StencilGirl and Eileen Hull Inspiration Team Blog Hop

Welcome to the last day of the week-long StencilGirl and Eileen Hull Blog Hop!

All this week members of both design teams have been sharing their creative projects 

using the wonderful products from the StencilGirl and Eileen Hull brand items.

Please click on ALL the blogs on the hop list at the end of this post

to see their inspiring projects and to leave comments for the grand prize drawing!

If you have been following all week, you are here at the last project.

But if you're starting here at the end, please go back and catch up on all the great fun earlier this week.

For my project, I made a cute little art journal with Eileen's fabulous

  Sizzix Mini Album die, a favorite of mine.

Click here to see the steps for constructing this quick and simple album, 

using wallpaper and baker's twine, made while I was enduring this last fast-paced month of construction in my new painting studio.

The journal pages in the mini album were cut from white Bristol paper 

with Eileen's album die to be the same size as the journal cover. 

On these pages, I used two StencilGirl stencils in layers:

the 6" square Leaves 6 Stencil and the larger Garden Swirl Stencil.

 

Happily, the 6" leaves stencil is just a little larger than the 5+1/2" die-cut page,

allowing the design to float gently off the edges.

Using a Copic marker (YG03), I filled in the leaves with quick strokes

to allow for some natural shading.

It's really easy to fit the Copic brush tip in the small areas of the stencil.

Then, keeping the stencil in place, I highlighted with more Copic markers 

(YG61, B00, and Y17) on the tips of the leaves.

Next, to add some depth to the overall leaf pattern, 

I laid the leafy areas of the Garden Swirl Stencil over top, 

outlining the stencil shapes with a Derwent Metallic colored pencil 

(Green 91- looks blue), then lightly coloring in where the stencil itself was solid.

Because this was to be a background for writing,

I faded the colored pencil more by slightly erasing it, leaving the faint metallic imprint.

I know, erasing is not much fun.  But if you listen to some blues guitar, you can better 

get in the rhythm of this little life challenge. :)

Now the pages were ready for doodling and writing encouraging reminders to myself as I slowly move into my new studio space.

I used a waterproof black pen to letter and the same Copics to fill in the doodled border.

You may have to enlarge the photos to better see the effect of the penciled stencil in the background.

To see another mini album made using Eileen's Craffiti barn wood and flower wreath stamps, which I sampled when they were first released, please click here.

GIVEAWAY

Such a great prize package awaits one lucky commenter on this blog hop.

Leave a comment on this blog to be entered to win.

All comments left for the entire week August 18-22 on all blogs in the hop

will be eligible for the grand giveaway prize.

One comment per blog post.

Comments will close Sunday, August 24, at midnight Central Time.

Winner will be announced on Tuesday, August 26.

Today's Blog Hop Order

StencilGirl Talk (see days 1-5)

Janet Joehlin

Maria McGuire

Beth Watson

Pam Keravuori (you are here)

eileen hull's mini-album die with sizzix

Although I still don't have access to my art supplies while my studio 

is in its last weeks of construction (the painters are re-scheduled for next week), 

I bit the bullet and went shopping for a little more . . . 

not too much more, though, since I do have stacks of stuff,

all of which I'll have to move!  :)   

But enough to start a really quick and really easy project,
using a few papers and scraps, some twine, a knob,
and Eileen Hull's new 

Mini Album die from her Cherished Collection for Sizzix.

Eileen's Scoreboards XL die will cut through matboard (or chipboard 

or thinner leather) to make a nice sturdy cover.  

The die is also scored along the fold lines, allowing for several depths of spine.  

Plus the die has an indented space to hold any small magnetic die shape with which  

to cut a window in the cover, if you wish.

After die-cutting my cover from matboard, 

I cut a piece of wallpaper large enough to wrap the outside of the cover, 

gluing the wallpaper around to the inside for finished edges.  

Wallpaper is a fun book cover because it is so pliable.  

