Get Gifting!

Hello again! I don't know about you, but I've already started my Christmas shopping. I sort of had to because this year my husband and I are spending Christmas with his parents, and because his parents and my parents live in two different states, this means that I won't get to see my parents at all for Christmas. So my husband and I will be exchanging presents with my parents when they come to visit us over Thanksgiving. And that's next week already!

If you're like me and need to buy presents early, or if you're just in the beginning stages of looking for some nifty gift ideas, then read on! (And stay tuned to this blog in the coming days/weeks for more cool ideas!)

So, this is not anything crafty and you can't buy it or make it for a friend, parent, etc., but it is gift-related! JCPenney and The Salvation Army teamed up this year for an online giving tree where you can sign up to "adopt an angel" and buy Christmas presents for someone in need. Just go here to sign up and pick a child, teenager, or senior citizen to help out this holiday season. (If you order your gifts through JCPenney.com, you get free shipping!) What I really like about this giving tree collaboration is that you can choose to help someone right in your community by typing in your zip code! How awesome is that? I had a lot of fun shopping for my 4-year-old girl. I swear, I could have bought her everything in the store if I'd been able to, but alas, I do have a budget to follow. Anyway, I urge you to sign up and "adopt an angel". It will really make someone's Christmas brighter, perhaps even yours!

Now onto a crafty gift! A few weeks ago, a fellow scrapbooker over at Scrapbook.com posted a picture of some really cute ornaments — that she made! And now you can too because she's posted instructions on her new craft-focused blog. (I just love that there are so many of us getting crafty out there in blogland!) Go take a look and check out some of the other crafty things she's done. And if you're an avid scrapbooker like me, this is a great blog for getting some scrapbook inspiration! I'll be subscribing to her blog on my Google Reader! Know of any other cool blogs worthy of a Google Reader subscription?

Stay crafty, everybody!