No Stamping Christmas Cards
Disclosure: Where available I use compensated affiliate links which means if you make a purchase, I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you so much for your support!
This post which includes a video is for the Christmas Craft Creations May 2023 theme of ‘No Stamping’. So instead of stamping, I employed the following techniques: die cutting, stitching, and hot foiling. I love stitching dies and showcase how I use Spellbinders’ Sparkling Mandala die to make a couple of cards and a Christmas ornament. I also show a card where a Christmas tree is stitched onto the Altenew Pegboard Canvas die. Love making Christmas cards all year around.
Check out these two stitching dies if stitching dies are your jam: video 1 and video 2
Basics of Stitching
Thread Snip Scissors with Protective Cover, 4 Pieces
DMC Essential Metallics Diamant Metallic Thread Bundle (for the more experienced stitcher!)
DMC Etoile Embroidery Floss Pack (for the more experienced stitcher!)
A beginner should start with DMC Embroidery Floss. Though the DMC Embroidery Floss comes with six strands, use only three strands of thread. To separate the strands, pull out one thread strand at a time to ensure that the thread does not knot. This holds true when separating DMC Etoile Embroidery Floss as well. The easiest way to secure thread at the start and end of the thread when stitching, is to use sticky tape at the back of the card panel.
It is especially important when using DMC Essential Metallics Diamant Metallic Thread and DMC Etoile Embroidery Floss that the thread needs to be pulled taut and held with a finger when proceeding with the next stitch. If not done correctly, the thread will become loose and the stitches will not result in the desired effect.
I find the DMC Tapestry Needle Size 24 ideal for most stitching that I do with papercrafting, i.e. stitching dies. When dealing with multiple strands or not, it is easy to thread the needle using a Needle Threader and to keep all the needles safe and not lose them when crafting, best to stick them into a Pin Cushion - this especially comes in handy when a project uses multiple threads. The Thread Snip Scissors prevents fraying of the thread and its protective cover has a welcome safety function when you store all of your sewing items together.
I hope this has been helpful to get you started in your journey of stitching with dies and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
Check out the video below.
Card #1
Card #2
Card #3
The Altenew Pegboard Canvas Cover Die is 30 x 40 stitches and the above pattern is 33 x 22 sttiches, so definitely will fit. The thread colour used is the colour of the crosses except for the tree stump where I have indicated that it is brown…and the tinsel (denoted with black lines) can be any colour. My cross stitch pattern is rudimentary and copied it from an image on Pinterest. I hope that you have fun with this.
Ornament
Products Used:
Spellbinders Sparkling Mandala
DMC Essential Metallics Diamant Metallic Thread Bundle
Spellbinders Fashion Gold Embellishments
Disclosure: Where available I use compensated affiliate links which means if you make a purchase, I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you so much for your support!
I hope you will join us for this fun challenge theme this month! Thanks for stopping by.