Thanks to lots of talented crafters, and especially About.com's DIY Guide, I have a list of fun projects to make and enjoy over the holiday season, from Thanksgiving goodies all the way to Christmas.

Clothes Pin Holiday Card Holders
What to do with all those holiday cards? Hold them up with clothes pins as dazzling as twinkling lights with this how-to from Kate Pullen.

Make a Gingerbread House
Ever want to create the perfect gingerbread house? Okay, I have yet to master this skill..but you can! Our Barbara Rolek will show you how.

How to Draw a Christmas Tree
Here is one that will come in handy for all those handmade cards. Master sketch artist Helen South will show you how to draw the perfect tree from start to finish.

Paint a Glass Ornament
Turn a plain glass ball into a work of stained glass art. Our Guide to Painting will show you how to create this delicate trimming.

Silent Night Cross Stitch Pattern
Don't just get cozy, get your stitch on. Create a Silent Night design with this free pattern from Connie G. Barwick.

Stitch a Pear Trio
Hang up something special in your home for that Thanksgiving gathering. This free 'Pear Trio' needlepoint pattern from Cheryl Fall is just what your walls needed.

Easy Christmas Ornaments
Start a tradition for the kids to make new ornaments each year. Sherri Osborne has the shape patterns and project ideas for these ornaments that reflect Christmas traditions.

Print Thanksgiving Placecards
Add some warmth to your table with these Thanksgiving place cards that will have your guests saying 'awwwww'. Barbara Crews has the free printable for you to personalize.

Wine Bottle Wrap Pattern
Instead of giving a bottle of wine in one of those skinny bags, make a felt wrap that the bottle can be displayed in all season. Phyllis Dobbs will show you how.

Make a Miniature Christmas Tree
Why are tiny things always so darn cute? Learn how to make a little pine tree with Lesley Shepherd.

Interchangeable Thanksgiving Pins
Sometimes you just can't commit to just one pin. With this interchangeable Thanksgiving pin by Tammy Powley, you can tell everyone when you're ready for pie...and when you're overstuffed.

Want to Join Make it Merry to show off your holiday crafts? We will showcase your crafts and recipes of all holiday traditions. Learn more.

I just heard about a new magazine that sounds kind of interesting, and not just for jewelry folks. It is called Totally Creative, and according to the web site's description, it covers all types of crafting such as jewelry making, beading, sewing, polymer clay, and mixed media.

Other than the fact that is covers jewelry as well as lots of other crafts, another interesting aspect is that it is a digital magazine that comes in the form of a pdf file. From what I can tell reading the site, there is no hardcopy option. Subscriptions are normally $24.95 but right now they are $19.96, and this includes 6 issues a year. There is also an option to get a free trial issue that you download right away.

With all the magazines that seem to be coming, going, and transforming lately, this idea of a strictly digital magazine may be something that we see more of in the future. What do you think? Have you seen the trial issue of this magazine? Do you think digital is the way to go now? I'm off to download my freebie, so my thought are still in flux as to what I think about this and the digital magazine idea in general, but I'm interested to hear what other jewelry designers think.

Right now, she is offering 20% off. The retail list price for the 166 page full color paperback is $29, but if you go to her website, makesilver.com, and type in the discount coupon code amazonrings77, you will get 20% off of her website price of $25 - the paperback will be just $20 and the PDF version (this can be e-mailed directly for viewing on-screen) will be just $12! The discount coupon is good only for items purchased on the makesilver.com website.

Art Bead Scene
Art Bead Scene is having a book fair. Read up on your favorites!

Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi has finally discovered how great polymer clay is.

Cindy Gimbrone aka the Lampwork Diva
Not thinking about your holiday gift list yet? Cindy helps get you started with a Knot Ready for Prime Time Lucky Knots and Friends Projects so you can get started now!

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles
Melanie shares her final Crystal Week necklace... a piece she calls Woodland Mermaid

Jean Campbell
Jean celebrates her favorite holiday by showing off her costume and some very cool baubles

Jewelry & Beading
Krystal Backer, beading artist, shares her creative inspirations with Cyndi.

Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio
Have you been following Lorelei's Necklace Round Robin? Come take a look at the finished pieces!

