Welcome to the Chapter 1 Eileen Hull/Sizzix Release Party Blog Hop! Just wait till you see all of the fun options the new ScoreBoards Folio Journal Die has in store for you! You will also love the Mandala and Folio Page, Pockets and Flowers Thinlits Dies that coordinate with it.
Please hop through the blogs and be inspired by the work of the talented Inspiration and Educator Teams! Leave a comment for each designer and you could win a Folio Journal Die (as soon as it arrives!)
Join me and special guests for a Facebook Live on Wednesday, Feb. 3 at noon Eastern. Comment on our Facebook Live and be eligible to win either the Mandela Die or the Folio Pages, Pockets and Flowers Die Set – two winners will be chosen!
Winners will be announced on the Facebook Live show on February 9 at 6:00 EST.
We appreciate your love and support, friends!
Eileen's new dies:
I used the Folio Journal and the Folio Page, Pockets and Flowers set to create a grungy, cyberpunk-y (sort of) robot themed journal:
Find MORE PHOTOS, and a bit of a tutorial after the Hop list!
And now for the promised MORE photos! Get comfy, there is lots to see:
Back side
Removable elastic band keeps the journal closed
Comes complete with a Sonic Screwdriver!
I love how the Folio Journal sides can make pockets or be fold out flaps.
Some photos of the pages in the book part:
Keep going, more to see!!
If you are an Isaac Asimov fan you will recognize the 3 laws. ;-)
Tutorial Time!
Step 1 – After cutting the journal covers out of mat board, I covered the fronts with sections of foil ducting tape (available from hardware store). Note I did not cover the part of the back cover spine I was going to glue to the front cover!
Step 2 – Paint! I used a combination of blue and green acrylic paints to splotchily paint the covers. When it was dry I lightly sanded it to distress it.
Step 3 – I stamped all over the covers with Archival Inks. I have stamps, inks and stencils spread out all over my work table. Definite craft explosion. I also used the Circuit stencil to add some embossing to the cover.
Step 4 – I cut paper to fit inside the covers and adhered, then did some more stamping and stenciling.
Little folded mat board do-hickey above is the tab you use to turn the flap into a pocket.
Looky, now it's a pocket! These little mini composition books from the Dollar Tree fit perfectly.
Step 5 – Time to work on the little book signature that goes inside. The Folio Page, Pocket & Flowers Die set has a die that cuts, you guessed it, pages to fit into your Folio Journal! Eileen designed a really nifty feature into the die that makes it easy to cut folded signature pages. The little tabs on the side (see red arrows) line up with the folded edge so you know exactly where to position the paper so the fold doesn't get cut off. So handy!
I went ahead and cut my cover and some pages to go inside.
Step 6 – I went to town and stamped and stenciled the cover and alllll the pages! See, I told you my table was a craft explosion. =)
Here are the pages all done before I bound them into a signature.
Whew! You made it! Thanks for visiting and reading all this. I hope you have fun hopping and be sure to tune in to Eileen's Facebook live Wednesday, 12 pm EST on 2/3! You have about a week to comment on all the hop blog posts to be eligible for the prize.
Don't forget the Create and Craft UK shows on 2/3 as well. Wednesday is packed! Catch them live as there is no replay.
Hello there! I hope your week is going well so far. I was able to get some crafty work done this weekend and I have some new Valentine cards to share with you. Eileen has three new Chapter 1 Sizzix dies that just got released, the Mandala Thinlits Die, the Folio Page, Pocket & Flowers Thinlits Set, and the Folio Journal XL Die. I used the first two for these valentines:
Here's a closer look:
I cut doilies with the Mandala die out of Rinea Foil Paper and it really adds some shine!
Scroll on for some tips and tricks I used to create these cards!
Mixed Media Umbrella Man Card: I've shared this die hack before but it's a good one so I'll share it again. =) You can use fun foam from the craft store and use your dies to make stamps! (This really extends the use of your dies.)
Step 1 - I cut a piece of fun foam and applied adhesive to one side using my Xyron Creative Station Lite. I also cut a piece of plastic packaging waste that would fit my die cut shape to use as the stamp base.
Next I cut out the Mandala Die shape out of the foam. Thinlits dies easily cut the fun foam. I had to use a die pick to poke out all the little parts which was a bit tedious, but this stamp is reusable so I was okay with putting a bit of time into it.
Once the tiny pieces were out, I just peeled off the release sheet and adhered the foam shape to the plastic. Voila! Stamp made.
Step 2 - You can use paint or ink on these foam stamps. I raided my gel plate print stash and found a nice one to use as my card background. I put a little puddle of paint on my craft sheet and used a brayer to apply the paint to the stamp. (Don't use too much paint or you will glop up the tiny openings.)
I had extra paint so I stamped another print I had laying there. I'll save that for another project. To clean the stamp I just wiped it off with a baby wipe.
