Xmas Jams "12 Days of Christmas" Layout & Process Video

I have a new layout and process video to share with you today! I'm happy to participate in the 12 Days of Christmas YouTube series with Tina Gale and Heather's Crafty Life! My theme was "On the 5th day of Christmas my true love gave to me: needle & thread." Oh how I LOVE stitching! Challenge accepted :)

You can watch the process video here:

I started by having my Silhouette Cameo 3 draw my Nordic Background cut file with a pencil using the pen tool on a white cardstock background. Then I poked a hole in every corner in preparation for cross-stitching. Also note, I edited the cut file just a tad to take away a section from the middle right - that's where I wanted to place my photo/title/journaling so I didn't want to spend time stitching there if it was just going to be covered.

Next I took a screenshot of the cut file in Silhouette Studio, printed it out, and did a very rough coloring over it with colored pencils to see which colors of thread I wanted to use to stitch. I tried to use colors that matched my Turn the Page collection with Pink Paislee. Then I began cross-stitching!

I knew it would take a loooong time to stitch this design. I've been hand stitching on my layouts for the past several years so I know about how long it takes. I was in it to win it! I binge-watched a new show on Hulu called The Good Doctor (so good!) and took lots of breaks to get my steps in. Over two days it took me about 11 hours to stitch this background. Worth it! I LOVE it! The textures, the colors... it all makes me happy :)

Then I got to work finishing it up. I didn't want to cover hardly any of the background since I spent a long time creating it so I kept everything clustered in the open space including the cute photo of Fox and Jane in their Christmas jammies, which became the title, or at least a shortened version: XMAS JAMS, made from the little alpha stickers in my Turn the Page Sticker Book. I layered Ephemera Die Cuts and Journaling Spots on the right edge, trimmed the excess, and placed the title on top. I fussy cut "happy as can be" from the phrases 2x2 Paper Pad and added it to the cluster along with a Chipboard Sticker heart.

Jane walked in while I was scrapping and made an awesome suggestion - she saw the pink and blue paper doll people Sticker and said, "You should add these gingerbread men right here!" Hey, they DO look like gingerbread men in this context! Perfect! I backed them with paper first and fussy cut them out because I didn't know exactly where I wanted to place them - they ended up on the left side of the photo over a Chipboard Sticker arrow. Thank you genius Jane!

I had a piece of punched doily border from a leftover project which I cut into bits and tucked under the photo edges. I wrote my journaling on an Ephemera Die Cut tag and tucked it behind the photo (after typing/printing/trimming journaling strips and not liking the way that looked). There was more white space on the right and bottom edges than the left and top edges of the stitched background so I trimmed it up to make it even all around and then stitched it onto Paper 20 to make a colorful frame.

Here are a couple more detail shots because I couldn't narrow them down anymore!

I hope you are inspired to give cross-stitching a try and be sure to check out the rest of the videos in the 12 Days of Christmas YouTube series by Tina Gale and Heather's Crafty Life!

Supplies: Stitching template: Nordic Background cut file by Paige Evans; Patterned paper, Ephemera Die Cuts, Sticker Book, Chipboard Stickers, Journaling Spots, 2x2 Paper Pad: Turn the Page by Paige Evans; Pink Paislee; Cardstock, Pen, adhesive: American Crafts; Die cut machine: Silhouette Cameo 3; Sewing machine: Brother; Thread: Coats & Clark; Embroidery floss: DMC