BY NICOLE ZAKRZEWSKI   |   Palm Harbor University High

Martha Stewart is my spirit animal; I adore the woman. The fact that she was briefly in jail gives her street cred, and after seeing her recently on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, I can confirm she’s a seductress, and best of all, she’s Polish! Whenever possible I’ll watch her talk show, and because of it, I am the craftiest person you will ever meet.  •  In this DIY holiday issue we’re asking you to channel your inner Martha and try making things in lieu of buying the same old unimaginative presents. On these pages and pages 10-11 are several crafts to warm the hearts of others, and they could save you a boatload of money.  •  If you lack artistic ability, it doesn’t mean that you have to skip out on handmade gifts. Etsy.com  is the eBay of handmade items, from Lego cuff links to cheap art prints and, when the gift giving is done, there are even thank you cards. Roll up your sleeves and DIY.

Websites to check out for craft ideas:

• marthastewart.com  With everything from recipes to wedding party favors, this website has the best archive of instructions for handmade things, most of which come with videos and templates.
• craftzine.com  This site mainly offers a roundup of crafts from other websites and is directed more toward an intermediate crafter, so you probably would need to recruit Grandma to help.
• designsponge.com  Design Sponge focuses on interior design, but during the holiday season it includes great tips for decorating, in addition to weekly DIY projects.
• instructables.com  This is a user-run website featuring low-quality photos but nonetheless awesome ideas for making things.

Deck the tree: Give your friends some ornaments with personality.
You’ll need: Clear glass or plastic ornaments, available at any craft store, acrylic paint in squirt bottles, newsprint or other paper to shred, photos or other artwork to cut and insert.

Paint-filled ornament: Use acrylic paint, one color at a time. Squirt as much paint as your heart desires into the ornament, and then swirl the bulb to create a design. It takes about a day for each coat of paint to dry, and because of the humidity, you may end up with water vapor at the top, but who cares? It’s art!

Newspaper shred ornament: Cut up old newspaper (after you read it, of course), or you can put it in the shredder and then stuff the strips into the glass ornament. Glam touch: Mix in some tinsel!
Logo ornament: If you really love tb-two* you can cut out our logo, roll it up and put it in the bulb. But you can take the same concept and put in a picture; just be sure to cut your picture to a size that will fit snugly in the ball without crimping.

Pencil icicles: For a burst of color, use pretty pencils and wrap the eraser tip with an ornament hook. If you don’t have ornament hooks, paperclips work just as well!

Tree styling: Nicole Zakrzewski; photos by JEN HIATT   |   tb-two*