Step 3 - Die hack #2! Here's another way to get more use out of your dies. I used Eileen's Hearts Journaling Cards Die Set to make a heart stencil. The plastic I use is overhead projector film which is thin enough to cut easily with the Thinlits dies.
I used my custom stencil to add some embossed hearts to the card background. Easy peasy!
Slim Line Hearts Card:
No die hacks for this card but I will say it is very handy to have a stash of gel plate prints on hand to use for backgrounds. The print I chose had some nice pattern in it already so I didn't have to add much. I liked the punchy orange and hot pink colors too.
I cut and dry embossed hearts for the focal point (you must have some hearts on a Valentine card!) I also cut some Mandala Die doilies out of Rinea Foil Paper to add some bling to the background. Rinea Foil Paper is just that, paper that has foil laminated to both sides so it's strong, cuts and folds very easily and can also be bent and formed to shapes. It's fun stuff to work with! (You can see a couple of other projects using it here and here.)
I found it easy to use my Creative Station to apply adhesive to the foil sheets before I cut out the shapes. Once cut, I just peeled off the release sheet and stuck them down onto my card background.
Thanks for stopping by and checking out my post. Be sure to keep an eye on Eileen's blog this month to see all the card ideas the designers will be sharing!
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.
Hello all and happy new years! Are we ready for 2021?? I'm not sure but I do know that I must keep being creative or who know what will happen ha ha! This month Eileen Hull's Teams are making cards using Eileen's dies. I need to work on getting a stash of cards made; I always seem to come up on someone's birthday and have to scramble to get a card made. To kick off January though, I created a set of thank you cards to send out for our Christmas gifts using Eileen's Mitten Box Die.
I made three of each design so I have plenty to send. I kept them simple so they were quick to make. Let's take a look:
Step 1 - Cutting the cards. The Mitten Box Die is a 3-D die but you don't have to use it only for 3-D projects! The mitten shape is great for all sorts of other creations too. To make cards I cut cardstock into 10.5 x 4" pieces and folded them in half. I lined the folded edge up just inside of the cutting blade of the mitten cuff and ran it through my Big Shot.
It cuts the mitten shape but leaves the fold intact to make the card base! It's an old but handy trick. ;-)
I also used the die to cut the white mitten cuffs. I trimmed off the extra part with scissors and then stamped the sentiment onto it. Later on I also realized it made more sense to flip the cuff around so the fold would be at the top of the card.
I used simple techniques for each card set. For Card #1 I used the Plaid stencil with Hickory Smoke Distress Ink and then embossed with Hickory Smoke Distress Glaze. (I hadn't yet realized that it was awkward to have the card fold at the bottom. DOH!)
Card Combo #2: I lightly stamped some dots onto the card base with Dusty Concord ink. After drying it, I spritzed Distress Resist Spray through the snowflake stencil and then embossed it with Soft Fallen Snow embossing powder.
Card Combo #3: I dry embossed the mitten front by opening up the card and lining the edge of the cuff up with the edge of the embossing folder. I did not want the cuff embossed (easier to stick on the sentiment part) nor did I want the back of the card embossed 'cause then you can't write in it.
Then I rubbed my Speckled Egg Distress Ink pad directly on the embossed part, following it up with some Speckled Egg Distress Glaze embossing to give it some shine.
Card Combo #4: I embossed the card front with Ranger's Sticky Embossing Powder. This is a great way to add glitter or in this case white Fun Flock to a project. When you heat emboss the Sticky powder, it melts and gets sticky (imagine that!) You have a short window of time to stick stuff to it before it cools. I had my Fun Flock ready to go and as soon as I melted the powder, I sprinkled the flock all over the card and gently pressed it down to make sure it was adhered well.
Now I need to get busy and write my notes so I can pop them in the mail! Thanks for stopping by and checking out my post. Be sure to keep an eye on Eileen's blog this month to see all the card ideas the designers will be sharing!
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.
Merry almost Christmas! I still have lots of ideas for Christmas projects I want to make but we'll see how many of them get completed. That always seems to be the pattern lol. I think I need to start in July. At any rate, here is a fun one. I built this little scene inside of a vintage nut dish I found thrifting somewhere. I've been staring at it sitting there for a few months now and this idea popped into my head. I wanted to try a more limited color palette so I went with kraft, white, red and green.
The gingerbread house lifts off the base and you can fit a battery powered tea light underneath for a nice flicker effect. The house is made with the retired Tim Holtz Village Dwelling and Village Gingerbread dies. I also used two other retired die sets to create the cookie tree and mini gingerbread man for the landscape.
I got the lollypop and other Christmas picks from Hobby Lobby I think. I used the balls to decorate the gold bottle brush trees. It pays to have a stash! It makes it easy when doing projects like this - I didn't even have to leave my house.
