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The best time for arts and craft projects comes at the end of the year. The spirit starts to drill into everyone around Halloween, working steadily through Thanksgiving, and climaxes with Christmas. It's this time that we care more for those heart-felt gifts, since we've been pretty busy to ourselves the rest of the year.

However, you do not need to break the bank for a warm gift to give someone, as many of us already know. There are always things in the realm of "cute" and "darling", that can give a wonderful impression to our family and friends.

Halloween can be an easy time to grab a smile from someone with a "Ghost Pop". All you need is a small lollipop with a wrapper, a sheet of tissue paper, and a small rubberband. (see where this is going? :)

Place the tissue paper over and around the lollipop, wrap the rubberband around the base several times, and then draw your "ghostly" face on the pop with a permanent maker. (Careful though, the marker's ink will spread quickly, just a few dots is usually good enough.) This is an easy, fun, very cheap craft for the holiday, and best of all, the receiver of this gift has a nice snack also!

Thanksgiving is a tough time to give due attention to a nice craft, since Christmas season is starting to wind-up in everyone's mind. Give it a little effort though, and you can have something to decorate your home with for many years to come. I think a good one is to take a small scrap sheet of treated wood, (wood that has been treated to withstand the elements of the outdoors. A piece about 2 to 3 feet is nice), draw a cartoon-like turkey on it, and then cut or have it cut around the border of your turkey. Then, "color" your turkey by painting it. With a small stake nailed to the back of it, you have a wonderful yard decoration for all to see! (Putting the date, and artist's name on the back could make it a nice "heirloom" also, if you use a good piece of wood that will last.)

Christmas is the time when stores are packed with shoppers, Stay at home one day and make a few gifts of your own. You may be surprised at what you can come up with! Take an old seasonal dish towel, the kind that have a decoration for the holiday, and an embroidery hoop. (The hoop can be purchased fairly cheap at places like Wal-mart.) Stretch the towel over the hoop and clamp it. Cut the edge of the towel off, and wa-la!, a thought-ful kitchen decoration for someone! (Actually, it would look nice anywhere in the home or even at work for some people.)

Whatever kind of crafts you find yourself doing this year, make sure you are careful, and have FUN making and sharing your "gifts from the heart". Tis the Season! -Stephanie

Copywright, October 2006 http://stephshomeprojects.com