Eileen Hull Has Released New Sizzix Dies & We're Hoppin'

Hello there and welcome! You have arrived at your next stop on the Blog Hop to celebrate the new Chapter 3 Die releases of Eileen Hull! If you are jumping in midway, you can go back to her blog to begin at the beginning. For my hop project I used the new Snowman Die. There is a tutorial so scroll on down past the Hop list to check it out.

Throughout the hop you will see all the creative ways the Inspiration and Education Teams have used the Mitten and Snowman dies! We hope that you will be inspired too and share how you use the dies in the Eileen Hull Fan Club.

But wait – there’s more – the Release Party continues! You won’t want to miss the Facebook Live at Eileen Hull Designs at 12:00 noon Eastern time on Wednesday, July 1! Join the chat – and a random commenter will WIN a Snowman Die. 

Please hop with us through all of the projects and leave comments on the different designers' blogs. A lucky commenter will WIN a Mitten Box Die…

Hop Participants:

1. Madeline Arendt
2. Julia Aston
3. Jennie Atkinson
4. Debbie Bankston
5. Karen Bearse
6. Susie Bentz
7. Pam Bray
8. Sue Eldred
9. Anna-Karin Evaldsson
10. Annette Green
11. Maggi Harding
12. Lisa Hoel <<<YOU ARE HERE
13. Anita Houston
14. Sarah Lizzie
15. Jenny Marples
16. Elizabeth Robinson
17. Tonya Trantham
18. Cheryl Waters
19. Mitsyana Wright
20. Nicole Wright
21. Eileen Hull

Tutorial time!

Step 1 – I used foil sheet covered matboard and chipboard for the box sides and pieces. I had it in mind to make a vintage, "chippy paint" look project. I really like how Distress Paint applies to a metal surface (more on that later).

I did not cover the snowman body parts because my plan was to use white embossing powder on them (more on that later too). The snowman "accessories" and parts are cut out of thinner chipboard. The box sides are matboard that I embossed after die cutting.

Tip: Those eyes and carrot nose are small and hard to get ahold of. I took a scrap of matboard, applied repositionable adhesive to it and stuck those tiny parts on. It made it so much easier to paint them.

Which leads to…

Step 2 – Painting the parts! The backs of the snowman bodies and inside of the box I painted red. When dry, I flipped the box sides piece over and also painted the metal embossed side red. When the paint was halfway dry, I took a damp baby wipe (not too wet though) and gently wiped off some of the paint from the high points of the embossed design. If you wipe off too much, you can always add more paint back on and try again. Do not let the paint dry all the way or that's it. It is permanent when dry.

I did the same thing to the little parts. I painted them and gently wiped off some paint when they were partly dry.

Step 3 – Embossing! I have an old Ranger Melting Pot (sadly discontinued, try ebay) that works really well for small shapes like this. (See my other tutorials Here and Here for more projects using it.) I used Eileen's Clear Blends Ink on the snowman body to adhere a thick layer of her White Wonder Embossing Powder. I set it into the pot and let it sit to melt.

While the white was molten, I carefully pressed the parts into the liquid powder and then lifted it all out (with that handy little craft mat insert!) The powder cooled and set and the parts were stuck down tight.

Step 4 – Assembly! I peeled the top (metal foil) layer off the tabs so the glue would stick better when assembling the box. I used a small glue gun to glue the tabs onto the back of the snowman bodies.

As a final step, once the box was assembled, I gave the whole thing a very light wash of watered down black/brown acrylic paint to give it a vintage look. I used a baby wipe to dab off some areas that got too dark and just played around with it until I was happy with the "grunging" up.

Supplies used:

Dies:

Eileen Hull Sizzix
Snowman  ( Sizzix / SB ) 
Starlight Embossing Folder #660337 - retired

Sizzix Mat Board
Eileen Hull Blends Ink - Clear
Eileen Hull Molten Dimensions Embossing Powder - White Wonder
Distress Paint - Black Soot, Walnut Stain, Festive Berries, Peacock Feathers, Spiced Marmalade
Ranger Foil Sheets
glue gun

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!) If you shop at Topflight Stamps, use my coupon code LISAHOEL for 12% off your order.