A Personal Autumn Journey for Eileen Hull Designs

 Hello and welcome ! 

Today I am sharing an Autumn Journal which started out as a small Autumn quotes junk journal and ended up a personal journey through the months of September, October and November!

The journey started when I found this beautiful material in our local shop and I fell in love with its vintage Autumn hues. Eileen's Teams are this month inspiring with Seasonal Makes (Fall/Autumn, Thanksgiving or Christmas) and so I used the material to make a fabric journal using the Pocket Notebook Die.  

(There is a video Tutorial for the making of the Journal using the fabric at the end of this post.)

Having started a rusty coloured Autumn insert to match I realised that Autumn spans three months which are very different, particularly here in the very north. 

September is still green with soft blue skies.........

October moves to more rusty colours (if the winds have not blown everything away)......

November can be colourless and feels sometimes as though we are living within a sepia photograph.

So I unpicked my started insert and instead made three individual monthly books. Luckily I had started this project early back in September, so I was able to work within each of the months. Every few days I made either a collage or found a quote to match a photograph. All the photographs were taken of our garden here in Tingwall, the view over the Loch and on our trip to Kirriemuir (forest walks) in early November. I used pieces lying around on my desk, dies I have not used in ages, papers and embellishments from 49 & Market, Tim Holtz Engravings and a heap of PaperArtsy stamps (Scrapcosy, Gwen Lafleur and Alison Bomber) and PaperArtsy Frescos for painting. One side of my desk was a mess, but a happy mess !!

 And so it became a very personal journey through the Autumn months. 

I thought it easier to share in three collages some of the pages rather than a lot of photographs!

The three books just fit into the covers......

..... held in with tea dyed elastic to match the fabric.

This is certainly not what I set out to create but I am so pleased with how it came together and the journal will always remind me of how the months change within a season and what was inspiring me from day to day.

And now the video tutorial of how the covers were made decorated:

Thank you so much for joining me.

Happy crafting!

Jennie x

Die Used:

Eileen Hull Sizzix Scoreboards XL Die Pocket Notebook #663638

Mash Up for PaperArtsy

 I love it when Leandra at PaperArtsy challenges us to use stamps from three/four designers in one piece. 

I had great fun creating this art journal page using stamps from Lynne Perella, Gwen Lafleur and Alison Bomber. 

Hop on over to PaperArtsy to see how it came together.

Jennie

Tiny Print Spool Book

It is a happy talent to know how to play!

Indeed it is! 

and I thoroughly enjoyed making this fabric and paper spool book for the current 

PaperArtsy theme of Tiny Print. 

The post is live tonight on PaperArtsy so hop on over if you would like to see more.

Jennie x

Music Journal Tutorial for Eileen Hull Designs

 Hello and welcome!

It's the turn of Eileen's Educators this week to share their tutorials for the blog hop projects we made using her new Chapter 4 Sizzix dies. I made this fabulous A5 Music Journal using the Full Size Journal Die and some gorgeous Stamperia Music papers which I had been saving for a special project .... as you do!

As a recap here is the walkthrough video so you can see the pages and wallets I created.

This is a long post! so grab a coffee and scroll through the tutorial which also includes a short video on how I did the elastic lacing for the A5 size UK books.

I started with the cover and you will know by now that I glue my papers onto the boards after they have been cut. This is particularly useful for this die as the 12 x 12 papers don't quite fit! As you can see there is a little gap. 

This is not a problem ..... on the inside I made a pocket which I could butt up to the spine .....

.... and on the outside I used a small strip which matched the spine. You can see that I clipped the corners with a corner rounder so that there is less of a problem with the papers coming unstuck and looking a little unsightly.

I kept the decoration to a minimum as the papers were just so beautiful and I didn't want to hide anything. I found this quote on one of the pages ..... quite appropriate after one has been playing the concertina !!

And I used the same bookplate tab for the spine - these come as part of the die.

For the inside I have used an A5 Notebook purchased from our local bookshop. I have split it into three, the cover and then split the pages in two.

