December 19, 2003

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Publication Date: Friday, December 19, 2003

Recycled gifts for the home

By Kit Davey

You don't have to spend a bundle to provide a thoughtful home-related gift for everyone on your holiday list. Enchant family and friends with secondhand treasures -- you'll not only help save our environment by recycling, but you'll save money as well.

While these tips are useful for last-minute gifts, consider them also for future holidays and special occasions. As a seasoned secondhand gift-giver, I start my shopping in January. After repairing and wrapping each present I house them in a closet dedicated to gift storage. Why not give it a try next year?

Here are some ways to recycle secondhand finds into personalized gifts:

* Add to the weird collections of those on your gift list. Pick up one-of-a-kinds when shopping at garage sales, flea markets and secondhand stores. My dad loves receiving unique additions to his Indian kitsch collection, Mom always delights in a new mask, and my brother grunts with joy when he gets a pig for his assortment of porcine figurines.

* Baskets (25 cents to $3 at rummage sales) can be filled with anything under the sun: a gently used teddy bear or doll, a neatly ironed stack of antique linens, a pair of candlestick holders and candles, soaps or matchbooks gathered from trips you've taken or Christmas tree ornaments.

* Buy a brightly colored plate from an antique shop and add a plate stand. Your giftee can place it on the kitchen counter, on a book shelf or an end table.

* Vases sell for as little as 25 cents and can display a winter flower arrangement made with cuttings from your garden.

* Enhance a bottle of wine by making a wine sack out of a piece of leftover fabric. Tie the bag closed with a bit of ribbon, brocade, raffia or cording. You can even tie a silk flower, cluster of fake grapes, or a tree ornament into the bow. Present the bottle with a pair of wine glasses (10 cents to $1 at flea markets) around whose stems you have tied ribbon and a tree ornament.

* Fill an antique teacup with potpourri, marbles or old buttons.

* Make a sachet bundle from an antique hankie. Place three tablespoons of potpourri in the middle of the hankie and tie closed with a length of ribbon.

* Use a salad bowl or a basket (50 cents to $5 at resale shops) and fill with lemons from your garden.

* Fill a Mason jar with candy, homemade jam or pickles, or fill a cookie jar or tin with fresh-baked goodies.

* Decoupage a small box with images from magazines or postcards. Place a handful of postcards, recipes or photographs in the box.

* Heap a mug with nuts and a nut cracker, candy canes or felt pens.

* Fill a terra-cotta pot you've painted by hand, or a teapot (with a missing lid!) or pitcher (with a chip you've touched up) with a fresh African violet or trailing ivy.

* Repaint or embellish a picture frame. Glue buttons, shells or dried flowers onto the frame and insert a family photo, or one of your child's masterpieces.

* For the kids: Assemble a dress-up trunk. A suitcase or sturdy box can be cleaned up and painted to house a collection of hats, scarves, jewelry, disguises and clothing for playacting.

* Assemble a bulb-forcing kit. Scrounge up a bowl, or pot, add a bag of stones and several paper white or amaryllis bulbs. Write instructions for forcing on a card and insert in the kit.

Some of my most cherished possessions are family heirlooms given to me by my parents. Every year they pass along a piece of family history -- a daguerreotype of my great-grandmother, the clock that used to sit on my grandmother's mantel, and a box of postcards sent home by my mother during her childhood -- and each is accompanied by a handwritten history. It's never too late or too soon to share your family heritage. I guarantee the recipient will love it.

Kit Davey is a Redwood City-based interior designer who redecorates using what you already own. You can call her at 367-7370, e-mail her at KitDavey@aol.com, or visit her Web site at AFreshLook.net.