Funkie Junkie Focus - "Hearts & Flowers" Valentine's Day!

Hello Funkie Junkie fans! Our theme this time is "Hearts & Flowers" Valentine style. I leaned into a traditional color scheme and put together a candy box made from Eileen Hull's new Cantilever Sewing Box Die.

This die is based on the design of vintage sewing boxes. Maybe you have a full sized one yourself! They open up just like the originals:

I filled mine with candies and a little note.

Top view:

Here's a look at how I put it together:

1) Here are all the parts cut out.

2) I used sections of washi tape glued at the corners to assemble all the box parts. A rubber band around the top held it all in place while the glue dried.

3) To help reinforce the base of the box, I cut an extra piece of mat board 21/8" x 6" to glue underneath the two bottom boxes.

I folded and glued the feet to the base. A little piece of washi tape helped to hold the feet in the folded position while I was gluing them.

4) Using the brads and cross pieces, you just start building up and attaching the other boxes.

5) A section of the stamps cut from the Mini Slimline & Tickets Die fit perfectly onto the sewing box lids!

Thanks for stopping by. Keep an eye on the Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog, Inspiration Ave. because you are now getting regular doses of expanded (and inspiring) content each week. Don't miss it…

Supplies used:

Eileen Hull Die - Cantilever Sewing Box 
Eileen Hull Die Set - Mini Slimline & Tickets 
Eileen Hull Die Set - Envelope, Folder & Flowers
Eileen Hull Die Set - Journaling Cards, Flowers & Leaves 662811 - retired

Tim Holtz Die - Heartfelt 660233 - retired
Tim Holtz Layering Stencil - Hearts THS017

Sizzix Mat Board
Sizzix Textured Cardstock Pack

28 1/8"/ 5mm brads

washi tape

Sizzix Making Tool - Shaping Kit
Distress Collage Medium Matte
Distress Ink - Scorched Timber, Picked Raspberries, Festive Berries
Distress Oxide Spray - Spun Sugar

Distress Spray - Spun Sugar, Kitsch Flamingo

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!)

Eileen Hull Sizzix Cantilever Sewing box Die Tutorial

Hello Eileen Hull fans! At the beginning of the month, Eileen released some Classic Sizzix die designs that were brought back due to popular demand. (If you missed the Release Party, you can watch the replay here.) The Inspiration Team had a lot of fun revisiting these old favorites and we've been sharing tutorials for our projects all throughout January. Here is a closer look at one of mine featuring the Scoreboards Cantilever Sewing Box Die:

This die design is based on vintage cantilever sewing boxes. You can swing them open just like the originals!

Think of all the fun goodies you could stash in one of these cute boxes!

Top view:

How to assemble:

1) Before I cut all the pieces out, I colored my Sizzix Mat Board with blue Distress Paint on one side and spritzed with Winterberry Mica Spray on the other.

2) On the two boxes I was going to use on the bottom, I added die cut grass around the edges.

3) I used sections of washi tape glued at the corners to assemble all the box parts. A rubber band around the top held it all in place while the glue dried.

4) To help reinforce the base of the box, I cut an extra piece of mat board 21/8" x 6" to glue underneath the two bottom boxes.

5) Using the brads and cross pieces, you just start building up and attaching the other boxes.

These are the new dies released this month:

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 - Cantilever Sewing Box  ( Sizzix, FJ )
Eileen Hull Die Set - Shadowbox Elements ( Sizzix, SB, FJ )
Eileen Hull Die Set - Birds & Butterflies 661901- retired
Eileen Hull Die Set - Journaling Cards, Flowers & Leaves 662811 - retired

Sizzix Mat Board
Distress Paint (blues)

28 1/8" brads

washi tape

Distress Mica Spray - Winterberry

Sizzix Making Tool - Shaping Kit

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!)

Eileen Hull's January Sizzix Release 2024!

 

Welcome to the Sizzix 2024 January Release Party of Eileen Hull's newest die collection! 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,

"You asked for it – we did it! The Classic Cantilever Sewing Box, Embroidery Hoop and Needle Book dies have been brought back because you asked. These dies all relate to stitching but of course may also be used in other ways. They are all Bigz dies which are so versatile because of the number of materials that may be cut with them.

I have fond memories of my Mom’s wooden sewing box and designed this Cantilever Sewing Box to replicate that. It’s great for storing sewing supplies like needles, thread, buttons, floss and pins- but it also works for hair bands and clips, small storage items, jewelry, desk organization and small treats. Use the drawers separately to organize your desk drawers or create a shadowbox – so many ways to use! Finished size is 3 1/2" x 6 1/4" x 2 1/4".

The Embroidery Hoop measures 4" and is designed to be cut from thick material such as matboard or chipboard. You can actually tuck thin fabrics in the hoop and stitch on them. Or you can die cut from paper and use the hoop on card fronts. Use the pieces separately or all together.

