Crafts and Keepsakes for the Holidays: Christmas with Martha Stewart Living

The Best of Martha Stweart Living.

Celebrate the spirit of the season with creations from your own hands. Filled with gift ideas for everyone on your list. This collection of projects and recipes--from keepsake ornaments and stockings to table favors and party savories--will make handcrafting??gifts a treasured holiday tradition.

Martha, of course, has done it again. This time she tells us exactly how we can create perpetual keepsakes--including stockings, ornaments, and everlasting wreaths--craft special gifts, cook up tasty treats to give as presents (bourbon praline, marzipan snowmen, prosciutto bread, cranberry chutney), and produce cards, wrappings, tags, and favors. Some are time-consuming and/or expensive to make--wooden bowls gilded with real gold leaf may be a bit pricey for some--but others make economical use of discards, such as sweater pillows, snow globes, and shell candles. The chapter on gift making for "a long, long list" is especially helpful, with its suggestions for assembly-line production of both presents and wrappings. Naturally, Martha addicts will love this book, but even if you find her a bit irksome, it's hard to deny that these elegant crafts would please just about anyone on your gift list. --Amy Handy