Birds, Nests & Eggs – May Theme with Eileen Hull

Hello Eileen Hull fans! We are kicking off May with a new theme - Birds, Nests & Eggs. Perfect for spring, don't you think? I'm continuing with my Book Box of the Month series for my project. I'm using Eileen Hull's Sizzix Book Box Die and each month will have its own holiday/seasonally appropriate diorama book. Here is the May book:

When you open it up:

A little closer look:

I'm pretty happy about Eileen's new 'Making Plans' stamp
set with all the month & labels stamps! Perfect!

Here are a few "how-to" details:

1) Super awesome (and super easy) way to use the Crochet Mandala. All you have to do is rub the inside of the debossing part of the folder with archival ink. Insert your paper, close the folder (don't let the paper move around and get ink smudges), then run it through your machine. The ink gets deposited in the recesses of the embossed paper. It is so effective!

I started of with lightly inked, mottled cardstock and then experimented with three different ink colors on the folder. I really love the look!

2) I made the bird nest out of "twiggy" pieces cut with Eileen's Wreath die. Some I folded in half, others I cut into pieces. Glue and layering them up made quite a nice nest!

3) Building up the scene! The white blossoms are cut with a die that is part of Eileen's new Shadow Box Frame #1 set.

So now I have a book series of three. ;-) More to come!  You can see the February and March boxes in other posts.

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

Supplies used:

Eileen Hull die - Book Box  (Sizzix / SB )

Eileen Hull Shadow Box Frames #1 (Sizzix / SB / TFJ )

Eileen Hull 3D Embossing Folders - Crochet Mandala (Sizzix / SB / TFJ )

Eileen Hull Wreath & Snowflake (Sizzix / SB / TFJ )

Eileen Hull Die - Spring Leaves

Eileen Hull Die Set - Journaling Cards, Flowers & Leaves #662811

Tim Holtz Die Set - Bird & Egg, Colorize (Sizzix / SB / TFJ )

Tim Holtz Die Set - Funky Nature (Sizzix / SB / TFJ )
Eileen Hull Stamp Set - Making Plans

Sizzix Mat Board

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!) 

Sunday in the Park – Funkie Junkie Challenge

Hello Funkie Junkie fans! It's time for a new challenge. Our hostess this time is designer Lyla Larimore and the theme is "Sunday in the Park". Here's what Lyla has to say about the challenge, 

"Weather-wise, you might not be spending time outside in the park, but we've all got memories of playing in one! Get out your stamps, dies, mixed media, or embellishments that remind you of what you might see on a beautiful sunny day in the park. Make a Tag, Panel, or even a 3-D project, and bring the outdoors into your craft space!"

When I think of the park, I have fond memories of taking my sons there to run around and play with friends. They are grown up teenagers now! I decided to look back in the family photos and create a scrapbook page of those bygone days. (It's been forever since I've worked on the scrapbooks lol!)

I chose a mostly primary color scheme to fit the kid theme. I had a fun play with mixed media techniques! Take a look at my step by step photos to get an idea of my process.

Base layers of sprays with stencils.

Getting an idea of where the main elements will go.

Adding die cut elements.

Stamping and collaged tissue gel print pieces add visual texture to the background. I embossed the concentric circles with Wild Honey Glaze embossing powder.

The Abstract Faces die set has a wealth of shapes you can use in all sorts of ways. You don't just have to make faces with it. ;-)

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you check out the fun challenges we have on the Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog. They are always good for sparking your creativity! You have two weeks to join the current challenge so I hope you give it a go.

Supplies used:

Tim Holtz die set - Abstract Faces

Tim Holtz die set - Bold Text #1

Tim Holtz stamp sets - Mesh & Linen, Inquisitive

Stencil - Dina Wakely, Connected Dots

Stencil - Dylusions, LG Behave

Distress Stain - Tumbled Glass

Distress Oxide Ink - Candied Apple

Distress Glaze - Wild Honey

Distress Ink - Fired Brick

embossing ink

Ranger Archival Inks - Cobalt, Dandelion

Dina Wakely Gloss Spray - Turquoise

Distress Collage Medium Matte

Tim Holtz Big Chat Stickers

Sakura Souffle Pens

Signo Uni-ball pen, white

Maker Forte Stamp Release from Eileen Hull

Hello Eileen Hull fans! Today Eileen is releasing a brand new stamp set from Maker Forte. It is called "Making Plans" and you will find it so useful! It's chock full of labels, dates, weekdays, months and other useful bits making it perfect for planners, scrapbook pages, journals and a host of other projects. Here's what Eileen has to say about it,

"I am excited to release the Making Plans stamp set! If you use a planner, diary, calendar, date book, birthday book or write down any kind of list, this is the set for you! You get a vintage typeset list of days of the week, months, and words associated with planning, organizing or a few phrases just for fun. Along with that there are also eight label shapes that the words will fit it. These are great to use in journals, to customize cards, and on tags and other ephemera. Join me and the team to see uses for this fun stamp set!"

