Craft ideas for holiday decorations and gifts

Out come the boxes of holiday decorations. Down on the list go gift ideas.

You wonder if you could add something different to the mix. But you don't feel like spending a lot of money.

So do you buy it or make it?

With consumer spending already down and a grim holiday season predicted for retailers, the national Craft and Hobby Association (CHA) expects more people to make their own holiday décor and gifts this year. A 2007 study by the CHA found that 56 percent of U.S. households did a craft project at least once a year, and more than 44 million households created handmade gifts for Christmas alone. Being thrifty by going the handmade route doesn't mean cheap results. Gone are the days of gluing together a few pipe cleaners and Popsicle sticks and calling it a reindeer — unless, of course, one of your children puts it together, in which case, it becomes a cherished decoration. Do-it-yourself (DIY) projects can yield sophisticated-looking products.

Design expert Kathy Peterson, who shares her DIY insights on Lifetime television's weekly show "The Balancing Act" (www.mylifetime.com/on-tv/shows/balancing-act), has a simple motto when it comes to projects: "Use your creativity, not your credit card."

She suggests making your own ornaments, package tags, garland and centerpieces. Advises Peterson: "Tackle smaller projects instead of larger ones so you won't become frustrated. Make something you'll enjoy making." While in some cases buying mass-produced items will save more cash than making a gift or a decoration from scratch, Pat Baron, a supervisor and instructor at Pacific Fabrics & Crafts in Everett (www.pacificfabrics.com), said the quality and the value of handmade goods go beyond the bottom line.

"Yes, you can get a quilt at Wal-Mart for $69.99, but if you want to create an heirloom or a custom piece, you make it yourself," Baron said. "By making it yourself, there's the satisfaction of giving them a part of you and your life."

Craft ideas to get you started

For first-time or lapsed crafters, Baron recommends starting with a class that teaches the basics and requires little or no experience. Many of the holiday gift and design classes at Pacific Fabrics, for example, focus on no-sew projects that use minimal supplies:

• Holiday place mats: Use vinyl-covered fabric and color-coordinating border tape.

• Customized gift bags: Start out with a plain brown paper bag and pair it with a Christmas or winter-inspired design on an iron-on fabric square.

• Gift-card or silverware holders: Begin with a piece of red felt cut into the shape of a mini-stocking. A simple stitch or adhesive holds it together. Dress up the pattern with a gold bell and a holly-leaf button.

• Spruce up the ordinary: Sprinkle glitter on homemade holiday cards, or tie satin ribbons around a clear glass vase or bowl for votive candles or candy canes.

Working with recycled goods

Design expert Peterson suggests using recycled materials. "It can be very budget-friendly if you use found objects, memorabilia, family trinkets [and] photos," she said. "You can make a pillow or a new pillow cover for just a few dollars, compared to purchasing a new one from $12 to $120."

Giving new life to something old, while doing good by the environment, is at the heart of Creation Station (www.creationstationinc.com) in Lynnwood. Most of the products stocked here — save for a small selection of paints, stickers and beads — are recycled: CDs, milk-jug lids, fabric remnants, paper scraps, odd and ends of tubing and more. It's a place to transform the flotsam into funky and truly one-of-a-kind art.

"More people are finding us because of the push to reuse," owner Frank Knight said. "It's more mainstream."

At Creation Station, barrels teem with various discarded items that are typically sold by the pound or as individual pieces for next to nothing. Knight suggests these ideas, especially kid-friendly, for otherwise forgotten things:

• Formica chips (99 cents a dozen) could be turned into a bright mobile.

• A bundle of CDs ($1.99) makes good silver ornaments when strung with green or red ribbon.

• Add paint, glitter and ribbon to cardboard cutouts in the shape of traditional holiday bulb ornaments (20 for $1).

• Chinese food takeout containers become reindeers with pipe cleaners (as antlers, natch), buttons for eyes and red pompoms ($1.29 for 20) for Rudolph's red nose.

Perhaps the biggest benefit of handmade gifts, Peterson said, is the reaction they get from the recipient.

"When someone receives a handmade gift, it will mean so much more," she said. "Knitting a holiday throw, customizing a candle, making a Christmas stocking, sewing a tablecloth or napkins, monogramming a pillow or napkin set or creating a memory picture frame will be treasured much more than anything store-bought."

Tina Potterf is a freelance writer based in Seattle.