Introducing Our Nutcracker Ballet & Season's Greetings Collections!

Hello! And welcome back for our second day of introductions for our Holiday release! As always, I will be going live tonight on Instagram to answer any questions you might have about today's introductions. Today we're introducing our Nutcracker Ballet and Season's Greetings Collections. Let's jump in!

First up is our Nutcracker Prince Die (retails for $75).

He may not come to life to take you on a magical adventure but he sure will add some magic to your space. The Nutcracker Prince die and his different hat variations give you the creative freedom to tell your version of the classic nutcracker story. This die works well as a standalone or pairs perfectly with the Dancing Shoes for a touch of delicate whimsy.

Of course our Nutcracker needs his ballerina, so we have Clara's Dancing Shoes (retails for $50) ready and waiting.

There is no need to have the perfect pirouette to own this pair of ballet slippers. The Dancing Shoes die is your gateway into the whimsical world of dance, in felt craft form. This die works well as a standalone or pair it with a festive color palette and the Nutcracker Prince to make your holiday creative projects just a little bit more magical. 

Next up, we have the Season's Greetings Collection! These phrases are perfect for home decor and card projects alike. First, let's take a closer look at the Season's Greetings: Holly Jolly Die (retails for $28).

Have a holly jolly holiday and a home decorated with phrases that make you smile. As part of the Seasons Greetings Collection, the Holly Jolly die features the word Holly in beautiful script to be embroidered with the prettiest thread and the word Jolly in bold block lettering. The cute holly leaves are the kind of detail that will make this project stand out. Use this die as a stand alone or pair it with one of the other phrases featured in the Seasons Greetings Collection.

Next, we have the Season's Greetings: Merry & Bright Die (retails for $32).

May your season be filled with joyous laughter, twinkling lights and lots of wishes for a season that’s merry & bright. This die from our our Seasons Greetings Collection features the word Merry in bold block lettering and the word Bright in beautiful script to be embroidered with the prettiest thread. Use this die to adorn your tree and home or as an extra special way to share well-wishes with loved ones.

The third and final die in this collection is the Season's Greetings: Noel Die (retails for $17).

Wishing you a joyous noel and a season filled with peace and calm. The Noel die from our Seasons Greetings Collection features the word Noel in bold block lettering with delicate holes punched throughout to embellish with the prettiest thread. Use this die for ornaments and beautiful home decor that spreads sentiments of peace and joy this holiday season.

In addition to these two collections, we also have two alphabets coming your way. First up, we have the Upper Case Banner Builder Alphabet (retail for $6/$8/$10/$12 individually or $240 for a full set).

Since our Banner Builder Alphabet debuted last year, we have received countless requests for an upper case version. We hope you enjoy these letters for adding monograms, creating banners, and more!

And, proving that sometimes the best things come in small packages, we have the Itty Bitty Alphabetty (retails for $14).

This petite alphabet is perfect for the times you want to add personalization, but a bolder monogram just won’t quite fit the bill. These letters can be used to spell out names (4-5 characters fit on many of our past and present ornament shapes), add initials, or customize your projects with special messages. You can even pair the Itty Bitty Alphabetty Die with all of our Accessory and Monogram Alphabets and Numerals that are tailor-made for your friends and loved ones!

Now that I've made all of the introductions, let's see what the ladies (and a surprise guest!) have to share with you today.

Audrey's peek of polka dot immediately made me smile. It just goes to show that sometimes a little goes a long way. Her whole collection is just so playful! Make sure to head to her Instagram to see more!

I love Miriam's classic color combo for her Nutcracker set. The Nutcracker Ballet holds such a special place in our family's hearts and this simply makes my heart swell. Head over to Miriam's Instagram to see even more of her beautiful projects!

 

I love the retro chic vibe of Veronica's ornaments! The contrasting stitching really makes the colors pop and I can imagine these beautiful ornaments looking perfectly at home on her Christmas tree this year. Check out her Instagram to read all about them!

Are you ready for our surprise guest?

That's right! Our very own Sean Jones has jumped in to help introduce the Nutcracker Prince and the Dancing Shoes Dies today. I love that he coordinated his color palette with one of our family's favorite storybooks. Make sure to head over to his Instagram to read all about his projects!

