LANSING - When she moved to Michigan to attend MSU, Roxanne Monti was surprised by the amount of cards, candles, ornaments and basic household items people make themselves.

Growing up in Chicago, the psychology senior didn’t know many people who took the time to make crafts.

“There’s a lot more homemade stuff here,” Monti said. “Since moving to Michigan, I do crafts more.”

Making crafts, from wrapping paper to magnets to clothes, becomes more popular around the winter holidays. Homemade items provide a unique alternative to store-bought gifts, and the lower prices appeal to college students’ smaller budgets.

Crafts are starting to become popular after a decadelong hiatus, said Mariluise Mohr, a Bath Township resident who specializes in arts and crafts history.

“They diminished a bit in the ’90s, when computers (became common),” said Mohr, who teaches crochet, knitting, embroidery and needlepoint classes at Michael’s Arts and Crafts in the Frandor Shopping Center. “People are getting tired of that - they want some origination. Hobbies are coming back.”

Mohr said she tries to persuade people to make their own presents.

“Especially at Christmastime, I’m encouraging people to do things for the holidays,” she said.

Monti and her husband are both students, so they don’t have much money to spare for gifts.

“We’re broke, so we’re being creative and making stuff,” she said. She often decorates objects with rubber stamps, and this year she plans to make Christmas ornaments.

Hobby Hub in the Frandor Shopping Center sells more crafts around the holidays, manager Sara Dutcher said. The store carries juvenile crafts such as jewelry sets aimed at 10- to 14-year-olds and stained glass, garden stones and woodburning kits.

“A lot of parents buy them for their kids because the kids like to do them and the parents like to receive them,” Dutcher said.

It’s this personal touch that makes a difference.

“It’s very personal, especially among family members - they love it,” Mohr said. “These become little heirlooms eventually.”

Lansing resident Hilary Hodges said personalizing gifts touches her friends and family.

“I’ve found people are so flattered when you give them something you made, even if it’s crappy,” Hodges said. She sews clothing such as ties, pants, skirts and suits.

People also value the time put into homemade gifts, Monti said.

“Last year, I made cards for people at work and they really appreciated it,” she said.

While it has drawn some people away from making homemade items, the Internet provides “a vast proliferation of materials,” Mohr said.

“You don’t have to invent anything, you just have to put these things together,” she said. “Nobody cooks from scratch anymore - that’s what it amounts to.”

Many processes of making crafts have been updated to make them easier, which renews interest in craftmaking, Mohr said.

“It may get thin for a while, but then somebody will invent something that will make it expand into a whole new world of light and color and beauty,” she said.

Marketing senior Kelli Monahan grew up making crafts. She has produced scrapbooks, picture frames and painted candles.

Monahan plans to decorate ornaments with her roommates during the holiday season.

“I like giving (homemade gifts) to people,” she said.

However, Monahan makes crafts throughout the year - not just during holiday seasons.

“It depends on what mood I’m in,” she said.

Mohr said if more people were aware of the abundance of craft choices, they would make more items.

“People are interested in doing things,” she said. “If they understand what it takes, they’ll do it.

“A lot of people don’t realize what can be done. There’s a lot of ignorance out there: People just don’t know what’s out there.”

Lansing resident Kayce Shepard occasionally searches for new crafts to make.

“I make bracelets and fun things like that, like zipper pulls,” the 1994 MSU graduate said, glancing at some designs for the clothing accessory this week at Michael’s. “It’s one of those things you do when you want to take your mind off things.”

Hodges picked up candlemaking two months ago.

“I just love candles, and I had so much wax left over from burning candles that I decided to make my own,” she said. “I bought a mold and it had directions on how to make them.”

Shepard said making items “adds a creative touch to little things.”

And that creative touch is important, especially at this time of year, she said.

“With all the shopping and everything, there’s so much,” she said. “You find something and you create it. You’ve got to step back and say, ‘What’s important? What’s something I can make that somebody will like?’

“Even if they don’t use it, they have something made just for them.”