Handmade gifts provide a personal touch

This holiday season, Renee Carrasquillo and Andrea Wahlborg are combining forces. Carrasquillo is sewing patchwork coasters and aprons. Wahlborg is roasting savory almonds, pecans and walnuts. Together, they're making gift baskets of homemade goodies for their co-workers.

While the two friends don't consider themselves particularly craft-minded ladies — Carrasquillo is a graphic designer who just recently learned to sew; Wahlborg works at a bank — they've decided to hand-make all their holiday gifts this year anyway.

"It'll be more heartfelt and personal that way," says Carrasquillo, 30, of Tukwila.

"And I won't have to have that moment at the mall where I'm looking around and thinking, 'OK, which crappy scent of lotion am I going to get this person this year?' " says West Seattle's Wahlborg, 30.

Whatever your motives may be — giving the most unique gift or avoiding packed parking lots — the do-it-yourself gift is hot this year.

Try knitting a coin purse, beading a necklace or (feeling saucy?) brewing your own beer.

If you're looking for a little more inspiration, here are a few locals with different talents, all of whom are making gifts.

Monkeying around

Lisa Lovejoy plans to sew, knit and crochet sock monkeys and amigurumi dolls for her and her boyfriend's families this year.

The sock monkeys are exactly what they sound like: monkeys made out of socks.

The amigurumi are stylized, crocheted stuffed animals. You can find amigurumi patterns at most sewing stores or at www.crochetme.com.

"The amigurumi animals are cute and almost macabre-looking," says Lovejoy, 39, who lives on Capitol Hill. "They're a funny and kind of unexpected gift. When do you get a monkey for Christmas? People love them."

Her only advice? "Pace yourself. They take awhile to make, and you don't want to be up burning the midnight oil on Christmas Eve."

Hit the Kitchen

Maika Nicholson, who works as a civil engineer in downtown Seattle, is originally from Eugene, Ore. She wanted her gifts this holiday season to reflect "her granola roots," she says, so — of course — she's decided to give away bags of homemade granola.

"It's really easy to make," says Nicholson, 25. "It takes about an hour, total, in and out of the oven."

Check out her recipe:

Maika's granola

6 cups rolled oats

¾ cup maple syrup

¾ cup coconut oil

1 tablespoon cinnamon or to taste

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons cardamom

1 ½ teaspoons salt

Mix the ingredients in a bowl, spread the mixture onto two baking sheets, and bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Stir, then bake for another 10 minutes.

Add nuts and seeds to taste (Nicholson uses cashews, pine nuts, almonds, pecans, and sunflower and pumpkin seeds)

"Then, the hardest part is not eating it all yourself," Nicholson says.

Dress up a T-shirt

Daniel Mitchell, 24, took his first silk screen printing class as an undergraduate at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma. Since then, he's been hooked on making original T-shirts for his friends and family.

While professional silk screen printing requires a lot of equipment, "you don't need all that stuff just to get started," Mitchell says. He does his screen printing on an old table at home.

The basic idea? Buy a pre-stretched silk screen (available at most large arts supply stores) and paint a pattern on it, in reverse. "Paint it like a negative of a photograph," Mitchell says.

After the paint dries, lay your silk-screen image on a T-shirt. Paint over the whole screen using a nontoxic fabric paint (also available at art supply stores), wait for it to dry again and voila! You've made your own T-shirt.

The best part? "Once you've painted the original design, you can keep printing it again. It takes about 20 minutes each," says Mitchell.

"And it's a really good present. Everyone needs a T-shirt."

Raise a special glass

Carrie Ellsworth is making about 15 fused-glass ornaments for co-workers and friends this year. In years past, she's made stained-glass wall hangings.

"Taking classes and getting all the equipment you need can be really expensive," says Ellsworth, who has a little studio in her Kent home. But don't let that discourage you from giving it a try or making other types of gifts.

Three years ago, Ellsworth and her three siblings had a "recycle, reduce, reuse Christmas." The only rule? Everything had to be handmade.

Ellsworth's sister Amy, who owns the Capitol Hill sewing shop Stitches, knitted most of her gifts. Her other sister, Wendy Owens, sewed a quilt. Her brother, Richard, made each of his three sisters a wooden jewelry box.

And as for Carrie? "I got a little crazy. I decoupaged a cabinet and painted a bench," she says, laughing.

"It doesn't really matter what you end up doing. People know the time it takes to make something, and they appreciate that."

Haley Edwards: 206-464-2745 or hedwards@seattletimes.com