I dearly love ric rac, and this project turns it into cute little stars which bedeck a decoration for your tree. I started with a styrofoam ball, painted with a couple coats of acrylic craft paint.

To make five-pointed ric rac stars, you'll need a piece of ric rac like this one. Take a look at the little peaks in the ric rac. There are six of them in this piece. Cut yours just like this.

This one is an oldie but a goodie. It's a wonderful afternoon project to do with kids, and a nice gift for your neighborhood birds.

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First, cover your work surface with newspaper. If you're worried about getting peanut butter in your carpet, then don't work over a carpeted floor.

Gather a bunch of pinecones. You can use any size you like.

A bit of nepotism . . .

If you have little ones, and you need Holiday portraits of them, my parents are doing three days of drop-in photography at their studio. They've decorated a really cute little set, and for just $25.00, you can walk away with a CD of images to use in your scrapbooking or card-making projects.

All the dates, times, and other details are over here.

Fusible Webbing is a wonder-product found in the quilting section of your local craft store. It's the perfect stuff for bonding fabric to paper to make these cute greeting cards. You can make them to send, or make up some sets to give as gifts.

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Here's what the package looks like for one popular brand of fusible webbing.

I saw these in a funky 1970's craft book, and thought they had great potential. This project is a great way to use up bits of leftover yarn, and these little stars look cute on a tree, wreath, or package.

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First, you'll need a piece of cardboard to wind your yarn around. I'm using one here that measures 4 1/4" high -- it's an old postcard. But, feel free to use any size cardboard you like. Different sizes of cardboard lead to different sized stars.

DIY Lounge has always been a wonderful place. Imagine a room filled with all kinds of craft supplies, where on any given day, people are learning to embroider, crochet, make bath salts, or paint with wax. The creative energy is just amazing!

Jen Neitzel, herself an avid maker, started the DIY Lounge in 2005.

I met Lee over the internet, when she launched her most-excellent craft zine, Do Stuff! And then she moved to Portland - Woo! Lee can turn an old sweater or T-shirt into things it never dreamed it could be, and she's pretty famous on the web for her Monster Hats. See more great stuff at her website.

Whether you use them at Holiday time or all year long, these mini-light collars are simple to make, and they make a beautiful, sparkling display. Never throw out the metal cups from your tealight candles again!

What You’ll Need:

- One string of mini-lights. White light is nice, because it allows you to see all the colors in your finished collars.

- Metal cups from used-up tealights. You’ll need one for every light there is on your light string.

- Sharpie marker.

- Scissors.

I first saw Julia's work in the Trillium Artisans Store -- she had these amazing earrings, made from pieces of bicycle tire. Who knew bike tires had cool jewelry in them? Julia is a wizard with using reclaimed materials to make beautiful things.

As a child, I fervently believed that all my toys came to life at night while I was asleep. And so I love Anitra Cameron's work. She takes ordinary things -- like coffee pots, serving trays, baking pans and such -- and assembles them into characters. Who look like they're fondly remembering the adventures they had last night while you were sleeping.