April Showers with Eileen Hull…

and I'm not talking about precipitation, I'm talking about parties! Eileen's dies are great for creating party decor. I imagined a shower with a 'tea time' theme and designed some table decorations and favors.

I found a vintage pitcher and creamer at the thrift store that I knew would be perfect for holding bouquets of paper flowers.

You never know what you'll find at the thrift store!

For the favor, I used Eileen's 3-D Tea Cup die to make a little treat holder:

These are super easy to assemble!

How to make the flowers:
First off, Eileen just did a Facebook Live last week detailing how to make paper flowers and the stems using her Twist & Style Tool. You can see that video HERE.

I always cut out a whole pile of various flower parts so I have lots of choices when mixing and matching. One of the materials I used this time was crinoline dyed with Distress Spray Stains. Crinoline accepts color very well and has a loose weave with good body which makes for an interesting layer in the flowers! I also cut some layers out of colored tulle for even more texture in my flowers.

Pile 'o parts!

Mix & match!

I stacked up my layers so they were ready to build and I could make sure I had a nice assortment of shapes and colors represented.

(Oops, I forgot to take a photo of this step when I was making the flowers for this project. The above photo is from a previous project, you can find it HERE. The process is the same.)

The flower stems are easy to create with the Twist & Style Tool. Cut an 18" length of wire, fold it gently in half, and poke the ends through your button. Fasten the ends into the end of the Tool with the clamp (you can also twist it around the hook end if you prefer). The button end goes over the center post in the suction clamp. Holding the wire taut, twist the tool and in moments you have a perfect flower stem. Thread the stem through your stack of flower parts and add some glue to the back to hold them all in place. I fluffed up the petal layers once the flower was assembled.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you are inspired. Head on over to Eileen's blog to see more shower projects from the Inspiration Team. Each week's post has been stuffed full of clever uses for Eileen's dies! For even more inspiration, join us in the Eileen Hull Fan Club group on Facebook. Just ask to join and after answering a few questions to make sure you are a real person and not some spammer you'll be in!

I am also entering this project into the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Flower Power and the April Emerald Creek Dare.

Dies:

Eileen Hull Sizzix -

Flower, Heart & Soul
Flower Layers w/ Heart Petals
Flower, Romance
Tea Cup, 3-D
Spring Leaves

Other:

Twist & Style Tool

mat board

Distress Spray Stains - Tattered Rose, Picked Raspberries, Tumbled Glass, Broken China, Picket Fence, Wilted Violet
crinoline fabric
24 gauge wire
buttons
tulle

Sizzix & Simon Says Stamp 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!)

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Experimenting with INKboss Impressions Plates…

Head on over to the A Jillian Vance Design blog to see what I am up to! I was getting 

pretty festive. ;-) Here's a little sneak peek:

I hope you have a great week! Go get inky…

Mid-Month Inspiration for the Mixed Media Monthly Color Wheel Challenge

Hello, I'm back with another project for our April Color Wheel Challenge over at Mixed Media Monthly! It's not too late for you to join in. We've had some really cool projects entered!

(Create a mixed media project using predominantly one Complimentary or Split Complimentary Color Scheme. Be sure to tell us what you used.)

Here is a color wheel for you to reference. A Complimentary Pair is two colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel. A Split Complement is one color plus the two colors adjacent to its complement across the wheel. (For example, Red + Yellow-Green & Blue-Green.)

For my mid-month project I've chosen to use the complementary pair of Red-Orange and Blue-Green (one of my favorites!)

I used Eileen Hull's new Trinket Box die to create this little 'jewel box'. The top is marbled Distress Paint (Mermaid Lagoon, Peacock Feathers, Pine Needles, Ripe Persimmon) and the label die cut from the Journal Die just happens to fit perfectly into he oval cutout on the lid. (I love it when stuff like that happens!)

The sides I painted with Viva Rusty Paper Paint and various other paints and crackle mediums. I wanted a range of rusty red-orange colors. I also had the perfect piece of bling to add to the top from my stash of broken jewelry. The colors are perfect! 

Bling!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great week. Share your projects with us over at MMM!