For the end paper, I die-cut and trimmed down a piece of patterned card stock,

then glued it in place to secure (and hide) the wallpaper edges.  

The cover then folds easily along the pre-scored lines.  

Since I wanted a thicker album, I folded on the two end score lines to make a deeper spine.

Next, using the same die and a collection of patterned scrapbook papers and 

smooth white bristol paper, 

I die-cut the pages for the mini-album.  

To do this, start with papers cut to measure approx 6x12",  then fold each one in half 

and place the fold along the appropriate score line on the die

(depending on the size spine you've chosen).  

Be careful to place the fold just to one side of the score line, so the fold stays uncut.  

For this album, I die-cut 16 papers for 8 signatures of 2 pages each.

For neatness, I die-cut an extra page the same size as the album,

folding it to match the spine, and used it to enclose the signatures.

To attach the die-cut signatures to the album cover, 

I threaded lengths of thick baker's twine through each signature 

and tied them along the spine.  So easy and colorful!

And I can still untie and rearrange the pages as I fill them.

To decorate the cover, I collaged a few scraps of paper, 

punched a hole with my Crop-a-Dile, and inserted a Tim Holtz knob.

The inside title page is white bristol paper on which I lightly gel-transferred

some blue sky in a couple wispy layers, yellow numbers to simulate the sun,
plus some random areas of type, 

all torn a bit haphazardly from some handy Time magazine pages,

then wrote the month, drew a little bird,
 and added my initial on a Dennison label.

During these last few weeks of studio construction,

I hope to fill the pages of my new mini-album with quotes of encouragement

and thoughts of patience,

as I anticipate building my creative "nest" in my new space.

Hope you are enjoying a lovely month of June!

EDIT:  

This hot afternoon (25th) included some waiting time in the car, so I came prepared for a quick doodle in my new journal.  Here's my encouraging reminder for the rest of June, including a serendipitous water-drip emphasis from my Starbucks iced tea cup.

studio restart button

Around here, the big news today is that I finally pushed the restart button on my "new studio" construction project.  The contractor has been fired (not a simple thing to do) and the head of the company, who remembers my original vision from almost a year ago, has taken over the endlessly-lingering schedule.  With grace and energy, he acknowledged the problems and has promised speedy solutions.  Finally, I can stop butting heads on every single design and materials decision!  It's been tough trying not to be pushed into a conformist square hole at every step, first by the county, then by the weather, and then by the exigencies of standard modern construction.

Until today, progress has been mostly one step forward and two steps back for months.  The contractor made several arbitrary decisions that couldn't afford to be undone.  Fortunately, others have been resolved.  For example, ugly lighting boxes built out from the wood ceiling have been removed, recessed and hidden; boxy cladding has been removed from the beams; standard fake-wood molding has been removed from around the windows and the windows smoothed into the walls as originally requested.  The real-wood baseboard-molding battle has gone on for weeks as I insist on my simple but not standard stacking idea.

But I'm persevering with my thinking-in-three-dimensions exercise, even as I try to relax and unclench my jaw.  Maybe the "only-three-more-weeks" refrain I've heard since January will now be true.  Here's a little photo update:

Front south-facing wall with Palladian-style windows and west-side entry

Raised wooden ceiling (a little like a Finnish church) and exposed beams

Back north-facing wall of windows

Back wall opened to the spring forest

Another view of the forest from the back doors

Vintage deco sink for my painting work space

Books waiting to be transferred to my new space

Let's hope this is the end of being tied up by delays and steps backward.  If my studio is really finished and ready to start moving in by the promised three weeks, you'll be the first to know! 

new design team with eileen hull

Shortly after Eileen Hull and I met in 2012 and realized we were almost neighbors, we quickly concocted the lovely idea of teaching several classes together with her fabulous 3-D dies that she designs for Sizzix.  Our first class showcased her Sizzix Pro house die, perfect for making a holiday house or village.  With my first class sample, I had such fun painting and lettering the house that I was totally hooked on using Eileen's magical dies to build things I could use as an alternative canvas.

