Beach-y Wreath with Eileen Hull

Hello there! I'm starting to get the itch to create fall projects but I still have some summer creativity left in me! ;-) I have a beach theme going for my home summer decor and I needed a new wreath for my front door. A few weeks ago, Eileen Hull was inspired to use her Blends 2 inks and embossing powders to color sea shells. That inspired me in the creation of my new door wreath! It was really easy.

The actual wreath is a twig wreath from the craft store
that I lightly spray painted with white paint.

I started out with coloring the shells. I used a stylus with blending sponge to apply color just where I wanted it. I dried it with my heat gun.

Once I had colored and dried the shell and starfish, I went back with the clear ink (super strong for embossing!!) and added it on the parts I wanted the embossing powder to stick to.

I also die cut Paper Leather (the pink branches) and regular heavy cardstock (the 'seaweed'). The seaweed cuts I covered with clear ink and embossed with Aqua Splash powder.

Once I had all the parts prepared I went to town with my glue gun and put it all together. For a final step, I gave the whole wreath a spray with Glitter Dust to give it a bit of sparkle.

Check out Eileen's blog and if you are not already a member, join the Facebook Eileen Hull Fan Club group. It is a warm, supportive group with lots of inspiration and sharing going on. You'll just have to answer a few simple questions when asking to join (to keep out spammers) and then you'll be added. ;-)

Dies:
Sizzix
Sand & Sea ( Sizzix / SB )
Branch with Leaves & Flower (657241) - retired
Seaweed, Coral & Wave (660349) - retired

Other:

Eileen Hull Clearsnap Blends 2 inks - Pansy, Melon, Sunshine, Clear
Stylus and blending sponge tips
Eileen Hull Molten Dimensions Embossing Powder - Aqua Splash, Polished Silver, Golden Rod
Paper Leather - Pink
Glitter Dust

decorative fish net
seashell/starfish
twig wreath
white spray paint


Store links in this post may be 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 go shopping at Topflight Stamps, use my code LISAHOEL for 10% off your order.

Vintage Drafting Stool Upcycle

You may have seen some peeks of this project on Instagram over the past few weeks! A few years ago I got one of the old vintage drafting stools from my Dad's office clean out. It was grey and boring. ;-) I decided to freshen it up a bit!

Before

After!

First I spray painted the chair an aqua color. I masked off the seat and primed it with white paint.

I used Pixie Spray, a repositional adhesive for stencils, to tack down the Butterfly with Border stencil in the middle of the seat.

Next I started adding color! Blends 2 inks from Eileen Hull are vivid pigment inks that are permanent  when dry. I masked off parts of the stencil with post-it notes and used the blending stylus to easily add color just where I wanted it. When I was done with a section, I lifted the stencil and carefully used a heat tool to dry the ink. (I taped the stencil at the top so I could lift and replace it exactly were it was.)

After I had stenciled all the design, I decided outlining with a black permanent pen would really make the design pop.

I added several final coats of Krylon Crystal Clear spray over the finished artwork to protect it. I made sure to mask off the surrounding metal so the overspray wouldn't get on it.

My pretty stool is happily living in my craft room now! FYI, we just found out last week that Clearsnap, the manufacturer of Eileen's inks, is going out of business! Eileen put in a last order to stock up her etsy shop, so if you have been thinking about getting any of her inks don't delay! When they are gone, they are gone as far as we know.

Check out Eileen's blog and if you are not already a member, join the Facebook Eileen Hull Fan Club group. It is a warm, supportive group with lots of inspiration and sharing going on. You'll just have to answer a few simple questions when asking to join (to keep out spammers) and then you'll be added. ;-)

Supplies:

Eileen Hull Clearsnap Blends 2 inks - a whole bunch of colors!
Clearsnap Colorbox blending stylus with sponges
StencilGirl stencil - Butterfly with Border
StencilGirl stencil - Mod Ovals and Circles Small Stencil
Pixie Spray
Krylon Crystal Clear
heat gun
painter's tape

Store links in this post may be 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!)