I also have several projects that I am excited to share with you, so let's get to it!

I'm going to jump in with my Season's Greetings magnet set.

I love being able to make seasonal magnets to decorate the fridge and locker in our barn. They just add a bit of colorful flair.

I used the Magnet Maker Die to add magnet pockets to the inside of each shape. I also cut a core of chipboard and a layer of quilt batting to give the magnets a bit of sturdy dimension.

I used the Deco Pop Color Story to create this set. I'm really in love with our new Emerald felt!

The Merry & Bright design works so well with the five colors in the Color Story. It's so cheerful!

I used the E5200 to stitch the NOEL letters into place, so this magnet is nice and shimmery. I love the font on these designs! It has a fun, circus-y vibe that I'm truly taken with.

And now I have a fun set of magnets to use for our sweet girl's artwork!

Next up, I have a trio of Nutcrackers to share! I used the Knitting Basket Color Story for their hats.

We have had so many of you reach out and tell us how much your families also have a fondness for the Nutcracker Ballet. The Nutcracker Prince is a similar scale to the Kringle Crew, so he will fit right in with other characters you may already have in your collection.

I used Barley and Truffle to create this nutcracker. His hat is Red Currant and Arugula and I used a couple of Vintage Starburst sequins to add a bit of sparkle to the embroidery. I also layered large and small sequins to create the eyes. I used scissors to trim off just the bottom edge of the large sequin and give it a little more shape.

I used Peach Puff and Tundra for this next nutcracker. I used the optional cheeks on this fella and decorated his hat with another Vintage Starbust sequin. I used quilt batting inside all of these ornaments. They have a little bit of dimension, but they're still fairly flat.

I used the Itty Bitty Alphabetty and Upper Case Banner Builder Alphabet to personalize these ornaments. Tilly is a little too young to audition for her ballet studio's Nutcracker production, but she has been offered a brief walk-on roll. I made this ornament to give her as a surprise after her first show. I used the Accessory Alphabet for the 1, so you can see how they compare. The Upper Case Banner Builder "C" fit beautifully on the back of the other nutcracker. I also used the Keepsake Dates die on all three ornaments. I've used this die a lot already this year!

On this final nutcracker, I used Walnut and Inkwell. Another Vintage Starburst sequin and some other assorted embellishments really dressed up his hat nicely.

In my mind, nutcrackers are undeniably lined to ballet. And now that our girl has caught the ballet bug, that connection is likely to stick. So I knew I needed to design a set of ballet slippers.

I wanted these slippers to be a little customizable, depending on your preferences. So the die set includes a set of straps for the slippers, but they are certainly optional.

On this first pair, I used the straps cut from felt. I stitched them so they had a bit of looseness and dimension (to make them look like Tilly's actual shoes). For all three pair of slippers, I was inspired by the Nutcracker ballet and the different fairy dances. These are Pixie and Thistle. I embellished all three pair with iridescent clear sequins.

This next pair are Satin Slipper and Lollipop. Instead of the felt straps, I used 1/4" silk ribbon. You could also cut the straps from fabric treated with Terial Magic if you prefer thinner straps and don't have an appropriate ribbon handy.

This last pair are Sea Spray and Harbor. I opted to not use the straps at all on this pair. I used quilt batting to add a little stuffing to all three pair of slippers.

On the back, I personalized the purple pair using the Monogram Alphabet Die. The other two ornaments were stitched with the year using the Keepsake Dates Die.

I can't wait to give Tilly her special ornaments. She's already so excited about the production. It will be such a joy to see her in her element. I can't wait!

I hope you enjoyed today's introductions! I will be live on Instagram this evening at 8pm EDT to answer any questions you might have about today's introductions. We will have even more to share with you tomorrow, so I hope you will stop by to take a peek!

In the meantime, it wouldn't be a grand debut without a giveaway! Leave a comment on this blog post letting us know:

Is there a special show or event that you look forward to every holiday season?

before 7am on Saturday (10/3) and I will randomly select one winner to receive a $50 gift certificate to our store. The winner will be announced in a blog post on Saturday (10/3) 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 more inspiration!