If ever there has been a year to give a homemade holiday gift, this is it. The economy’s in the dumps, and budgets are tight. Gift-givers have to be more creative than ever if they want to delight their friends and family with something unusual.
Meanwhile, business is booming in the world of homemade crafts. Not only has scrapbooking launched an industry of its own, but the notion of do-it-yourself has produced thousands of new products, services, classes and ideas that now jostle for space on the Web and in stores.
With all these choices, the question remains: What to give? Here are some ideas:
- Aprons: These kitchen cover-ups are useful, and they’re easy to sew, even for novices. Can’t sew at all? Order a white cotton twill apron from the Bay Area-based Dharma Trading Co., www.dharmatrading.com. They start at around $7 and can be dressed up with tie-dye, buttons, decals, fabric paint and just about anything else.
- Pot holder: Similar to an apron, you don't need much sewing experience to create a gift that will get used over and over again. Take two peices of fabric, batting (or craft stuffing) and sew around the edges. Applique stars or trees to create a perfect holiday pot holder.
-Wreathes: The perfect gifts for early gift givers. Each wreaths takes about $3 in materials to make (a metal frame and some craft wire). To decorate, use what you have in your own back yard, in cluding a few pieces of Arbor Vitae, an evergreen shrub. If you don’t have access to evergreens, boughs are available to buy at Christmas time. Just wrap the boughs securely onto the frame with the wire, overlapping so the stems don’t show. Add berries or dried flowers and you've got a great, seasonal presentation.
- Photo ornaments: Nothing tops giving the gift of fond memories. So for those hard to buy for grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, create a photo ornament or try framing an old photo. Inexpensive photo ornaments and frames can be found at the dollar store. After all, the real focus should be on the photo, not the frame.
-Recipes or food: The best way to anyone's heart is through food so share a favorite family recipe or make a batch of your favorite cookies and wrap them up. The best kinds of gifts are ones that people will use and nothing is consumed at the holidays quite like food. Fudge and candy also do the trick this time of year.
- Homemade cards: Follow the instructions below to create stationary from crayons:

CRAYON MELT STATIONARY SET
Materials: Electric fry pan, foil, original crayons (not washable), card stock, envelopes, paper towels, hot pad or oven mitts.
Line pan with foil. Turn on pan until hot enough to melt crayons.
Peel paper off crayons. (If working with kids, have them use oven mitts to avoid burns.)
Melt or draw with the crayons on the foil until desired look is achieved; thick pools of melted crayons end up creating interesting shapes.
Place paper on top of melted wax. Gently blot with paper towel to stick the wax onto the paper. Lift paper off and allow cooling time. Fold in half to create card.
Wipe excess wax off foil with paper towel, and create another! Package all the cards with envelopes and tie a piece of yarn around everything.

HOLIDAY ORNAMENT RECIPE
1 cup flour
¾ cup salt
½ cup water
¼ cup cooking oil
Mix flour, salt and oil with wooden spoon. Add water gradually. Shape, add hook for hanging from tree, and then bake pieces at 300 degrees for 1 to 2 hours, until hard. Paint and decorate.

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