Welcome to day 11 of our 12 Days of Stitchmas 2025 Advent Calendar class! Join us and stitch your way through the season! We invited 12 guest artists to share inspiration with the 12 stitching surprises. Let’s welcome Michelle Short as she shares inspiration with the Day 11 surprise!
Don’t miss the other video tutorials from our free Youtube Class: Day 1 with Kim Kesti; Day 2 with Jaycee Gaspar; Day 3 with Rebecca Keppel; Day 4 with Nichol Spohr; Day 5 with Tina Smith; Day 6 with Mindy Eggen; Day 7 with Carissa Wiley, Day 8 with Lisa Tilson, Day 9 with Suzanne Hue, Day 10 with Laura Bassen.
Hello there, and welcome to day 11 of 12 Days of Stitchmas 2025! It’s
Michelle Short here, and I am delighted to be sharing two cards with you today using the
12 Days of Stitchmas 2024 Advent Calendar. What’s behind door 11? It’s an adorable bird!
Watch the video tutorial below or on our
YouTube channel:
https://youtu.be/CUYMZ4aJeak
FA LA LA
For my first card, I am using just the
12 Days of Stitchmas 2025 Advent Calendar. I
die-cut the bird from Cascade, Cosmic Sky, Raven, Classic White, Chiffon, and
Poppy ColorWheel Cardstock.
I used
DMC Light Gold Diamant Metallic Thread to stitch the wings and the tummy. He was then assembled using
Bearly Art Glue.
I took a 4.25” x 5.25” panel of
Cosmic Sky ColorWheel Cardstock and added ink blending around the edges with
Nautical and
Pitch Black Core Inks. It was adhered to an A2-sized white card base.
I die cut the FAL letters from Day 7 of the Advent Calendar from
Classic White ColorWheel Cardstock three times for each letter. They were adhered to the card to read “FA LA LA”. I die cut the holly from Day 9, from
Peridot ColorWheel Cardstock, and popped them behind the first ‘A’.
The bird was adhered at the bottom using
foam squares. To finish, I embellished with
Gold Mix Color Essentials Gems, adding one to the bird’s tummy and the others scattered around the card. I also added three
Red Color Essentials Gems to act as berries with the holly.
FA LA LA LA LA
For my second card, I die cut the bird using the same colours, but this time, I used
Windy ColorWheel Cardstock for the wings and tummy, instead of
Cosmic Sky. For the stitching, I used three strands of
DMC 803 Floss.
Before adhering the wing on the right down, I die cut the candy cane from
Parcel & Post Christmas Decorations from
Classic White and
Poppy ColorWheel Cardstock. It was assembled and adhered, so it looks like the bird is holding it.
For the card base, I added ink blending to a 4.25” x 5.5” panel of
Cosmic Sky ColorWheel Cardstock using the same
Nautical and
Pitch Black Core Inks as I did for the first card. It was adhered to a white A2-sized card base.
I hot foiled
Mistletoe Greetings Press Plate onto
Classic White ColorWheel Cardstock using
Champagne Glimmer Hot Foil. It was die cut out using the coordinating die, and the ‘FA LA LA LA LA” one adhered to the card using
foam squares.
I thought it would look good to add some foliage behind the bird, so I grabbed the
Christmas Cracker Etched Dies and die cut the evergreen from
Fern ColorWheel Cardstock and the holly from
Rainforest ColorWheel Cardstock.
The bird was adhered on top, standing on the sentiment, using
foam squares. To finish, I embellished with
Gold Mix Color Essentials Gems.
I hope I have inspired you today for day 11 of the 12 Days of Stitchmas 2025. Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you have a great day and happy stitching!
[spellbinders-supplies]ADV-008,SCS-323,SCS-255,70178,S3-464,S5-698,BP-199,GLF-025,SCS-129,SCS-140,CS-8-131,CS-8-133,CS-8-147,CS-8-148,CS-8-108,CS-8-100,CS-8-118,CS-8-130,CS-8-120,CS-8-119,PE-104,GLS-005,T-095,T-066,T-043,T-023,SCS-123,SCS-241,SCS-269,PCG02E,SCS-272[/spellbinders-supplies]
Other Supplies
Hero Arts Nautical Core Ink, Hero Arts Pitch Black Core Ink, Hero Arts Extra Large Blending Brush, Hero Arts Medium Blending Brush.
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I started with a cheerful holiday wreath, layered in bright greens and decorated with colorful lights. I added a big red bow for that classic Christmas touch, and the sentiment “Here Comes Santa” from my stash completes the look with excitement and anticipation.
For the second card, our classic mouse dressed up as Santa, and he is busy decorating the tree. I used multicolored die-cut letters for the word MERRY, layered with white letters that I handcut to simulate snow, then set them over a softly embossed background. The tree top sparkle with a gold star, giving this design a fun and whimsical vibe.
Watch the video tutorial below, or view it on our 
Result: one traditional Nutcracker with stitched highlights and one modern, unstitched version - both bold, both festive.
Day 12 closes the 