It is a good quality book with a hardish cover and nice quality pages. 

I took the cover and covered the outside with some lovely plainish papers. 

I used a rounder corner on the edges once I had stuck the paper down. 

I covered the inside with some cream cardstock and then made a couple of pockets for each side.

These got filled with little labels, tags and a little book made from one of the tags. Again rounding the corners gives everything a nice neat professional finish.

And a collage of tags and pieces on the front cover. I had kept the cover plain so these lovely papers were not cluttered.

For the two notebooks I cut papers for a cover, rounding the edges to match the inside papers.

I made some wallet style pockets on the inside covers - I took a square of the paper and cut off a triangle at the top left hand side. 

I used some pearlised cotton to make a simple stitch in the booklet to hold it together. But the elastic does hold the notebooks inside so it is a matter of choice really.

And now to the elastic. As mentioned the UK A5 size Notebook is just a little too tall for this die without the pages getting a bit scuffed from the elastic. So I decided to work out a way of getting the elastic to run the full length of the spine inside, but with one piece, ie there are three elastic slots but only one knot. This is a real time video so you can follow along and stop the video when necessary. I thought I would need it as much as sharing it with you all ! I will never remember for another time. The elastic feels strong and holds the books in well.

If you are still with me .... well done !!

I hope there are some ideas that will enable you to create with this die. 

I really love the size of it and it is a great size for larger notes - in this case the music and notes I have kept from ten years of visiting Ireland's Concertina Workshops.

Do hop on over to Eileen Hull Designs to see lots of ideas from the Teams both for this Journal and also the Notebook which was released at the same time. You can't fail to be inspired by these lovely projects and also Eileen's Facebook Live every Tuesday and Thursday.

As always thank you for joining me and happy crafting.

Jennie x

Dies used:

Sizzix Scoreboards Plus Die Full Size Journal #665589

Eileen Hull Designs and TCW Collaboration!

 Hello and welcome to this fabulous collaboration which is a "match made in heaven". 

This month Eileen Hull's Inspiration and Educator Teams are working together with TCW to share projects combining our love of both. I decided to combine the Chapter 4 Notebook (one of Eileen's new dies) along with the most sumptuous Stencil Butter and a fabulous Rebekeh Meier stencil both from TCW (The Crafters Workshop). 

Firstly I'll share a few photographs and if you scroll down I have a short photographic tutorial of how it all came together.

I had not come across the Stencil Butter before and oooooh it is such a fabulously versatile product. You will see I have used it in a number of ways in this project.

The Stencil Butter mixes well with water and it can be used to create a light colour background. I have used Chartreuse but you can see how light it can become with water.

The Stencil Butter can be used directly as a paste in it's own right or mixed with other pastes. I did a few experiments and not having the most dexterous hands due to my arthritis I decided to mix it in with some Distress Texture Paste which meant the Stencil Butter was a bit thicker which worked for me. I absolutely adore Rebekeh's stencil and again you will see this used in different ways in the project.

I decided I wanted a complete contrast for the inside. PaperArtsy French Roast Fresco is one of my favourite browns and I love how the stencil looks against this when inked with Distress Ink Ground Espresso.

I made a small paper notepad to fit inside. My paper sheets were cut to 8" x 3.5" which gave me a folded book 4" x 3.5". I made five folded signatures which were stitched together and glued to a piece of cardstock 5" x 3.5".

The front page was decorated with the stencil and this lovely stamp from Eileen's stamp set (Buttons, Cards & More). My final use of the Stencil Butter was to paint it "neat" onto the cardstock  and the outside tab for another lovely matching colour!

The front cover was decorated with the Title Board and  Tab which comes on the Notepad Die and another quote from another of  Eileen's stamp set (Snail Mail Inspiration).

It has been fun playing with the Stencil Butter and I might just manage to squeeze in another project through the month. Thank you to Cheryl Boglioli of TCW for giving Eileen's Teams an opportunity to use some of TCW's fabulous products.

