This folded Japanese flower ornament is ideal for the rustic tree.
It’s almost moot, by now, to encourage handmade over store-bought — especially when you live in WNC, widely acknowledged as the country’s number-one destination for high-end crafts. Then, too, the saturation factor on Pinterest/ETSY/et al. is pretty good indicator that people are still choosing gifts made by other people rather than machines.
But the sheer variety of DIY projects out there still has the power to surprise. And if you don’t happen to have your own craft room teeming with hip salvaged material and a loaded 60-watt glue gun — or are even a little timid about how well you can cobble together any sort of handmade gift — an upcoming workshop at Living Web Farms in Mills River takes it back to the basics.
In the educational-and-research facility’s peaceful, back-to-the-land atmosphere, farm directors and guests from local boutique businesses will show participants how to make and bottle smoked-habañero hot sauce and sauerkraut, dip beeswax taper candles, and fold Kusudama flower ornaments, among other projects.
“The projects are designed to be very approachable, and folks can assess all the options when they arrive, and choose which project(s) seem best fitted to them,” Meredith Leigh, education director at Living Web, assures Bold Life. “The setting is very laid-back, and the feeling is community oriented. Last year everyone pretty much visited every project, and we had lively conversation and laughter with the entire group.
“Even if you don’t come away with a craft, you can get started on a project, and in the meantime, meet people you may not have otherwise become acquainted with.
“Make It: Don’t Buy It” happens Tuesday, December 6, 6-8pm. 176 Kimzey Road. 828-891-4497.
