying Cat

Stencil Butter - Turquoise

Other:

mat board

brayer

Lavinia stamp - Shoal of Fish

Tim Holtz Cling Foam Stamps - Block Lower & Upper case sets

lots of different acrylic paints from my stash

Paper Artsy Fresco chalk paint - Cloud 9, Paua Shell, Bora Bora, Caribbean Sea, Captain Peacock, Caramel

Archival (permanent) inks

black embossing powder

Gel medium

DecoArt Media Gloss Varnish

Dina Wakley Collage Paper (tissue)

Sakura Souffle pens

Some links in this post are affiliate links which do not affect the price you pay but allow me to earn a small percentage of a sale. Thanks! (My husband also thanks you!) 

New Eileen Hull Sizzix Dies - Notepad Die Tutorial

Hello Eileen Hull fans! Did you catch the Chapter 4 Release party and blog hop last week? If so, then you know that Eileen's latest release is awesome! Here's what she had to say about it:

"The Chapter 4 Sizzix Release is exciting for so many reasons – there are two never-done-before designs! One is the Full Size Journal which is a Bigz Pro size – you will need a machine with at least a 9" throat to cut this die- like a Big Shot Plus or Pro. Not to worry, if you don't have that machine, Eileen will have the pre-cut pieces available in her Etsy store for you to work with. The other new technology is a 3-D Embossing Folder! It's called Sweater and is oh so cozy. Also new this release is a Bigz Notepad Die with lots of options for materials and uses, and a Heart Mandala Thinlits Die to decorate with! "

Today I'm sharing the tutorial for the monoprinted Post-it pad holder I made using the Notepad and Heart Mandala Dies.

Open it up and you will find a Post-it pad!

More foiling on the back:

Let's see how it all came together!

Step 1 - after cutting out the cover pieces using Sizzix mat board, I printed directly onto the surfaces using my Gel Press plate. If you haven't played with monoprinting on gel plates you are missing out on a ton of fun! (Go fall into the rabbit hole of the Gel Press YouTube channel, you won't be sorry! If you are totally unfamiliar, here is a basics video.)

I brayered blue paint onto my gel plate and pressed a piece of bubble wrap into the paint to leave a texture. Next I pressed my cover pieces onto the plate to transfer the paint. (I did this to both sides.)

Step 2 - Creating layers in gel plate printing is the fun part! I added another color layer over the blue. I brayered pink paint onto the plate and positioned a mask cut from deli paper using the Heart Mandala Die. (Dies are so versatile!) The mask prevents the paint underneath from transferring onto your print (thus revealing the underlying layer already on your print).

At this stage, when the paint was dry on the covers, I also added more visual texture by stamping on them with archival inks.

Step 3 - Adding the foiling: Here's another trick to extend the use of your dies! I cut a Heart Mandala shape out of a double sided adhesive sheet. After peeling off the backing paper on one side, I stuck it onto the front cover and then carefully trimmed off the overhanging bits to use on the back cover.

The supplies!

I made sure to burnish the shapes down well so the adhesive would be firmly stuck to the covers.

After peeling off the second backing sheet, all I had to do was lay the Sizzix Effectz Foil sheet (shiny side up) over the sticky part, burnish, then peel off. Easy! I repeated for the back cover. What a great way to add bling to a project.

Step 4 - Since I wanted the notepad cover to be the height of a Post-it pad, I trimmed off the last two sections of the Notepad spine to make it thinner.

Step 5 - Finishing inside: the 5" long Post-it pad is too long to fit into the cover so I trimmed it and then glued it onto the back cover.

Step 6 - For a closure, I punched two holes into the back cover and then slid the ends of these elastic straps through.

Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to keep an eye on Eileen's blog for more inspiration from the Educator and Inspiration Teams.

Supplies used:

Dies:

Eileen Hull Sizzix 

Notepad Die  ( Sizzix / SB )

Heart Mandala Die  ( Sizzix / SB )

Other:

Eileen Hull Therm-o-web Easy Cut Adhesive Sheets

Sizzix Effectz - Gold Foil Sheets

Gel Press plate

brayer

Tim Holtz Stamp Sets - Ledger Script, Grunged

Sizzix Mat Board

Crafter's Pick - The Ultimate! glue

Tim Holtz Idea-ology: Elastic Bands

lots of different acrylic paints from my stash

Archival (permanent) inks

Some links in this post are affiliate links which do not affect the price you pay but allow me to earn a small percentage of a sale. Thanks! (My husband also thanks you!) 

Sizzix Chapter 4 Dies Release from Eileen Hull!

 

It's Blog Hop and Release Party time! Yahoo!! The Chapter 4 Sizzix Release is exciting for so many reasons – there are two never-done-before designs! One is the Full Size Journal which is a Bigz Pro size – you will need a machine with at least a 9" throat to cut this die- like a Big Shot Plus or Pro. Not to worry, if you don't have that machine, Eileen will have the pre-cut pieces available in her Etsy store for you to work with. The other new technology is a 3-D Embossing Folder! It's called Sweater and is oh so cozy. Also new this release is a Bigz Notepad Die with lots of options for materials and uses, and a Heart Mandala Thinlits Die to decorate with!

There is a GIVEAWAY too – leave a comment on each of the designers' blog posts and you will be entered to win one of the new dies! Another prize will be given to someone who attends and comments in the Release Party Facebook Live on Friday, Oct 1st at 12:00 Eastern time. You will find the video on @Eileen Hull Designs Facebook Page. Thanks for joining us!

Let's get going with the hop:

Eileen Hull Designs
Julia Aston
Jennie Atkinson
Sue Eldred
Maggi Harding
Lisa Hoel << you are here
Tonya Trantham
Sarah Lizzie Dodd
Karen Bearse
Jenny Marples

Here's a look at all the projects I've created with these awesome new dies! Throughout the month I'll be sharing tutorials for some of them so keep your eyes open.

