Christmas In July

Yeah, yeah. Christmas is the farthest thing from this moment, it feels. But this past Christmas is still so fresh in my mind because I was soooo frustrated trying to figure out our gift lists at the last minute and so regretted not starting sooner.

So this year I'm planning earlier, making that plan simpler than the end product was last year, including some deep cleansing breaths in the plan, and also starting to make a few things now that I know I'll lose enthusiasm for making when it's dark at 5 pm again. I don't even feel like making dinner when it's dark so early. It makes me want to move to Australia. Christmas in the middle of summer? Yes, please!

Anyway, last year's gifty projects included:

santa sack, super soap, ornament tags, photo ornaments

My Pinterest Gifts board has already helped me organize for this year. One of the things on my list is homemade vanilla. I've got the beans and I've ordered the jars and my husband will love it when I send him to the liquor warehouse on a mission. Some recipients will get recipes for cookies and some will get recipes for cocktails. Everybody wins.

Related to Christmas crafting, Manda of Manda Made Quilts is looking for a few more swappers to join her holiday charm swap. Each participant contributes two yards of fabric cut into 5" squares- and the swap is restricted to designer label fabrics which means that you know you'll get great quality fabric in return. I love that-- swaps are not only an investment of money, but also your time and attention. Who wants to do all that work for fabric that feels scratchy or falls apart? AND - this is your chance to order Aneela Hooey's new prints - Cherry Christmas.

via

There are a lot of charm-pack friendly tutorials available-- Moda Bake Shop is a hub, and if you're interested in making a garland from charm squares, this video is fun to watch. I'm not at all into the idea of being a vlogger-- blogging is enough for me, but I'm really liking some of the great tutorials I'm finding on video lately.

Manda asked whether there's another I Spy swap on the horizon. There is! But this one will be smaller. Working on the details and it'll be posted here when it's ready.

Unrelated to any of the above, the "Help Desk" submissions are already so fun! Thanks for that! We're getting to work!