DIY Network

Handmade Gift Roundup Try Michele Beschen's favorite gift projects! From "B. Original" episode DBOR-613

Michele Beschen loves handmade gifts – both to give and to receive. She recently went through hundreds of her B. Original projects to pull out some of her favorite handmade gifts. Links with each project will take you directly to the complete instructions.

Choosing a handmade gift project is a lot like shopping: You need to keep the person's interests in mind, as well as your budget. Of course, it's important to consider your time budget as well: Nobody likes to be up all night right before a holiday or birthday. So scroll down, check out the links and make a few of Michele Beschen's favorites today.

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Figure A

Michele Beschen's Favorite Gift Projects

Home Décor

Everybody likes something fun for their home or office. For a rustic, masculine décor (figure A), consider making Michele Beschen's boot footstool. Or, try a ductwork wreath for a funkier style (figure B).

For quiet sophistication, try a tabletop zen garden. If you're planning a gift for the whole family, buy an inexpensive set of wooden TV tables and convert them (figure C) to a set of family game tables. If your gift recipient is happiest in the workshop, give him or her a helping hand in the form of these handy tabletop sawhorses. They're easy to make – and they make all sorts of projects easier.

Figure B

Figure C

Books also make great accessory gifts. Craft your own with canvas pages and wooden covers, or recycle an old book into a striking book plaque.

Figure D

Glass

All that glitters isn't gold – sometimes it's a beautiful glass project. If you craft with stained glass, you probably have a box of scrap glass that needs a project: Shine a little light on your gift-giving with votive candle holders made from the scraps (figure D).

If you're not a stained glass crafter, you can still get the lovely look using paint, decorative papers or thin fabrics for a faux stained glass effect. Or, get your feet wet with a simple glass project by making Michele Beschen's compact mirrors from mirror tiles and plain glass.

Fashion Accessories

Michele Beschen loves making jewelry from different materials. Try turning out some wonderful wooden earrings (figure E), bangles or rings. Or, recycle some belts into bracelets and rings (figure F). You can even hit the silverware drawer to craft some fabulous pieces out of spoons.

Figure E

Figure F

For accessories on the softer side, try making Michele Beschen's fabulous no-knit scarf. If you fall in love with the no-knit yarn experience, pull out a variety of yarns to make a funky clutch purse that looks like you spent hours at a loom instead of minutes at the sewing machine.

The Great Outdoors

Your friends will never be lonely in the garden or yard when you craft and give Michele Beschen's metallic gal pal sculptures. If their taste in outdoor décor runs more to the artsy than the funky, make these cool wire mesh sculptures that evoke leaves or other natural shapes (figure G).

On a smaller scale, wildflower lovers will adore their own custom flower presses. Also on the small side, terrariums offer an attractive, easy care way to enjoy plants year 'round (figure H).

Figure G

Figure H

Figure I

Kids' Play

If you're like Michele Beschen, you prefer not to give your favorite little people the latest plastic action figure for a holiday or birthday. Instead, present them with an heirloom set of building blocks (figure I) or a custom jump rope made with vinyl tubing. And who needs a pink plastic "dream house" when you can have a custom-built brownstone play house made from a simple storage unit?

You can help kids B. Original in their own gift-giving when you guide them in making easy, fun projects like button bracelets, hair sticks, decorative rocks or tile board games.