Today, I'm excited to be a member of Eileen's new Design Team for Sizzix, happily "tasked" with finding more ways to incorporate my style with her new dies.  To introduce ourselves, we designers are sharing some of our previous projects and style approaches.  For me, it's appropriate to start with another class project taught with Eileen using her heart box die.  My class samples included a painted candy box (above) and another deeper box that I built up from the same die and covered like a suitcase with a hinged top (below).  It's pretty amazing to me how much you can manipulate her dies, changing materials and adjusting for many uses.  Oh, and the paper flowers on both boxes were made from another Eileen Hull die called flower layers w/heart petals.

Since I love to doodle and letter (including in my art journals), I'll be looking for more ways to do so on my Design Team projects for Eileen.  Below are samples from my doodling class "Doodle Ink" taught at Handmade U in Omaha (next semester is coming up), another sample from my lettering class "Doodle Amour" taught at French General in LA, followed by some doodled song lyrics.

More of my doodling efforts are included in Jenny Doh's Craft-a-Doodle book and in Amy Powers' many crafty Inspired Ideas ezines.  

Right now, but hopefully for not much longer, all of my painting and journaling and die-cutting supplies are stacked in teetering piles in my dining room while my new studio is being built.  It will be a dream made real for me to finally have a place to paint and create without stealing time and space, often running out of both.  And what fun to be on Eileen's Design Team to start things rolling, just in time for this long-awaited spring!

Journal page in progress

You, too, can share your favorite projects and join the monthly "Art with Heart" kickoff challenge hosted by Sizzix Designer Eileen Hull and Design Team coordinator Amy Bowerman.  Just link your blog post to Eileen's site for a chance to win!

studio windows in late february

Yesterday a few friends came over to walk around inside my studio in its current construction phase and to feel the possibilities of the space.  It felt great!

The windows still have their plastic protective coating on all the panes.  But sunlight still streamed in the front Palladian windows, and we opened the doors for a fine breeze and a long view of the forest out the back window wall, all welcome and hopeful signs of how the space will nurture me and my guests.  Sadly, today it is empty again, since none of the expected deliveries arrived and no one came to work.  It's another day of dreaming of what's to come.

studio construction update

Just checking in to say there is progress, however slow, on construction of 

my new studio.

Besides battling the intemperate winter weather here,

we've been bearing the brunt of delivery delays all along the line.

Construction has already taken twice as long as predicted,

and we still have a ways to go.

My son is building his latest huge tall commercial building in Boston,

and it seems my small enterprise will take almost as long (only half joking).

But I'm finally able to get a sense of the space and atmosphere

that will soon be a reality.

Now that the scaffolding is removed from all but a short side section,

here's the front wall in the late afternoon wintry sun

after the rainstorm passed through.

studio window progress

By late this afternoon, most of the studio windows have been delivered, 

just in time for the next snow storm that starts in this area tonight.
Progress, however slow.

In the morning came the skylights in the right number but in the wrong size.  

Because of the continuing cold weather,
the crew was here for the first time this week to install the skylights, 

but since they had to be returned, 

the crew braved the cold to work on the back stairs instead.

After noon came the tall center Palladian window and two sets of French doors 

by pick-up truck.  

Apparently, they were too tall or wide for the main delivery truck.

Finally, late in the afternoon, the main delivery truck lumbered down our driveway 

with the rest of the fun window shapes.  

Unfortunately, two of those Palladian windows are fixed instead of opening, 

so they will also be exchanged.

But in the remaining hours of daylight, 

our crew began installing the center window.
Below you can see the sequence.  

The window snapped into place sort of like a Lego window, 

except that it was very heavy and entailed a lot of hammering to secure.  

One down.

With the heavy snow expected here tonight, 

it may be next week before they can get back to work.  

That's the way it's been going.