Good morning, everyone and welcome to the kickoff for this year's Christmas In July release! The new products we'll be introducing over the next few days will be available at Noon EDT on Saturday 7/6. This week will be jam-packed with reveals that we are so excited to share!
I want to remind you that I will be going live on Instagram this evening at 8pm EDT to answer any questions you have about today's new products. Now let's get to the introductions!
First we're introducing the talented Guest Creators who will be helping showcase the release. So without further ado, let's say hello!
Carissa Wiley has always been able to catch my eye with her gorgeous work. Everything she does is so exquisitely crafted and thoughtfully detailed. She is an incredibly talented lady and I am truly delighted she will be joining us this week!
As always, I am thrilled to have Chari Moss joining us for this release. Her creations always makes me smile! She not only is a masterful card maker, and felt designer, but have you seen her cross stitching?! A true triple threat. You're in for a treat, friends!
I have been a huge fan of Laurie Willison's since we worked together years ago. She is so kind and funny and her creations are always stunning in their beautiful simplicity. She has a way of bowling you over with a well placed design element. She will be joining us later in the week and I can't wait to share what she has created!
Today Carissa, Chari, and I will be working with a couple of sweet additions to the line up!
The Peppermint Twist Die (retails for $32) is the first of the dies we'll be introducing.
Peppermint is one of the most quintessential flavors of the holiday season. The gleeful red and white is a favorite for everyone from Great Grandma to Santa himself. Whether they’re hanging on a tree, adorning the family gingerbread house, or swirling in a cup of cocoa, candy canes and peppermints are a beloved part of the Christmas experience. Create ornaments, tags, and other seasonal decor with this charming die.
And secondly, we have the Sweet Treats: Figgy Pudding Die (retails for $20).
No traditional Christmas feast is complete without a classic figgy pudding. This addition to the Sweet Treats lineup embraces the time-honored dessert, essential at the holidays. Create your own delectable yuletide confections that are sure to delight (and stay fresh!) year after year.
Now that I've made the introductions, let's see what the Guest Creators have to share with you!
The holly details that Carissa added throughout her sweet projects really ties them together and gives such a festive feel!
The cellophane that Chari added to these peppermints gives them such a charming, realistic feel! It's like having jumbo sweets just waiting to be picked up and enjoyed!
Aren't these ladies amazing?! Please make sure to visit them end enjoy everything they have to share this week.
I've truly been enjoying getting into the holiday spirit as well, and I can't wait to share everything I've been stitching!
I'm going to start with my candy cane ornaments today. I made several in a variety of colors. I just couldn't stop once I got going!
I embellished all of the candy canes with beads and sequins to make them sparkle, but these two were embellished on the white parts of the candy canes rather than the colorful parts. These embellishments are from the
Frost Color Story.
I knew I wanted to do a rainbow candy cane from the very beginning. I mean...what's not to love about a multi-colored confection?! I used Ripe Raspberry, Clementine, Daffodil, Soft Jade, Dewdrop, and Pixie to complete my rainbow.
This other candy cane is made with Tundra and Pistachio. These candy canes are double sided and perfect for using up some of those small scraps you might have laying around. When you stitch the back, just sew the "wrong" side out. Because the felt is really forgiving with the die cutting, the back looks just as great as the front!
Next up, I have this duo. On these candy canes the sequins and beads match the colorful sections.
This one is made with Satin Slipper felt. I used sequins and beads from the
Best Dressed Color Story. I chose to alternate colors while assembling these, but you could also go with one color for the stitching (it would certainly be less fussy, but I like matching the thread to the sections).
This one is made with Cardinal and Arugula Felt. The sequins and beads I used are from the
Merry & Bright Color Story. I found stuffing these worked best for me when I started at the curved end and stuffed in little bits of polyfil with a skewer as I sewed down the candy canes. I really love how these turned out and I am tempted to make even more of them. I think doing one with red stripes and a green blanket stitch could be really cute!
Next up, I have my peppermint ornaments! It seems that Chari and I had the same idea with these.
I thought adding cellophane and hanging these off a tree would be so charming! I want to make even more of them and have a handful on our tree this year.
I began by sewing up the peppermints like normal round ornaments, keeping them fairly simple to let the cellophane be the star of the show. When they were finished, I wrapped them in cellophane (the pieces were around 9"x8").
I used a clear sticker to reinforce an area in the cellophane before snipping a hole for the string to come through. If you don't reinforce the cellophane, there is a good chance it will tear. I know this from experience. I secured the cellophane with another clear sticker and tied ends with silver twist ties. Aren't they just the cutest?!
Next up, I have a couple of monogrammed ornaments I made with the Sweet Treats: Figgy Pudding die.
I know figgy puddings aren't typically pink, but I thought this design would look adorable in some fanciful colors. The die includes the holly berry cluster on top of the pudding, but there aren't specific placement holes, so you can put your holly wherever you like it best. I used sequins and beads to add some sparkle.
I decided to add personalization with the
Monogram Alphabet letters. I love being able to make projects unique to my loved ones by adding their initials.
Since I was sewing over a layer, I opted not to use the Inline Monogram Alphabet (which is holes only) and instead just used the holes in the letters as my guide for stitching.
My last project today uses all of the dies I've shared today along with a favorite that's been around awhile, the
Gingerbread Friends Die.
I made this sweet treats garland in celebration of all things sweet during the holiday season.
I chose to keep all of the elements flat instead of stuffed for this garland. Instead I added interest by giving each piece some sparkle with beads and sequins.
I also conserved felt by not adding the decorative elements or layers to the back of the pieces. Instead, I just sewed through the holes (in the candy cane and peppermints) with white thread to match the base felt.
I decided to add interest to the figgy pudding by using
felt balls to act as berries instead of using sequins. I managed to get some sparkle in there with bugle bead "jimmies".
The Gingerbread friends are a great complement to these other dies, so I made one of each friend to tuck in there as well. I love refreshing older dies by using them with newer ones!
This garland is the perfect size to fit over a window or small hearth. I have a few places it could fit and I'm looking forward to using it this year!
Thank you so much for joining along this week. We will have more inspiration to share tomorrow morning, so be sure to check back at 9am EDT.
I also want to remind you that I will be going live on Instagram this evening at 8pm EDT to answer any questions you have about today's new products.
In the meantime, it wouldn't be a grand debut without a giveaway! Leave a comment on this blog post letting us know:
What is your favorite Holiday treat?
before 7am EDT on Saturday (7/6) and I will randomly select one winner to receive a $50 credit to our store! The winner will be announced on Saturday (7/6) morning's post at 9am. The winner has 30 days to contact Customer Service (customerservice@poshtadesign.com) and claim their prize. Good luck and we'll see you tomorrow for even more inspiration!
Frosted sugar cookies for sure – with cream cheese frosting! This would be a cute Christmas idea if not already done.
Cookies would be the favorite treat. Our family makes cookies with ingredients that we can only find around the holidays or winter.
My favorite holiday treat are homemade Christmas cookies I make with my children. These dies are so yummy!!
My favorite holiday treat is 100% nostalgic. It is my Gran’s painted sugar cookies. Since I lost her these cookies have taken on an additional meaning since I always reminisce about the years we made them together. They are simple sugar cookies, but they take me to times I love to remember. These dies will be a wonderful addition to our collections!
Hands down…Shortbread!