This month, Eileen Hull’s design inspiration team worked with her fun line of Colorbox Blends from Clearsnap. If you’ve ever used an ink pad upside down to color, you know how hard it can be. But with these Colorbox blends, you get maximum control because the ink comes out on a small circular sponge tip, and you can just dab away to your heart’s content. The colors blend really nicely, too.

So what was I going to make? Since it’s movie award season, and everyone’s talking about who’s wearing who, I was on a fashion kick and decided to do a 3D fashion illustration art piece.

Using Eileen’s Sizzix Flower/Rolled Thinlits Die, I cut three of the flower shapes. (I started with two and decided to make an extra one to create a longer gown.) The paper I used was Crescent No Show Thru Paper so ink wouldn’t seep onto the other side. 

Then I colored both sides of the shapes with the Colorbox Blends. I used several colors to create an ombre effect, which is so popular on Project Runway. And if it’s good enough for Project Runway, it’s good enough for my fashion illustration.

When I first saw the flower die cut in its “unrolled” state, I knew the petals would look like ruffles on a dress. Manipulating the cut shapes, I happened upon a really cool dress design. It’s very red carpet-ready, with a plunging neckline and a peekaboo navel. At this point I decided to add a third flower to make it more of a gown rather than a cocktail dress.

The hard part, for me anyway, was drawing the model. Placing the dress on a piece of paper, I drew the woman around it. I went through about three drawings until I was happy. It’s hard to draw people. And here is the reason I decided on a gown — so I wouldn’t have to draw legs!

Finally, I glued the dress onto the paper with Aleene’s Clear Gel Tacky Glue. I just love all the ruffles on this dress, and how it’s asymmetrical. I can imagine Sofia Vergara in it. “Who are you wearing? Jonathan Fong for House of Eileen Hull, of course.”