Mermaid Wrapped Journal with Eileen Hull

Hello there! I'm finally getting my June project for Eileen Hull posted! =) Eileen has new branded products through Therm-o-web as well as Clearsnap inks and the Design Team is highlighting them this month. Therm-o-web was so generous and sent each of us a big box of goodies to use in our projects! It was like Christmas opening that box.

woo-hoo!!! Thanks Therm-o-web!

I tried to use as many of the products they sent as I could as well as Eileen's Blends 2 inks. I think you'll like the result. ;-) Read on for photos and tons of techniques!

I created a mermaid themed Wrapped Journal! (You know me and mermaids lol.)

I love the flap that closes the journal.

Back side.

The inside is lined with mermaid fabric.

I packed soooo many techniques into this little journal! Check them out:

1) I tried the Blends 2 inks on a Gel Press plate and I got some interesting results. The inks bead up a bit but it left an interesting mottled effect on the prints.

I dotted ink directly onto the plate and then blended with a brayer. I also lightly misted it with a bit of water after blending.

I printed one side of a piece of matboard. For the part of the board that doesn't fit on the Gel plate, I just pressed it against the still 'inked' open side of the plate. I also made more of these prints onto copy paper which I used in the covering of the signature notebooks (more on that later).

2) I covered the other side of the matboard with fabric. It is really easy to do using Eileen's new Easy Cut Adhesive. It's a double sided adhesive sheet. I applied it to the blank side, peeled off the backing paper from the second side and then smoothed on the rough cut piece of fabric.

This will be on the inside of the journal.

Because more bling is good bling, I misted the inside fabric with Glitter Dust for some added sparkle. Why not lol? Next, I cut out the journal cover with the Wrapped Journal Die and it cut easily through all the layers.

3) Decorating the cover came next! I dug into my box of Therm-o-web goodies and went to town. First I used a stencil (Mighty Wave) to apply foil Transfer Gel all over the cover. It dries but remains tacky. Then you just press the foil sheets over the top and burnish it to transfer the foil. It looks so beautiful!

Therm-o-web also sent an Adhesive Pen to use with the foil sheets. After applying the Aqua foil, I wanted to add some Lilac foil accents. I used the pen to draw in some wavy lines among the stenciled shapes. Once the fluid had dried to tacky, I pressed the Lilac foil sheet over and burnished to get it to transfer.

4) Adding the fun decorative bits:

Therm-o-web sent Flock Transfer Sheets in the box. I ended up die cutting shapes (foliage/coral) directly out of the sheets. I also covered a small piece of matboard with the blue sheet and used the Journal Die to cut the little label piece behind the mermaid. I also used a stencil and the Deco Foil Metallic Gel to the flap first. I really blinged this journal up!

5) 101 and 1 ways to use Blends 2:
Well here are three more ways at least. ;-) I used a blending sponge to apply a bit of the ink to the mermaids' tails…

…and you can use the ink like watercolors (that are permanent when dry).

I tried a technique I use with Distress Ink with the Blends and it worked perfectly:

I squeezed a few drops of ink onto my craft mat and spritzed with water. Then I smooshed the cardstock into the puddles of ink. I used these pieces to diecut 'coral' elements out of.

6) And another way to use Blends! I took the extra gel prints I had made and added streaks of color.

I added some very small dots of ink and scraped the edge of the Stencil Pal tool across the paper to streak the color. (A little ink goes a long way!)

Mini composition books from the Dollar Store fit perfectly!

I cut the papers to fit the mini composition books and added some stamping, then glued them onto the books.

Whew! You made it through this huge, long post! I hope you are inspired by the techniques and apply them to your own projects.

