As of this writing, there are 42 shop (not shopping) days until Christmas. If you are organized and on top of your game, you have everything finished and waiting to be wrapped. If you are like me, you are still scrambling for ideas!

As an early gift to you, we are passing along a number of sources for free or inexpensive plans. With time short, we will concentrate on reasonably simple projects that can be completed in the time left!

Normal Sanding Resources

Your first stop probably should be the websites of your favorite woodworking magazines. Most have all sorts of free plans available for download, as well as a great many more in their online stores. I have made several gifts over the years from the pages of Wood, ShopNotes and Woodworker's Journal.

Minwax too has free plans they publish to encourage customers to try new projects. (using Minwax products of course!)

This time of year, your poor mailman is overloaded delivering extra Holiday sale flyers and catalogs. These can be an excellent source for inspiration as well. Ralph from ConsultingWoodworker.com, who writes freelance articles for woodworking magazines says that this is one of his best sources for inspiration. The Lee Valley Christmas Catalog is always a great source of cool gift ideas (for them AND you) as is Sky Mall if you happen to be traveling by air this season.

Sanding Products

Of course, this would not be the 2Sand.com blog if we did not remind you to stock up on the sanding supplies--like sanding discs, sanding belts, sandpaper rolls, and even sanding accessories--you need to finish your gift projects! You do NOT want to find yourself on Christmas Eve with no more 220 grit! (Don't ask me how I know this)

As ever, we welcome your comments, suggestions and questions. You can share them by commenting here on this blog, on our Facebook page, or via Twitter. -2Sand.com