Holidays by hand

Star Tribune (Minneapolis) (MCT) - Unholster your glue gun and get ready to channel your inner crafter. Try these suggestions for simple, inexpensive gifts or for your own home decor.

BUTTON KEEPSAKE BOX

Stash treats or trinkets inside, or gift-wrap empty as an objet d' art for a notions-loving pal.

Tools/materials: Hot glue gun; wood box with lid, $3.99, Jo-Ann Fabric and Crafts, www.joann.com; wood stain, $4.45 for 8 oz., and 1-inch foam paintbrush, 47 cents, Home Depot, www.homedepot.com; assorted buttons _ most craft stores carry an assorted bargain grab bag for a few bucks.

How to: Stain (or paint) the box and lid. Sort buttons to choose colors and shapes you like. Stack and glue buttons with different sizes and textures and set aside. Try different combinations of buttons, moving them around on the lid until you get the desired grouping. Remove them to your work surface, one by one, being careful to maintain the pattern. Glue them onto the lid a few at a time.

Tip: Use the largest button as a focal point, then work out from the center. Be sure not to overlap the edges of the lid too far, or it will be difficult to grasp the lid to open.

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SHADOWBOX SERVING TRAY

Tools/materials: Power drill; screwdriver; shadowbox frame with glass, $11.99, www.michaels.com for stores; two pulls or knobs, $5.97 each, www.homedepot.com for stores; $3.50 for sheet of handprinted art paper, Paper Source, 3048 Hennepin Av. S., Minneapolis, 612-377-0700; felt furniture rounds, about $3.

How to: Remove glass and set aside. Drill holes for handles and attach with a screwdriver. Cut the art paper to match the size of the backing cardboard that came inside the frame. Remove the cardboard stand and wire hanging rings from the frame backing. Reassemble the paper, glass and backing. Add felt furniture rounds to each corner of the backing to avoid scratching your furniture.

Tip: Choose a shallow shadowbox that allows you to place the glass low inside the box. Some picture frames will work, too, if you use knobs that come with the screws already attached.

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PATIO "CANDELIER"

Tools/materials: Pliers, scissors or tinsnips, old chandelier, spray paint and polyurethane top coat, $5.49 each for 11 oz., length of rope for hanging, 4 feet for $1.20.

How to: Remove the cardboard tubes and flame-shaped bulbs from each arm of the chandelier. Use a pliers to remove the vertical metal stays that remain. Snip the wires flat to the round base of each chandelier arm. Pull taut the wires that run through the chandelier and out the top. Continue to pull them tightly, threading them through the knob at the top of the chandelier. Knot them and trim the excess. Hang the chandelier with heavy twine in order to spraypaint. When dry, coat with polyurethane. Purchase a length of rope (many hardware stores sell by the foot) to knot around the knob for hanging from a tree branch. Add candles.

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Tip: Worried about wind? Swap out the pillar candles for clear votive glasses and glue one to each flat base. Then add a votive candle.

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RECYCLED GIFT TAGS

Give a set of handmade gift tags culled from your stash of last year's cards.

Tools/materials: Scissors, paper punch, glue, old holiday cards, card stock for backing as needed, ribbon.

How to: Look for card designs that don't have writing behind them. You can still use those pieces, but you'll have to back them with a piece of card stock so there's a clean surface for the "to" and "from" info. Or remove 3D decorative pieces and glue them to a piece of card stock. Punch a hole and add a ribbon tie.

Tip: If you're giving the tags as a present, choose cards with unifying colors or themes, or chose a single ribbon color that complements each tag.

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CD LAMP

Tools/materials: Hot glue gun; electric drill; 100 CDs from the workplace tech recycling bin; rummage sale lampshade, $2; sturdy pasteboard box with the cover removed for a base and lamp wiring kit, $4.99 to $10.99, depending on the hardware store or big box retailer where purchased; lightbulb.

How to: Hot glue each CD to form a stack for the body of the lamp. Place the box on your work space open side down to form the lamp base. Drill holes into the middle of the box (for the cord) and on the back side of the box flush with the edge on the table. This is where the cord exits the base so it can plug into the wall. Follow the directions on the wiring kit, fitting the assembly into the hole in the center of the CDs and guiding the cord through the bottom of the CDs and through the box base. Hot glue the bottom of the CDs to the base. Pull the cord through the back of the base. Add a lightbulb and shade.

Tip: Take care as you glue to keep the CDs perfectly aligned. And use the glue generously.

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WIRED TABLE VASE

Jars from your recycling bin make this an inexpensive project.

Tools/materials: Empty olive jars; assorted pearl beads, prices vary; these were about $10 per string; copper jewelry wire, 33 feet for $1.39, Joann Fabric and Craft, www.joannestores.com; pencil.

How to: Cut a 6-foot length of wire. Wrap masking tape around the three jars near the top to keep them from slipping while you wire them. Loop the wire around one jar twice, twisting the starting end of the wire around the looped wire to secure it. Hold it tightly, then loop around one of the adjacent jars twice, then move on to the third jar, repeating the loop. Keeping the wire tight, now loop the wire several times around the outside of all three of the jars. Cut the wire and thread the edge through the wrapped wire at some point on the jar, twisting it and cutting the excess. Remove the tape. Cut several five-inch lengths of copper wire and curl each around the pencil to form spirals and attach them between two jars. Cut a few other, shorter lengths of wire and string as many beads as you like on each, twisting them into a circle and attaching them to the wire. How many is a matter of choice.

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Tip: If you want to use a single, fatter jar, instead of three skinny ones, you might choose to string beads on a long piece of wire before you encircle the jar.

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DECORATIVE VOTIVE HOLDERS

Glittery bits dress up this table mainstay for the holidays.

Tools/materials: Bowls for catching excess beads and glitter; 1-inch foam paintbrush; Mod-Podge or other clear-drying craft glue; glass votives, 99 cents each; assorted glass beads and mirrored squares, $2.99 per pack; crystal glitter, $4.99 per 1.5 ounces, Michaels and similar craft stores.

How to: If you're planning a specific pattern, lay out your mirrored pieces within easy reach. Gently hold the votive by the bottom and apply the glue in even, upward sweeping motions. Place pieces (if using) into your predetermined pattern, or shake on glass beads over a bowl to catch the excess. Then, holding the votive over another bowl, shake on the crystal glitter. Set down to dry.

Tip: Work swiftly before the glue dries out; it's difficult to add more once some of the materials are already in place.

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© 2008, Star Tribune (Minneapolis)