What is the meaning of a gift? When you pass a beautifully wrapped package to someone you care about, what is it you want to convey? Generally, we want to show that person that we took the time to buy - or in this case, create - something beautiful, that is just right for them. In essence, any good gift shows the receiver how much we appreciate them, and the gift is a small token of our affection.

The following four projects are intended to do just that! Instead of buying a bunch of generic gifts, why not impress your friends and family with these beautiful handmade crafts? They'll surely appreciate the gifts themselves, plus the effort that went into making them. So, get ready to wow your loved ones with some beautiful things, made with love by your very own hands.

Project Index:

1. Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix
2. Herb Inspired Art Tiles
3. Sunflowers Doorstop
4. Cheetah Lampshade

Project #1: Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix

Difficulty Rating: 1 - Very Easy

What ends a fun winter's day perfectly? A steaming hot mug of cocoa, of course! This delicious hot cocoa recipe will become a favorite. Top with marshmallows or whipped cream for an extra-special treat.

• 3 cups powdered milk
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 3/4 cup sugar
• dash of salt

Sift the ingredients into a large bowl. Pack the mix into cute glass jars, and seal well. Add a label with the name "Homemade Hot Cocoa," and the directions for use (included below).

To prepare a cup of hot chocolate:

Add 4 tablespoons of hot chocolate mix to your mug. Add 8 ounces of boiling water and stir well. Enjoy!

Project #2: Herb Inspired Art Tiles

Difficulty Rating - 3 Moderate

Just because it's cold outside doesn't mean you can't enjoy the artistic look of fresh herbs in your kitchen. These beautiful, simple tiles cost under a dollar each to make, and the results are simply elegant. A beautiful gift for a gardener or anyone who appreciates stylish art.

• One batch salt dough (see recipe below)
• Two rustic unglazed square tiles
• Paintbrushes
• Craft paint in dark green
• Puffy paint in gold
• Hot glue gun
• Glue sticks
• Picture hanger

Chives Tile

Using the salt dough, create long, thin snakes of dough that look like spaghetti.  Roll them with a point at the top, which are the tops of the chives.  Wet the tile lightly with water, and add the snakes of dough in a bunch formation. The water will act as a bond, and will attach the pieces to the tile as it bakes.

Basil Tile

Use the salt dough to create three basil leaves.  First form a little ball of dough.  Then round one end of the ball to look like a pear.  Flatten dough with your fingers, and pinch the top together to make a nice, crisp point at the top.  Use a paring knife to etch thin veins for the leaf.  Use the back of a knife to gently edge in where each vein is, to create a more realistic leaf.  

Wet the tile lightly with water, and add the basil shapes to the tile, pressing down slightly to secure. 

Baking Instructions

Heat the oven to only 200 degrees.  You don't want to bake this, you want to dry the dough and make it adhere to the tile.  Too high a temperature will cause your project to burn.

Place tiles on a cookie sheet, and dry in the preheated oven 1-2 hours or until the dough is completely dried.  Once dried, take the tiles out and let them completely cool.

Paint the chives green, leaving about one inch at the bottom unpainted. For the basil, paint the entire leaves green.  Let fully dry.  Add the words "Basil" and "Chives" at the bottom of the tiles, in gold paint.
Using hot glue, dab on two drops on the back of each tile.  Press a picture hanger securely in place and let glue harden before hanging.

Salt Dough Recipe

This easy recipe is perfect for home décor projects or for kids to play with.  You'll always have the ingredients you need - flour, salt and water - on hand.

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ½ cup table salt
• ½ cup water

Combine flour and salt in medium bowl.  Add water all at once, and stir with a wooden spoon until combined.  Take out the dough and place onto a lightly floured work surface, and knead for about five minutes - until you have a nice, pliable dough that is neither too sticky or too dry.  If it's too dry, add a drop or two of water and work it in.  If it's too wet, keep kneading the dough on some flour.  Place ball of dough in a plastic bag to keep fresh.

Project #3: Sunflowers Doorstop

Difficulty Rating - 2 Easy

Amazingly, a regular brick can be turned into a brilliant doorstop that will brighten up any room!

• One standard size brick
• Craft paint in the following colors: White, bright yellow, medium brown, dark brown, and black
• Paintbrushes
• One stiff-bristled paintbrush (like you use for stenciling)
• Varnish

1. Start by cleaning off the brick with an old paintbrush to get rid of any dirt or debris.
2. Coat the entire brick in white paint.  This will probably take about four coats to get a nice, even white color, since some will soak in.  Allow time for drying between each coat.  The front and back of this brick will be covered with sunflowers - paint the four edges with bright yellow or black paint.
3. On the front of the brick, create three dots - the centers of the sunflowers.  Using the stenciling brush, stipple on some dark brown paint to create a textured effect.  Let dry, then go back and stipple on some medium brown paint.  Let dry again.
4. Start painting the petals of the flowers.  Two swoops of the brush will create each petal.  The bottom sunflower will have petals showing all around, so start from the bottom.  Create the large petals, leaving space in between to come back and add smaller petals.  Follow the pattern shown on the finished brick.  Let dry.
5. Add the smaller petals to fill in the spaces in between the large petals, and to make the sunflowers look full.  Let dry.
6. Mix some medium brown paint with a bit of water until it's quite thin.  Using a thin paintbrush, outline each of the petals to add definition.
7. Paint all remaining sides of the brick either black or yellow.  Again, you'll need a couple of coats. Let dry once more.
8. Varnish with one or two coats to protect.

Project #4: Cheetah Lampshade

Difficulty Rating - 3 Moderate

A lamp is much improved with just a bit of fabric and gold cording on an otherwise boring lampshade.  Bring the hot safari look to any room with this adorable lamp.

You'll need:

• Brown paper for marking a pattern
• Plain lampshade
• ½ - 1 meter cheetah print fabric (depending on size of lampshade)
• 1-2 meters gold cording (enough to go around the bottom edge of your lampshade)
• Hot glue gun
• Glue sticks

1. Create a pattern of the lampshade on the brown paper by tracing around the edges of the entire shade onto the paper. Allow for a few extra centimeters along both top and bottom of the pattern, so there will be enough fabric to fold over the edge of the lampshade.
2. Pin the pattern to the fabric and cut out.
3. Apply hot glue along the edges of the shade and attach the fabric carefully.  Go back and fold the excess fabric over the top and under the bottom of the shade, gluing again on the inside to secure. Trim off any excess fabric.
4. Apply an even thin strip of hot glue along the bottom and attach the gold cording for a finishing touch.

Voila, an old lamp made into a safari specialty!

By Christina Spence