A Christmasy napkin fold to try now!

Continuing to browse my Pinterest boards for Christmas in July inspiration, I again turned to my  Christmas Hospitality board where I spied this pretty napkin fold from Jen Schmidt at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam.  Below, you see Jen's pretty fold.  At top, you see my rather miserable attempt and wonky fold.  I didn't really want to link to a project without having at least attempted it myself.  I don't have any solid color cloth napkins so I chose to use this red Pioneer Woman napkin, one of a set gifted me by Vee a few years back.

This fold is called a Pinwheel Napkin Fold and looks a little bit like a poinsettia.

I thought that it could also work for summer parties, since pinwheels in patriotic colors are everywhere.  Some of these pinwheel folded napkins in red, white and blue could look very nice!

A pretty vintage Christmas linen towel

Here is one of my recent linen closet finds!  I think it is so pretty.  The photo shows only one half of the towel -- I had it folded -- but the other side is exactly the same.

The large red poinsettias have green centers, and the pine cones are also red.  Coloring the pine cones red is a bit of artistic license, but they have an attractive vintage look.  A few Christmas baubles in red and silver are sprinkled into the arrangement, which is backed with sprigs of green fir.

All around the central design on each half of the towel there are pretty silver gray stars.

This linen towel is unusual, but I think it's lovely.  Hope you have enjoyed seeing it also!

Great source for Christmas embroidery designs!

I love to embroider and just wish I had more time for it.  Truth to tell, in many ways I enjoy it more than counted cross stitch.  I have found that embroidered dish towels can make wonderful handmade gifts which people really appreciate.

Not too long ago, I found a great source for free designs: Bird Brain Designs.  They also have many lovely patterns and materials for sale.  If you enjoy embroidery, it will be well worth your while to visit the site.  There are also designs for quilting and wool applique.  A needlecrafter could get lost in this site for days.

There are many Christmas and winter designs, as well as designs for other holidays -- even the Fourth of July, for example.  I think a set of tea towels in seasonal designs would make a fabulous gift!

Here's one example of a winter design:
Let It Snow tea towel.  Below is a screenshot I took from Bird Brain Designs.

I've written other posts about embroidery and dish towels which you might enjoy seeing, and which give links to other sources for designs, so you might like to take a look at the following: Christmas Embroidery Designs and A Christmas Tea Towel.

Clicking the "dish towels" label on either of my blogs will also take you to posts that will hopefully inspire your own stitchery.

 The slower days of summer are perfect for embroidering small projects.  Have fun with these ideas!

Sweet embellished kitchen towels

Photo and design by Shannon at Eat Sleep Make

You all know I love dish towels, right?  I've had this idea on my list for Christmas crafting for awhile now, and just might make one for myself.  Shannon, from Eat Sleep Make,  shares her fabulous idea for Grandma's Kitchen Towels, an Anthropologie knock-off.  Aren't they adorable?

You can see the Anthropologie design on the left and Shannon's on the right.  I actually think that hers is much prettier.  I love the rose fabric that she chose for her applique.  Motifs cut from a vintage sheet might also be pretty.  A blanket stitch (in red here, on both towels above, although you could choose any color that goes with your fabric) adds a fun and distinctive touch.

Have fun with this idea!  I hope to!

Some simple after-Christmas crafting

Super simple gift tags

Since Christmas, I've been able to craft a few simple items so thought I would quickly share them.  One of my goals this year is to nurture my creativity, so I'm not losing any time getting started.  I'm trying to do something creative every day, even if it's only cooking or thinking of a creative solution or tactic in homemaking.

For Christmas gifts for my daughters and several friends, I made these fabulous "Best of My Days" cards from Ashley at Under the Sycamore.  I had such fun designing the packaging.  This is one that I made as a New Year gift for a friend. 

Christmas Star dishcloth

Gift tags from 2014's Christmas cards

Winter-themed table topper (more pics on my regular blog)

More of the simple gift tags I made from the metal-rimmed paper tags and small embellishments

These projects are simple, but they have been fun for me and have definitely helped me stay sane during a cold and busy January!

A vintage linen towel

One end of the towel

All summer and fall, I have been trying to do some sorting out, decluttering and cleaning at my dad's house.  There are so many storage areas that he never even looks at!  I did a bit of clearing out in the linen closet and one day I came upon this interesting linen Christmas towel.  I am guessing that my mother must have received it as a gift, as it doesn't really seem to be her taste.

The other end of the towel

 What I find so interesting is how there are all different types of motifs here, from tree ornaments to angels to elves to a little village.  They don't really seem to belong together, and yet they are tied together by the color scheme and by the common theme of Christmas. 

A closer look at some of the motifs.  See the tiny village in the center of the photo?

Hope you have enjoyed this peek at a vintage Christmas towel!