Handmade paper can be gifted to nearly anyone on your holiday list. If you can’t think of something for that special someone, why not try…Mother: What mom doesn’t want more photos of her children and grandchildren? Make her a one of a kind handmade photo frame with some gorgeous handmade paper featuring her favorite floral prints and tuck in a photo of you and your family for her to admire all year long.

Father: Give Dad something to really show off in his office by making him a bold and bright handmade paper sculpture. Maybe he likes origami, or he’s an M.C. Escher fan; either way, add some of those themes into your creation.

Grandparents: While more and more grandparents are logging online these days, most still have a fond place in their hearts for good old fashioned letters. A lovely set of handmade stationary featuring your grandmother’s favorite scent or your grandfather’s favorite colors, perhaps in a small basket with some stamps and a nice pen, would make a great gift.

Sister: Does she have a wedding or other special event coming up? Make her some beautiful customized invitations, or a simple set of cards for all occasions.

Brother: Give the gift of music and art by making a personalized CD featuring some of your joint favorites, complete with a handmade paper “album art” cover.

Best Friend: Make your own handmade scrapbook for him or her to put favorite photos in. Tuck in a few of your favorites if you like.

Child: A hand bound “All About Me” journal with plenty of room to draw and write would be wonderful for a child of any age. Personalize it with a photo on the cover, or draw your own image in.

For your next gift or special purchase, you might consider buying one of these unique creations made by fine, handmade paper.Journals: Though all journals are mostly made of paper, handmade paper journals are highly unique, often displaying cloth or beaded covers that add an artistic style to the author’s thoughts. Typically quite exotic and bold, they are also often more durable than manufactured journals. The same sentiment applies toward handmade paper photo albums, photo frames and scrapbooks.

Bags: Rather than wasting brown paper–or even plastic–shopping bags, handmade paper bags provide a clever, beautiful alternative that is both stylish as well as eco-friendly.

Candle Holders: This is a very novel function of handmade paper, with it being such a flammable source. That said, there are some very simple, elegant designs created for holding and highlighting tea lights.

Clocks: How many of your relatives can say that they own a clock made from paper? It would surely be a more unique gift than another tie or fruit pie.

Desk Sets: From paper pads to pencil holders, the items on your desk needn’t be encased within stark cookie-cutter plastics. Why not go for a bold, batik handmade paper desk set instead?

Gift Boxes: How entertaining it would be to be gifted a handmade paper craft–within a gorgeous handmade paper box?

6. Album or CD Art: Homemade CDs are fun, but their case covers can be rather boring without some fantastic art. The same goes for photo albums. Selecting a special scent or pattern, such as glitter or grass-embedded paper, can make a personal CD mix an even more special gift.

5. Origami: Get the sizes needed to create your own origami paper for an extra unique touch in your creations. Though the standard size of an origami square is six inches per side, it can vary depending on what you would like to make.

4. Invitations: With so many people desiring special, unique looks for their wedding, birthday and other invitations, handmade paper can come in handy. You are guaranteed to get a look that nobody else is using for your event.

3. Homemade Lampshades: Yes, you can actually make a lampshade out of your paper! In fact, you can even make an origami lampshade.

2. Homemade Journals: How cool would it be to have your own completely homemade journal? Everything inside, from thoughts to pages, would be of your own making.

1. Letters: Though probably the most obvious choice, in this age of e-mail people don’t receive letters nearly as much as they used to. The same goes for postcards. How delightful it would be to receive not only a real letter you can hold–but one that someone put a lot of creativity into?

Once you have your own unique collection of homemade paper, you’re left with a decion to make: just what are you going to do with it? Like any paper, we can start hoarding it up, “saving it” for special occasions when we really should put it to use. Here are ten ideas to get you started on using your new paper–and making way for new creations.

10. Gift Tags: Perhaps the most simple way to use your paper, homemade gift tags add a special personal touch to any gift (no matter your wrapping skills!).

9. Scrapbooks: People are always looking for bright, new patterns of paper to use in scrapbooking. Use it in your own, or give it as a gift for a friend who does scrapbooking.

8. Personalized Announcements: If you send out a family newsletter, post flyers about your band, or otherwise print out interesting notices that could use some diversity, try using your homemade paper.

7. Projects with Children: If you’re making paper chains, kites or any crafts with children, use your own paper for a bit of variety. The children may be interested in how you made it, spawnig their own interest in making paper.