• Make loved ones' birthdays even more special with a hand crafted birthday gift. Your friends and family will love receiving gifts you made specifically for their day. If you want to give an especially unique hand crafted gift, make a birthday-themed gift that will remind them of their day through the rest of the year.
  
  

Cupcake Soap

• Give your loved one homemade cupcake-shaped soap and she'll remember her birthday every time she washes up. If you need a quick but cute gift, use melt and pour soap to create a whole batch of cupcakes. You can find everything you need for this project---round scallop soap molds, melt and pour soap and liquid soap base, colorant and fragrance---at any larger craft supply store. To make these sweet soap treats, cut up a pound of melt and pour soap, melt 12 oz of it and mix in the color and fragrance of your choice. Pour the soap into scallop molds, allow them to set and release them from the mold. Melt the remaining 4 oz of melt and pour soap, add 2 tbsp. of liquid soap, a bit of colorant and fragrance, and whisk until the mixture forms soft peaks. Turn the scalloped soaps bottom-side-up and spoon on the frosting. If you want a puffy cloud of frosting, fit a star tip on a pastry bag and pipe the frosting soap onto the cupcake base.
  
  

Birthday Banner

• Design a personalized birthday banner that you can display year-round. You can put together a banner that delivers a personalized message in an afternoon. To complete this birthday craft, you'll need solid, neutral colored fabric, scissors, fabric printing ink, a stencil brush, alphabet stencils, contrasting thread, a length of jute string and a sewing machine. Cut the fabric into triangles of equal size and stitch around each triangle's left and right side, leaving a 1/4-inch seam. Stencil one letter of your message onto each triangle and sew them onto the jute string in the correct order.
  
  

Knitted Birthday Crown

• A knitted crown will make your birthday boy feel like a king, even when it's not his birthday. Knitted crowns make a great, long-lasting alternative to paper birthday hats, and they're easy enough for beginners to knit. Choose a metallic yarn if you want to make a flashy birthday crown; you can us yarn to match the party color scheme instead, or choose the recipient's favorite color. Begin your knitted crown by casting on two stitches. You will make one increase stitch on either side of the first row and knit the second row straight. Repeat these steps until you've created a triangle that measures 3 inches tall. Break the yarn, leave the triangle on the needles and knit several more triangles. When you've knit enough triangles to fit around the circumference of the recipient's head, don't break the yarn on the last triangle. Instead, join for working in the round and knit together all the triangle bases. Knit for 2 inches and bind off. Break your yarn and weave in the loose ends.