Poshta Presents - A Tropical Twist on Christmas!

Hello Friends!  We missed you last week as we prepared for the new release! If you haven't had a chance to check it out, please do so. We are kicking off the July Poshta Presents series of posts today with a new guest for the month, Megan Swindell!

Today, Megan is sharing how she created her Evergreen Characters with a tropical twist, and she even has a bonus project to share with you! Read on to learn more about these cuties! Take it away, Megan!

Last week kicked off a new release full of Christmas in July inspiration, and I’m continuing the celebration with fresh projects featuring the Classic Evergreen and Classic Evergreen Characters collections.

I’ve always imagined Santa and his friends sneaking away for a little summer fun. For this week’s main project, I used two of my favorite Color Stories, Tropical Twist and Cabana, to create a cheerful set of ornaments featuring the Classic Evergreen Characters on vacation.

Santa starts with a Barley base and a Tundra beard and mustache, swapping his classic red and white for a sunny Cerulean and Marigold hat. I added a scrap of Ripe Raspberry for his nose to keep that festive cherry look. Each character also has Dahlia Blossom cheeks, because they’re all enjoying a little fun in the sun!

Mrs. Claus has a Chai base and Overcast hair, finished with a Gossip and Vintage Glass hat. I used a whip stitch for her mouth to give her expression a softer look.

Mr. Elf stays fairly close to tradition, with a Peach Puff base, a bright pop of Tangerine for the hair, and a Peridot and Gecko hat. For each character’s eyes, I started with a white sequin from the Country Rose Color Story, added a playful pop of color for the iris, and finished with a black bead for the pupil.

Rounding out the Classic Evergreen Characters crew is Frosty the Snowman. He can’t spend long in the heat, but he had to come along! He features a Tundra base, Tangerine nose, and Orchid/Poolside hat. I used a chain stitch for all of the characters’ eyebrows.

Then Rudolph joins the tropical lineup in Pencil Pine form. He has a Gingersnap base, a Gossip nose, sparkly glitter felt antlers, and pink Petal Parade sequins to complete the look.

Of course, their tropical getaway needed a little school of fish! I made them with the small and medium Pencil Pine and Scalloped Spruce shapes, the Classic Evergreen Tree base, and a Gecko tail created from three of Frosty’s carrot nose shapes.

No tropical vacation is complete without a flamingo sighting! After some trial and error, I loved pushing myself outside my comfort zone to create something unique. I used the Pencil Pine die for the Flamingo base, Sweet Nectar middle, and Inkwell small tier. Then I cut the eyes from the Pencil Pine Characters Rudolph face and added a touch of eyelash flair to the outer edge of each eye.

I finished the tree with Spring Flowers and a Joyful Rainbow from my stash. The bright colors are perfect for a cheerful, non-traditional Christmas in July!

And because one summer celebration wasn’t quite enough, here’s a bonus project!

Penguins are my absolute favorite, and I’ll find any excuse to use them in home décor year-round. So, saying I was excited to create with the Pencil Pine Characters die is definitely an understatement. Each week, I’ll share a bonus penguin project because, really, can you ever have too many penguins?

This week’s project is my Patriotic Penguin Pals garland. I used Crabapple, Tundra, and Varsity Blue for the hats, Inkwell and Tundra for the heads, and Sunflower for the beaks. I decorated the hats with a cross-stitched band and added clear beads from the Trick or Treat Color Story to attach the small stars from the Sunny Sandcastle die.  I used a layer of cardstock between the felt to sturdy them up, and since I was using Tundra as the layers, I actually stitched through the holes in the cardstock this time!