Stitched Stockings...Oh, How I Love Them!

Hello, friends!  I'll let you in on a little secret...the Stocking Stamp & Stitch Bundle is one of my absolute favorites from the entire Concord & 9th Holiday Release.  I love it so very much!  In 5th grade I went through a cross stitching stint, and now I'm wondering why I ever stopped.  I have stitched a time or two here or there, but I really love how easy it is to stitch a design on cardstock with precut holes.  And these dies do just that!

The Stocking Stamp and Stitch Dies made me so happy that I just had to use a bright color scheme.  I'm a huge fan of Melissa Bickford and she used these cheerful colors on this cute sign.  They translate to Concord and 9th's Sweet Pea, Poppy, Pink Lemonade , Sprout, Oceanside, and Aqua Sky.  

And if you are wondering whether or not I took my Concord and 9th cardstock swatches to the craft store to make sure I had perfect floss matches, yes, yes, I did.  I had everything all laid out on the floor and thankfully another costumer who came to look in the same area just smiled, laughed, and was willing to carefully shop around me. It looked quite comical now that I think about it.  I should have taken a picture! 

In case this could save someone some time, here are the colors I used: 

Sweet Pea = DMC Floss 3806

Poppy =  DMC Floss 3801

Pink Lemonade = DMC Floss 963

Sprout = DMC Floss 15

Oceanside = DMC Floss 958

Aqua Sky = DMC Floss 964

I started my card with a bright Poppy base and layered the Plaid Card Front Thick Die on top.  Next I set about stitching up my two stockings.  I used the stitched lines in the Stocking Stamp and Stitch Dies for both stockings, only I die cut the lines twice on one of them.  This allowed me to vary the stitching patterns. 

I dressed up the stocking cuffs and then filled them with greenery from the Ornament Stamp and Stitch Dies (leaves in Sprout and Oceanside) and the Festive Corner Cuts Dies (pines in Oceanside).  I found that the berries from the from the Ornament Stamp and Stitch Dies are a perfect fit for the sprig/stem of little flowers in the Petal Pushers Dies, so I combined them to make the little berry sprigs on my card using Pink Lemonade and Sweet Pea. 

Finally, I embossed a sentiment from the Over the Rooftops Stamp Set and added a few stars from the Festive Corner Cuts Dies. (They are technically the poinsettia centers.)

I was having too much fun to stop, so I made a second card. 

This time I used a scalloped frame die from the Simply You Dies and added a little holiday magic with the Snowfall Card Front Die.

I did a zig zag stitch to cover the entire stocking.  It kind of looks like a knitted stocking to me. 

Afterward I added the toe, cuff and some greenery.  The poinsettia comes from the Festive Corner Cuts Dies.  The final touch was a sentiment from the Stocking Stamp & Stitch Stamp Set. 

What do you think?  I hope you love them as much as I do!  

Thanks so much for joining me today!  I'll have more to share tomorrow.  I hope to see you back! :) 

Concord & 9th: Holiday Sayings

Welcome to another day of Christmas festivities!  Today we are featuring Concord & 9th's Holiday Sayings Dies.  They are just the right size and pair perfectly with pretty much everything.  They can complement or be the star of the show.  I'm a big fan!

My card started with the fabulous Festive Corner Cuts Dies.  It cuts this beautiful ornate design in a triangle shape that fits perfectly in the corner of an A2 size card.  I was debating on my color scheme, so I cut the Festive Corner  multiple times and had them sitting in a little pile.  When I looked down they were offset a bit, and I loved the look!  I'm starting to recognize that many of my best ideas lately are completely by accident.  LOL!  I layered white on top of Nectar and Peacock...two of my most favorite colors.

Next came the big and bold "Deck the Halls" from the Holiday Sayings Dies.  I cut it from cranberry cardstock and used a white shadow backer. 

I dressed the card up with some greenery from the Ornament Stamp and Stitch Dies (leaves and berries) and the Festive Corner Cuts Dies (pines).  And since I couldn't help but sing "Deck the halls with boughs of holly..." as I created my card, I added a little holly on the sentiment.  It comes from the oldie but goodie Ornamental Stamp Set and is topped with a few cranberry enamel dots.

I used the Holiday Sayings Dies on a few more of my cards, so make sure to check back later this week.  I have lots more to share!  :) Thanks so much for visiting!

