Eileen Hull Art With Heart Challenge

Morning everyone, today sees the start of a new challenge with the Eileen Hull Art With Heart Challenge and this month our theme is Spring Break, you can interpret the theme in whatever way you like!

The design team are showcasing the fabulous new CHA 2015 release, VINTAGE TRAVEL this month and I am showcasing the fabulous Passport Book.

Spring marks the start of the gardening season for me and I always love to see the fresh colour palettes and wonderful butterflies that visit the garden and this inspired my piece this month, using Eileen Hull's Passport Book Die, one of my favourites. I began by applying Pebeo Drawing Gum randomly to the background of the front and back covers and allowing to dry, then colouring all the die cut pieces with Abandoned Coral and Mustard Seed Distress Paints; applying them to a non-stick craft sheet and spritzing with water. I then rubbed away all the Drawing Gum which then leaves white areas in the background, love this effect. The Drawing Gum resists whatever paint I applied to the covers.

I machine stitched the front and back covers to the spine and added stamping using Prima stamps. I also included a heart cut from the kitchen towel I used to mop up all my ink, again adding stitching for added interest. I also included Prima tape stamped with FLY and a touch more machine stitching.

The centre piece to the butterfly is from Prima, I love the dimension this adds to my piece. I have also added touches of stencilling in the background using Tim Holtz Mesh Layering Stencil.

Each of the pages have been coloured with Abandoned Coral and Mustard Seed Distress Paints and once again I have added some random stitching to each page.

I also included a butterfly and pen nib to the inside pages, once again from Prima, added further background stencilling and a few paint splatters using Mustard Seen Paint.

Each page has added stencilling along with pieces of coloured kitchen towel machined into place for added texture. Splatters of Mustard Seed Paint and random stamping add further layers of interest.

This page shows in detail all the layers that I have added to each page.

The back cover has been stamped once again with a Prima image. All the pages were then added to the book tied in place with black twine. I love the bold black against the vibrant colour palette.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Tracy x x

Vintage Travel From Eileen Hull - New Release Part 2

Welcome back, I am showcasing more of Eileen Hull's fabulous CHA release for 2015. If you would like to see part one of the release you can view those HERE.

The first of today's dies is the fabulous BOX, TRAIN CASE. Again another versatile die and perfect for housing a special gift. I was aiming for a vintage, aged appearance with this piece. Once assembled I added greenery to the box die cut from white card using the Garden Greens die. I then painted all the areas with black paint and then set aside to dry. I then dry brushed with a burnt orange paint to give a rusty appearance.

I continued with the theme around the side of the box and added more greenery to the sides.

I love the hinges around the back of the case, it gives it a real authentic feel. I also added touches of wax here and there.

To complete I added a brass key and natural twine to the top along with hessian to the inside.

The next die is so cute, the 3D CHAIR, this is so realistic, I love it. Again I was going for an aged rusty appearance.

Greenery has been added to the back of the chair and once again I painted with black paint and then dry brushed with burnt orange paint.

This is another die that has so many possibilities.

I also added an Art with Heart cushion (Eileen's monthly challenge, and if you would like to join in for January you can find all the information HERE).

The final die I am showcasing is the TOOLBOX die, which I decorated as a chocolate box this time around, well I could not resist, especially as I like chocolate so much!

I was aiming for a very coordinated look for my first set of samples so once again just like yesterday's samples I decorated with the Wallpaper Paper Stash. I added a button to the centre and included natural twine around the edge of the box.

I coloured the edges with Gathered Twigs Distress Ink and added a key to the top of the box for added interest. I also added chocolates to the inside, well Eileen will need energy whilst demonstrating at CHA!

I hope you have enjoyed today's showcased pieces as much as I enjoyed making them.

If you would like to be inspired further pop along to my fellow Design Team Members, they have an amazing selection of projects to whet your appetitie for these wonderful innovative dies.

Shelly Hickox 

Michelle Zerull

Pam Bray

Lisa Hoel

Claudine Wagner Criner

Thanks so much for stopping by. Tracy x x x

Vintage Travel From Eileen Hull - New Release

I have some exciting news today, a new release from Eileen Hull , released at CHA 2015 and you are going to love them all. A new range of dies that are so versatile and have me itching to try out new designs, I cannot wait for them to arrive.

The first die is this fabulous BOOK SCOREBOARD DIE, a fabulous size and perfect for mixed media, papercrafting, stamping, altering and so much more, this is definitely going to be one of my favourites.

I decorated the book with Tim Holtz Wallflower Paper Stash, and added die cut feathers to the front, coloured with Distress Inks and Clear Rock Candy Crackle paint. I also added some mini eggs found in my collection.

The one thing I adore about the Scoreboard dies is that you can cut mountboard so easily, a fantastic base for decorating. The spine of the book has been coloured with Gathered Twigs Distress Ink and I added natural twine for added texture along with mini birdcage charm and mini eggs.

I continued with the theme on the inside of my book again using the Wallflower Paper Stash. As this release is VINTAGE TRAVEL I wanted to use birds and flight in my designs in some shape or form and this range of papers fitted perfectly with this release.

The next die is such a fun die the TRAVEL TRAILER/CARAVAN, again another Scoreboard die and this is going to be great fun to decorate in so many different ways, I love it! Again this was decorated with the Wallflower Paper Stash.

My theme for this piece was FLOWER POWER and I used Eileen's Flower, Petal Power die, which I die cut from the Wallflower Paper Stash adding Gathered Twigs Distress Ink around the edges for definition and bending the petals to give movement and shape.

I added a mini glass bottle to the top, painted with Glue and Seal and then coated with Clear Rock Candy and once completely dry I then coloured with Archival Ink to age a little. I then added a memo pin to the cork top along with a FLOWER POWER banner.

Bunting has been added to the side of the trailer for added interest and I have coloured areas with Eileen Hull's ColorBox Blends Inkpad in Nutmeg.

The final die I am showcasing today is the LUGGAGE TAG die a fantastic die to use on its own or to add to other altered pieces or cards and layouts, again so so versatile. Again I went for a bird/flight theme for this piece too.

I decorated with the Wallflower Paper Stash, sanded the edges and then coloured with Gathered Twigs Distress Ink, adding touches of wax to the edges for a touch of shimmer. I also included a paper feather along with die cut feathers and a wooden bird for added interest and dimension.

Take flight has been added using Label Letters and I have added natural jute ribbon and buckle.

I hope you have enjoyed today's showcased pieces as much as I enjoyed making them.

If you would like to be inspired further pop along to my fellow Design Team Members, they have an amazing selection of projects to whet your appetitie for these wonderful innovative dies.

Shelly Hickox 

Michelle Zerull

Pam Bray

Lisa Hoel

Diana Hetherington

Anne Redfern

Nicole Wright

Thanks so much for stopping by. Tracy x x x