As always, thank you for joining me.

Happy Crafting!

Jennie x

Products used:

Sizzix Scoreboards Die - Notepad #665588

TCW Chartreuse Stencil Butter

TCW Stencil 6x6 Framed Flowers (by Rebekah Meier)

Maker Forte/Eileen Hull Stamp Set buttons Cards & More 

Maker Forte/Eileen Hull Stamp Set Snail Mail Inspiration

Sizzix/Eileen Hull Chapter 4 Release

Hello and welcome to Eileen Hull's last release for this year : Chapter 4 ...... and it is fabulous!

My release party project has been made with the new Journal Die which I have combined with some fabulous  Stamperia music papers I have been hoarding for just such a project! 

So here is my Music Journal for all my concertina notes .... yes I play Irish concertina! and that's my lovely instrument in the background.

Eileen's Chapter 4 release includes this very versatile (A5) Journal, a Notepad, a fabulous new Mandala, and a wonderful knitted cable embossing folder (just love this!). 

As usual Eileen will be holding a Facebook Live to celebrate the release where you will see what the teams have been making with this new release.  Hop on over to Eileen Hull Designs at 5pm BST to see more or earlier in the day for details of the blog hop.

Today I shall be sharing photographs and a walkthrough to whet your appetite but do join me later in the month when I'll have a tutorial to share (and a matching Notepad!). 

Firstly I have a short walkthrough video which really shows how large and versatile this journal is, but please do scroll down for photographs as well.

Inside I have used an A5 notebook bought from our local shop and split it up into two notebooks and a wallet. The notebooks have a patterned paper cover .....

.... and the cover got made over into a wallet! 

There are loads of little books, tags and pockets throughout.

A UK A5 notebook doesn't quite fit the holes being slightly larger so I re-rigged the elastic threading to cope. I will have a video tutorial for this later in the month if you want to see how I did it.

These Stamperia papers are just beautiful and I used nearly a whole pack in making this Journal !

Another fabulous release from Eileen and Sizzix and I can't wait to make more. I think the Journal will be a fabulous stash buster and a very useful size for note taking. 

As always thank you for joining me and do look out for the tutorial later in the month.

Jennie x

Dies used:

Sizzix Scoreboards Plus Die : Full Size Journal #665589

Sustainable Crafting : Love your Scraps!

 I am on the PaperArtsy blog tonight with some ideas for our Sustainable Crafting Theme. 

I have spent the summer using up lots of scraps and decided to further these ideas using Ink and the Dog Stamps which then came together nicely in this little journal.

 

Do hop on over to PaperArtsy if you would like to see more.

Jennie x

A Birthday Trio for Eileen Hull Designs

Hello and welcome to another super release day with another set of stamps from Eileen Hull and Maker Forte.

I got the chance to play with these lovely new stamps and decided to create a little trio of cards and a gift tag for some upcoming birthdays. They measure 4" x 4" (my favourite card size!) and this flower stamp was just the perfect size for layering. 

The images were stamped on some good quality white cardstock and once the ink had dried (always tempting to rush in!) I coloured the layers with these three Distress Crayons: Aged Mahogany, Spiced Marmalade and Forest Moss.

I used foam pads to create three layers - glueing the finished flower to another piece of white cardstock which had been "splooshed" in the watery Aged Mahogany ink. 

I used the same ideas and techniques for this card but only used one colour: Aged Mahogany. 

There was still some ink left on the mat so this was my mop up tag which nicely completes the set. You will see that I have used sentiments from Eileen's stamp release back in August.

These are the two sets being released today (Wonderful World of Flowers & Snail Mail Inspiration) and you can see more details on Eileen's Live later today but also watch out for more inspiration from the teams on Eileen Hull Designs.

Country View Crafts here in the UK are stocking a few sets of Eileen's stamps so keep a look out as I am sure they will go fast!

It's a busy week with the release of Eileen's Sizzix Chapter 4 dies on Friday, so look out for another blog post and more inspiration!

Happy crafting!

Jennie x