NILES — Shelves across Michiana are decorated with more than elves this holiday season, thanks in part to Niles crafter Debbie Bartak.

Once a popular trend in decorating lawns, gnomes have made their way indoors, and Bartak took advantage of the trend at this year’s craft shows through her business, Makin’ Me Crazy. Featuring a large wooden nose, long beard and a droopy hat covering the eyes, these whimsical creatures come in a variety of sizes and outfits — and they are all handmade.

“I have been making things ever since I can remember — pretty much my whole life,” Bartak said. “It’s something that I feel like I need to do, because I love to do it.”

Bartak, a seasoned artisan who has set up at several shows throughout the years, had a variety of items for sale. Though her gnomes were among the most popular, she also had painted signs and decorations, plush snowmen and painted glassware.

“I make a wide variety of things because my interest changes — it’s whatever I’m into at the moment,” Bartak said. “I’ve done paper crafting, painting, decorative art and furniture. Now I’m making gnomes because they’re so popular.”

The gnomes were also Bartak’s favorite item to make this year. Rather than purchasing large amounts of fabric to make the bodies of the gnomes, Bartak opted for a more cost-effective — and environmentally friendly — approach. Most of the outfits her gnomes wear are made from repurposed sweaters.

To make smaller gnomes, Bartak’s husband chops wood from the woods around their home, and Bartak turns the small pieces of wood into the body of the gnome. These gnomes are mostly beard, nose and hat — much like lawn gnomes that were popular in the 2000s.

“Then I kind of transitioned into the cloth body gnomes with legs and arms,” Bartak said. “I’ve probably made a couple hundred of those.”

Bartak also enjoys hand painting wooden decorations based on whatever trends are popular at the time. A set of three black and white hand-painted Christmas trees featured on the Makin’ Me Crazy Facebook page fit well with the minimalist theme popular in craft stores today.

At the Grand LV Local is the New Black artisan show, Bartak set up shop with her daughter, Rebecca Medlin, who sold crocheted items through her business, Momma Medlin Made.

“[Medlin] just started crocheting, and she taught herself,” Bartak said, laughing at the realization that of all the crafts her daughter would choose to pursue, she chose the one Bartak herself has never enjoyed. “It’s been fun doing [the shows] with her, though.”

Bartak said she had an aunt who was a card maker, but other than that, the crafty gene started with her.

“I’m pretty much self-taught. If I have an interest in it, I try it,” she said. “I’ve went to a few art retreats, which were fun, but I’ve been making things ever since I can remember.”

Bartak said while she can use the internet to sell her products, she enjoys craft fairs because of the camaraderie they provide.

“I always feel like whenever I go to a show, I make a new friend,” she said. “Even if it’s a slow show and we don’t sell much, there’s always something good that comes out of it, and usually it’s a new friend.”

As her crafting season wraps up, Bartak said whatever trends come will dictate what she makes next.

“It’s been a lifelong love to make things, and sharing them with others,” she said.