Christmas in July

Hi everyone! I’m so excited to be talking about Christmas in July! First, though, I need to announce the winner of the Embroidered Butterfly Bookmark. Congratulations Shari! You’re the June winner of the monthly giveaway.

Before We Dive into Christmas in July

Did anyone sew up the Patriotic Pillow? I haven’t received any pictures yet. It was cute, easy, and free! You can find the link to the pattern on my last blog. 

Now Let’s Start Preparing for Christmas in July

 Before we get going, if you haven’t grabbed my free “Gift List” download, go get that right away. We will want to use it this month to get ready for Christmas! I don’t usually do “Christmas in July” which then causes me to rush around in December trying to get all my gifts made. July is one of the more “laid back” months and I’m going to make a point to sit down and think about what gifts I want to give everyone on my list. Some I will buy, and some I will want to make. Try to think of one gift that would be good to give several of your recipients this year. Last year I made mitered cloth napkins with matching soap aprons. I gave these to some of my friends and family and used them as stand by gifts too.

 

Here’s how I have grouped together my gift categories:

• Parents
• Our Boys/Girlfriends
• Friends & Family
• Stand by Gifts

Here are Some Ideas

First, if you have been following along, I mentioned (in an earlier post) that my goal is to do a Christmas Quilt for each of our three boys this year. One quilt top is done, and the second one is started. My plan is to give them at Thanksgiving so they can be used for Christmas this year. I need to move a little quicker on these if they’re going to be finished!

The Fat Quarter Shop is having a mystery Christmas sew along this month. It is a wall hanging and the free patterns come out every week in July. I want to do this, and it might end up as one of my gifts! Who knows, I may want to make more than one! We will see. Check it out here and let me know if you decide to join in on the sew along.

Christmas trees have caught my eye on Pinterest! Some of them use scraps, others look ruffled or pleated, while some are very modern in style! The trees then decorate pillows, potholders, quilts, etc. We talked about using our scraps earlier this year in this blog, and I think I’m going to see what I can do with some of these tree ideas!

What about Christmas cards? Do you still send them out to everyone you know, or have you narrowed down the list to just those who are out of town, or you don’t see often? Create a card using a Christmas tree and then create a gift to match!

I’m thinking of giving Gift Cards in a Gift! I love to do this! Place the gift in something that is useful, so the wrapping becomes part of the gift! My idea is to make some more of the cute zippered coin purse and place the gift card in them, therefore, two gifts in one! The packaging is part of the gift!

Round Up

Hopefully a few of the ideas I mentioned above will help get your juices flowing and spark some ideas too! I hope you decide to join me on this “Christmas in July” adventure. By deciding on some of the gifts now, less stress will occur in December. Let me know in the comments what you plan to do and how you get along. Have an enjoyable July and I’ll be back on the 19^th.

Always Find Time to Sew,