Learn a craft

If you love making things, you will not find a more useful or personally gratifying craft than knitting. It is quite the rage now. With only a few lessons you will be knitting scarves and hats like a pro. Decoupage is making a big comeback. Learn to dry the flowers of summer. Other useful crafting ideas include everything from scrapbooking to making homemade soaps and herbed vinegars.Start making things like homemade wrapping paper and tags for your gifts. Make gift bags by decorating plain brown paper sacks from the craft store or even the supermarket with sponge prints, buttons, ribbons, etc. Michaels.com, the website for the chain of craft stores, has lots of tips and tricks for craft projects, including beading, scrapbooking, knitting and painting. They provide links to patterns and how-to instructions for many of these crafts. Search the Internet for how-to videos if you need some extra help with your craft. Sites like eHow.com and ExpertVillage.com offer videos to help you learn how to do all kinds of crafts.