A new-to-me-mailbox card for the last day of July

 

 If you have read here much at all, you know it's no secret that I love Christmas cards featuring designs of mailboxes.  Recently I was sorting through some Christmas cards and readying to sell them in my Etsy shop, and came upon this beauty I hadn't seen before.

I've often said that I don't know why these cards speak to me as they do.   I guess the main appeal for me is of a more innocent time; that people would send gift-wrapped, string-tied parcels through the mail and they would actually arrive safely; that sprigs of holly or evergreen, snipped from the sender's yard, would be tucked in with packages, so simple, yet such beautiful enhancements.

This pretty red mailbox is mounted upon what looks like a fence post. It appears that pine and holly were planted at its base, for sprigs of both seem to be growing there.  A small wrapped gift is also at the mailbox's base.  

There's not a package or letter to be seen in this mailbox; instead it is stuffed with poinsettias and holly tied up with red ribbons.  A pair of cardinals adds yet another touch of red to this festive scene.

What a July this has been!  When I started in to post for Christmas in July 2026, I really had no idea if I would be able to post every day.  To be honest, it didn't seem likely.  But God gave me ideas and in His timing and strength I was able to post daily.  I hope this has been as enjoyable for my readers as it has been for me!

 

Beautiful printable gift tags

 

 Why would you ever make your own gift tags rather than buying a package of them in the store?  Well, I can think of several reasons.  For one thing, it saves money.  Even though you might purchase gift tags for not much money at all if you wait and buy them after Christmas, you can make them from last year's Christmas cards for free, as I've done for the assortment in the photo above.

Or you might choose to design your own or print some free printable tags, in which case there would be some expense for card stock and ink, but it would be minimal.  

And that brings me to another reason for making your own -- you can customize them as you like if you design them.

Or, if you use free printables you can choose from a large array of possibilities.  Yvonne at Stonegable has selected a variety of printable tags to choose from, and all are lovely.  Here is but one example:

 And there are many more -- snowmen, gold trees, blue and lavender snowflakes just to name a few!  Here is the link: printable gift tags.  Enjoy!

A few minutes in the Christmas room

Last Thursday we took a wonderful outing with friends -- a train ride along a lake shore where we met up with a cruise ship and took a lengthy cruise and narrated tour of Lake Winnipesaukee.  If you are interested in learning more, go here: Rail and Sail.

After disembarking, we wanted to go out for ice cream and decided to go to a reliable year-round favorite, Kellerhaus.  They make their own ice cream and candy and are absolutely worth a visit if you find yourself in New Hampshire's Lakes Region.

Long-time readers may recall that this is a favorite destination for some of our local grandchildren.  They enjoy looking at the toys and also the Christmas rooms and candy shop after we enjoy our ice cream sundaes each December.  A couple photos from previous visits are below.

Our friends had not visited the Christmas room when we brought them there before.  So this time, we all browsed the Christmas room, and I thought I would share a few photos with you all.

One corner in the Christmas room.

I especially liked the icy tree at left and the scalloped felt tree at top center.

An ornament bargain bin

These are jingle bell ornaments resembling snowmen and are personalized.  One would have to spend a long time searching for specific names.  They were only 50¢, so it might be worth it to take that time.

Part of the ornament wall

Christmas dishes and felt poinsettias

This platter and pitcher above may be my favorites of the Christmasy things we saw.

And that's how we happened to be in the Kellerhaus Christmas Room -- and some of the pretty things we saw there -- on July 23.  It seemed our visit needed to be documented here on my Christmas blog!

Lovely Christmas stamps

 It may sound strange, but even as a believer in Jesus I tend to shy away from traditional "religious" Christmas stamps.  I think they are often not very attractive.  I am much more drawn to stamps like those above featuring winter birds.  I like the idea of stamps featuring the Madonna and child, but the reality is that the ones I have seen I really didn't like very much.

The ones currently available, however, are different.  I love these and will very likely order some.

Here is a closeup:

Here is a screenshot of the description from the USPS website:

It's good to know the names of the artists who worked on this stamp,  I really like how Mary looks like the teenage girl she was and that she has no unnecessary halo.  This portrait seems light-filled rather than the darker look of many of the "religious" Christmas stamps.  It's just a very lovely stamp.

What kind of Christmas stamps do you prefer?

Christmas fabric focus week 4

 

I just love Christmas fabric.  There are so many ways it can be used!  The photo above shows how I trimmed pillow cases with a lovely Christmas scene.

For this week's Christmas fabric focus,  I chose Merry Happy Christmas by Bluebellgray for Lewis & Irene Fabrics.  It is bright and fun and just so festive.  

Here are some of the fabrics I especially liked from this line.  

Winter White main yardage

Winter White Festive Foliage

Black Forest Holly

Red Christmas Tartan

Winter White Christmas Tree

Pine Holly Jolly

Pistachio Holly Jolly

I can think of some fun projects I'd love to make with this cheery fabric.  How about you?

Today's vintage Christmas card

 

Here is one last vintage Christmas card church for the last Sunday in July.  

The red border around this scene sets it off nicely, but I think I might have used a metallic gold.  The white church with its green doors stands sturdy and tall at sunset on a winter afternoon.  In December the sun sets around 4:30 here in New England, and I love the moody winter look of this scene as it is so true to my own experience.  The church is lighted in anticipation of folks who will enter.

Already a group is singing carols around the outdoor Christmas tree.  Others are on the way in a sleigh or on foot.  I imagine that more will join them and that then all of the congregants will go in for cookies and hot cocoa -- or maybe even a potluck supper.  

I love this nostalgic image and hope that my readers will too.