I am also entering this project into the A Vintage Journey's Rusty & Crusty Challenge for April and the Frilly & Funkie Elegant Jewels Challenge! Check out both for some great inspiration!

Dies:

Eileen Hull Sizzix - Book & Pages, Trinket Box & Frame

- Journal Die (Sizzix / SSS)

Lace (SSS) retired

Stamps:

Tim Holtz Noble Gent

Tim Holtz Sparkles & Christmas

Other:

Distress Paint - Mermaid Lagoon, Peacock Feathers, Pine Needles, Ripe Persimmon

mat board

Viva Decor Rusty Paper Paint

Prima Texture Paste - Clear Crackle

Deco Art Media Liquid Acrylics - Pyrrole Orange, English Red Oxide

Deco Art Media Crackle Glaze

Ranger Archival Ink - Cobalt, Potting Soil, Orange Blossom

Tim Holtz Gadget Gears

Tim Holtz Sprocket Gears

Sizzix & Simon Says Stamp 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!)

Topflight Stamps Hop WINNER!

Winner winner, chicken dinner!!

I hope you all had a great time hopping from blog to blog and getting an eyeful of inspiring projects. =) What a great way to celebrate the 1st Birthday of Topflight Stamps! Each of us participating in the hop had a random drawing from the comments to award one of our hoppers with a $10 credit to use at Topflight Stamps. So without further ado, my winner is…

Itagg!!!

Congratulations! Please contact me so I can get you your code to go shopping. =)

Mixed Media Monthly April Challenge #47

Hello everyone, happy Easter and I guess happy April Fools' Day (that just seems so weird)! We're kicking off our April Challenge and no joke, it's a colorful one. Dust off your knowledge of color theory because we are having a color wheel challenge!

(Create a mixed media project using predominantly one Complimentary or Split Complimentary Color Scheme. Be sure to tell us what you used.)

Here is a color wheel for you to reference. A Complimentary Pair is two colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel. A Split Complement is one color plus the two colors adjacent to its complement across the wheel. (For example, Red + Yellow-Green & Blue-Green.)

I chose Red-Violet and Yellow-Green as my base color scheme to create this Gratitude Card Journal based on the project in Seth Apter's Card Play Mixed-Media Techniques for Small Works of Art. (I highly recommend this workshop from Seth. Buy the DVD or Video download like I did – you won't regret it! It is SO much fun and Seth is a great teacher.) So I'm not going to give a tutorial about this 'cause that is Seth's job lol. But… here are the results of my foray:

The journal consists of loose front and back covers with a ribbon wrap closure. The 'pages' are loose cards that are decorated on one side and the other side is used for journalling. I decided to make mine a gratitude journal so I can record the things I am thankful for.

covers with the stack of 'pages'

The journalling backs are more plain so you can write. The fronts are a glorious mix of layers and layers and layers with collage! 

I had fun searching through magazines and my stash of extra die cuts,
stamped images etc. to find things to use for my collages.

All the media layers of the card fronts are decorated at once. Seth suggests then doing the collages on the fronts at intervals, ie once a week when you pick a card to journal on. I've done some and the rest I'll add to as I choose.

That's it! Head on over to the Challenge post and check out the other inspiration from Design Team. We want to see what color wheel magic you can whip up too! Join in the challenge and you'll be in the running for a prize pack of art goodies. ;-)

I am also entering this little journal into the Mini Album Makers April Challenge. Check them out too, there are always fun things to see!

Supplies used:

Stamps:
Tim Holtz Psychedelic Grunge
Tim Holtz Spills & Splatters
Paper Artsy - Lynne Perrella Collection LPC034

Paint:
Paper Artsy Fresco Chalk Paint - Very Berry, Granny Smith, Bora Bora, Pixie Dust, Teresa Green, Sour Grapes, Dusty Teal

Other:

Tim Holtz stencils - Numbered, Chevron

mat board
playing cards
black gesso

StazOn ink - Rusty Brown, Teal Blue
Ranger Archival Ink - Plum, Garden Patina
glue stick
white gel pen
black gel pen
ribbon

Sizzix & Simon Says Stamp 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!)