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Ever thought of using black-ash wood splint to decorate your home for the holidays?

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After making the proper loops with black-ash wood splint, hand-made-decorating instructor Susi Nuss shows students how to shape it like a wreath, which can hang from a Christmas tree or be used on Christmas presents.

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Pick your pleasure: birch bark, wood splint, paper, ribbon. All can be used to make fun, cute Christmas decorations to fit into your holiday decor.

S. JOHN WILKIN photos/THE TIMES LEADER

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MORE ON NUSS

Visit www.basketmakers.com for Christmas basket patterns, tree-ornament instructions, decorating ideas and other basketry information.

IF YOU GO

What: “Christmas Naturally”

Where: Nescopeck State Park, 1137 Honey Hole Road, Drums

When: 12:30-3:30 p.m. Dec. 12

Cost: Free

More info: 403-2006

IF YOU GO

What: Hand-made holiday workshops

Where: Downtown Arts, 47 N. Franklin St., Wilkes-Barre

When: 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Nov. 28

Cost: $10

More info: 970-2787

How about pine cones?

Or maybe chestnuts?

All of the above natural materials, and, of course, an abundance of not-natural materials, can help you decorate your home this holiday season on the cheap.

“I’ve always been involved in hand-made items,” said Susi Nuss of Tunkhannock, a basket maker who teaches classes in hand-made decorating.

She creates Moravian stars out of paper, garland out of wrapping paper and wreaths from ribbon.

“You can use ribbon for all sorts of things,” she said recently while teaching a class at the Dietrich Theater in Tunkhannock.

With the economy in such dire straits these days, taking a class or indulging in some holiday crafting seems as enticing as ever.

“I usually buy the ornaments, but this year I’m going to make the ornaments,” said 34-year-old Carrie McDonald of Harveys Lake, who exchanges presents each year with her book club.

At a class earlier this week, she and three other women, under the instruction of Nuss, made some tiny ornamental wreaths from polyester ribbon and some from wood splints to display either on a small holiday tree or use as accent pieces on gifts.

“Mine looks lopsided,” Fern Boyce of Tunkhannock said.

“That’s the fun of things that are handmade,” Nuss pointed out.

“Kids like making little critters, snowmen and reindeer,” said Carly Hitzfeld, environmental-education specialist at Nescopeck State Park.

To make a snowman, for instance, decorators use chestnuts for the body and little branches to serve as arms.

At the Dec. 12 “Christmas Naturally” workshop at the park, Hitzfeld and other staffers will provide hot glue, glitter, ribbons and yarn to visitors between 12:30 and 3:30 p.m. during a holiday open house.

“We allow folks to let their creative minds go,” said Hitzfeld, who explained that staffers collect natural items found in the park to use for the class.

“If you get the right shape of pine cone it almost looks like a Christmas tree,” she said “We put glitter on it to look like Christmas lights.”

“There’s always something lying around the house that you can use for decoration,” Hitzfeld said.

That statement rings true for Kathleen Godwin, executive director of Arts YOUniverse, who along with area art instructor Liz Revit, will host hand-made holiday workshops from 11-4 p.m. Nov. 28 at Downtown Arts on North Franklin Street, Wilkes-Barre.

“People don’t realize they throw away so much and they can be making Christmas gifts out of it,” Godwin said.

Godwin and Revit will show visitors how to make yarn dolls, jewelry from recycled materials, beaded candy canes, crochet rag rugs, dream catchers, knitted scarves and keepsake books.

For the keepsake books, Godwin simply takes a photograph, mounts it on cloth, continues adding pages of photographs and words, then binds it all — often to give as a present.

“You can make them humorous or inspirational,” she said. “You can run the gamut based on who you’re giving it to.”

If you choose to make a dream catcher, a Native American craft intended to impart natural wisdom and often thought to encourage positive dreams while a person sleeps, Godwin will provide the wire, feather and beads, as well as twine and round hoops.

“You can use whatever appeals to you,” Godwin said.

Revit knows she’ll definitely show guests how to make presents and decorations using objects cut from paper bags. By taking two such pieces (anything from stars to snowmen), stuffing potpourri in the middle, gluing them together and making a hole to put a cord through, guests can have an alluring scented holiday ornament.

She has other ideas, too.

“Since I’m an artist I’m left with a lot of leftover map board,” Revit said.

Instead of letting it go to waste, she makes jewelry — often earrings — from the leftovers.

“I cut them into little shapes or little pieces,” she said. “Then I’ll either drill or punch holes in those shapes and layer decorative wrapping paper on it.”

“Everybody always asks did you make that?” Revit said. “It’s a conversation piece.”

Something else Revit finds pleasure in making, just as Nuss does, is paper garland.

“I hang them from the soffit area of the ceiling,” Revit said.

“A lot of families have said let’s make $5 our limit this year,” Godwin said. “You can walk away from this workshop easily with four or five things.”

All of which you can proudly proclaim as handmade.