A Witches' Brew Journal - or is it?

Hello Friends

All this month Eileen Hull's Inspiration Team are creating different/unusual projects using Eileen's Heartfelt range of dies.  I have used Eileen's Journal die in two different ways.

First up is A Witches' Brew, it looks like a Journal / Book....  

I was inspired by my Teamie, Tracy, who created a gorgeous shadow box HERE.  Since writing up this post, another friend Alison (Butterfly) created a stunning shadow box HERE, with a fabulous idea to create the box element, do check it out if you have the time!

Inside, my box looks like this:

I am so lucky to have dear friends who share with me, Kath die cut the fabulous spider's webs, the word wicked and the witch along with the starry background and some of the Idea-ology pieces and Jenny (Buttons) gave me the wonderful set of stamps which included the beautiful Raven, which I stamped and fussy cut to sit on the 'wicked'.  The word itself was coloured with Spiced Marmalade Distress Oxide and when dry, Glossy Crackle Accents.

The cover was die cut using Eileen Hull's Journal die (Sizzix 661906) and then covered with tissue paper, glued in place with Matt Medium.  Once dry a layer of Tim Holtz Distress Collage Medium (Vintage) was applied.  I wanted it have a 'vintage book' look.  The book label was 'aged' and Tim's Industrious Stickers and Remnant Rubs complete the look.

To create the book 'lip' I cut a piece of mountboard the same depth as the spine of the constructed journal.  I 'indented' the piece so that the lid would have a platform to rest on.  The edge was covered in striped cardstock to give the impression of book pages.  I used Wilted Violet Distress Oxide ink to create the background.

I love Tim's latest Halloween Idea-ology pieces (skull, bones, pumpkins and rose - thanks again Kath).  The little bottles are from Tim's previous release and the labels are from my stash.

And now for something completely different!

I used Eileen's Journal die to create the base, made it into a shadow box (like above), cut it to shape, added some shelving and and fake drawer.. and voila`... a bookcase!

I had lots of fun making mini books and other items to fill the shelves.

So there you have it, two different ways to use Eileen's Journal die!

Finally, Eileen Hull's amazing Journal Treasury eBook is still available at a discounted price £9.19 / $11.87 - 30% off) until 31 August, it is full of wonderful inspiration for journal making!  You can buy a copy by clicking on the link in my left sidebar.

I am joining in Frilly and Funkie's Challenge which is to use dies, punches or other cutting tools.  The majority of items in my witches' brew project, including the journal cover are die cuts.

Thanks so much for looking, hope to see you again soon...

Hugs, Anne xx


PS.  If you are still looking for Eileen's Journal die, in the UK, Countryview Crafts have it in stock again.  In the USA, Eileen has a few in her Etsy shop and the Funkie Junkie has stock too.

Journal Treasury by Eileen Hull is published !

Hello Friends

 Eileen Hull's Journal Treasury EBook has been published!  Apologies, there have been a few technical hitches but I am happy to say, those have been resolved!  Thank you to all of you who commented on my original post, I really appreciate it.

If you love Junk Journals, Planners, Bullet Journals or Notebooks of any kind, you will LOVE this new EBook!  There are 85 inspirational projects in this 164 page EBook.  There are tips, tricks and ideas for creating beautiful journals - and inspiration galore from some wonderful Designers, many of whom I am sure you will already know.

The price (during August only) is $11.87 which is 30% off the regular price of $16.99.

You may have already pre-ordered the EBook, but if not, you can purchase it here using the link on my left sidebar or simply click on the photo above.  Once purchased,  you will be sent an email with a link (if you don't get a link please check your Spam box - I know that, because that's where mine went!).  It is a large book and it may take a few minutes to download.  Once you open the EBook you can scroll through the pages and if you want to find out more about a project, just click on the Designer's name and it will take you to their blog post for that project.

The link on my sidebar is an affiliate link and I get a small commission if you purchase through it, however, it does not affect the price to you in any way.

I thought I would share a new Journal with you, it was made for a beautiful young lady who is about to go to University, her favourite colour is yellow....

I was inspired by my lovely friend Tracy Evans' recent Journal where she used stencilling.  You can see Tracy's version HERE.  I used a Tim Holtz stencil on this Journal.

The Journal cover was painted using a brayer and a mix of Eileen Hull's ColorBox Blend inks and the lettering was applied with Vintage Photo Distress Oxide.  Once dry, I gently dabbed Matte Medium over the letters to seal them.  When the letters were dry I applied Matte Medium to the whole of the cover to give it some added strength.

Inside, I created lots of pockets, added a diary and a couple of notepads.

To finish off I added a bookmark, a full year calendar and lots of star shaped paper clips.  I always add a hinge clip to the side of the journals I make, this one is gold coloured with a key and heart charm set.

Eileen Hull shares projects all month long on her blog, you will find lots of inspiration there too!

