Spring Bling for Eileen Hull Designs

Hi everyone and welcome. As Eileen Hull's Inspiration Team welcome in Spring we have been sharing lots of new projects to showcase some of the possibilities for using them. Make sure to check them all out on Eileen's website HERE.

For my project this month I created a pair of earrings and matching gift box using Eileen's new 'Stacking Drawers' Scoreboards XL Die and the previously released 'Journaling Cards, Flowers & Leaves' Thinlits Die Set.

If you enjoy creating and giving or selling your own jewellery Eileen's Stacking Drawers Die provides the perfect option for packaging them in a bespoke way. I had a small piece of Gel Plate printed paper left over from another project which fit the bill for decorating this drawer once it had been cut from mountboard using the die.. The reverse and edges were coloured with Eileen's Colorbox Blends 'Bay' ink and drops of Wendy Vecchi 'Carnation Red' Enamel Accents were added for an extra pop of colour.

Some of you may remember that I previously created a pair of earrings using Eileen's dies back in August 2017; the tutorial for those can be found HERE. This pair were done in a similar way using Sizzix Paper Leather as it is lightweight yet durable. This time I used a flower and leaves from Eileen's 'Journaling Cards, Flowers & Leaves' die set because they produce smaller sized pieces which are ideal for jewellery. The die cut pieces were coloured using more of Eileen's Colorbox Blends ('Bay', 'Leaf' and 'Frog') with detail drawn on using a Sakura Gelly Roll pen and more Enamel Accents added to the centres of the flowers. The white semi-precious stone beads and silver findings came from my stash.

To coordinate the gift box perfectly with the completed earrings more flowers and leaves were added to the top of the box with some tiny white flowers introduced for a final flourish. It would be easy to add a little gift tag for the recipient at this stage.

That's it for this month's Eileen Hull Designs project from me. Make sure to check out the projects from the talented members of Eileen's Inspiration Team on her website HERE.

Thanks for visiting,
Jenny xxx

Pass The Tissues, Please for Frilly and Funkie

Hi everyone and welcome. Over at the Frilly and Funkie Challenge blog we are in a decidedly romantic mood. It's Sara Emily's turn to host and she's calling her challenge 'Pass The Tissues, Please!' Sara Emily says "Since we are still in 'cold season', I always make sure I'm stocked up on tissues in my home, in my purse and in the car. For this theme, I would like to see how you incorporate tissue paper into your vintage or shabby chic project. You can use regular tissues, tissue wrapping paper, sewing patterns or even collage paper, rice papers or tissue wrap designed especially for crafting."

As ever, the Design Team will choose their top four picks, with the winner being invited to join us in a Guest DT spot at Frilly and Funkie and the next three will receive Top 3 badges to display on their blogs. Everyone who enters and follows the rules will be entered into the draw to have the chance to win a $25 spending spree at The Funkie Junkie Boutique.

This challenge is the perfect opportunity to create a new tag using Tim Holtz new Typography Collage Paper in combination with a Lace Baseboard Frame, Sizzix Alterations Wildflower Stems and some of the new Alcohol Pearls.

I began by adding an uneven layer of Texture Paste followed by a couple of coats of White Gesso to a Small Etcetera Tag. Once dry a layer of the Typography Collage Paper was applied with Matte Collage Medium which ensured that uneven surface was maintained. This was important as the final step to creating the base layer was to sand back the surface and give the illusion of a timeworn surface.

Having worked out where to place one of the Lace Baseboard Frames a thinly diluted coat of the White Gesso was painted over the area to tone down the pattern in that area. More Texture Paste was applied in patches which could then be stamped over with one of the new Fragments stamps in Peeled Paint Archival Ink. Having seen how Kathy Wright Clement cleverly altered her Lace Frame with tissue I was inspired to give it a go too, using small pieces from the Typography Collage Paper to match it in with the background. To finish the frame I searched out a couple of Halloween Vignette Accent corners from my stash and after painting them with White Gesso sanded them back to reveal some of the metals underneath.

With some of the new Wildflower Stems already planned as the centrepiece of this tag it was just a question of how to decorate them. To add some much needed vibrancy I painted two of them with Dina Wakley Media Acrylic Paint (Evergreen/Lemon) before adding some of the new Alcohol Pearls Ink over the top (Sublime/Alchemy). The thin stem was painted with Sedona and a thin layer of Pearl Mixative Ink added on top to give a similar look (using Deception Alcohol Pearl would be quicker if you have it).

The stems were layered over a die cut Tattered Butterfly (to give them support) and one of the new Transparent Wings was fixed on top with Glossy Accents and Rose Gold Liquid Pearls. The Liquid Pearls was also used to add a few dots above and below the frame and a Quote Chip sentiment was added to finish the tag.

So that's my take on using 'Pass The Tissues, Please!' for the current Frilly and Funkie challenge. My talented team mates have created lots more amazing projects for this challenge so make sure you hop on over and check them out HERE. And remember to link up your own shabby chic or vintage projects featuring the use of tissue to be in with a chance of winning one of the fabulous prizes.

All the products used are available from The Funkie Junkie Boutique and are listed below.

