christmas in july – Try It – Like It

Jingle Bell Card and Decor DIY

See how one simple jingle bell design became both a festive handmade card and a wooden décor piece.

Christmas in July is in full swing, and I’m excited to be participating in a festive craft hop! Inspired by the classic image of a jingle bell, I created two different projects that capture the spirit of the season—a handmade greeting card and a wooden holiday décor. The simple bell design works beautifully across multiple crafting mediums, making it a versatile motif for Christmas creations.

For the greeting card, I paired the jingle bell with layered papers to create a cheerful design that’s perfect for holiday giving. I also transformed the same image into a wooden décor piece, using it as the focal point for a project that can be displayed throughout the Christmas season. It’s always fun to see how a single design can inspire completely different finished projects while maintaining a cohesive holiday theme.

The files I used to cut out the pieces are available on Etsy at: [Jingle Bell]

Both of these projects relied heavily on my favorite crafting tools. The card elements were cut with my Cricut Maker, while the wooden décor was created using my “new-to-me” WeCreat laser. It’s always exciting to see how different cutting tools can bring the same design to life in unique ways, whether working with cardstock or wood.

I used a similar color palette for both projects. For the card I cut shapes from paper from CutCardStock, and the wood pieces were painted with DecoArt paints.

Video Tutorial:

Suggested Materials:

Links are Affiliates AZ – Amazon, SSS – Simon Says Stamps, SB – Scrapbook, O – Other

Art Glitter Glue Shop at: AZ	Beacon 527 Shop at: AZ	Cut Cardstock Shop at: O	DecoEarth Shop at: AZ
Fabri-tac Shop at: AZ	Foam Tape Shop at: AZ	Glassboard Shop at: AZ \| O	Gwen Studios at Walmart Shop at: O
Non-Stick Scissors Shop at: AZ	Paper Trimmer Shop at: AZ	tape runner – small Shop at: AZ	We Creat Laser Shop at: AZ

Finished Projects:

Do you have a favorite? Let me know in the comments which project was your favorite or which one you are going to try.

Felt Bowl Tutorial

Learn to sew a felt bowl for Christmas in July crafting.

These charming felt bowls can be customized in endless ways—play with different sizes, colors, and sewing techniquesto create a completely unique look each time.

Whether you’re using them as catch-all containers for keys, jewelry, or craft supplies, or giving them as thoughtful handmade gifts, these bowls are as functional as they are beautiful.

This post is a part of the Christmas in July Make Along. There is a theme for each week of the Make Along. The felt bowls are a part of Gifts for Anyone in week 3 of the event. See the full schedule below and how you can access the other projects at the Underground Crafter.

Week 1 (July 1-7): Babies, Kids, and Teens
Week 2 (July 8-14): Women
Week 3 (July 15-21): Gifts for Anyone
Week 4 (July 22-28): Home
Week 5 (July 29-31): Pets

Grab all the information at links at Underground Crafter.

Felt Bowl Tutorial:

You only need a few simple materials to make the felt bowls. Download the free pattern, directions, and material list below.

Zipped file of patterns and instructions: [felt bowls]

After printing out the pattern, pin it to the felt, mark the felt, and cut it out to get ready to sew. Don’t remove the pattern until you check and make sure all marks are visible.

When you begin to sew the beads in place, you have a variety of options on how you place them. This will change the look of the finished felt bowl.

You can choose to gather the stitching as you progress or at the end. This is how the shape of the bowl forms. You want to pull the thread tight. Once gathered and secured, you can adjust the gathers to be uniform around the bowl.

Video Tutorial:

Christmas in July – 31 Days of Free Projects

July is a great time to start crafting for Christmas gifts.

Christmas in July Make Along is here!
The festive tradition continues with 27 talented bloggers coming together to bring you 31 days of free patterns—perfect for creating heartfelt handmade gifts for your loved ones.

Sure, the holiday season might feel far off, but we all know how quickly it sneaks up. Get a head start on your crafting now while it’s calm and creative!

Each week features its own fun theme, guiding you through a variety of projects to make, gift, and enjoy.

Week 1 (July 1-7): Babies, Kids, and Teens
Week 2 (July 8-14): Women
Week 3 (July 15-21): Gifts for Anyone
Week 4 (July 22-28): Home
Week 5 (July 29-31): Pets

Grab all the information at links at Underground Crafter.