The Needle Book is also a ScoreBoard die and features a pretty scalloped edge to the book. It measures 3 1/2" x 2 1/4" x 1/2" and is perfect for storing your stitching needles and pins – works great when made from felt! But it can also be made from matboard, chipboard, leather or fabric – one of the benefits of the Bigz dies.

Please join us for the It’s All about Stitching Release Party that will be held on Tuesday, January 2nd at noon Eastern time on my YouTube, Facebook and Instagram pages. The team and I will be sharing creative ways to use these dies – we can’t wait to share them with you! There will be giveaways so make sure to tune in and see how to enter to win!"

The New Collection:

The team has been busy creating lots of samples so please make sure to visit the Blog Hop post on Eileen's blog and be watching social media to see their makes! There's a giveaway too! Comment in the Facebook and YouTube streams and tell us which is your new favorite die or folder and what you would make with it. You have until July 8th to post your comments.

Here's a look at some of the projects I made using Eileen's new dies. Tutorials will be coming up later in the month…

Using the Cantilever Sewing Box Die, I created a cheerful floral box for keeping those special objects in.

I made an embroidered needle book with the Needle Book Die. It's decorated using mixed media stamps made with Eileen's Snail Mail Thinlits Die Set.

Last is a stitchy wall hanging featuring the Embroidery Hoop Die and felt flowers cut with some of Eileen's retired dies.

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

Best Loved Eileen Hull Dies

Hello, I hope you are having a good week! All this month Eileen Hull's Inspiration Team is sharing projects made with their favorite dies, both past and present. (You can check out what's been shared so far here, here and here.)

Of course it was really hard to choose which die I wanted to use. (There are so many favorites!) I decided to pull out my Cantilever Sewing Box die. These are so much fun to make and are perfect for gifts. They hold all sorts of jewelry or other trinkets. (I previously made a steampunk themed box you can see here.)

They are bigger than you might think! A finished one is 6 x 4.25 x 2.25 in.

The sides open up to reveal the drawers:

Here's a tutorial about how this goes together. (You can also download an instruction sheet from Sizzix.) Sorry for the bad lighting in the photos. I need an art room lighting upgrade!

Step 1
I covered my mat board with patterned paper before I began.

Step 2
I cut out all the parts. You need six drawer parts, two foot units, two lids, and four sets of the struts. Note that in the photo below I'm missing two sets of the struts. Oops! Sizzix also recommends that you hand cut a base that is 2 1/8 x 6 inches to make the box sturdier. More on that later.

Step 3
Glue the two bottom drawers together. (I used a glue gun for all the assembly.) Here it shows the optional 2 1/8 x 6 inch base piece you can cut. If you glue it onto the bottom drawer units it reinforces the whole sewing box and keeps it from sagging a bit in the middle.

Extra base board glued on and foot units glued on as well

Step 4
You will need twenty-eight brads to assemble this. Start with the base.

Just keep stacking up!

Before gluing on the lids, I made pin cushion pads to attach first. I also decorated them with embroidered felt flowers and pearl button handles. It was easier to do all that first and then glue the lids onto the box.

Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to head on over to Eileen's blog and see what everyone else is sharing. I hope you have a chance to be creative in the near future! ;-)

Dies:
Eileen Hull Sizzix 

Cantilever Sewing Box

Stitchy Flowers

Birds & Butterflies

Other:

Eileen Hull Heartfelt cardstock paper pad

mat board

felt

small brads

embroidery floss

adhesive

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!)

November Art With Heart Challenge – A Stitch In Time

Hello there! Eileen Hull's November Art With Heart Challenge is underway and to celebrate her new Stitchlits collection the theme is A Stitch In Time. You can interpret that theme however you like, just show us your oh-Sew-crafty projects for a chance to win some of the new Stitchlits Sizzix dies. My teammates have been making some incredible projects and we are all very excited about this new collection. One of my favorite dies is the Cantilever Sewing Box. The possibilities are endless! It opens up just like the real thing. I made mine steampunk style:

Unfortunately I was a little over efficient in deleting my raw photo files and I dumped all my step photos. Oops! Trust me when I say that this really isn't hard to put together; it just looks complicated. I'll just have to make another one for a tutorial. =) Onward with more photos:

Did I mention that I love gears?

Now check out how it opens! Sooo cool. You can fit all sorts of trinkets into it:

I hope that you head on over to Eileen Hull's blog and check out all the fabulous projects made with the new Stitchlits collection. It's sure to be a favorite!

I am also going to enter this Sewing Box into the SanDee&amelie's Steampunk Challenge blog's Winter 'Anything Goes' challenge.

Dies:
Eileen Hull Sizzix 

Cantilever Sewing Box

Other:

mat board

small brads

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!)