Check out Eileen's blog and if you are not already a member, join the Facebook Eileen Hull Fan Club group. It is a warm, supportive group with lots of inspiration and sharing going on. You'll just have to answer a few simple questions when asking to join (to keep out spammers) and then you'll be added. ;-)

Dies:
Eileen Hull Sizzix
Wrapped Journal ( Sizzix / SB )
Journal ( Sizzix / SB )

Other:

Eileen Hull Easy Cut Adhesive
Eileen Hull Clearsnap Blends 2 inks - Coconut, Beach , Bay, Leaf, Frog, Pansy, Melon, Wildberry, Nutmeg, Sunshine, Rose Gold
Sizzix matboard
stencil - Diana Wakely, Mighty Wave
stencil - Tim Holtz, Burst
Gel Press Plate
elastic
$1 Store mini composition books
mermaid fabric
Lavinia stamps - Sebastian, Seaweed 2, Sea Creatures, Forest Spruce, Guinevere Mermaid, Alana Mermaid

Therm O web products:
Deco Foil - Aqua, Lilac
Deco Foil Transfer Gel
Deco Foil Adhesive Pen
Glitter Dust
Deco Foil Metallic Gel - Champagne Mist
Stencil Pal
Ultra Bond Adhesive
Flock Transfer Sheets - Orange Glow, Blue Diamond

Store links in this post may be 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!)

Mixed Media Card with Eileen Hull

Hello! I've been playing more with Eileen's new Molten Dimensions Embossing Powder and Clearsnap Blends Ink.

The powders are chunky and you get really good coverage and dimension. I discovered that I can use my Melting Pot to easily make all the embossed die cut elements. (The Ranger Melting Pot was designed by Suze Weinberg and they were sadly discontinued a few years ago. You might have one in your craft stash already or be able to find one used on eBay etc.)

I die cut the flower parts, inked them with Eileen's clear (super sticky!) Blends Ink, applied the powder and set it into the pre-heated pot to melt. (It doesn't take long!) I had these non-stick inserts with side flaps that were made to fit into the tray which made it really easy to remove the melted die cut. I just lifted the liner out and let it cool off to the side before handling it. You could do the same thing with a folded piece of foil or paper.

On the large gold flower, I stamped it to give it an embossed texture. The round stamp from the Tim Holtz set The Professor fit perfectly onto the flower tips. While the powder was still molten, I carefully pressed the stamp in place and then left it there until the powder had cooled and solidified. Then the stamp just pops off.

The frame is the front from the Trinket Box die. (See, 3-D dies can be used for 2-D projects too!) I covered the frame with the clear embossing powder, sprinkled on White Wonder powder and then gently knocked some of the powder off by tapping on the back. I wanted some 'gaps' that would give an eggshell, vintage texture after melting. After I embossed it and it was cool, I rubbed Nutmeg Blends Ink all over the frame, working it into the gaps left by the powder I knocked off. I buffed the extra ink off with a soft cloth before it dried. I also added a bit of ink to the flower parts to give them a vintage distressed look too. I had to use a strong liquid adhesive to glue the flowers together because of the slick embossed surfaces. Crafter's Pick The Ultimate! glue is one of my favorites for such jobs.

Thanks for stopping by! Check out Eileen's blog and if you are not already a member, join the Facebook Eileen Hull Fan Club group. It is a warm, supportive group with lots of inspiration and sharing going on. You'll just have to answer a few simple questions when asking to join (to keep out spammers) and then you'll be added. ;-)

Dies:
Eileen Hull Sizzix
Journaling Cards - Flowers & Leaves ( Sizzix / SB )
Book & Pages, Trinket Box & Frame ( Sizzix / SB )
Flower, Heart & Soul - retired

Other:

Eileen Hull Embossing Powder by Emerald Creek - Golden Rod
Eileen Hull Embossing Powder by Emerald Creek - Aqua Splash
Eileen Hull Embossing Powder by Emerald Creek - White Wonder
Eileen Hull Clearsnap Blends Ink - Clear, Nutmeg, Ebony
cardstock
Tim Holtz Stamp Set - The Professor
Distress Oxides Spray - Cracked Pistachio, Vintage Photo, Fired Brick, Spiced Marmalade
Distress Paint - Antique Linen
Tim Holtz Big Chat Stickers
Ranger Melting Pot - retired
Butterfly metal embellishment 
stencil - TCW169, Kasbah

Sizzix and Scrapbook.com 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!)