It's not too early to be making (or thinking about) some small gifts!

Tea wallet

interior of tea wallet

This isn't going to be an extensive post on small gifts for friends, co-workers, etc.  But I wanted to share a few thoughts.  This post: 10 Small Gift Ideas to Give to Your Friends by Sarah Beals at Joy-Filled Days will give you some terrific inspiration.  Some of her ideas are homemade or put together at home; others are things to buy.

I hope to share a few posts this month about small gifts to make.  Some ideas right off the top of my head are coasters, mug mats, tea wallets, dishcloths, potholders --- nice small, uncomplicated projects, some of which could be worked on while traveling or at the lake or the beach.  I've made loads of these sorts of projects in the past and have many ideas to share.  Stay tuned!

Drawstring Gift Bags

Photo by Amy at Positively Splendid

I've been browsing through some of my emails and Pinterest pins to find some interesting and fun projects to share with you for Christmas in July.  I thought this one, which I found at Skip to My Lou, looked like a good project to work on in July: Drawstring Gift Bags.  The tutorial is by Amy of Positively Splendid.  By the time you are ready to wrap your gifts, you could have a nice stack of these pretty gift bags all ready to go!

I love the idea of looking through my fabric stash to find prints to sew up into these nifty bags.  And then looking through my stash of ribbons and trims ... what fun on a summer day to sew some of these up in front of an open window.  Think I'll be trying this!  How about you?

A fun Christmas poem -- "Holiday Cheer"

A vintage card from my collection

 I'm going to be sharing a few Christmas poems over the course of Christmas in July.  I found several in the November/December 1990 issue of Country Woman and enjoyed each one of them.  I thought my readers would, too!  The first one is "Holiday Cheer" and the poet is Ericka Northrop of Tuscon, Arizona.  Here it is:

Holiday Cheer

Christmas wrappings on the floor,
A choir of carolers at the door,
A tall and twinkling Christmas tree
Bedecked with lights for all to see,

Sparkling ornaments so jolly,
Fragrant pine and shiny holly,
Bells that ring out Christmas cheer
To guide us through the coming year.
~ Ericka Northrop

Hope you've enjoyed this festive little poem!

Christmas in July!

Another card from my friend Ann in New Zealand

Welcome to Christmas in July at my Christmas kitchen!  I hope to be here every day, sharing links for crafts, poems, recipes, memories, ideas and inspiration -- just whatever I can find to help us celebrate!

I thought it would be fun to start this month, with its patriotic holiday, with another vintage card from the parcel my friend Ann sent me awhile back.  This one, with its red, white and blue theme, is perfect!

Inside the card ...

As always, the fonts inside the card are so pretty and unusual.  I like how the red snowflake edge shows through to the front of the card, too.

Hope you've enjoyed my patriotic vintage card!  See you tomorrow for more of Christmas in July!

Planning ahead for Christmas in July

A favorite magazine from my collection

Just a quick little note to say I've been busy as a bee behind the scenes here in the Christmas kitchen.  I've been writing posts like crazy to schedule them ahead for Christmas in July.  We are going to have visiting family here for three weeks in parts of June and July, and I know I would never be able to post daily in July with all that will be going on.  So I'm preparing posts ahead of time -- everything from poems to vintage cards to crafts to recipes -- and I hope you will all enjoy them.  A lot of the posts will be links to ideas I've found through Pinterest, including some of my most frequently repinned items.  Stay tuned!

Rudolph Day recap

A page from my vintage Night Before Christmas Little Golden Book

So this past Monday was Rudolph Day for May.  Although I didn't have time to do a lot of Christmas-related activities that day, I will tell you about what I did do.

I pulled out my Christmas notebook and spent some good time with it.  If you click "Christmas notebook" in the label cloud in the sidebar at right, you will find all of my posts concerning my Christmas notebook and the sort of things it contains.

What I was doing on Monday was to go through my lists of handmade gifts I'm hoping to give this year.  I have one list for birthdays, and another list for Christmas.  I added in a few items and crossed off some birthday gifts already made and given.

I also added a few items to my Christmas list.  For example, I made a felt campfire, logs, fire ring and s'mores for 2 birthday kids.  After completing those, I knew I wanted to make more for a Christmas gift for another family.  So those have now gone on my Christmas list.