If you missed the live Release Party you can watch it HERE on replay. You can see me share the following makes…

I used the Shadow Box Frames #2 die set to create these frames for some of my son's prom photos. I used the new Making Plans stamp set to add the date labels to make them nice momentos.

I also made a trio of Tiny Books! These little books are perfect for tucking in your purse or giving as gifts. All three are held together with one elastic loop.

I used the stamps to add to the cover backgrounds as well as making the labels on the fronts.

If the covers look familiar, it's because I used collage papers left over from this Postcard Folio I made for Eileen's last stamp release. (Keep the scraps LOL!)

I'll show you how I make the closure down below so keep going!

Check out all of Eileen's stamp sets in her etsy shop! Let's take a look at how I made the little Tiny Books. They are so cute and a great way to use scraps.

1) First I cut the covers out using the Tiny Book Scoreboards Die. I backed my collage cardstock paper scraps with heavy duty cardstock to make the cover substrate nice and thick. Matboard works great too. 

For the pages inside I cut stacks of note paper 4.25" x 2.75" and folded each one in half. I clamped the stack between an acrylic stamp block and a ruler with the edges near the folds of the pages. I spread a layer of glue along along all the folds to glue the page block together.

2) While the page blocks were drying, I set an eyelet in the center of the middle book spine.

3) I used hot glue to adhere the splayed ends of some thin elastic to the inside of the spine. It adds bulk but I sized my page block to allow for that. I also used extra hot glue to fill in the spaces when I glued the page block in. 

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to keep an eye on Eileen's blog for more inspiration from the Educator and Inspiration Teams! On Wednesday the 27th there will be a round up post of all the Team samples made with Eileen's new stamp set so stay tuned for that!

A Study in Contrasts - New Funkie Junkie Challenge

Hello, welcome to a new challenge from The Funkie Junkie Boutique's Challenge Blog! This time around I am the host and here are the challenge details for "A Study in Contrasts":

The seasons are changing and the cold greys and browns of winter are giving way to the warm greens and colors of spring! For your challenge highlight contrasts in your project. It could be themes, colors, textures or forms. We are looking forward to seeing your creative interpretations and juxtapositions of things that are contrasting!

I created a Vignette Shrine along the theme of April showers brings May flowers. That has certainly been the case around here. We have been getting lots of April showers (and snow!) The water is greatly needed though so I'm not complaining. I'm looking forward to May flowers however! The shrine is decorated in somber blues, blacks and greys with stenciled raindrops. In contrast, the center box is a riot of colors and flowers.

I added a "metal" roof and stone texture on the sides of the box.

The flower box inside is one of the boxes from the Vignette Boxes set.

LOVE the new Marbled Design Tape!

I decorated the back too:

Umbrella Man is a classic Tim Holtz die!

Here are a few "in progress" steps:

I primed the sides of the shrine with black gesso so it would show through the stone texture as grout as well as help the paste stick really well. Once the Grit-Paste was dry I colored it with washes of acrylic paint.

I stamped and stenciled all the inside liner parts before I glued them in.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you check out the fun challenges we have on the Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog. They are always good for sparking your creativity! You have two weeks to join the current challenge so I hope you give it a go.

Supplies used:

Tim Holtz die set - Silhouette Birds

Tim Holtz die set - Funky Foliage

Tim Holtz die set - Funky Floral #3

Tim Holtz die set - Funky Floral, Large

Tim Holtz Die - Umbrella Man (retired)

Tim Holtz 3-D Embossing Folders - Lumber

Mini Layering Stencils - Set #28

Tim Holtz stamp sets - Mesh & Linen, Field Notes, Spring Sprung

Tim Holtz Backdrops, Vol. 2

Tim Holtz Vignette Boxes

Tim Holtz Vignette Shrine

Tim Holtz Design Tape - Trims, Marbled

Distress Stain - Speckled Egg, Weathered Wood

Distress Oxide Stain - Speckled Egg

Distress Glaze - Weathered Wood, Prize Ribbon

Distress Ink - Stormy Sky, Tea Dye, Abandoned Coral

Distress Archival Ink 4-Pack

Ranger Grit-Paste - opaque

Black gesso

WINNER - Topflight Stamps Birthday Blog Hop

Thanks to everyone who joined in our Hop! Commenters on each blog stop had a chance to be chosen for a $25 gift certificate to spend in the Topflight Stamps online store. So, without further ado...

