jQuery Forum

I am fairly decent with JQuery, but there is always more to learn of course!  Consider the following structure.

1. <div class="container">
2.       <div id="label1">
3.             <div class="label1_1">
4.             </div>
5.       </div>
6.       <span class="spanID">
7.       </span>
8. </div>

I would like to do this....

1. <script type="text/javascript">
         $(document).ready(function() {
2.              var allSubElements = $('.container').returnElements();
   
3.       });
4. </script

What I would like returnElements function to do is return all the elements NOT just the children, and I dont just want to "wrap" those elements, I want to return them.  The function should return:

1. {#label1, .label1_1, .spanID}
   

Notice how it specifies whether it is a class or id element.  Long term what I am trying to do is right a plugin for JQuery that will enable me to PRINT any element on a page.  I have the function to return the rendered CSS for an element, but I need the actual elements to call for their respective styles.

Any input would be awesome.  Thanks!