*Deep breaths*

It’s ok.  I”ll just skip crafting hour today and give everyone a look at what my current crafts are shaping up to look like.  I know, I know.  It’s barely November!  Now, I don’t break out the Christmas decorations until after Thanksgiving, but I just have to start earlier when it comes to crafting and gift buying.  Otherwise, it would never get done!  Also, I happen to know that some of the people who read my blog will be getting crafted gifts from me.  So, I’ll be keeping all those crafts a secret.

First up is Christmas Card planning.  Earl and I have a tradition we started when we got married.  Every year, the day after Thanksgiving, the two of us make Christmas cards.  They have to be planned out ahead of time so that we have all the materials, because we certainly don’t want to have to do any last minute shopping on black Friday!  This year we’re doing snowman cards, and I figured I’d give you a sneak peak.  I’ll probably do a few posts related to these cards, but not until after we make them and send them out in the mail.  Keep in mind that the image below is a preview only, the card itself is much cooler!

I’m also doing some painting work for a friend of mine.  I’ll be painting up as many of the dragons below as I can before Christmas.  I’m not sure how many I can get through, but at least one of them is a *must*.

Christmas has another impending deadline for me: I really need to finish my brother’s quilt by then!  He got married this summer and I started on a quilt, but haven’t yet finished.  I’ve been working slowly away at it, but I’m not really close enough to done yet.  I’m  hoping to rectify that soon though.  The quilt I’m making for them is the one pictured on the front of Elizabeth Hartman’s Modern Patch Work book.  The colors I’m using are a variety of blues and greens.

And then of course there’s the *spoiler* that I’m making for my mom, and the *spoilers* I’m making as bulk gifts, oh yeah, and the *spoiler* for my brothers.  Yeah… can’t really talk too much about those yet.  I’m also trying to convince Earl that we should do yearly ornaments as well, like we do with our cards.  Not sure he’s sold yet.

That’s all I got for now!  Its a lot of crafting to do, and not much time to do it in, so off to craft I go!  Look forward to an ornament inspired post on Wednesday, and maybe I”ll even get a finished Friday out if I can ever find my SD card *grumble grumble*.

It’s not surprising, then, that I would find myself attracted to gifts in mason jars.  I know Christmas isn’t really here yet, but I like to plan early so I have time to make any gifts that need making.  So this week’s web inspiration is a collection of mason jar gifts.  I hope you enjoy!

Flower Bulb Gifts by Homework

I know it’s fall, but here, have a bit of spring.  This bulb jar is a really cute gift idea.  Since I’ve (kind of) started gardening this year, it made me smile a bit.  It’s super simple to do as well.  I imagine that you would want to keep your lid off for this gift though.

Chalkboard Mason Jar Candles by heart. love. weddings.

The suggested use for these gorgeous candles is as a centerpiece, but I think they would be cute just about anywhere.  You could even fill the jar all the way up with wax and make it a much larger candle that burns down.  She uses a baby food jar for the little one, but a 5 oz mason jar would probably be just as cute.  It’s amazing what you can do with a bit of chalkboard paint!

Housewarming Gift by Southern State of Mind

Once upon a time my mother told me that I was good at giving useful gifts.  In particular, I gave good gifts for people who were changing something about their life (first apartment, college, etc.), and that my gifts often provided things they wouldn’t have thought of otherwise.  I didn’t put that very well, but the point is that I remembered that.  And now I feel the need to live up to that expectation.  This jar of little home goodies would definitely fit the bill.  The small gifts that Heather put in have just the right amount of thought and usefulness to them.  Plus, it would probably make my mom laugh that I just wrote that.  Moving on..

{Everything} In A Jar by The Gunny Sack

I think this blog post is my favorite of the bunch.  In addition to the three pictured here, Tonia offers suggestions for other themed jars.  She also has a few date’s in a jar, and I particularly like her ice skating date in a jar.  The {Everything} in a Jar is my overall favorite though because of how she managed to keep all her jars color coded.  It’s really quite stunning visually.

No-Knead Multigrain Bread (In A Jar!} by Our Best Bites

Of course, for in a jar, I must include some sort of food!  I chose this bread recipe because it’s a bit of a deviation from the myriad of sweet recipes that you find.  Of course, there isn’t anything wrong with brownies, cookies, hot chocolate, or other sweet goodies in a jar!  I just liked the idea of a savory bread.

For more gifts in jars, feel free to check out my pinterest gift ideas board where you’ll find these along with several others, including sweets in a jar.  There are also non jar gift ideas there as well to peruse!

What type of ‘in a jar’ gifts do you like receiving?  Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you again on Friday!