How to Transform a Dollar Store Candle

Use a few craft supplies to transform a Dollar Store candle.

Using a candle from the Dollar Tree and a few craft products transformed this simple candle into a beautiful decor piece. It’s great for any time of year but would look lovely added to your Christmas decor.

I grabbed this candle from the Dollar Tree for a few reasons. It was in glass which meant I could etch it. I liked the linen scent and the price was right.

As with any glass etching project, I cleaned the glass with rubbing alcohol first.

I used a free image from Design Space and cut my vinyl on a Cricut Maker. I weeded away the image I wanted to etch and placed the vinyl on the candle.

I applied the etchall creme to the designs and let it sit for 15 minutes. That is all the time it takes to etch glass. I was generous with the etching creme because it is reusable. After use, I scrapped it off and put it back into the container.

After cleaning the etching with a baby wipe and water I didn’t remove the vinyl yet. I wanted to cover the rim in glitter and the vinyl created a great protection.

I used tacky glue on the rim of the candle and spread it with my finger.

I dipped the candle into the glitter.

You can see the glitter on the rim – so festive.

The vinyl was then removed. There were numbers printed on the glass by the manufacturer but thankfully the vinyl took them off when it was removed.

I wanted the etched design to be more pronounced so I used gold buffing wax on the design.

The gold wax coordinates with the gold glitter rim so well.

I added Buttons Galore and More jewelz above each etched image for a final touch.

Suggested Materials:

Links are Affiliates
AZ – Amazon, C – Cricut, O – Other

Buttons Galore and More use Janet10 for a discount Shop at: AZ	Ceya Glitter Shop at: AZ	Cricut Maker® Machine Shop at: AZ \| O \| C	Cricut Portable Trimmer Shop at: AZ \| C
Cricut Standard Grip Mat Shop at: AZ \| C	Cricut Vinyl Shop at: AZ \| C	Reptile Glue Shop at: AZ	Rub On Metallic Colors Shop at: AZ

Learn to Sew a Travel Roll

Sew a travel roll for Christmas in July and get a step ahead on your gift giving.

Learn how easy it is to sew a travel roll using a fabric placemat from the Dollar Tree. This example was made to hold pens but you can adjust the size pockets to hold any items you want. Consider making one for your bathroom items like toothbrushes and toothpaste. Or a back-to-school travel roll with all the necessary office products.

I’m participating in the Christmas in July Make Along with Underground Crafter. Join the fun! 30 bloggers have teamed up to bring you a month full of free patterns to kick start the handmade holiday season — including crochet, knitting, and sewing projects. There’s something new to make every day in July. Each week will have a theme.

Week 1 (July 1-7): Babies, Kids, and Teens
Week 2 (July 8-14): Women
Week 3 (July 15-21): Gifts for Anyone
Week 4 (July 22-28): Home
Week 5 (July 29-31): Pets

We’ve partnered with 11 fabulous craft companies to bring 12 wonderful prizes to you! Find out more information about participating bloggers, the schedule, and how to enter to win the prizes on Underground Crafter. The deadline for entering the giveaway for your chance to win a prize from Acorn Products, AndeanSun Yarns, Colonial Patterns, Fox & Pine Stitches, GlassEyesOnline, Hooked for Life, KennyClayCo, KnitPal, Knitter’s Relief Balm, Knitting Needle Outlet, and Yazzii is Sunday, August 4, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern.

How To Join the 2024 Christmas in July Make Along

You can join in by crocheting, knitting, or sewing the projects as you have time.

Share your progress and post pictures of your finished projects. Tag your projects and post #CIJMakeAlong2024 on all social media.

If you’d like to chat with other crafters, join the Underground Crafters Facebook group

By the end of the Make Along, you’ll have up to 31 awesome projects. Get ready for the handmade holiday season while having fun with us!

Visit Underground Crafter to learn more about the prizes, enter the giveaway, and get links to each Christmas in July Make Along post as it is released.

Video Tutorial:

Material List and Instructions:

Grab the free PDF file of the material list and easy instructions here: [Travel Roll PDF]

Download the material list above for the complete list needed. To make this project easy, we will begin with a fabric placemat from the Dollar Tree.

