by Catherine Woram The holidays are the perfect time to get crafting and decorate your house the homemade way. Rather than buying expensive, mass-produced Christmas decorations, follow the ideas and projects in Holiday Crafts and make your own stylish and fun creations. Decorating the Christmas tree always kick-starts the festive celebrations, and in the first chapter you will find tons of new ideas, from chandelier beads suspended from velvet ribbons, to felt stars and cinnamon stick bundles. The next chapter focuses on wrapping presents, and here there are giftwrap projects using boxes and bows, paper and fabric, buttons and ricrac. The third chapter on cards also features labels and gift tags, and the projects range from fun snowmen greetings cards, to stenciled and stamped cards which you can easily make in large numbers. The dining table takes center stage on Christmas Day itself, and the chapter on table settings suggests different themes and color schemes, from sophisticated silver to red-and-white country style, to traditional red, green, and gold. There’s nothing nicer than receiving a homemade present, so the section on foodie gifts includes chocolates, festive cupcakes, chocolate brownies, and cookies to hang from the Christmas tree. And finally, as the holidays are the time for children of all ages, there is a chapter on makes for kids, including brightly colored paper chains, paper snowflakes, and pompom decorations. Hardbound
