TAKING GIFT MAKING INTO THEIR OWN HANDS

The sound of thousands of names being scratched from Christmas gift lists was almost audible as customers bought items at arts and crafts displays throughout the area over the weekend.

Had cash registers been in use, the "ka-ching!" of sales being finalized might have been deafening.

Two long-standing craft shows are so big, they spill into two locations. The River Valley Craft Club Christmas Expo accommodated hundreds of booths at the Arena Building and the Plaza Conference Center in Cape Girardeau. The Arts and Crafts Extravaganza sponsored by the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri welcomed crowds at both the Osage Community Centre and the Show Me Center. Both shows were scheduled for Saturday and today.

A three-day craft fair beginning Friday and ending today is being held at the Bavarian Halle at Fruitland with sponsorship by the River City CB Club of Chaffee, Mo.

A large crowd turned out at the Bavarian Halle Friday night, said organizer Dixie Burnett of Chaffee, Mo. Saturday morning was good, but by the afternoon, she said, the crowd had tapered off.

Popular items included mirrors and other items fashioned from deer antlers and Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy dolls, Burnett said. Jewelry booths and bake sale tables also got attention.

A favorite booth this year is the one sponsored by the family members of the 1140th National Guard unit. Tammy Long of Fruitland said that baskets, magnets and other craft items were selling quickly and raising money to buy Christmas gifts to send to the members of the unit who are stationed in Iraq.

Candles, scented soap, and handmade Christmas ornaments were abundantly displayed at all the events of the weekend. At the River Valley Craft Club event at the Arena Building, "crafty" people proved they can take ordinary items and turn them into something unique.

At the entrance was a table holding an array of gourds painted bright red and decorated with Santa Claus faces. On a Christmas tree on the main display floor was Dr. Suess' Grinch, fashioned from burned-out light bulbs that had been painted green and adorned with the Grinch's face.

Traveling business

Most of the vendors travel to various craft shows throughout the country, and for many it's a profitable hobby. Otto and Christine Hayes of Troy, Ill., attend a craft show almost every weekend of the year with their company "We're All Nuts." It's how they put their two children through college.

Christine Hayes was at the Arena Building; Otto Hayes was at the Show Me Center. Both were selling cinnamon-roasted almonds and pecans, still warm and fragrant.

"We have twins, and we decided when they graduated from high school and were going to go to college, we needed extra income," Christine said. "This got us started and has taken off."

Hayes said she'll continue to visit craft shows after her children are out of college so she can support her grandchildren. She has a 6-year-old granddaughter who often helps her.

"She likes taking the money," Hayes said.

Dean Williams of Anna, Ill., has found a way to use limbs and sassafras roots he finds on his property. He turns them into walking sticks. Some sassafras roots that are too big for that have become bases for lamps.

In addition, Williams builds models of vintage cars using cedar, walnut, pine and other wood. He said he uses a pattern to build the 1934 Buicks, 1936 Fords and 1930 Dusenburgs that adults like to display in their homes.

"The little boys like the tractors," he said.

Williams, who is retired, said he has been working with wood for the past three years.

"It keeps my mind and hands working," he said. "I'm trying to keep from getting Alzheimer's."

Works of art

For others, the show is all about art.

At the Show Me Center, Charles Hightower and Meagan Hargrove of Evansville, Ind., sat among their display of hand-thrown pottery dishes, vases, jugs and bowls. Some were earth-colored, and a brilliant blue display stood out on the table. A pale, cream-colored jug featured hand carving. Their work is as functional as it is lovely.

Hargrove and Hightower, who are engaged to be married, are both students at the University of Southern Indiana and are using art fairs as an entry into marketing their pottery. They plan to start their own business full time once they graduate. On the table is a card that advertises their business with a photo of a vessel they made that was judged at the National Ceramics Conference in Indianapolis last March.

"So many students are not pro-active," Hightower said. "They wait until they're out of school. We both want to get a feel for what we want to do and try to overcome the hurdles early on."

And for some, art and practicality come together.

Deborah Stuart of Eddyville, Ky., said she quit her job and became a stay-at-home mom when her children, now 17 and 12, were younger, and took up jewelry design as a hobby. She said her beaded creations, she calls it "Bead Biz," are selling so well that she may decide to work at it full time. Her gemstone pieces take anywhere from 10 minutes to eight hours to make, she said, but sometimes it takes two or three years before she knows what the stones will be used for.

"I just work out what I like, and it just happens," she said. "I like to hand pick the stones and get a feel for them. It's my own little art world. I can't draw, I can't paint, but I can take something and make something out of it."

lredeffer@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 160