Skip the mall and make it a handmade holiday

Haul out the tacky glue -- and the scrapbooking paper, wire cutters, paint pens. Maybe even duct tape.

It's beginning to look a lot like a handmade holiday.

Whether it's the economy or a wish to be different, some gift-givers are skipping the mall this season and giving what they, or others, can make.

"I like giving them because there's no price point," said Katie Snead, of Wesley Chapel, who sells screen-printed pillowcases she makes on the crafting Web site www.etsy.com. "People aren't like, 'Oh, I saw that at the Gap.' They can't get it anywhere else."

Arts and crafts retailer Michaels surveyed people in its database this fall; among that crafting set, 65 percent of 1,015 respondents said they planned on making gifts this year, up from 58 percent last year. Three-quarters said handmade gifts were a good way to save money.

The National Retail Federation also found that the economy is influencing people's holiday spending habits, with 17 percent of people polled saying they would make more gifts to save money.

Cost is a factor, said Michaels craft expert Anita Sexton. But making your own gifts has other advantages. Parents can work on them with their children, and all that time and effort infuse meaning into a gift that might otherwise seem routine.

"You might normally go to the mall and get a candle or a trinket, but it doesn't feel as special as if you took the time to make the candle," Sexton said. "If you make the candle, it makes it a little more special. It makes you feel better to give something."

The Michaels survey found nearly 90 percent of people thought handmade gifts were more thoughtful.

Irma Niekum, a Citrus Park crafter who specializes in whimsical dolls and colorful mobiles, said Christmastime is her busiest season at her online Etsy shop and www.GiftsDefine.com.

Niekum, 35, learned to sew from her mother and aunt in Indonesia and started making stuffed felt dolls to ease her homesickness after moving to the United States in 2001.

She said she thinks her buyers like knowing that their purchases are one-of-a-kind and came from a real person instead of a machine.

"I love to give and to receive handmade gifts, because I personally feel behind each handmade gift there is a true meaning of thoughtfulness from the gift giver to the gift recipient," Niekum said.

Snead, 30, always made blankets and T-shirts for baby shower gifts or painted, personalized signs for weddings. Friends of friends started ordering from her, and Snead opened her Etsy shop, Sa-Sea Boutique, a year and a half ago. Etsy allows crafters to set up online storefronts to display and sell their creations.

Now she focuses on pillowcases, such as her seasonal Santa and "Believe" varieties, making 20 cases a week for orders. She wanted to support others, too, and ordered most of the Christmas gifts she didn't make herself from other Etsy artists.

To try your hand at homemade gifts, Charlie Black of Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Store said to first think about the person who will be getting the present. Consider the person's interests and style. You almost have to act like you are going to decorate for them, said Black, who manages Jo-Ann's Citrus Park store.

You can get inspiration and instruction from classes or online instructions. Some projects, such as card-making, get elaborate embellishments with three-dimensional features and lace or fabric trim.

"People look at it and can't believe they spent that much time on them," Black said.

Others are simpler. Iron-on transfers can dress up basic baby wear, or rhinestones make a teen's T-shirt sparkle. A vinyl quote or picture turns a plain vase into something special - and can be peeled off without damage when tastes change.

Sexton recommended sprucing up unfinished wooden items, such as frames or boxes, with paint, scrapbooking paper or mosaic tile. For someone with a sense of humor, duct tape comes in multiple colors and can make sturdy wallets and purses. Sexton even made a duct tape Michael Jackson "Thriller" jacket for Halloween.

Sexton, who has worked for Michaels for nine years, said a lot of people make Christmas items this time of year but to consider gifts not tied to a specific season. And no matter what you make, a stylish wrapping job dresses up the gift and adds the perfecting finishing touch.

"It's all about the packaging," Sexton said. "If you wrap it up nice and put a nice bow on it - that makes it more special."