Poshta Design {Christmas in July Collection} Day 3

Hello friends! I'm thrilled to be back for day 3 of the Christmas in July Collection from Poshta Design! I've made three ornaments using the  Homespun Holiday: Evergreen Kit paired with the new Vintage Starburst Sequin Mix; a match made in heaven! I had so much fun stitching up these three ornaments and I can't wait to hang them on my Christmas tree this year! Before I dive into the details, make sure to head to the Poshta Design Blog to enter to win a $150 gift certificate to the shop to get this beautiful kit.

I was feeling like I had neglected sequins and beads the first two days so I made up for it today! haha! Everything has beads and the beautiful new Vintage Starburst Sequins that I love so much! The kit comes with three beautiful colors of felt and coordinating floss. I did add a tiny bit of Wintergreen felt that is included in the Ribbon Candy color story.

This is the first ornament I made and is the most labor-intensive of the three. It is really easy to put together, though....just takes a little bit more time.

Here is a closeup of the beads and layers. You can omit the backer on the oval if you just want the green color to show through. I chose to use the Wintergreen behind and on the ornament topper.

I used three strands of floss for everything and then made a looped topper for the top; just don't forget to sandwich it in when you're closing everything up! I made this mistake twice, made some adjustments the first time, but totally forgot on my last one....woops! I will just add an ornament hook directly to the stitching. 

My second ornament is the red one with all of the beautiful bead work! It was seriously so fun to make and I just want to bead all the things! ha ha!

Even with the beading, this was the easiest of the three!

This particular style is perfect if you have any word dies or year dies you want to add to the middle. I don't have any of those, so I opted to fill the empty space with some medallions and sequins.

I had so much fun with this release! Thanks for fluttering by!

 

Poshta Design {Christmas in July} Day 2

Hello friends! Welcome back for day 2 of the Poshta Design Christmas in July Collection release! I have quite a bit to share with you today using so many of the fabulous new dies! Just like yesterday, I'm using the Ribbon Candy felt color story for all of my projects with the addition of black from a previously released kit.

Up first are the adorable new Table Top Trees. These come in two sizes, but the two I'm sharing are the smaller size. The larger size is a bit bigger (obviously) so I didn't have enough felt leftover to make the larger one, unfortunately.

The die collection also comes with the star, as shown, and then it has little dies for ornaments. I loved my bare trees, so I didn't use them, but I can't wait to see other samples with the ornaments on the trees.

As you can see, the project consists of two pieces that slide together. The stitching guide also recommends putting a piece of cardstock inside the sandwich for stability, which I did and it's perfect. You simply die cut the tree pieces from heavier cardstock and then trim off the stitching holes and sandwich inbetween.

I used contrasting thread for this tree, but in the end I think I like the tone on tone tree better, but this definitely shows you options for you to decided which you prefer.

I'm not sure if I put the star on correctly, ha ha! It has a place to slide it over the top of the tree, so hopefully I did it right!

My next project is a cut little envelope stitched up "From Santa" using the previously released Love Notes Die but added the new Santa detail.

You can choose to or from Santa and then it has the cute tree stamp included.

Continuing on with that theme, the next project uses the new Candy Cane Express collection. This photo shows the Candy Cane Express: Engine, which included the bow.

This photo shows the Candy Cane Express: Passenger Car. I did add the bows to the window, so please note, they are not included in the passenger die. I also made a cute Railroad Crossing sign using the new North Pole Die. This has quite a few dies to make a North Pole sign, plus the Railroad Crossing sign; I'm going to finish this one with the pole so I can use it as an ornament with these cute train cars!

There are a few different ways to gussy up the car: candy cane stripes, Express, like this photo shows, etc.

There is a third car that I still need to make, which is the cargo car! It's full of fun things in it's open bed! Join me again tomorrow for the final day! Thanks for fluttering by!

 

Poshta Design {Nutcracker Parade}

Hello friends! I'm popping in today with something a little bit different, but oh, so fun! Lizzie Jones from Poshta Design reached out to me to see if I would like to create with her fabulous Homespun Holiday: Nutcracker Parade Kit! My childhood Christmases were encompassed with felt, stitching, homespun creations, sequins, and beads, so it was such an honor to be able to create with this beautiful kit!

The kit comes with everything you will need to create this adorable nutcracker and the kit is so beautifully put together; just pulling everything out was a treat in an of itself! Lizzie also sent me the Pocket Tag II die so I had some fun with that as well!

I chose to use the head of the nutcracker on this tag.

I particularly love the color scheme for this kit; it's just the right blend of traditional and whimsical that allows you to create beautiful  heirloom pieces.

The beads are used for the eyes, but you can also gussy up the hat with sequins and beads as well, like I've done here.

I've most likely mentioned it, but my cute daughter performed in Ballet West's The Nutcracker when she was younger, so this kit has a special place in my heart! Each of the dancers in her cast/number would receive a gift from Emma, my daughter, and I have a feeling, these would DEFINITELY have been one of the gifts!

Once it is all assembled, these nutcrackers are a nice, sturdy weight!

I used my Gemini Jr. for all of the diecutting, which worked beautifully to get crisp pieces.

Lizzie emailed me an assembly video that was SO helpful for putting this guy together! Once you get down how to do it, you can do it without the video!

Once I finished with just the head for the tag, I thought nutcracker earrings could be a lot of fun! ha ha !

Here's a final look at the three projects using the kit! I will post again when I get a chance to whip up some additional nutcrackers! Thanks for fluttering by!

 

Papertrey Ink September Release Day 1

Hello friends! It's day 1 of the Papertrey Ink September release countdown! I have a fun Christmas project to share with you today, but please note, I will not be back for the rest of the countdown, but I will be sharing projects made with this release a bit later! My cute felt gingerbread gal was made using the new In Stitches: Gingerbread die. The die collection includes everything you need to make this girl version, but there is also some accessories to make a cute Santa or just a regular gingerbread boy!

To begin, I die cut the basic gingerbread shape twice from Classic Kraft Felt and then used DMC floss to stitch the two pieces together. I left an opening to add the stuffing, but if you want to stitch any of the additional pieces TO the gingerbread person, you will need to do that before you stitch the two pieces together. All of the accessories on my cute gingerbread gal are just glued down using liquid glue.

The ric rac icing trim and her smile were cut using Vintage Cream Felt. Please note, this trim does have holes that you can actually stitch it down, but I found that the felt was too delicate and would tear if I tried to remove the holes, so I just left them intact and just glued them down.

Her cute apron and bow were cut using Pure Poppy Felt. The heart, cheek blush, and peppermint swirl piece are all die cut from Sweet Blush Felt and the eyes from True Black Felt. When I was getting near the top, I was running out of floss, so it was the perfect time to create a loop to make her into an ornament or to attach to a package. I would definitely decide ahead of time what materials and strategy you will use to create a hanger if you are going to! I love how she turned out and I can't decide if she will be added to a package for someone else or if I will keep her to add to my kitchen tree with all of the other felt ornaments my mom made me a few years ago. She was so much fun to make and I hope to get some time before the holidays come roaring in to make a few more! Thanks for fluttering by!