My winner is commenter GreeneGoddess …

GreeneGoddess, please get in touch with me so I can get you your gift code! Congratulations! 

Hoppers should head to the Topflight blog to see if you are a winner from one of the other designers. Have a great day and thanks for stopping by.

Bloom with the Funkie Junkie Challenge

Hello there! It's time for another new challenge over on the Funkie Junkie Challenge Blog! Our hostess is Janna Ketchum and the theme is "April Showers Bring May Flowers".

Janna - Spring has sprung and flowers are blooming. Add flowers to this weeks creation. They can be your main focal point or hiding in the background. Let’s get into the swing of spring with flowers. Happy crafting!

This was the perfect opportunity for me to make a card for my friend's birthday next week.

There are lots of layers, textures, and of course, flowers! I don't have a tutorial for this but I did take an "in process" photo of the background since it ended up mostly covered.

I applied Matte Texture Paste through the stencil onto some canvas type substrate I had in my stash. While the paste was wet, I sprinkled on some Distress Glaze here and there to add some color and texture. (I embossed it when paste was all dry.) After embossing, I spritzed it with Distress Spray Stains and plenty of water so it would all blend and pool around the pasted parts. Fun!

Hot tips on the part I embossed with the 3D Quilted folder:

1. It's super cool and I love that folder! After embossing, I used a Distress Blending Brush with ink to darken the raised areas (stitching) to make the details pop out.

2. I wanted to make it look more like leather. A little bit of Distress Micro Glaze buffed over the inked panel gave it a subtle shine that looks great!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you check out the fun challenges we have on the Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog. They are always good for sparking your creativity! You have two weeks to join the current challenge so I hope you give it a go.

Supplies used:

Tim Holtz die set - Bold Text #1

Tim Holtz die set - Funky Foliage

Tim Holtz die set - Funky Floral, Large

Tim Holtz 3-D Embossing Folders - Quilted

Prima stencil - Bindweed Wallpaper

Tim Holtz Hex Fasteners

Distress Stain - Saltwater Taffy, Vintage Photo, Frayed Burlap, Brushed Corduroy, Old paper, Iced Spruce, Antique Linen

Distress Oxide Stain - Bundled Sage

Distress Glaze - Tattered Rose, Saltwater Taffy

Ranger Texture Paste - matte opaque

Distress Micro Glaze

Sizzix Chapter 2 Release Party & Hop!

Welcome to the Sizzix Chapter 2 Release Party of Eileen Hull's newest dies. We are celebrating with a Live party and this Blog Hop! Eileen's Teams have been hard at work creating with Eileen's new products and have quite a lineup of inspiration for you. Here is what Eileen has to say,

Notice something different? There are no ScoreBoards dies in this collection! This Release includes two Shadowbox Frames Thinlits sets that also include some decorative flowers and shapes. The pieces may be used interchangeably to create square and rectangular frames. The Shadowbox Elements Thinlits set contains more decorative pieces to embellish your fames with but they may also be used on cards, tags and journals! Topping it off is the Crochet Mandala 3D Embossing Folder that you will just have to have- the detail is absolutely incredible!

This set of dies is very versatile since all of the components coordinate and work together so you can create endless combinations of projects in multiple sizes and shapes. The embossing folder creates a beautiful background for all of the scenes you might want to make, in addition to all the other uses you will find for it.

Thanks for being open to new ways of creating!

The new dies:

So many possibilities!

There is a give away too! Comment on each participating designer's blog and during the live on Tuesday and let us know what you would create with these dies and you will be entered to win one of the items in the Chapter 2 release!

I created a card and a Shadowbox frame to share with you!

The Shadow Box Elements set is great for cards too – and
the Crochet Mandala 3D folder is fab!

Use the Shadowbox Dies as photo frames!

LIST OF HOP STOPS:

Eileen Hull Designs 
Pam Bray
Maggi Harding
Jennie Atkinson
Lisa Hoel << you are here
Karen Bearse
Tonya Trantham
Sue Eldred
Elizabeth Robinson
Jenny Marples
Madeline Arendt

Don't miss the Sizzix Chapter 2 Release Party on Tuesday, April 5th at 12pm EST!

Find the live Sizzix Chapter 2 Release Party on Eileen's YouTube channel or her FaceBook page! It will be streaming concurrently on both platforms. Eileen will be joined by several of the designers from her Teams so it will be a fun time!