Spellbinders Stitchmas Day Eleven: A Sleepy Owl in a Starry Sky
/Welcome back to the blog today! It’s time for day eleven of the 12 Days of Stitchmas—a festive advent-style celebration from Spellbinders that brings together two of my favorite things: cardmaking and stitching! Every day for these 12 days, I’ll be sharing a new Instagram Reel and a new card created with these adorable stitching dies, so be sure to follow me over on Instagram!
Click HERE to watch today’s Instagram Reel!
Today’s die set features the sweetest, sleepiest little stitched owl, complete with wing and breast stitching dies, tiny legs, rosy cheeks, a cozy hat with a band and pom pom, and even an eye backer to help bring his expression to life. He’s adorable right out of the package—but even more charming once he’s dressed for winter.
For my owl, I went with a soft gray-on-gray color palette, stitching with coordinating grey thread to keep the tones subtle and soothing. To give him a festive touch, I added a crimson hat with white trim, giving him a Santa-inspired look that feels perfectly cozy for the season.
To set the scene, I reached for the Starry Snowfall 3D Embossing Folder—the July 2025 Embossing Folder of the Month. It has such a dreamy texture, and today I wanted to enhance that dimension even more.
Here’s how I created the effect:
I applied white pigment ink to the top of the embossing folder.
I embossed a panel of Windy ColorWheel cardstock.
This technique leaves the raised areas slightly darker than the flat ones, creating a soft reverse-shadow effect that mimics a snowy, starry night sky.
To anchor the owl, I added an oval leftover from Day Eight, cut from Celestial cardstock using the Scallop & Stitched Edge Ovals Etched Dies. It brought a beautiful contrast and echoed the oval shapes I’ve used throughout the series.
To build a little perch for the owl, I used greenery from the Parcel & Post Christmas Decorations die set—which is an amazing deal in the current Spellbinders Black Friday sale. The delicate branches were perfect for creating a soft “nest” beneath him.
To finish the design, I added the “noel” stitched sentiment from the Day One Stitchmas set, holly leaves and berries from the Parcel & Post Christmas Decorations etched dies, and tiny stars from the same set, cut from Silver Treasured Cardstock, scattered across the sky for sparkle. The stars were the perfect finishing touch, giving the background a truly magical, wintry glow.
I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about this owl at first, but once I paired him with some of my favorite products from my stash, everything clicked. This soft, magical, wintery scene turned into one of my favorites of the series.
Thanks for joining me today! Don’t forget to check back tomorrow as we wrap up the 12 Days of Stitchmas™with my final card, but while you wait, click below to shop Spellbinders’ Black Friday Sale, and find the products that I used to create this card below!
Supplies
Shop the supplies I shared in the video above using the clickable images below. Affiliate links may be used at no extra cost to you. Clicking on the products below is your way of saying, ‘thanks for inspiring me.’ I appreciate your support so much!