And I also went through and figured out a timeline for several of these handcrafted gifts.  I explain my crafting timelines in much more detail here: Planning for Handmade Gifts.  Basically, the timelines list the project, who it's for, what materials I need, and what date I'd like to finish by.  I don't always accomplish it by then, but I find that failing to plan is planning to fail!

And that was my Rudolph Day hour or so.  Pretty simple; not even Christmas tea, Christmas music, or anything.  It's been hot here, so iced tea was the order of the day.  But I was thankful to be able to take some quality time for planning.  How was your Rudy Day?

Another Rudolph Day got away!

Found this free graphic online years ago -- I forget where.  It's an illustration from the Jolly Old Saint Nicholas book I loved as a child.

Yes, Rudolph Day for April got right by me.  I had thought I would try and celebrate at least a little, but no Christmas crafts were made, no Christmas tea sipped, no Christmas music listened to.

Over the next couple of days, though, I took some time to browse through some Gooseberry Patch Christmas books I'd purchased used on Amazon.

Book 13 -- photo from Amazon

Book 14 -- photo from Amazon

If you have never thought of buying used Christmas books, head over to Amazon and see the selection.  The pricing, even on hardcovers (which these were), can be amazingly low.  I still haven't finished browsing through these, but when I do, I will hopefully write some book reviews.  These feature the wonderful projects, recipes, handmade gift ideas and decorating inspiration we've all come to expect from Gooseberry Patch.

Even though my Rudolph Day got away, these books are mine to keep -- and I'm enjoying them!

"Best Wishes" ~ another vintage card

I love this vintage Christmas card from my friend Ann.  The little cabin is reached by a snowy lane by which only one vehicle has traveled.  By observing the large tree in the foreground and the snowy fence, one can see it has snowed heavily.  (Although one does wonder about the trees back by the cabin -- how is it that they have no snow on them?)  Now, however, the stars are out.

The cabin is welcoming with lights glowing from every window and a fire in the fireplace.  One can just imagine steaming mugs of coffee, hot cider or cocoa -- and perhaps the hostess is pulling a pan of piping-hot apple crisp from the oven!

The interior of the card is pretty too:

 As always, the fonts are unusual and varied.  And I love that the cabin can be seen in the distance.

And here is the patterned part of the card's back:

The rest was just white so I cropped it out.

Hope you've enjoyed seeing this lovely card from my collection!

Another whimsical vintage card

For those of you who enjoy Christmas cards on the whimsical or humorous side, here is one just for you!  This funny little fellow doesn't really look terribly Christmasy, except for his red and green striped scarf.  It's hard to figure out what his errand is or what he's so worried about.

Then you open the card:

And you still don't (at least I didn't) see what he's hurrying up those stairs for!

On the back of the card, his errand is finally revealed!

He's a bell ringer, and he is hastening up the stairs of a bell tower to ring some merry bells!  That red bell is hinged on the end that touches the window opening, so it can either show up as a single red bell on the inside of the card, or a movable bell on the outside of the card.  Clever!

This is another of the cards my friend Ann so generously sent me.  Vintage fun!

The Rudolph Day ... that walked away!

Since Rudolph Day for March (the 25th) fell on a Wednesday this year, I knew I probably wouldn't find much time to do anything of a Christmasy nature.  Wednesdays are always notoriously busy for me.  So, I made plans last week to celebrate on Tuesday the 24th instead.  I guess you could call it Rudolph Eve day.

Tuesday mornings I talk with my daughter 3 time zones away, but that shouldn't impact anything.  It didn't, but in the meanwhile a postponed hair appointment was rescheduled to Tuesday morning.  No problem, I thought.  I try to stop in at my dad's every day, but this time I would do it on the way back from my haircut.  It should be a brief stop, as I had only a few things to do there.  I basically just wanted to check on him.  Then, theoretically, I would still have the afternoon, or at least a couple of hours, for Rudy-like activities. 

So I talked with my daughter, went and got my hair cut, and stopped at my dad's.  I quickly finished my errands there and went to leave.  And that's when my Rudy Day began, quite literally, to take a hike.

