Are you tired of buying gift cards for your friends and family during the holidays? Do you want to give them something special that will be easy on the environment as well as your wallet?

Check out these books available from the JMRL catalog for ideas on eco-friendly DIY gifts for this holiday season (or next year!):

Half Yard Gifts by Debbie Shore – Contains 22 projects to sew using fabric scraps and give away, each made using less than half a yard of fabric, and provides easy-to-follow instructions and step-by-step photography for creating a vast array of meaningful gifts.

Jewelry Upcycled! by Sherri Haab – Offers instructions and color illustrations for projects that demonstrate how to transform recycled materials (metal, plastic, glass, fiber, and other found objects) into beautiful jewelry pieces.

Wise Craft by Blair Stocker – With an emphasis on recycling and transforming, this innovative book shows crafters how to infuse old items, such as thrift store staples and fabric scraps, with new life.

A Greener Christmas by Sheherazade Goldsmith – A collection of simple, seasonal projects reveals how to create an eco-friendly Christmas celebration, including instructions for craft, gardening, gift, decorating, cooking, and entertaining projects.

Upcycling Celebrations by Danny Seo – A use-what-you have guide that presents over 100 projects for creative “upcycling,” in which used and recycled products are crafted into decorative items for celebrations and gift-giving.

I’m Dreaming of a Green Christmas by Anna Getty – Provides advice on how to best choose a tree (real or fake?), organize and recycle post-holiday, and create gifts and recipes that use less and mean more.

The Organic Artist by Nick Neddfo – Offers information on making art supplies such as paint, paper, pens, pigments, and prints from ingredients in the natural world.