Thanks for visiting,
Jenny xxx

Tim Holtz Ideaology Typography Collage Paper
Tim Holtz Ideaology Baseboard Frames Lace
Tim Holtz Ideaology Transparent Wings
Tim Holtz Cling Stamps Fragments
Tim Holtz Sizzix Alterations Thinlits Die Set Wildflower Stems #1
Tim Holtz Sizzix Alterations Bigz Die Tattered Butterfly
Tim Holtz Alcohol Pearls
Tim Holtz Distress Mini Archival Ink Pad Kit #2

Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Etcetera Small Tag Thickboards	Ranger Texture Paste Opaque Matte INK44444	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Collage Medium Matte TDA47933	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Vignette Accents, Halloween	Dina Wakley Media Mediums - White Gesso - 2 oz. Tube MDM41672	Dina Wakley Media Acrylic Paint - Lemon, 1oz Bottle	Dina Wakley Heavy Body Paint - Evergreen - 2oz Tube MDP48824
Dina Wakley Media Acrylic Paint - Sedona	Ranger Adirondack Alcohol Ink - Pearl Mixative TIM22114	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Quote Chips	Ranger Wendy Vecchi Archival Ink Pad - Potting Soil AID38979

Artist Trading Coins for Frilly and Funkie

Hi everyone and welcome. Over at the Frilly and Funkie Challenge blog we are in a decidedly romantic mood. It's Suzz's turn to host and she's calling her challenge 'Artist Trading Coins'. Suzz says "The challenge this time is to create an Artist Trading Coin. I was inspired by a new way of capturing a little bit of art to share with others. Your challenge is to create a trading coin which should be a circle shape 2 1/2 inches in diameter."

As ever, the Design Team will choose their top four picks, with the winner being invited to join us in a Guest DT spot at Frilly and Funkie and the next three will receive Top 3 badges to display on their blogs. Everyone who enters and follows the rules will be entered into the draw to have the chance to win a $25 spending spree at The Funkie Junkie Boutique.

This is my first go at making Artist Trading Coins and they were so much fun. Who knew you could add so much detail to something just 2.5 inches in diameter! For each one the stamping was done on Wendy Vecchi's Perfect Cardstock - White Panels using various shades of her Archival Inks with the colouring in completed using the matching shades of MAKE ART Blendable Dye Inks and a little water. Almost all of the images were easily cut using the corresponding dies, shaped and layered together using white cotton thread and dimensional tape.

For the first one I stamped Studio 490 Wendy Vecchi's Background Stamp 'Faded Florals' with her Tea Rose Archival Ink onto the ATC background and then blended the matching Tea Rose MAKE ART Blendable Dye Ink over the top. The flower is from Wendy Vecchi's MAKE ART Stamp, Die, Stencil Set - Flowers Say It All, stamped in Watering Can Archival Ink and coloured with Sunflower MAKE ART Blendable Dye Ink. The leaf is from the same set, stamped in Fern Green Archival Ink and coloured with the same shade of MAKE ART Blendable Dye Ink. The butterfly comes from Wendy Vecchi's MAKE ART Stamp, Die, Stencil Set - Country Flowers, stamped in Violet Archival Ink and coloured with the same shade of MAKE ART Blendable Dye Ink. Finally the stems comes from Wendy Vecchi's MAKE ART Stamp, Die, Stencil Set - A Million Thanks, stamped in Peat Moss Archival Ink.

For the second one I stamped the Faded Florals Background with Wendy's Sky Blue Archival Ink onto the ATC background and then blended the matching Sky Blue MAKE ART Blendable Dye Ink over the top. The flower is again from the Flowers Say It All set, stamped in Red Geranium Archival Ink and coloured with the same shade of MAKE ART Blendable Dye Ink. The leaf is from the same set, stamped in Fern Green Archival Ink and coloured with the same shade of MAKE ART Blendable Dye Ink. The butterfly again comes from the Country Flowers set, stamped this time in Cornflower Blue Archival Ink and coloured with the same shade of MAKE ART Blendable Dye Ink. Finally the stems again come from the A Million Thanks set, stamped in Peat Moss Archival Ink.

For the third one I stamped the Faded Florals Background with Wendy's Prickly Pear Archival Ink onto the ATC background and then blended the matching Prickly Pear MAKE ART Blendable Dye Ink over the top. This time the flower is from the Country Flowers set, stamped in Thistle Archival Ink and coloured with the same shade of MAKE ART Blendable Dye Ink. The leaf is from the same set, stamped in Fern Green Archival Ink and coloured with the same shade of MAKE ART Blendable Dye Ink. The butterfly comes from the A Million Thanks set, stamped in Watering Can Archival Ink and coloured with Sunflower MAKE ART Blendable Dye Ink. Finally the stems again come from the A Million Thanks set, stamped in Peat Moss Archival Ink.

With the Artist Trading Coins made it was time to find a use for them beyond trading. Inspired by Kathy Wright Clement's clever idea for adding them to her beautiful cards I cut 3 inch apertures into Wendy Vecchi Perfect Cardstock - White Cards and mounted each ATC in the centre. Space has been left underneath the apertures so that a sentiment can be added to each card as and when they are needed.

So those are my 'Artist Trading Coins' for the current Frilly and Funkie challenge. My talented team mates have created lots more amazing ATC's for this challenge so make sure you hop on over and check them out HERE. And remember to link up your own Artist Trading Coins to be in with a chance of winning one of the fabulous prizes.

All the products used are available from The Funkie Junkie Boutique and are listed below.

Thanks for visiting,
Jenny xxx

Wendy Vecchi MAKE ART Stamp, Die, Stencil Set - Flowers Say It All

Wendy Vecchi MAKE ART Stamp, Die, Stencil Set - A Million Thanks

Wendy Vecchi MAKE ART Stamp, Die, Stencil Set - Country Flowers

Wendy Vecchi Archival Inks

Wendy Vecchi MAKE ART Blendable Dye Inks
Wendy Vecchi Perfect Cardstock - White Panels

Wendy Vecchi Perfect Cardstock - White Cards