Because, when I went to open the car door, it was locked.  Ordinarily, when I stop at my dad's, I take my bag inside.  This time, I intended to be there only a short time, so all I took (other than his mail, which I picked up from the box) was the key to his house.  And apparently when getting out I must have bumped the lock button.  So there, locked in the car, was my bag, complete with my car keys and my wallet containing the AAA card...

Of course, I did the first thing I could think of to do: I called my husband.  He told me there was a spare key on his dresser at home, but for him to leave work and come to my aid would take an hour round trip and he just couldn't take the time.  So my options were three: 1) Stay where I was all day until my hubby got home from work; 2) Walk home and leave the car where it was, again until my hubby got home from work; 3) Walk home, get the spare key, walk back, and drive the car home. 

I decided on a variation of option 3.  I would walk home and see how tired I was.  If I still had energy, I would walk back and get the car.  The walk home involved a couple of very steep hills, or, technically, I suppose, one long steep hill.  My hubby encouraged me to stop and rest often, so I did.  When I got home, I felt pretty good, other than being insanely thirsty, so I rested for a few minutes, changed to sneakers, grabbed the spare key, and headed back.  It was all downhill from there -- the hike and the Rudy Day!

Another sweet vintage card

Here is another of my recently acquired vintage Christmas cards, courtesy of my thoughtful friend Ann.  Isn't it sweet?

I love the adorable puppies and the ribbon-tied candy cane peeking out of the stocking.  I think it's the sober faces, bright eyes, and "eyebrows" on these puppies that make me think of my newest granddaughter.  They are just too cute!

Here is the inside of the card:

As you can see, the puppies have escaped from the stocking and are playing tug-of-war with it!  I like the way the greeting is extended into the left side of the card, and the fonts they used are fun too.

Hope you've enjoyed this sweet vintage card today!

A comical vintage Christmas card

Here's another of the vintage cards from the parcel sent me by my friend Ann.  This one has a decidedly comic aspect!  The Victorian couple is apparently moving along between snowbanks and it looks as if they are walking.

But the inside of the card is where it gets funny.

You can't tell from this scan of the card's interior, but it's a pop-up card, making the gentleman's leap onto the tandem bicycle quite realistic and comical.  You see that his top hat and the package he was carrying (as well as his coattails and scarf) go flying out behind him.

This wouldn't be a card I would select, but I had a great-aunt who very often chose funny cards.  This looks very much like one she would have picked.  It was a fun reminder of her. 

"Silent Night" ~ another vintage card

Here is another vintage card from the assortment sent to me by my friend Ann.  I continue to be amazed and blessed by her thoughtfulness!

I like the simple, stylized look of this little village.  It's neat how the church is the centerpiece of the surrounding homes, and I love the lighted windows in each one.  I love glitter, but this simple scene is just right without it.

And here is a look at the inside of the card.

Again, the fonts are interesting and fun, and I like the way they have dotted the "i" in "Christmas" with a simple star.  I also like the swirling look of the greeting, as if it was being blown about by a gust of snow.  One little vignette from the scene is placed on the left side -- so sweet.

Hope you have enjoyed this pretty vintage card!

"Greetings!"

Here is another of the vintage Christmas cards my friend surprised me with.  It has an unmistakably vintage look, don't you think?  I like how the stylized "halos" on the candle flames sort of go off the top of the card.  One wouldn't think the varying reds on the candles and berries would look good together, but they do!  I like the sort of sponged effect on the gray background, too.  It is very different!

And here is the inside of the card:

Like other vintage cards, this one features attractive fonts.  And the illustration inside is not a small vignette, like many other cards have, but rather a nearly full-size depiction of one candle and some holly.

 Hope you've enjoyed this glimpse at a somewhat out-of-the-ordinary vintage Christmas card!

"A Happy Christmas" -- another vintage card!

Here is another vintage card from the parcel sent to me by my friend.  Isn't it cute?

Although I have to wonder about the wisdom of gathering holly in the snow in one's bare feet, I do think the card is adorable. 

Here is what the inside looks like:

I enjoy seeing the various fonts used and the small illustrations that are often inside the vintage cards.  And I would love to have a holly tree in my yard, wouldn't you?

Vintage Greetings!

