Handcrafted Holidays!

Handmade Paper Wreath. Photo courtesy of Jessica Wilson.

Here come the holidays – time to gather up the art and craft supplies and get busy!  Whichever holidays you celebrate – handmade cards, gifts, and decorations will make them even more memorable. And naturally, the library’s Arts & Crafts neighborhood has the books and kits to help you out!

As with most art/craft projects, you can pretty much spend as much or as little of your hard-earned money as you choose.  Keep in mind that many lovely gifts and decorations can be made using items from the recycling bin (such as paper towel rolls, catalogs, bottles, etc.) or items that can be found outside (such as rose hips, pine cones, greenery, acorns, etc.)  And don’t forget to look in your kitchen cabinets for things like cinnamon sticks, pinto beans, and bay leaves.

Handcrafted Greetings

Holiday cards made by hand carry an extra measure of love to the recipient, and they are so fun to make!  This is a great way to recycle parts of cards from previous years. At a recent Paper Craft workshop at the library, one of the participants cut out parts of a previous year’s card and combined them with a pop-out technique to make a very unique and lovely card!  You can also make cards using buttons, stitches, seeds, beans, or recycled paper.  And don’t forget, you can check out and Winter Holiday rubber stamp kit from the library to add finishing touches.

Handcrafted cards created by Stacey Jennings (left) and Glenda McCune (right) at a recent Paper Craft workshop at the library.

Here are some great books to give you ideas and help you with making cards:

Handcrafted Decorations and Ornaments

I really love simple and natural decorations.  Like placing a candle taper in a glass or flowerpot and filling it with cranberries.  Or putting a red bow on the handle of a basket full of pine cones.  It is a tradition in my family to string popcorn and cranberries for a garland on the Christmas tree.  Then after the holidays, we put the tree outside for the birds. (Hint:  It’s easier to string the popcorn if you let it sit and get stale for a day or so.)  One year I decorated the tree entirely with items I found growing wild in the meadow west of my house, such as dried weeds, grasses, and wild berries.  And I love colorful, homespun decorations every bit as much as the natural ones!

For a number of years, my sisters and I created ornaments for ourselves and each other every Christmas - even when we thought we were too busy.  It was heartwarming to have ornaments that were made by my wonderful sisters!  Ornaments are fun to make because they usually aren't too involved or time-consuming.

The library has a great selection of Holiday Arts & Crafts books that include instructions and ideas for making cards, ornaments, decorations, creative gift-wrap, and gifts:

Creative Gift Wrap Ideas

There are so many ways to dress up a gift!  You can tie a bundle of cinnamon sticks to the package with ribbon. Use strips of fabric instead of ribbon and add some colorful buttons instead of a bow. Or you can use unusual types of paper like maps or musical scores.  Or forget the paper and wrap the gift in a piece of fabric or a scarf.  And you can get creative with your gift tags and bows too. (By the way, A Greener Christmas, edited by Sheherazade Goldsmith, has lots of marvelous ideas and is one of my all-time favorite holiday how-to books!)

Creative and Homespun Gift Wrap Ideas.

Handcrafted Gifts

Who doesn't love receiving a handcrafted gift?! Handmade gifts are gifts from the heart. I know I'm loved when someone is willing to invest their time, energy, and creative talent to make a gift for me. And I enjoy making them as much as I enjoy receiving them.  Even when time is limited, there are some very clever gift ideas that don't require a tremendous amount of time or skill.

Photos courtesy of Subrishta, Lorigami, Gus and Ollie, and Woolbrainknitter.

If you need some ideas, the library has some really great books about making handcrafted gifts:

Don't forget to look in the Arts & Crafts neighborhood for books about all kinds of handcrafts and artistic creations that you can make for holiday gifts!  Here are some printable instructions to help you get started with your Handcrafted Holiday!

This season, may your loved ones be happy and healthy; may your holidays be joyous; and may the year to come be filled with love and light!

Counted Cross Stitch created by library employee, Dianne Elrichs.