Christmas tea wallet

One Christmas my daughter Carrie made me a lovely little tea wallet.

I have enjoyed it so much. One day I was looking at it and thought that a pretty Christmas tea wallet could be made using green felt and making the little birdie red. So I tried out this idea for my Christmas in July gifts for my swap partner. Here's the outside:

And the inside:
I thought the sort of retro green would make a nice contrast for the inside pockets.

The red bird came out quite cute. It's amazing how different the project looks using different colors of felt! Wouldn't a fall one be cute? You could add a few colored leaves to the branch.

Here is the link to the pattern if others are interested!
Little Birdie Tea Wallet
Enjoy!

Christmas in July!

Today is July 25, Christmas in July!

This year I was blessed to be able to take part in a Christmas in July gift exchange at a Christmas crafting forum I frequent. I just finished opening up the parcel my Canadian friend Fuchsia sent me and thought it would be fun to share the contents here.

Wish I had thought to take a photo when I first opened the package. But here it is with only some of the items opened. Festive!

Fuchsia even included some shiny red jingle bells to make the package sound like Christmas even before I opened it.

Here is the lovely Christmas card she made. Now I need to find out how she did this.

Hot apple cider sets the Christmas mood.

These fabulous butter cookies will be wonderful with cider. (And now I need the recipe!)

This beautifully handmade stocking

was stuffed with a candy cane, gift bags with snowman closures,

and these sparkly Christmas light bulb ornaments!

Another view of the pretty magnets.

This gives you an idea of how beautifully each gift was wrapped.

Aren't these note cards gorgeous?

What a fun cross stitch! (My kitchen and dining room have a strawberry theme.)

I've saved the very best for last. Fuchsia is an expert at making these glittery little putz houses.

When I found out we were to be CIJ swap partners, I was so hoping to get one of these. And I was not disappointed! This yellow and blue house is so lovely ... and I love the little snowman in the front yard.

Thank you, Fuchsia, for all of these thoughtful, generous gifts! Merry, merry Christmas in July!

Quote of the day

I was just browsing through one of my favorite Gooseberry Patch books, Good for You! It's a summery book full of all kinds of fun and healthy ideas. Sadly, I think this one is out of print; sure wish they would bring it back. Anyway, in my browsing I came across a wonderful idea I just had to share:

"When I am stressed, I have a box of Christmas fabrics handy. I go to my sewing room, play Christmas music and sew! It gets my Christmas gifts completed and I keep the Christmas spirit all year long." -- Nancy Stewart

I know I have seen this idea before and thought it was great. This time I decided to file it where I can't lose it -- here in my Christmas kitchen!

A little repurposing project

I am taking a chance posting this, but I doubt that either my 3-year-old or 5-year old granddaughter looks at my Christmas blog very often.

This is just a whimsical little repurposing project which I am making for them as a small Christmas gift. I had embroidered some pillowcases for gifts last year, and the Walmart brand of cases came in a little fabric pouch with a snap closure. I imagine they are trying to "go green" by eliminating paper and heavy plastic from their packaging. I kept looking at those two pouches and thinking that there must be a way to re-use them.

I finally came up with the idea of making tiny purses from them. I edged the front flap with some trim I had on hand and added a coordinating ribbon (which was the only thing I had to buy for this project!) for a handle/strap.

I stenciled an initial on each one but was not happy with the way the edges of the stencil came out -- too blurry. I think the pouch was just not smooth enough to use the technique of freezer-paper stenciling on. I couldn't think how to fix the problem until it came to me that I could simply embroider a chain stitch around the edges of the initial. Presto! Problem solved! I love it when the Lord shows me a creative solution.

On the back of the purse, I appliqued an adorable felt cupcake design.

I'm planning to put a few small things inside -- perhaps a little notebook and pen, a lip balm, and a coin purse with a few quarters in it. I'm thinking of trying to make a felt coin purse in a cupcake design to coordinate with the purse.

I love repurposing things, don't you?

The Rudolph Day that wasn't

Yes, Rudolph Day for June -- the 25th, of course -- was on the calendar all right, but I just didn't manage to accomplish anything Christmasy in it. Life is really, really busy right now and Saturday is one of the few days Mr. T and I can accomplish anything together. So, Saturday the 25th was full of activity, but none of it profitable toward Christmas. The only thing I managed to do was to drink a cup of Candy Cane Lane tea before bed. I'm certainly hoping that July will be a more festive Rudolph Day, and I have every reason (like a nice Christmas in July parcel I'm planning to open on that day) to hope for that!