Here is another of the fun vintage cards from my friend Ann.  I love the "modern" look of this one and the fact that the letters are varying colors -- red, green, and gold.  The background is ever so slightly embossed, and the gold stars and snowflakes are striking.

And here's a look at the inside of the card:

I love the sentiment and the interesting fonts that are used.  The stylized design of candles is very striking, as well.  If you can't read the greeting, it says: "Heartiest greetings and best wishes for your happiness at Christmas and throughout the coming year." 

This is one of those cards that at first glance seems rather plain.  It is anything but!

"Of berries, red, of candles' mellow light ..."

In my last post, I shared about a wonderful surprise in my mailbox last week: a packet of vintage Christmas cards from my crafting friend Ann.  Today I want to show you the first one.  This was on top in the bubble-wrap bag and it caught my fancy immediately.

It's a poem illustrated in a sort of illuminated fashion:

December, month of holly, pine, and balsam,
Of berries, red, of candles' mellow light;
Of home and fireside, laughter, happy faces,
Of peace that comes upon the Holy Night.

I have no idea who wrote the verse, so can't give credit where credit is due, but it is a very pretty and unusual vintage card, a great addition to my collection.

I didn't scan the inside because it is pretty simple: "To wish you happiness at Christmas."

Hope you've enjoyed this card!  Have you ever seen one like it?  I wonder if it might have come in a set of boxed cards all illustrated in illuminated style.

A surprise in the mail!

A scan of the stamped end of the package and its interesting stamps

This past week, I found a fun surprise in my mailbox!  As mentioned, I had decided to celebrate Rudolph Day (the 25th) mostly on Tuesday, a day early, because Wednesdays are so busy for me.  I've detailed here on the blog how I spent that day, and then also a bit about what little I could do on Wednesday and Thursday.  Thursday I found a parcel in my mailbox from New Zealand, of all places!  It was from my craft forum friend Ann.

What in the world could Ann be sending me?  We had exchanged cards at Christmas and hers had arrived in December in a timely way, so it wasn't a delayed Christmas card.

But yet, as I found out upon opening the package, it did contain Christmas cards!   Ann had written me a note inside of a lovely Christmas notecard:

Isn't it so pretty?  The wreath pictured in the photo is made from clementines, a most Christmasy fruit.  The card is from England, and the back of the card gives detailed directions for making a wreath out of clementines.

In the note, Ann explained that she had been given a bundle of unused vintage cards.  There were some duplicates among them, so she thought of sending some cards to me.  She reads this blog and knows of my love for and my collection of vintage cards, especially the smaller vignettes that are often found on the insides of the older cards.  Most of these cards have those.  A couple of the cards are humorous, some are whimsical, many are beautiful -- but they are all unique and none are like any cards that I already had in my collection.

Over the next few weeks I plan to scan these cards so I can share them with all of you.  What fun it will be!

Thanks again for your thoughtfulness, Ann!  It was truly a most delightful surprise and added to my simple celebrations of February's Rudolph Day.

February Rudolph Day, part 2

Gorgeous ... from the inside of a vintage card.  Looks like a watercolor, doesn't it?

 Just had to report a teensy bit more of Rudy Day activity between yesterday and today ... not much, but a little!

Yesterday I enjoyed a mug of Merry Mint tea and did just a bit of planning for my Christmas in July posts.  I planned posts for four of the days in July ... no writing yet, just planning.  I also did a bit more browsing in my Gooseberry Patch Christmas Book #8.

Today I again listened to my Piano Winterlude CD and had some Candy Cane Lane tea.  I also spent a half hour working on my "Snow Angels" counted cross stitch UFO.

And, for a wonderful surprise, I found in the mail a small parcel from my crafting friend Ann.  It contained a bunch of vintage Christmas cards!  None were duplicates of any that I have.  I will be scanning these fun cards to share them all with you in the coming days.  This surprise was the frosting on the cake for my Rudy Day!

Rudolph Day for February, Part 1

From a vintage A&P coffee ad.  Wish I owned these cups!