After determining the contents and size, pin the template to the fabric. Sew along the edges and lines. Make sure to include the ribbon on the side seam.

Once all the lines are sewn, it is time to clip the thread ends and remove the paper.

Here is my travel roll with the pens in place. A variety of different pens fit into the pockets.

My travel roll is filled and closed – ready to travel!

That beautiful button is from Buttons Galore & More. My affiliate link: https://acrn.link/ANDT and the discount code: JANET10

The ribbon is from Gwen Studios and is available at Walmart and Michaels.

Cricut’s Christmas in July Sale

Great savings on Cricut’s Christmas in July Sale.

Cricut is having a Christmas in July Sale with up to 50% off materials & accessories! Plus, save on machines. There is still time to find great savings. Grab discounted items for yourself or stock up on gift items for the crafty people in your life.

The links provided are for your use and may contain affiliate links.
They cost nothing for you to use.
Thank you in advance for supporting this site with its use.

Retro Christmas Tree

Make a 3D paper Christmas tree with this free SVG file.

with CutCardStock

I thought it would be fun to create something for Christmas in July, so I made this retro-looking Christmas Tree. Because there is no glue needed, you can create it now and store it flat to use later. How fun would it be to wrap it in little twinkle lights or place fun objects on the shelf-like sections? You could make it in a different color to suit your decor.

The links provided are for your use and may contain affiliate links.
They cost nothing for you to use.
Thank you in advance for supporting this site with its use.

To make the tree I used Bonsai-colored cardstock in 8.5 x 11. I needed to use three sheets for the tree.

Cutting this file on a Cricut Maker, I set it to cut 100# cardstock and it was quick and easy to cut through.

As mentioned, the file is designed to fit on three sheets of 8.5 x 11″ paper. There are two triangles and five circles that vary in size.

Video Tutorial:

You can download the free SVG file from the store [Retro Tree SVG]

Making a Christmas Present for your Cat

I am participating in a round-up of Christmas in July posts. I am sharing a post for an animal gift, specifically for our new kittens. This fish is sewn, stuffed, and filled with catnip. The fabric is also painted using Marabu fabric sprays. Of course, I had to give it to them now in order to share this post, they took a minute to warm up to it but they love it.

Links below are Amazon affiliate links, thank you for using them.

Materials:

cotton fabric
scissors
Marabu fabric sprays
stencil
heat gun
pins
sewing machine
needle and thread
fiber fill
catnip
pattern

Directions:

If you want the pattern, it is a free download here. [fish]

print out and pin to fabric

cut two

Video Tutorial:
painting the fabric

pin wrong sides of fabrics together

sew most of the way around, leaving an open space

remove pins and turn inside out

fill the fish with stuffing

put a desired amount of catnip into the fish

with needle and thread sew the opening closed

the cats checking it out!

Every day in July, a participating blogger will release new free crochet, knitting, sewing pattern, or craft tutorial. Each week will have a theme.

I am posting towards the end of the round-up so you will be able to see a lot of the projects at the following link.

[Christmas in July]

Christmas in July – Recycled Ornament

With the temperature outside reaching close to 100 degrees, it is really hard to be creative with a Christmas theme. But, for Christmas in July, a blog hop with the Creative Crafters, I made a recycled Christmas Ornament. The ornament is made from pull tabs from soda cans.

Materials:

Hot glue
Hot glue gun
pull tabs
beads
thread
needle

Directions:

I have to apologize, I was so busy trying to figure this out, I didn’t take photos. I will try to walk you through the steps with my words.

To begin, I drew a circle on a scrap piece of paper. Then I laid out the soda tabs around the circle (as pictured above).

Using hot glue, I glued the second layer of soda tabs onto the original circle. This time I staggered their placement.

Next, I threaded an embroidery needle with a green cord. I sewed it in and out around the soda tabs.

In the second round of sewing, I added a bead. Then I joined the cord and made a loop for hanging.

The hot glue doesn’t fully hold the soda tabs long-term. This is why I added the cord.

Having finished, I would have liked to have red beads in the right size for this project. I would also like to add some ribbon or a floral pik, center top.

Check out the other projects made for this Christmas in July blog hop. After the 17th, feel free to add your own Christmas in July project to the hop. The link-up will be open until the 22nd.