Sites to See for November 23

Can you believe Thanksgiving is this week!?!  As I write this, we have only seven days left for the details! (Check your needed thawing times now!) And look at the ticker toward Christmas! Where does the time go!?!?

I am very glad I did get a jump on all of the preparations for Thanksgiving because this month has been totally I.n.s.a.n.e!  I’ll have to give myself the bad blogger award for missing my November blogging goals.  I was only able to write about half of what I had intended. I must also confess that I had to give up on catching up with my RSS feeds.  I got to a point were I realized I would not be able to come anywhere close so I sadly marked them all as read to begin fresh.  Maybe while you are here you can point me to some some of your favorites that I may have missed.

I will be truly glad to sit down with family and friends this week and count our many blessings. We truly have so many. I have seen many sites (which I can not find at the moment – typical – if I do I promise to share the link) showing a garland made out of simply strung colored paper leaves where each family member has written something they are thankful for on at least one leaf.  I think this year we will add it to our current traditions.  Are you doing anything new this year?

I truly wish each and every one of you a glorious holiday!

Now, on with the links!

New (to me) and Special Feature Sites:

Pledge Handmade.  So far there are tens of thousands that have pledged to buy handmade goods for the holidays.  Even if you are not interested in making the pledge, this may be a great resource for shop sites and individual artists that would be fun to explore.

Speaking of which, have you checked out ETSY yet?  The trendiest new things are being handcrafted tight at home by the most amazing artists and many, MANY, of them are available on ETSY.

A Soft Place to Land is also hosting Moms Unite Shopping Guide featuring several more homemade crafts that you should peruse for those special people on your gift list this year.

Random Articles:

Thanksgiving Tips from Riding with No Hands

It’s Easy Not To…. from Spilling Buckets.  For everything we do, there is something else we could be doing.  It is easy not to do anything and it is easy to do something instead of nothing.

14 Benefits Of Simplicity That Lead To A Good Life from My Super Charged Life

It’s Not Savings Unless You Save It from Remodeling This Life.

Thanksgiving on a Budget: Introduction from Money Saving Mom. The first of a handy series including recipes and tips.

20 Tips to Stay Warm in Your Apartment from Small Notebook.  These would all work for any dwelling. Give them a try to stay more comfortable and save a little on the utility bills.

The Meaning of the Season from The Inspired Room. Because from time to time we all could use a little perspective.  Melissa set up a Mr Linky to collect several ways to remember the reason for the season and to share it with our children.  Go and get some ideas from what others are doing.  Leave your ideas in the comments or link your url using Mr Linky.

To Make:

Amy Butler pattern downloads! from Amy Butler Designs.  Who doesn’t LOVE Amy Butler?  There are several holiday projects to try.

The Most Wonderful Christmas Garland Ever and How to Make It from The Nesting Place. One word. Fabulous!

Ribbon Organization and Storage Ideas from Little Birdie Secrets.  Very inexpensive and great looking.  Much prettier than most commercial options available.

Lego Kitchen Crafts from Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories.  So maybe you do not like the idea of these in your kitchen. But does it give you any ideas for kids storage?  You may have to buy some extra sets and use some sturdy glue to keep them from becoming toys again.  This gives me several ideas for unusual desk storage for my craft space.

How To Make Paper Out of Lint from Instructibles.  Dryer Lint!  Think of the fun things you could do using old cookie, candy and butter molds. I bet between now and Christmas I could collect enough lint to make some unique gift tags and decoration.

Fabric Fridge Frame from How About Orange.  I prefer an empty refrigerator door, but I could maybe turn a blind eye for a couple of these.  I plan to make a few to put on the filing cabinet beside my desk.

Keep in Mind:

I came across each of these websites and stories either from Stumble Upon, RSS subscriptions, SITS, search engine pathways or from others on Plurk or Twitter. I am passing them on to you as I found them – in good faith. I can not guarantee the validity or accuracy in any manner. I enjoyed reading them and I hope you will, too.

Your Links:

Let me know if you did enjoy them in the comments. If there is an article or website you would like for me to see and maybe share next week, send me an e-mail using laurelplum [at] laurelplumonline [dot] com (the spelling out is to avoid spam). Have a great weekend!