Rudolph Day is, of course, today -- February 25.  But because Wednesdays are always a busy day for me, I decided to see what I could do yesterday in the way of Rudolph Day celebrating.  Here's some of what I did:

* Enjoyed a mug of Merry Mint tea.
* Listened to a pretty Christmas CD,  Piano Winterlude.
* Spent a half hour working on my "Snow Angels" cross-stitch UFO in a patch of wintry sunshine.
* Gave a small amount of thought to Christmas in July posts for my Christmas kitchen, which I hope to plan, write, and schedule ahead for the month of July.
* Browsed through Gooseberry Patch Christmas book #8 while eating lunch.
* Scanned a Christmas card and posted about it here.
* Cut out and pinned together 2 Christmas mug mats and finished sewing one.

It was still a busy day with a lot of work and responsibilities, but what a happy time I had celebrating Rudy Day a day early!

Another mailbox card

Today I am celebrating Rudolph Day (the 25th) a little bit early.  Wednesdays are always busy for me, so I'm not sure how many Christmasy things I can do on the actual day.  Today I was cleaning the glass on my little glass-topped crafting desk, and changing out the cards I display there.  The ones I took down were Christmasy, but the ones I replaced them with were still pretty wintry, since we still have tons of snow, ice, and subzero temps up here.

If you've visited my Christmas kitchen often, you know I am completely fascinated by Christmas cards depicting mailboxes, especially those filled with presents and cards.  So back when I was posting about some of my newer mailbox cards, I noticed this one which I'd displayed beneath the glass on my crafting desk.  At the time, the desk was pretty laden with projects and so I decided I would scan that card later when I changed out the cards.  And here it is!

It's another card with a design by Chuck Sumerlin.  Although it's not as pretty as some of the older ones in my collection, I like the contrast of the black & white scene with the colorful packages.  Hope you've enjoyed seeing it, too!

"Country Christmas" ~ a fun Christmas poem

I've been going through a few more of my older December issues of Country Woman.  The poem I'm sharing today is from the November/December 1989 issue and is written by Kathy A. Schaeffer of Sunbury, PA.  It's a lighthearted poem that brings back memories of my childhood Christmases.  Here it is:

Country Christmas

It's Christmas in the country,

The mantel's trimmed with cards;

Friends and neighbors far and near

Stop in with their regards.

A cheery wreath adorns the door,

An angel tops the tree,

And colored lights are strung about,

Twinkling merrily.

Mistletoe hangs from the door,

The children just can't wait;

Time seems to pass so slowly,

They want to celebrate.

Then when at last the day arrives,

There's magic in the air --

It's Christmas in the country,

And what a grand affair!

-- Kathy A. Schaeffer

The descriptions in this bit of verse remind me so much of my childhood Christmases at my grandmother's big white farmhouse.  She had cards taped up around the kitchen, colored electric candles in the windows, and much, much more.  It was a magical place and time to me!

Happy Valentine's Day to you!

I hope that each of you reading this will have a wonderful Valentine's Day!  May you spend some time reflecting on God's incredible love for you.  I hope that you will have some quality time with those you love, as well.

Today I am just going to share some Valentine-related photos, many of which are older family photos or of Valentine crafts.  Enjoy!

Baby Sam makes Valentine cookies!

Some of the felt Valentine cookies I've made

Handmade by my daughter Joanna many years ago

Little Sarah shows off pressed Valentine cookies!

I bought this and the one below at a consignment shop in Nevada

I display them every February

I made this tag some years ago

The reverse of the tag; I designed it to feature this photo (below) of Joanna and my dad.

Skating on the old mill pond

Mackenzie shows off a heart banner we made in 2013

I made this "love" banner many years ago

Happy Valentine's Day!   Hope it's love-ly!

A delicious candy recipe!

I like to try out different candy recipes throughout the year so I will be prepared with some ideas when Christmas rolls around.  Very often, the candy recipes work out well for Valentine's Day, too.

This Chunky Peanut Brittle  is a recipe I've been wanting to try for awhile.  The candy really doesn't taste like brittle at all to me, as it isn't hard or crunchy.  It's more like a toffee or Heath bar, just less hard. 

The author of the recipe said other nuts could be substituted for peanuts.  I didn't have peanuts on hand, so I used chopped pecans.  The candy turned out very well in spite of the fact that my candy thermometer is not up to par. I just kept testing it in cold water until it got to what I figured was the hard crack stage, and it worked out fine, but seemed to take a long time.  I probably need to buy a new candy thermometer before next Christmas!