Fun and festive yarn for Christmas crafting

 

Summer is definitely the time of year to sit at the beach (or on the porch with a glass of iced tea or iced coffee at hand) and work on crocheting smaller projects for Christmas.  I often make hot mats, dish cloths, coasters, and even ornaments.  It's always fun to find a festive new yarn to use.

 

The variegated yarn above has gold sparkles in it.  

The tree motif above is made from this pattern in a sparkly green yarn.  I still want to do a bunch of these and make a garland.

I just used a festive variety of regular cotton yarn in the hot mat above.

Imagine my delight to see in my email this morning a message from Yarnspirations featuring a new yarn simply titled "Festive"!  It is a new color way from Red Heart Super Savers Bitty Stripes.  You can save 35% now on this yarn with the code XMASINJULY.  

For a closer look at this pretty new Christmas yarn, go here: Bitty Stripes Festive.  Happy shopping and crafting!

Making your own scented pine cones

Speaking of pine cones, which we were just yesterday, I always love it when the scented pine cones appear in the grocery stores.  Cinnamon perfumes the produce aisles and gets me in the mood for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I'm usually tempted to buy these scented cones, but I invariably talk myself out of it because we have acres of woods at our place and free pine cones are literally ours for the taking. 

I often do pick up pine cones from our property and I especially love to gather the tiny hemlock cones to use in Christmas crafting. 

The one caveat in crafting with natural cones is to make sure they are not harboring any insects.  To that end, when you bring harvested cones home, be sure to bake them (on a foil-lined cookie sheet) in a 300º oven for half an hour to kill any insects, before crafting with them.  This procedure also has the added benefit of opening the pine cones up in an attractive way.

If the pine cones you've found have pitch on them, this baking maneuver will give them a pretty glaze as the pitch melts.  An added bonus is that when dry, the pitch will no longer be sticky to the touch.  

You can read more of my tips and ideas for crafting with natural cones here.

Since I so enjoy using pine and hemlock cones in crafting, I was delighted to see a post from Yvonne at Stonegable about making one's own scented cones using essential oils like cinnamon, clove, orange, etc.  Read her inspiring post here: How to Make Beautifully Scented Pinecones.  Yvonne talks you through the process of making these and makes it so simple.

Pick up a few pine cones this summer if you have opportunity and make some of these for use at the holidays.  You will be glad you did!

Pine cone perfection

 

As I mentioned last weekend, so many themes seem to be repeated in Christmas cards and in other Christmasy items.  One of my favorite elements in Christmas items of any kind is the pine cone.  You can see them making an appearance with pink candles in the card design above.  Below are a few more from my collection.

With a tiny angel underneath

With branches, greenery and birds

I think I love pine cones so much because they represent new life.   To me they also speak of spiritual growth.

 

A Christmas card

Christmas fabric

Found in an advertisement received in the mail

Another pretty card

Another card.  What a lovely decorating idea!

A glittery 1950s parchment card

This was the outside of a photo card from the 1960s.

A scrap of wrapping paper

 So many ways to picture the humble pine cone!  Stay tuned for another really nice idea tomorrow.

Peppermint Mocha Cookies

 

 This is a new recipe for us as of this past Christmas.  Again, it was a case of my hubby (or it could have been me!) wanting to try a new and different cookie recipe.  Once again I turned to my trusty Christmas Cookie Exchange Pinterest board.  

 
And these Chocolate Peppermint Cookies from Ambitious Kitchen just jumped out at me, especially when I read about the option of adding espresso powder to make a peppermint mocha variation.  We both love peppermint mocha coffee and I know a good many other folks do as well. 

So I made the recipe as written adding the 2 teaspoons of espresso powder as suggested.  Wow!

Photo by Ambitious Kitchen

I did make the cookie dough balls smaller than specified, using about half the amount of dough for each cookie -- that is, 1 tablespoon of dough rather than two tablespoons.  (We like our Christmas cookies on the smaller side so we can fit a greater variety on our cookie trays.)

And I honestly can't remember at this point if I added the white chocolate drizzle or not.  I know I dipped them in the melted chocolate and sprinkled on the crushed candy canes.  I'm pretty sure I did add the drizzle.  

These cookies are scrumptious!  I would label them a quintessential Christmas cookie.  They've earned a place in our regular Christmas cookie list.

Last call for Christianbooks' Christmas in July sale!

 

I wish I had paid more attention to this sale earlier.  Now it really is the last minute!  But if you are like me, you might still be interested in checking out this sale.  

Here are some of the fun things that I found.

This sweet Advent calendar for only $2.99:

A set of 8 pop-up Christmas cards featuring a red pickup truck for $4.27!  Pop-up cards are such fun but usually quite expensive.

This tree-shaped  Let Us Adore Him melamine tray would make a lovely gift when filled with Christmas cookies or fudge.  It's a deal at less than half price.

I have always liked paper placemats, and this set of 12 for $3.60, pictured below, is especially festive and fun.

Head on over to Christianbook.com and check out the sale.  Hope you find some good buys as well!

Christmas fabric focus week 3

 For this week's Christmas fabric focus,  I chose 12 Days of Christmas by Nancy Halvorsen for Benartex Fabrics.  

Here are some of my favorites from this collection:

Red Holiday Plaid

Green Holiday Plaid

Cream Pine Boughs

Green Motion

Gold Pine Boughs

Moss Pine Boughs

Red Motion

Teal Motion

Willow Diamond Candy

This is a fun fabric line with some vibrant colors.  It would be so enjoyable putting them together in some simple Christmas sewing projects.  Which is your favorite?