A Cup of Christmas Cheer - A Vintage Christmas Freebie - " Santa Mug"

Good Morning . Can I interest you in a cup of Christmas cheer? I know , I know . Some  of you are saying it is too early for Christmas, but I have Christmas on my mind all year long. 

My all time favorite items to bring out come Christmas time is my Santa mug collection. They are all carefully wrapped and tucked away in a special corner in storage waiting for that  wonderful, glorious day when they are unpacked, unwrapped and put on display.  Oh what a festive, happy day! I need to have that special day marked on my  calendar - and call it Santa Mug Day!!!  Lol  Well I had to have a Santa mug cross stitch to go with my mugs. So here is " A Vintage Christmas- A Cup of Christmas Cheer or Santa Mug"  

 

I am over the moon and tickled pink over this stitch . And Hip Hip Hooray! It is going to be on display on Santa Mug Day. I think my Santa Mug Day will be November 1st. Do you want to join me?  I have another question- Would you think I was crazy if I said I want to put up my Christmas decor up right now? Lol. Don't worry.  I will be good and refrain. It is not even Halloween yet. 

 Being curious and always a lover of useless facts or information.  I had to do a little research to find out more about these precious mugs. Can I tell you what I learned? 

These adorable Santa mugs were first introduced in 1949 as part of a fun Christmas decor and kitchen items series offered by the Holt -Howard Company. This company  was started with a $9000 loan from  the families of founders ,Grant Holt and brothers, Robert and John Howard.  Most of their business was done through department stores and catalogs.  Their little Santa mugs were so popular that eventually the company created everyday use coffee mugs.

 Wasn't that interesting? 

Here is a photo of my winking Santa Mug. 

 This set is  dated 1964. 

 

Now let me tell you about my stitch. My Santa mug is on a cheery red cake stand accented by green stripes.  The mug is filled with candy canes and a little Christmas tree with red balls. My mug is based on the winking Santa, but if you did not want your Santa to wink just stitch 2 open eyes.  Easy peasy. 

I stitched this on 14 count Rit Aquamarine dyed aida. I then boiled my aida in tea water for just a few minutes.  I used 8 DMC floss colors which are #353 , B5200, 898, 899, 304, 310, 986,and  762 , but you can use what ever colors your heart desires. I just stitched out of stash. 

The design size of this piece is  73 x 100.    On 14 count aida that would measure  5 1/4" x 7 1/8" , but I have to admit mine was a little smaller because my fabric shrunk during dyeing.  I finished mine in an 8 x 10" frame. I used red and white gingham fabric from the Goodwill as finishing fabric and a white pom pom trim around the edges. 

I used 4   $.98 Walmart  Christmas picks to embellish the top of the frame. I just wired them together and then added a red and white gingham bow . The final embellishment was  a small  snowflake ornament on top of the bow. 

I hope you consider stitching this piece. Because I am not too tech savvy, each page is in a separate pdf download starting with the instructions. 

For the instruction page , click here  .

For the color chart pdf, click here . 

For the black and white pdf  chart, click here. 

. 

I have also provided a black and white larger print version of the chart. It is divided into 2 pdfs. 

For larger print of the  left side of mug click here . 

For the larger print of the right side of the mug, click here. 

 

Thank you all for coming to visit me and seeing what I am up to . I can not express how happy your visits make me .  May your day be filled with joy, love and happiness and as always...

Happy stitching, ya'll

Melisa

I would love to see your stitch. You can always direct message me on Instagram or use #pinkernpunkinquilting . 

I am not a professional designer, just a gal piddling around on her computer and wanting to share and thank this wonderful community. . I hope you enjoy this little creation.