Five fresh and simple gifts to make by hand

Sometimes, a new twist on an old idea is all it takes and a beautiful handmade gift is born.

If you're inclined toward making your own gifts this holiday season, look in on the following five ideas, which stand out for their simplicity and freshness.

Haile McCollum, of Thomasville, Ga., updated the traditional silhouette portrait, making it simpler to do, too. After featuring her two children, McCollum turned to the family dog. (AP Photo/Thayer Allyson Gowdy, STC Craft/Melanie Falick Books)

Silhouette on canvas

Haile McCollum of Thomasville, Ga., is her family's de facto genealogist, the keeper of heirlooms and ancestral silhouette portraits. She also has a background in graphic design and has reinvented the silhouette with her own two sons -- and the family dog, Amos -- as subjects. Her idea is featured in "Crafting a Meaningful Home."

McCollum simplified and updated the silhouette using modern technology; silhouettes are decoupaged onto painted canvas rather than secreted behind frames.

To make the silhouette, paint a small oval-stretched canvas with acrylic paint and let dry. With a digital camera, take a profile photo -- only a head shot -- of the subject. Upload the photo to a computer and resize. Print the photo and carefully cut it out, getting as many details as possible. Secure this pattern onto a sheet of heavyweight paper and cut it to match. Adhere profile to canvas using decoupage glue; let it dry. Paint another thin layer of decoupage glue over the entire canvas.

McCollum recommends experimenting with paper and color, perhaps putting a hot-pink silhouette onto a bright orange background, or putting brown on blue. Paper with a tight pattern may look good, too. Card stock works best for the silhouette, said McCollum, who owns a personalized stationery and gift company called Fontaine Maury.

The silhouettes needn't even be paper. For example, they can be cut out of fabric and sewn or glued onto pillow cases.

"In our bedroom, we have our two sons on our two pillows on our bed. It's really cute," she said.

Personalized pillow

Kim Johnson of Estero, Fla., is an illustrator and amateur photographer whose artistic canvas is the pillow. She sews her own out of a felt fabric made from recycled plastic bottles and embellishes the pillows with the same soft felt.

The self-taught sewer said working with felt is especially easy because the material doesn't fray. The felt at fabric stores will work, but Johnson uses higher-end wool felt and bamboo felt that she buys from the online dealer Feltorama.

In a hurry? Buy a good-looking pillow and embellish it with felt using fabric glue. Need inspiration? Check out Johnson's ideas at her Etsy online shop, photographik.

Paper photo pendant

Aubrey Avila of Marion, N.C., was trying to create a locket for her children's photos when she hit on this simple idea, tutorials for which she sells at her Etsy shop, Decelerate.

The craft goes something like this: Cut out a 3-by-1 1/2-inch square of thin cardboard (cereal boxes work well). Fold it in half. Cut an opening for the photo that measures 1-by-1/2-inch on one half side. Cover this with a heavy-weighted paper, such as card stock -- something with a small, tight design. Fold the paper over the cardboard, making sure the edges are smooth; use hot glue to secure. At the photo opening, cut a small "x'' and carefully peel back the paper, leaving a clean finish; glue edges down.

Wrap 20-gauge wire around the spine of the frame and make a loop at the top for inserting ribbon. Finally, glue the two sides of the frame together, leaving the bottom open for inserting a tiny image. Vellum can be inserted with the photo to protect it.

Avila said the fit is tight enough that the image won't fall out.

The pendant is perfect for holiday gift-giving, and it's easy enough for children to make with a little parental guidance, she said.

"You want something that can be customized," Avila said. "I think that makes a gift more meaningful. That's the whole idea."

Kim Mason and Christina Guerrero made this sleeve being used on an Amazon Kindle device. Mason and Guerrero, of Philadelphia, are architects who sell these colorful sleeves for high-tech toys from their Etsy shop, Rogue Theory. (AP Photo/Kim Mason)

The 'techee' sleeve

Architects-turned-crafting entrepreneurs, Kim Mason and Christina Guerrero of Philadelphia teamed up last summer to create the Etsy online store Rogue Theory. They sell all kinds of colorful sleeves for protecting today's high-tech toys, from Kindles to iPods.

It's a colorful twist on a simple idea: The sleeves incorporate two pieces of cotton fabric, sewn right sides together, with a polyester interfacing that adds padding without bulk. The fabric then is folded and sewn up the sides to dimensions that allow for a snug techie-toy fit.

"The big thing is to keep it simple and sleek," Mason said. "It's a lot like designing a building. We think if the design is on point, you can put any fabric on it and personalize it for any person."

Michele Beschen, of Van Meter, Iowa, host of the television show, "b. organic," made this "infinity" scarf from an old sweater. (AP Photo/Simply Michele, Inc.)

Recycled sweater scarf

Michele Beschen of Van Meter, Iowa, hosts "b. organic" on public television. She recently contributed several ideas for handmade gifts to HGTV.com's "Handmade Holidays."

Beschen shares her infinity scarf, cut from a single sweater with minimal sewing.

"You can still give a knitted item without knowing how to knit," she said.

Use the knitted fabric of one sweater, or combine the colors and textures of several sweaters into one scarf, suggests Beschen, who uses acrylic or acrylic-blend sweaters because they keep their shape and drape well.

"Play with the colors, how the knits lay together," she advises.

Incorporate the sweater's other features, such as buttons or a pocket, into the scarf. When making a gift, Beschen advises using muted colors that can be incorporated into anyone's wardrobe.

To make the scarf: Using a single sweater, cut around it under the armholes, or according to desired width. Finish the cut edge by hand or machine stitching. Instructions for combining the fabric of two sweaters into one scarf are at HGTV.com/handmade.