New designer on the blog

Hi everyone- so excited to be joining you here on the Sizzix UK blog!

I am currently living in Virginia, right outside of Washington, DC. I was born in New York- and sadly, don't have the cool accents that all of you do :-( But hope you will put up with me anyway...

I think I have the best job in the world. I get to design dies for Sizzix! Here's how it all started...

When we first got married, my husband was a LT in the army and money was tight. I made a lot of cross-stitch samplers as gifts for family and friends. I started going to the Arts and Crafts Center on post to mat and frame my work because it was much less expensive than going to a frame shop. I wound up with lots of matboard scraps that were just too good to throw away! So I started cutting and scoring, folding and layering... making books, boxes and all kinds of fun things from it. The only problem was that it took so long. Each project had to be measured carefully and cut just right. It was almost impossible to get clean and consistent cuts. So I decided to approach Sizzix at CHA to see if they might be interested in making a different kind of die that would work with thicker materials like matboard and chipboard. Much to my delight, they agreed that this was a good idea! So in 2009, my first collection of ScoreBoards were introduced. Some of my latest designs may be seen here on the Sizzix site.

ScoreBoards cut the same as all of the other Sizzix dies, except there is an additional blade that cuts halfway through the matboard, producing a nice clean score line. They come out perfectly every time- you really can't mess them up- and they are really quick and easy to make. I try to design boxes and books that are versatile and can be used for lots of different purposes. They are just waiting for you to put your special touches on them.

Here's a project I made with the ScoreBoard Index Card Holder die. I used it to hold my name badge at the Craft and Hobby Association show I attended last month. Inside, I adhered two Business Card Boxes which were embossed with the Lace Textured Impressions folder. I put my cards in one box and other people's cards in the other one. There was also room for a tiny pen. This was so handy- I was even able to carry some money and my hotel key in here!

I'll be back in two weeks with another project and tips for working with ScoreBoards. In the meantime, please stop by my blog (http://eileenhull.blogspot.com) for more project ideas and to find out what's new. Thanks so much for reading!

Eileen