Snap Out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Jean reviews a delightful book by the editor of BeadStyle: Cathy Jakicic

Strands of Beads
Melissa shows off her favorite necklace created for Cynthia Thornton's Enchanted Adornments and winner in the metal clay category of the British Bead Awards

Imagine a building the size of your local Wal-mart, but instead of being filled with towels and toasters, this store is filled with beads and tons of other jewelry making supplies. That's how Janet Wickell, About.com's Guide to Quilting, described her experience at Shipwreck Beads' brick and mortar store located in Washington state. Janet is also a lover of beads and jewelry, so she was nice enough to take some pictures and give us a virtual tour of the place. Thank you, Janet!

Here's what she told me about her trip:

There are sidewalks leading up to and along two sides of this building -- all filled with loads of beads. Outside, a customer told me that there are more in layers below, that the beads sunk during the first attempt and had to be added again.

At the front of the store there is a large room filled with gemstone bead strands on sale -- all laid out on tables. There's also a separate room devoted to books.

Items are mostly organized by material type, but some things are displayed in a couple of places. I've never seen so many findings. They're mostly stored in organizer-type drawers and sorted by material. Some things are sorted by type, like butterfly items, cat items, etc.

Their new catalog came in the morning we were there, so I brought one home with me (it almost brought my suitcase over the 50 pound mark).

They were busy, but very organized. When you walk in, you pick up a little push cart outfitted with trays and a necklace tree. So you can keep everything pretty well organized as you walk the aisles. There were always people checking out, but that group was organized too so the backups were minimal. There were also quite a few people in the aisles to answer questions, a very well-run place.

I got a chance to play around with a cool wire jewelry tool called The Coiling Gizmo. There are actually a number of similar products out and many from this same "Gizmo" line that focus on coiling wire and then using the coils to either create jump rings but primarily to form cool wire coiled components such as beads.

In my recently published review, I give you a general idea of how this wire tool operates, and I also discuss what I liked and wasn't too thrilled about as I gave it a test run in my jewelry making studio.

First, they have expanded on weekly specials that are offered. In the past, whatever was on special usually included just a few items that sold out pretty quickly. Now, they have increased the total number of items that will be posted each week in order to provide more sales items for their customers.

Other news includes additional expansion on their shipping policy, which is normally free any way in the US, but if you are in a hurry then they have an option for free priority and a 24-hour turn-around on orders of $75 or more.

Finally, for Swarovski lovers, they have expanded their CRYSTALLIZED™ line to include two new selections: cyclamen opal and greige and new crystal coral pearl color, the crystal metallic light gold finish.

Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio
Better get on board, Lorelei is having the last of the Enchanted Adornments giveaways. Leave a comment to play!

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Jean has a little Boo power going on for her in this hand made Halloween bracelet!

Strands of Beads
Melissa shows off metal clay goodies from Rings & Things.

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
Andrew revisits a bracelet design and creates six others.

A Bead A Day
Does a simple design equal a "Zen" experience? Lisa would love to hear your thoughts on when simple designs are able to make an impact.

Art Bead Scene
You've heard of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants? Well, this Sisterhood shares bracelets.

Barbe Saint John - New Jewelry from Forgotten Artifacts Barbe gets tangled up with Chain Style book review.

Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi decided to finally use her bead stash from Paris.

Cindy Gimbrone aka the Lampwork Diva
Cindy's got some new findings from Ornamentea. What's she going to make with them?

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles
The inspiration for Melanie's Machinery of Nature necklace comes from science, steampunk, and nature.

Jean Campbell
Jean struggles through the creative process while bezeling some unusual crystal shapes

Jewelry & Beading
Little beaded flowers are addictive to make, and before you know it, you've got enough for a complete necklace!

If you already use products from Rings & Things, then you for sure will want to check into entering the company's Your Designs Rock contest for 2010. The idea is that participants use primarily jewelry making supplies from Rings & Things, create a piece of jewelry, and then enter it into one of five different categories: found objects/misc., metal, glass/crystals, metal clay, and gemstones.

The prizes include Rings & Things credit, $750 for the Grand Prize, $250 for five category First Prizes, and $75 for Honorable Mentions. Entries are being accepted starting January 1, 2010 and ending February 28, 2010. The winners of the contest will be announced in June.

To find out all the rules and details, read the company's posted guidelines.

Combine paper crafting with jewelry designing when you create this Halloween-themed glass frame pendant.

Even if you don't normally work with paper-crafts, you only need a little paper to make this super easy pendant. Similar Halloween stickers are available in most craft stores or even big box stores right now, and they are ultra-inexpensive!