Voice of the Mid-Columbia | Kennewick, Pasco and Richland, Wash. |
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closeSunday, Nov. 30, 2008
A crafty alternative: Homemade gifts serve as economic idea
By Kristin M. Kraemer, Herald staff writer
RICHLAND -- Who needs Santa's elves when you've got Rose Crowell's workshop. The Richland woman's 14 grandchildren don't bother with wish lists because each year they know their Christmas presents from "Nana" will be handpicked and stitched with love.
Crowell, a supervisor at Craft Warehouse in Kennewick, has been making two pillowcases apiece for the grandkids since she first learned of the trend about five years ago.
"It was a hot thing here at the store in the fabric department and I thought, 'Well I need something to make.' And I'm always looking for something different to make for them," she said.
And now it is a tradition Crowell can't leave behind.
"The kids, they keep saying, 'You gotta make us a pillowcase this year. You gotta make a pillowcase,' " she said. "And Nana is going, 'No, no.' "
But when the holidays arrive, Crowell finds herself browsing through all the fabric at Craft Warehouse and picking out materials based on the grandkids' current likes -- sports, animals, fire trucks -- and color schemes. They range in age from 2 1/2 to 26.
Crowell said each case takes just three separate fabrics: The cuff, the body and the trim.
"They're super simple. It's like one, two, three and they're done."
This holiday season, many cash-strapped Tri-Citians may be looking for alternatives to show loved ones they care without going into debt. Some recommend homemade presents for that personal touch, while others suggest browsing local shops for smaller-ticket items that show their gift wasn't just an afterthought.
At the Franklin County Historical Museum in Pasco, shoppers can pick up mugs and ornaments featuring the Fourth Avenue building for just under $5, books by local historians for less than $20 and note cards and frameable prints of Tri-City landmarks, said Administrator Sherel Webb.
But a truly historical and educational gift, Webb said, is to get a digital copy of one of the museum's dozens of archived photos and have it printed on a mug or mouse pad or even framed. Each black-and-white image costs $10 to be scanned and preferably e-mailed, Webb said.
"If they're interested in a certain topic, we can help them find it," she said. "We have just about anything you can think of."
The selection includes pictures of the railroads, historical development, agriculture, pioneer families and old homesteads and even sepia portraits.
Webb said one of her favorites shows the "clash of cultures" with a stagecoach meeting the first air mail flight in Pasco. Another picture captures a "neat street scene" of old Lewis Street, she said.
"They're really unique and they're inexpensive," Webb said. "Those things together make them a very thoughtful gift."
People who want to try their hand at being crafty have many options available.
Cooking websites feature the tried-and-true mix-in-a-jar idea. Recipes vary from potato chip cookies to soups to party mixes.
But one Herald reader says a simple homemade hot chocolate mix has been enjoyed by friends, colleagues and children for years and is easy to fix at little cost.
After filling up a jar with the ingredients -- instant nonfat dry milk, unsweetened cocoa, sugar and salt -- she seals it up, ties a holiday ribbon around the lid and attaches directions and a plastic spoon.
Employees at Craft Warehouse have taken a number of their popular items and modeled them into great gifts for the holidays, said store manager Larry Crowell. That's so shoppers wandering the aisles for ideas don't have to guess the end results, he said.
"This time of year when things are tight and you go through an economic crunch, normally craft stores like ours do well in certain categories because people have a tendency to want to make gifts instead of pre-made," said Larry Crowell, who is married to Rose. "Scrapbooking, beading and our quilt and yarn shop normally do fairly well because they're areas where people have a large selection of goods to be able to make holiday gifts vs. the already-made type that usually you spend more for."
Crowell said the store sells a number of $1 items -- like wood pieces and foam pieces with holiday designs and stickers -- all to help create a one-of-a-kind gift.
A hot seller has been the mini loaf pans -- ceramic dishes for $1 that can be decorated or used to hold a candle. "They're a really cute little gift," he said.
Other popular items have been apron kits, clay pot seasonal figures and dish towel totes. The towel is folded in half, stitched around and a pull cord is sewn into the top.
"You put fabric on it as a strip, you put a string through it and -- boom -- it's done," said Rose Crowell. "And they're great pajama bags for little ones to take to their friends overnight."
About 10 years ago, Lois Ledeboer decided to take advantage of her husband's passion for bird hunting and asked him to start saving the feathers. Soon she had a collection of duck, goose, pheasant and quail feathers, which she quickly turned into framed artwork for family members.
"He pulls them out but you have to be ready because if you're not, they fly all over," said Ledeboer of Moses Lake.
All bird feathers are pretty, she said, but the special ones comes from mature mallard ducks because of the curl in the tail.
Ledeboer said she buys inexpensive pewter or black-rimmed frames and matting from stores like Wal-Mart and the Dollar Store and keeps those on hand so she's ready when the feathers arrive. Then she uses a piece of computer paper as the background, places the feathers as she wants with some extending over the matting and then places the glass on top.
"It's not an easy thing. You have to have patience because they move easily, but it turns out nicely," she said.
Ledeboer said it takes practice and skill, but even after doing it all these years it still took her five attempts to get her last frame just right.
"Everybody likes it, they really like it," she said.
When Katie Crook got married in 2006, she and her husband Brandon received a set of wine glasses, a bottle of sparkling cider and a gift card.
Crook "thought it was really creative," and since then has used the idea in her own gift giving.
"I think this gift could work for anything, any kind of celebration or a 'just thinking of you' moment," she said.
Crook said she and her husband don't drink alcohol and are expecting a child in March, so they lean toward buying Martinelli's Apple Cider for less than $2 at WinCo. Then she pairs that bottle with two wine goblets from, say, the Dollar Store and a candle, and bundles it all together in a bucket or box with shredded colored paper.
"Just because it's cheap doesn't mean it has to look like you got it cheap," Crook said. A similar gift, she said, looked "probably just like what I would have bought at any store."
And if all else fails, Crook of Richland suggests baking cookies and wrapping them up in holiday buckets or tins.
"Personally, I like peanut butter cookies with the Hershey's Kiss in the middle or chocolate chip cookies are anyone's favorite," she said. "In every one of my jobs, people love to eat and it's always fun to just not have an excuse to bring something in. It's a nice surprise for anyone and everyone."
* Kristin M. Kraemer: 509-582-1531; kkraemer@tricityherald.com
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