She had to record each song three times, firstly to do the guitar, then herself singing, and then a double of herself singing again, which took around 45 minutes per song.
Ellie had to wait until the rest of the family was out so that the house was quiet, and said she learned the hard way to remember to turn all phones and other ringing and beeping devices off. If she made a mistake she would have to redo the whole take.
Some of the music on the CD was from last year, two songs were her Smokefree Rockquest songs Coffee Maker and Hey You, plus some newer works.
"The day before I finished the album, I wrote a couple more and I thought 'oh my gosh, these are so good I have to stick them on the album', so I went and recorded those too before I burned the CDs."
Ellie burned 50 copies of her CD and, with the help of a friend who is a Photoshop whizz, they produced an album cover and back sleeve. Ellie had to insert all the sleeves by hand - another time-consuming job - but she's pleased with the finished result.
"I'm actually really surprised at how it's come out because it's come out quite well."
Ellie's been compared to Bic Runga and Taylor Swift, and she's already sold several CDs, with one of her teachers liking it so much he bought five for gifts.
"A friend also bought one for someone's birthday and he told me that he really loved it."
People's Choice Award voting opens Monday, August 19 for a month. To vote, visit facebook.com/skinny or search for Ellie Redmond Music.