Ornaments Turnabout with Concord & 9th

Good morning, friends! I am delighted and ever so grateful to be guest designing for Concord and 9th this month. Get ready for a week full of Christmas fun!

Today, the first day of the Christmas festivities, we are featuring the brand new Ornaments Turnabout™. This is a fun one, and stamping couldn’t be easier with the All-in-One Turnabout™ Jig. (This video by Carissa Wiley is super helpful. It explains all about how to use the All-in-One Turnabout™ Jig and has tons of good tips.  I rewatch it practically every time I use a turnabout stamp.)

Using the jig, I stamped the Ornaments Turnabout™ in Sea Glass, Aqua Sky, Oceanside, and Dove. Then I added two ornaments using the Ornament Stamp & Stitch Bundle. I love this bundle so much! As the name suggests, these look great all stitched up, but I wanted to show how cute the ornaments still are simply die cut or with a few stamps added.

The Ornament Stamp and Stitch dies also include some greenery and this joyful sentiment that I used.

I have been making oodles of cards the last couple weeks with this release, and I have to say this one came together the quickest.  Gotta love that! Thanks so much for visiting today!  Make sure to come back tomorrow.  I'll have more to share. :)

3D Fall Pumpkins

Good afternoon!  I have some fun 3D pumpkins to share today.  Last fall Pretty Pink Posh released their Pine Trees Dies.  They come in 3 different sizes and are symmetrical, so you can create 3D trees with them.  This month, Pretty Pink Posh released the Stitched Pumpkins Dies.  They also come in 3 sizes and are symmetrical, so you can create 3D pumpkins if your heart desires...and mine did!  

Before creating my pumpkins, I visited this post my amazing teammate Leica shared when she created her 3D pine trees.  It has lots of helpful tips and even a short video.  These pumpkins are totally worth the effort, but just know that you will be die cutting a lot of pieces!  

Leica's suggestion was spot on.  After scoring the trees down the middle (that step is important!), I was able to staple 8 sheets of Concord & 9th's 80 lb. cardstock together for each pumpkin.  If you choose a lighter weight paper, you can use even more sheets for an even fuller look. The colors of cardstock I used for the pumpkins were Nectar, Sorbet, Spiced Cider, Cayenne.  Then I used Pebble and Cobblestone for the stems.  Finally, I added a few leaves cut with Papertrey Ink's Ocean Tides cardstock.

I chose to staple mine, but if it bothers you to see the occasional staple, you can always glue the pieces to each other.  I like how the staple option allows me to flatten them completely for storage, and with intentional folding, I was able to hide  most of the staples.  I could have hidden them all with a little more effort. ;) lol

Thanks so much for visiting today!  I hope that you'll give these 3D pumpkins a try or find another symmetrical die in your collection and make a 3D project out of it.  I find it refreshing to make a non-card project every once in a while.  My kiddos could hardly wait to get their hands on these pumpkins, and I have to say they are making all of us smile lots to see them sitting out. 

Pretty Pink Posh Design Team Announcement + Card

Hello, friends! I'm delighted to share that I am continuing on with the Pretty Pink Posh Design Team. Just like the sun on my card, the PPP family is truly a ray of sunshine in my life. They have hearts of gold, and I feel so blessed!  Make sure you head to the Pretty Pink Posh Blog to see the rest of the team. They are having a huge giveaway that you won't want to miss!

Here's a little bit more about my card.  The inspiration for this card came from a song I used to sing as a child.  "In the leafy treetops the birds sing good morning.  They're first to see the sun.  They must tell everyone..." It often runs through my mind when I am walking in the mornings, and it popped into my head when I was looking through the June release full of sunshine and summer.

I used buttercup ink from Concord and 9th to ink up the Starburst Stencil, and created a happy summer scene using the Fruit Tree Dies and the Stacked Edges 3 dies (to create a grassy hill).  

I did some simple coloring with alcohol markers and added some birds using A Little Birdie stamps and dies.  I also colored some flowers from the Easter Bunnies stamp set.  It makes me so happy when I can mix and match things from different sets.  Finally, I added a sentiment from Simple Sentiments. (Even after all this time it is still a favorite go to set of mine for sentiments.)

Thanks so much for visiting today and sharing in my happy news!  Also, don't forget to go to the Pretty Pink Posh Blog to celebrate the whole team and enter to win the huge giveaway they have going on!