Thanks so much for your visit, I hope to see you again soon!

Hugs,  Anne xx

Sizzix Maker Challenge - Eileen Hull

Have you seen the Sizzix Maker Challenge?  You can find it HERE.  There is a fabulous prize on offer for a lucky winner!  All you need to do is use Eileen Hull's House Pocket Stitchlits die (Sizzix 661902) and add Stitchy Flowers & Leaf die (Sizzix 661903) and Birds & Butterflies die (Sizzix 661901).  You don't have to use the second two but if you can, so much the better!

I made a 3D log cabin!  As a child we spent two weeks each summer on Manitoulin Island in Canada and we always stayed in the same log cabin.  It was a little basic with no electricity, a wood stove and an ice box which cooled food using huge blocks of ice, but it was such fun!

I used some Kraft card and also some corrugated packaging card to form my base, all cut using the House Pocket die.  

To make the cabin 3D I used Eileen's 'Make it 3D' die which gives a more realistic look to the cabin as it gives it some dimension.

I used the House Pocket die and also the Stitchy Flowers and Leaf die (with shrink plastic to make my teeny flowers and leaves) and the Birds & Butterflies die (to make the little butterfly from shrink plastic). I attached a piece of wire to each flower before shrinking them, to give me a stem to hold the flowers up in the little boxes I created from corrugated card.  The flowers were coloured using Alcohol markers.  I added a little pile of 'logs' to the side of the cabin.

Here is the prize, which includes Eileen's fabulous Journal die:

You can see more details of the challenge here:

https://www.sizzix.com/blog/sizzix-maker-challenge-with-eileen-hull/

and here:

 https://www.sizzix.com/makerchallenge17 

You have got to be in it to win it!!

And just to show the versatility of the House Pocket die, here is another idea, I made a pin cushion for CHA 2017, when the die first came out.  I used Kunin Felt and hand stitched the edges.

It would be lovely to see you join in the Sizzix Maker Challenge!  I had great fun making my projects....

Hugs, Anne xx

Watercolour for A Vintage Journey

Hello Friends!

It is time for a new challenge at A Vintage Journey and our talented Amanda is hosting a Watercolour Wonder Challenge.  Here is what Amanda has to say:

'There is so much versatility in Watercolour, making it possible to create art that can be gentle, washy and light, or bold, full of colour with definite lines, and it comes in a variety of guises; pens, tubes, sticks, inks, markers.  So for the challenge we would like your project to include some form of watercolouring or watercolour techniques and be in keeping with our favoured styles; vintage, shabby, mixed media, art journalling, industrial, timeworn or steampunk'

Amanda's challenge gave me a much needed push to get out my watercolour inks, my new watery wash stamps, Oxide inks and used lots of painty washes to create a colourful scene inside an inexpensive recessed frame.

The frame looks much darker in real life but it was difficult to photograph with the glass front!

The frame was painted with DecoArt Cobalt Teal Hue before adding a coat of DecoArt Crackle Paint.

Once the crackle was dry, a very watery wash of DecoArt Phthalo Blue, mixed with Titanium White was applied to the frame.  Once dry, the frame was lightly sanded to give a more 'distressed' look.  I later applied a little Quin Gold paint to add to the aged look.

The background was stamped using my Darkroom Door Watery Washes stamp set.  Distress Oxide and Distress Ink were applied to my craft sheet and watered down slightly.  The ink was picked up and applied to watercolour paper.

Some chippies (a gift from my lovely friend Sandy) were painted in hues of green and blue.  The seahorse and starfish were hand drawn onto watercolour paper.  I applied drawing gum where the 'spines' of the seahorse would be and then Ecoline inks were diluted with water and then applied the seahorse.

A view of the finished picture before I added it to the frame.  I gave the seahorse a coat of  Clear Rock Candy Distress Paint, it reacted with the inks as you can see, but I was happy with the result. Real sand and a few glass pebbles were added along with some clay elements.

While I had my inks out, I used the drawing gum to draw some freehand flowers and used the Tanzanite colour to watercolour them....

I was quite pleased with the way they turned out and I added a quote from our hugely talented DT member Alison's wonderful new stamp set, stamped with Wilted Violet Distress Oxide.

We hope you will join in Amanda's challenge at A Vintage Journey where our Sponsor for the month is Craft Obsessions who are offering a £20 voucher to spend in their wonderful on-line store!

Do please go over to visit A Vintage Journey, if you can, to see the amazing projects created by the Design Team.  Thanks so much for your visit, I always appreciate your comments!

I was really pleased to see that Country View Crafts blog challenge is 'Blues and Greens' for August so I would like to enter their challenge with my sealife frame.

I would also like to join in That's Crafty challenge which is Anything But Cards, with my sealife frame.

Keep on Crafting!

Hugs,  Anne xxx