Gifts made by hand can take time and supplies, yet no price can be put on the thoughtfulness.

Here, county residents share their stories and expertise on adding a handmade touch to the holidays, all with a few supplies and just a little time.

In the moderately lighted wine cellar of the Harmony Museum earlier this month, Gwen Lutz of Zelienople demonstrated bow making for visitors to the traditional German Christmas market called Weihnachten Platz.Lutz shared her more than 22 years of experience gained from working for floral shops and greenhouses. She's currently working on wreaths and topiaries for a large office building in Pittsburgh."I've been teaching people how to make bows for many, many years," Lutz said. "I don't even have to look at it anymore, like people who crochet."Her hot tip for bow making is to use wired chenille pieces, similar to pipe cleaners but longer and thicker, to hold the bow together."They're a lot easier on your hands than bare wire," she noted.Lutz described how to make a bow-tie bow, the traditional style.She also talked about a florist bow, which has lots of loops, and a blue-ribbon bow, with a couple more tails to look like a prize ribbon, as variations on the traditional model. The bow tie is the easiest bow for anyone who is just beginning to learn, she noted.To make bows for decorating homes or packages, follow these steps.<b>Materials:</b>Ribbon (the average wreath-size, bow-tie bow takes 3½ yards of ribbon) and a chenille piece in a color that matches the ribbon itself or whatever the bow will be placed on.<b>Directions:</b>Begin at one end of the ribbon. If the ribbon has a nice side, start with the nice side out and make a loop half of the width of what you want the finished bow to be. Pinch where the middle will be.Take the free end, or tail of the ribbon, and pull it out horizontally toward the opposite hand. Now make a loop on the other side. Keep pinching the ribbon in the middle.Make a second loop on each side above the tail. You should have four equal-size loops and two tails. You might have to adjust the ribbon so the right side of the ribbon is showing instead of the underside.Make a smaller loop on each side on top of the existing loops. Now you should have four loops on the bottom tier and two loops on the top tier of the bow.Twist again and add a very small loop right in the middle. Watch the tail ends; one will be backwards, so twist it a little so the right side is showing. The twisting isn't necessary with ribbon that's the same on both sides.Slide the chenille piece through the smallest loop and around where you have been pinching the ribbon and twist the wire securely. The ribbon can now be attached as a decoration."You can make them in any size," Lutz said. "I've made the florist ribbon for tree toppers with the tails hanging way down. I put two (ribbons) back-to-back and it makes this big, poofy top."The choice of ribbon is just personal taste, she said"Wired kinds hold their shape better and they're a little easier to work with, but it gives you a little more mass in your hand when you're working with it," she said.Then again, the velvet holiday ribbons can't simply be stashed away in a box after the holidays."So they don't get crushed, each loop needs to be stuffed with tissue paper. If you hang them up, the tails will stay nice," she said. "With wired ribbon, you can just re-shape it."

Among the honey, scarves, soaps and dish towels at Tanglewood Senior Center's recent Cavalcade of Crafts was nestled a handmade item that's therapeutic in the using and the making.Jan Vavro and Lois Dunbar, who helped make the simple gift, call it a hot/cold pack, but it's most perfect this time of year as a neck warmer. Stuffed with rice, the warmers can be heated in the microwave before use.Vavro and Dunbar, along with other members of the Tanglewood craft club, made the beanbag-like items for the sale that benefited the center.They offered these simple instructions for even the slightly adventurous who would like to make the hot/cold packs at home. They said the whole process should take about 15 minutes once the supplies are assembled and depending on the sewing skills of the crafter.

<b>Materials:</b>Fabric cut in 10-inch by 18-, 20- or 22-inch pieces, thread, and five cups of rice.<b>Directions:</b>Stitch wrong sides of fabric together, two long and one short side, with two rows of 10 stitches to an inch. Turn inside out. Pour rice into the fabric bag. Double stitch closed the open end.A tag with these instructions can be attached: To use as a hot pack, microwave for about 1 minute and it will stay warm for about 30 minutes, or put it in the freezer for an hour to use as a cold pack.Vavro didn't recommend trying any substitutes for the rice."Rice fits in nicely," she said. "Beans are too lumpy."Certain additions to the filling are OK, though."You can put different herbs in it," Dunbar noted.The pair talked about basil or eucalyptus as possible additives."There could be a number of combinations, too," Dunbar said."That's where you could use your imagination," Vavro added.Vavro said they don't attach instructions to the hot/cold packs they make."We just explain it as we pass them out," she said. "And we have repeat customers because the packs do need replaced sometimes."About 35 hot/cold packs have been sold for the benefit of Tanglewood."We've been making them for two years. It was one of our first projects and we started the craft group three years ago," Vavro said."Our advantage is that a lot of people donate materials to us. Maybe they had a kit or a project they started and didn't finish or they had some supplies they were cleaning out — some yarn or fabric," she said. "The trick is figuring out what to do with the things."For example, someone donated a box of wood turnings, sort of like 2-inch spools but no hole through the middle. Dottie Slomer envisioned angels, and with some lace, curls and a pipe cleaner, she brought the idea to fruition."We started this group to keep our (Tanglewood) members busy and their hands moving," Vavro said. "There was an article in the newspaper that said in part that it's good to keep moving."Dunbar said, "The social part of it, the fellowship part of it is great.""We were hoping more people would get involved," she said. "Jan and I just enjoy each other's company."

Patti Riederer puts a different spin on the popular gift of scented candles. She passes on the idea for a good luck candle, officially called a Bayberry Candle Christmas Tradition."I got one for Christmas last year from a friend," said the Cranberry Township resident. "You're supposed to burn it all the way down and it will bring good luck to your life and money to your pocket."She offers the story of what happened to her as evidence the luck worked."I was trying to get a puppy that was promised to an opera singer in Washington, D.C., and I got a call that said I could have the puppy if I wanted it," she recalled."But more than that, my husband got a job offer and he had been unemployed for three years. Needless to say I'm going to be burning one of these candles every Christmas Eve forever!"She said the candle must be a bayberry one, and it must be burned on Christmas Eve. Here is the poem that was attached to the candle she received:This bayberry candle comes from a friend, so on Christmas Eve burn it down to the end, because a bayberry candle, burned down to its socket, brings good luck to your life and money to your pocket.Riederer printed out the poem on card stock paper and packaged the note together with one of the votive-sized green candles in fabric netting for a recent fundraiser at theColdwell Bankeroffice where she works."The more I talk to people, it's a tradition I guess. There areagentsin the office who saw this (poem) and said, 'Oh yeah. My mom's been doing that for years.'"Perhaps the luck applies even if the candle isn't burning. The sale last Saturday of crafts and baked goods raised about $700 for the benefit of a township family in need."Maybe it was just our time," noted Riederer of the timing of her fortunate events. "But it's a nice scent, bayberry, and when it's Christmas Eve and the Christmas music is playing, who knows?"