By DENA FISHBEIN, Scripps Howard News Service

This sweet project makes a perfect gift for anyone in your family or circle of friends. You can quickly stitch any word onto as many or as few pillows as you like -- and you can use either throw pillows for the couch or bed pillows.

Gather:

-- Solid-colored pillowcases

-- Mix-and-match fabrics

-- Scissors

-- Embroidery floss

-- Needle

Dry erase boards are great for reminding yourself to do something, making a shopping list, planning weekly meals and much more. But the plain white boards found in stores are drab, and won't necessarily add much charm to your home. That's why I loved the idea of making my own from an old picture frame that I found at a flea market years ago.

Paper garlands are a great go-to decoration for me because they're quick and I usually have all the materials on hand. For this holiday project, I used leftover pieces of scrapbooking paper and recycled white computer paper. This is also a great project to do with kids because making snowflakes is fun at any age.

Gather:

Festive scrapbook paper

White paper

Slipcovers are a great way to revamp a chair or sofa without the cost and time of reupholstering or buying a new piece of furniture.

Making covered-button magnets is a perfect project for group craft parties, for kids and adults. You need very few supplies, and you can make multiple magnets in one short session. Most of us crafters have wonderful scraps of fabric lying around. Save these scraps, as I do, and use them for these wonderful covered buttons.

Materials needed:

I bought some inexpensive office chairs at Ikea recently. The solid red upholstery was looking a bit boring. I decided to revamp the chairs by re-covering the seat and seat back with some lovely crewel fabric that I had purchased a few years back at a flea market. I thought the large pattern and texture would work well for this project.

Materials:

We all love a fabulous sale. I found this white linen coat for a great price on a recent trip to New York City. I liked the style, but I wanted to make it a little more special. One of my very favorite colors is aqua. I have lots of vintage scarves with aqua as a primary color, and I knew I would love wearing them with this coat.

I was at a junk sale the other day and saw an old wire bed for a doll. No mattress, just the wire frame of the bed. It had a lovely shape and I knew I wanted it. But what could I do with it?

A planter!

When I have a dinner party for fewer than 12 guests, I usually use cloth napkins. But for many other events, paper napkins can usually substitute nicely. I stock up on pretty paper napkins when I see them on sale, choosing lovely patterns or vibrant solids.

Here are ways to make your paper napkins a little special:

Materials

I love miniatures. I have since I was a little girl. Tiny environments are magical to me. So why not bring a little magic to your next get-together with your girlfriends? These favors are a joy to make, inexpensive and thoroughly delightful. You can pick up mismatched teacups and saucers at thrift shops and garage sales.