Homemade Ten

I'm hand-making all my holiday gifts this year, and to encourage any you who want to do the same, here are:

Ten Things I Make as Gifts

Apple Basket: Organic green Granny Smith and Red Delicious apples piled in a nice basket are my default gift when I'm visiting someone I don't know for the holidays. Even if they don't want to eat the apples, it makes a pretty centerpiece for their table.

Book Loop: back in 2011 I reinvented the book mark by turning it into a necklace you can wear while you're reading; I also created some interesting variations here, here and here.

Character Cards: If you have a writer pal and want to make something really special for them, try creating a set of character cards based on their story crews. If they haven't yet published or finished writing anything, make up a deck of character idea cards.

Crazy Needlebook: For a friend who sews or quilts, make my Victorian-era needle keeper by following my step-by-step directions and photos here on the Disenchanted & Co. blog.

Framed Paper Roses: Watch this DIY video to learn the simplest way to make roses out of paper. Glue a piece of background paper to the backing of your frame. Glue your roses in rows on top of the paper-covered backing. The variations on this are fun, too -- if the gift is for a musician, make the roses out of old sheet music, book pages for a reader, or old handwritten notes for a writer, etc.

Holiday Story: Write a short story exclusively for your recipient, print it out and put it in a nice binder for presentation. If you're a journal maker you can also make it into book form for them.

Index Card Journal: This was probably my most unusual homemade small journal, and all you need to make your own is an inexpensive boxed pack of index cards, some old tea or coffee to stain the cards, some theme words, and some small bits to decorate the box base.

Natural Sachets: Learn about sachets and find out how to make a variety of floral, herb and spice sachets here, including a drawer sachet you can make from two old handkerchiefs.

Recycled Calendar Pocket Journal: Make a keepsake pocket journal from an old wall calendar by following the steps and photos in this post.

Toriana Market Bag: Another step-by-step post of mine here shows you how to make a strapped messenger-style bag in virtually any size.

What have you made for holiday gifts that your recipients loved? Let us know in comments.