Handmade Gifts, Anyone?

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I know, I know. It's not even Thanksgiving yet! If you're a crafter, like me, you've got to be on your game well before the Autumn season hits if you want to make all your gifts for Christmas. Today I'm just going to share some of my favorite resources online to get you inspired and hopeful that you can give handmade gifts this year! Saving money is only one reason why we give handmade gifts, followed by simplicity, thoughtful making for each individual, and because I really like to make stuff. ;) I'll just let you peruse these websites, ones I have kept in my favorite folder so I could go back to again and again, since I'm a visual person. There are some for adults, some for kids, and let's not forget Etsy, who has everything in between! Enjoy.

* Gifted Magazine. A free online magazine that is as aestetically pleasing as the Holidays can get for the modern handmaker.
*Gift Giving Philosophy. An article by SimpleKids on expectations, and reeling them back in with simplicity and thoughtfulness. Great ideas for gifts if you'd like to do this within your own family.
*DIY section. A complete 'tagged' resource list of all things A Beautiful Mess and company. This girl has her own handmade brick-and-mortar, and is always doing cute handmade items on her blog.
*Handmade Gift Retreat. From GIVERSLOG, a great gift blog, specifically for the holiday season coming up. Plenty of good ideas for baking, papercraft, and more.
*PassionateHomemaking's "Homemade Gifts" search. I really love this website. It's chock full of recipes, natural living information, and Lindsay has plenty to read in this search from posts like, "Homemade Creative Play Gifts for Kids", "Gift Ideas for the Natural Mama", and "Homade Vanilla Extract". Sweet!
*Keeper of the Home: Handmade & Frugal Christmas Gifts post. This website has everything. Go. Now.
*Gussy Sews: 10 Packaging Ideas. Cute ideas that are frugal to put your gifts in. Though, in our house, we're the re-usable type, I do love the sweets bags and I've been pining for some of that awesome Japanese tape for about a year!
*Simple Organic: Handmade Holiday Link Round-up. Literally.

Of course there's sure to me updates throughout the next few weeks, that I'll edit to this post so it will turn up in your reader! Leave us a link in the comments if you have a good one I've missed.

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