3-D Sweater Embossing Folder

Full Size Journal Die along with The Crafter's Workshop products

3-D Sweater Embossing Folder + Ch. 3 Wreath & Snowflake Die Set

Bigz Notepad Die + Heart Mandala Thinlits Die

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the Hop! Don't forget to comment for a chance to win!

New Stamp Release from Eileen Hull!

  

Eileen Hull is partnering with Maker Forte to bring you a brand new product line - beautifully designed stamps for your crafting pleasure! The second release with 2 sets is happening today and Eileen's Inspiration and Education Teams have been hard at work to bring you inspiring projects made using her stamps.

Here's a look at what is now available with this second release:

Wonderful World of Flowers

Snail Mail - Inspire Stamp Set

I used Eileen's Notebook Die and the Wonderful World of Flowers Stamp Set to create the cover for this fall color inspired mini notebook. 

I stamped the flowers on the cover and then embossed them with detail black embossing powder. After embossing, I went in with acrylic paint to embellish the stamped flowers.

The inside of the cover is stamped using Eileen's Vintage Damask Stamp. I also had some mini pre-made books that fit perfectly into the cover that I could use as signatures.

Don't miss Eileen's FaceBook Live on Tuesday the 28th at 6:00pm EST! She will be sharing samples from the Team and telling us all about her new stamps. Check out the blog posts from the other Team members too. We are sharing our makes using the new stamps.

Autumn in the Pumpkin Patch - Fall Lantern Decor

Hello! If you're a follower of mine on Instagram (@creativejuicefreshsqueezed) you might have seen my progression of sneak peeks of this latest project! It's finally complete and I can show you the whole thing now. The little shack in its pumpkin patch was destined to reside in a lantern and become my newest fall decor piece:

and an even closer look:

The wee little scene is overshadowed by a tree full of fall color!

… which is wired up with Tiny Lights!

I had to make sure the outside of the lantern was beautiful too:

Leaf embellishments are made using the
Oak Leaf 3-D Embossing Impresslits from Sizzix. Love!

I am entering this into The Funkie Junkie Blog "Creating Die-Na-Mite" Challenge. My project definitely utilizes dies! Check out their challenges, they are always fun themes!

Scroll on if you'd like a little tutorial on how I put this together!

The shack is made using some of the Tim Holtz Village Die Series (retired). I didn't really chronicle its construction, Tim has done several videos on how to put them together. I will note that the siding is inked Distress Woodgrain Cardstock cut into strips and the roof is metal tape on cardstock and then embossed with the new Mini Foundry 3-D Embossing Folder (absolutely perfect!!)

On to the base!

Step 1 - I cut a piece foam to fit in the bottom of the lantern and then built up areas of elevation with more foam and cardboard. I usually cover my base with plaster cloth to fill in the contours and make more textures. You can find it in the model/train sections of craft stores.

The tree I made according to a tutorial shared by Lucy Foxworth on her Paper Glitter Glue blog. Her instructions are great and easily adaptable to whatever tree shape you want to make. Check it out! I made my tree tall with arching branches because I knew I wanted to have large leaves hanging down in the foreground of the scene. I was playing with scale and forced perspective so the tree is larger and "out of scale" to the house but I think it works.

Step 2 - I painted the base and then added bits of moss and lichen from my landscaping stuff stash.

The pumpkins are actually seed pods I painted "pumpkin" colors.

Step 3 - Glued the pumpkins into the 'patch'! To help with the illusion of perspective I picked bigger pumpkins for the front and then put the tiniest ones in the back next the shack.

Step 4 - Wired the tree: I used two strands of Tiny Lights to wrap around the branches. My plan was to hide the battery/switch parts in the top of the lantern (photo later).

Step 5 - Leaves: I chose to cut my leaves out of colored coffee filters. I use filters a lot for making foliage and flowers. It dyes readily and has the look of tissue but is stronger. In this case, I wanted a substrate that would also allow the lights to shine through it. Tip: you can cut through several layers of filter paper at a time, both with steel rule and Thinlits dies. That made it easy to cut out lots of leaves at once!

Tree with die cut leaves:

At this stage, I popped the scene back into the lantern. Fortunately, this particular lantern had a metal top that was just screwed on. I was able to take it off and easily lift the scene in and out. I always find it easier to build scenes using a 'top loading' container so you can complete it outside of the container and then just pop it in. It doesn't always work out that way, but it's a plus when it does!

Step 6 - I put the lantern top back on and glued pieces of velcro into the top. I glued matching pieces onto the backs of the light controls. They tuck right in there out of sight!

Last but not least, I'll leave you with a detail photo of the tin roof because I love it so much. Yum!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Supplies used:

Dies:

Tim Holtz Sizzix

3-D Impresslits Folder - Oak Leaf ( Sizzix / SB )

3-D Embossing Folder - Mini Foundry ( Sizzix / SB )

Fall Foliage

Tattered Leaves - retired

Mini Tattered Leaves, Movers & Shapers

Village Dwelling - retired

Village Surf Shack - retired

Village Fixer Upper - retired

Other:

Tim Holtz Stamp Sets - Falling Leaves, Grunged

Distress Woodgrain Cardstock

Crafter's Pick - The Ultimate! glue

Ranger Distress Halloween Mica Set

Distress Collage Medium - Matte

Ranger Heavystock - white

a zillion different Ranger inks and Distress Spray Stains

Distress Resist Spray

Idea-ology Tiny Lights

coffee filters

Some links in this post are affiliate links which do not affect the price you pay but allow me to earn a small percentage of a sale. Thanks! (My husband also thanks you!)