by Shirley Thomas

Created on: November 27, 2008   Last Updated: April 08, 2011

Homemade or handcrafted gifts are the very best gifts we can give or receive. Going to a department store, searching for the perfect gift, in the correct size and color, plus for the right price, can be quite overwhelming, especially if you have a long gift list to complete.

Handcrafted gifts are unique, because they are made with the recipient in mind. The heart of the crafter is embedded into every detail of the item.

A few handcrafted gifts I've made and lovingly given to family, co-workers, friends and others are beaded jewelry; customized scrapbooks, both digital and traditional; customized clip boards, notebooks, journals and recipe books; video documentaries created from family photographs; and bookmarks.

Beaded jewelry is rather popular now, so an abundance of gems and stones can be found at most of the hobby stores and on-line. Bracelets are a great and inexpensive gift for those female co-workers, and even granddaughters or nieces in your family. You can string them up rather quickly and then package them in various ways.

For Christmas, I usually use a very small stocking to hold the jewelry item. If you're using cheaper beads, you can make several bracelets, giving the recipient a choice of colors for different clothing outfits.

Scrapbooking is the trend now, but so many people don't have the time to assemble one. If you are a photo buff, and take a lot of pictures at family gatherings, you can start a scrapbook for a family member. It doesn't have to be a big one or it can be one that you add on to in the years to come. I also like to provide the recipient with a CD of the photos used, so they can print out copies for future use, as well as having a permanent back-up of the photographs.

Clip boards, notebooks, journals and recipe books never looked so good! Take a plain notebook purchased for a very low price and add decorative paper and ribbons to it, and turn it into something treasured and beautiful.

Journals and clip boards are the same.
A favorite of mine is to take index cards that are bound, place favorite recipes on the cards, and then decorate the front and back outer cards with the decorative paper and ribbons. Newly weds love receiving this gift. Personalize them by adding their names to the cover. They'll love it. This is a fantastic way to dress up an address book.

One of my favorite gifts is the video documentaries. I'm in the process of taking all of my seventy-six year old mother's family photographs and scanning them. Then I'll retouch the aged photographs, and turn them into a documentary of my mom's family. Yes, it is time consuming, but it is a priceless gift and a family tree legacy to pass on to my grandchildren and beyond. Each year I do a collection of my grandchildren to give their parents.

This is also something that can be handed down through the years. I can just imagine my great-grandchildren watching movies of their parents when they were children. What a legacy to leave!

Bookmarks make great gifts for teachers and those people you want to express your thanks to for services they've provided to you through the year. They can be made from ribbon or beaded. They are very simple and inexpensive, but useful and beautiful.

Hand-crafted gifts are not only about saving money, but about sharing your love and abilities to hopefully make a lasting impression on those that are special in your life. The time and love an individual invests in a hand-crafted gift can last a lifetime.

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