Christmas in July

If you're like me and you love Christmas,

you are going to love what's coming up this month!

First off, we'll have fun with the

Across The Pond Sew Along.

Susie has selected the theme for

this month, and it is

"Christmas in July!"

{I can hardly wait to see what Susie and Amanda are dreaming up.}

Also, I invite you to join the blog hop over at

The Crafty Quilter,

as Julie hosts a new Christmas project

every day between July 12 and 19.

{I'll have something new and special to share, too!}

Here is the schedule for The Crafty Quilter blog hop:

July 12:  Amy - Amy Made That 

July 13:  Amanda - The Patchsmith

July 14;  Elaine - Summercrafter

July 15:  Sarah - Sarah Rose Quilts

July 15 - Patricia - Quilting Lines

July 17:  Sheri - Sunshine in the Attic

July 18:  Julie - The Crafty Quilter

July 19:  Wrap Up and prizes

Now, if you've been reading my blog all year,

you already know that I've been making

at least one Christmas-y project

each month, all year long.

{Nothing like waiting until June 29th to start this month's project!}

I decided to make some Holiday Gift Tags,

using the free patterns and tutorials

from Pretty by Hand and Nana Company blogs.

{I've had my eye on these beauties for such a long time!}

Photo from Nana Company blog

I had all the stuff on hand,

and just needed to collect everything and print the templates.

This is a really quick and fun project.

I was able to stitch up the basic tags very quickly.

I used some Pellon Decor-Bond

for the fusible interfacing.

It was easy to trace the pattern and cut out the shapes.

I added a bit of trim before I stitched the layers together.

The top-stitching helped to define

the curves on the fancy shapes.

{TIP:  I shortened my stitch length juuuuust a tad to 2.0.}

I used a Darice kit for making little teeny eyelets.

How easy!

Here's the reverse side...also very pretty.

Hmm...don't you think they still needed

a little something "extra"?

I got my little buttons out,

to see if any of those would work.

 Oooooh.  That's much better!

Then I had a couple of bright ideas.

I made this little folded hexagon,

and added that pretty red button.

I made the tiniest yo-yo

and added another button

I'd saved from a favorite dress.

I can't wait to make some more!

Maybe I'll just add a sticker on the back

with the "to" and "from" names.

{See the comments below for BETTER ideas!!!}

I would love to be able to use these over and over

through the years.

All in all, not a bad finish, for the end of June.

Come back often in July for more great Christmas ideas!

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Christmas Basket for May

All of my regular visitors know that

this month's Across the Pond Sew Along

theme is BASKETS...

and that I'm trying to make at least one

Christmas-y project

every month in 2013.

I'm all excited that I combined the two goals

this month, when I created my latest

Divided Basket from the pattern by Noodlehead!

Even though most of my projects for Christmas 2013

have used Cherry Christmas fabrics,

I strayed away from those prints,

opting instead for a basket that is more Winter-themed.

{No surprise that I love the ice blue and lime green together.}

For the accent on the pocket and the handles,

I stepped out and used one of my beloved Boho Girl prints!

This basket could be used all winter,

and not just for Christmas.

As much as I like the front...

I really adore the back, with the little trees

and children making snow angels!

{These prints are from 12 Joys of Christmas by Sheri Berry, from 2011.}

I really have this pattern down now...

and it's a source of relaxation for me to whip one up.
It's my new go-to gift project, too.

Last week, I needed a lovely

Mother's Day present for my mother-in-law.

She has pretty peach and blue tones in her kitchen,

so I selected some Buttercup prints

by Fig Tree Quilts for Moda.

She loved her present...

maybe she'll use it for eating outside this summer.

It would be great for carrying napkins and utensils.

The back is just as pretty as the front!

I have yet to leave out the pocket detail,

even though that's a suggested design option.

Come back soon...I hope to have at least one more basket project

to show before the merry month of May is over!

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