Thanks for stopping by! I hope you have a great rest of the week and have a chance to squeeze some creativity in.
I am also entering this into the Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog's current challenge, "Deck the Halls". It runs until Tuesday night so you have a chance to enter too.
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.
Merry Christmas everyone! It's almost here! I'm still crafting away on Christmas projects, even cards to mail (although I don't think they will arrive at their destinations until after Christmas, oops. Better late than never!) Here is a card I made using the Darkroom Door Pine Cones Stamp Set.
I really love the Pine Cones set. It has a great selection of realistic pine cones and needles. Perfect for woodsy projects and of course Christmas cards! I used Distress Inks because I wanted to utilize their reactivity to water. Using a stamping platform, I first stamped the pinecone in the lighter brown (Brushed Corduroy) and spritzed it lightly with water so it would wick out. After drying it, I stamped over the top with the darker brown for detail. I like the watercolor effect of the wicking. Next I masked off the pine cones and stamped the pine needles. It's a quick and easy card! This design wouldn't be too hard to mass produce if you wanted to make many of them for mailing out.
Thanks for stopping by! I hope you are finding some holiday joy and have a chance to get some creative time in the midst of the hustle and bustle.
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.
Howdy folks! Is 2020 really almost done? Hurray! It is nice to look back on the year and remember the art that I've created over the past months. I had a hard time only picking my favorite four projects I made with Eileen's dies – I was pleased with so many of them lol. Here we go though… my top four:
The space themed Gift Box Die project is one I made for Creativation in January. I really enjoyed making this one and sewing up the little spool album that stashes inside. You can see the tutorial and all the details in this blog post.
Next is an 'April showers bring May flowers' project I made last spring using Eileen's new Tiny Book and Tiny Book Case Dies. I was pleased at how the contrast between the April 'outside' contrasted with the May 'inside' mini album. It was just what I was going for! You can see all the details in the original post.
In June, we did a collaboration with Belagio, makers of cork fabric. This fabric is so much fun to work with! I made a little journal for my cousin's new baby. All the details about the fabric and how I made the Passport Book journal can be found on the post.
Lastly, just this past October I made a fall Teacup that I just love! Fall is my favorite. ;-) I love fall colors, fall leaves and warm woodsy tones so this project ticks all the boxes. All the details are in its post!
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. If you want to participate in the currently running Comfort & Joy Event you will need to join as that is where all the action will be! 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. ;-)
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.
Hello, I am honored to be a guest designer today on the Funkie Junkie Boutique blog! The current challenge is 'A Time to Be Grateful' which is a very worthy one! To help me focus on gratefulness, I created a little keeper using Eileen Hull's Post Box Die. Each day for the month of December I will write something I am grateful for on a slip of paper and pop it into the box. I think it will help me to be mindful of things and not just let the month blur by in a whirl.
I cut the slips of paper using Eileen Hull's retired Credit Card Sleeve die but you can cut them by hand with a trimmer etc.
Back side of box
I added a magnetic closure to the flap.
After I finished my box, I realized that I didn't have any step by step photos! oops! I used the same techniques to make a card (below) so I could take pictures. So, imagine doing these steps on the Post Box Die cut out. ;-)
Step 1 - I spritzed my craft mat with Speckled Egg Distress Stain in both regular and Oxide stains. I dipped my background into it a few times, drying it with my heat tool each time. The far background trees I stamped in Distress Oxide Ink, Iced Spruce using the watercoloring stamping technique. (super easy!) Ink up your stamp, lightly mist with water and then stamp as usual. It gives a great watercolor effect.
I filled in the area under the stamped image with more Iced Spruce, using a blending tool.
Step 2 - A few weeks ago, one of Tim Holtz's Saturday Facebook Lives focused on making a stash of backgrounds that you could cut up into greens for your holiday projects. I used one of them (made with new the Rustic Wilderness color) to cut my foreground trees out of. It's handy to have a stash!
Step 3 - Assembling the background: For my original Post Box project, I glued the die cut trees around my stamped, then assembled box. Then I added the strip of Christmas Fabric tape around the bottom and topped it with a strip of the washi Trim Tape. For the card below, I mounted all the layers on a dark red mat layer.
Step 4 - I die cut the deer out of brown card stock and then embossed them with Vintage Photo Distress Glaze. I gives them a nice shine. On the card, I left the little fawn plain so it would contrast with the doe.
Final card:
Thanks for stopping by and checking out my post! I hope you join in the 'A Time to Be Grateful' challenge over on the Funkie Junkie blog. It is really important to remember all the things we do have to be thankful for, especially when times are tough. I am grateful that I can use my art to show what I'm thankful for! =)
Distress Spray Stains, Oxide Ink, original Distress Ink
Distress Glaze - Vintage Photo
Tim Holtz Christmas Idea-ology: Trim Tape, Fabric Tape
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.
