Do you have trouble buying gifts for them?
Does the craft store overwhelm you?
Look no further.... this list of great gifts can all be purchased at your local hardware store, discount variety shop, or department store.
My sister recently took my nieces and nephews shopping at Kmart and the Reject Shop (like Dollar Tree). Their goal was for each of them to buy me a gift. They wanted to be helpful and I received several things that they thought I could use in my craft room. Some items were huge winners! A few were not so useful. This got me thinking. It must be so hard for non-crafters to buy the right gifts for their crafty loved ones. Us crafters have high standards when it comes to our supplies, right? We know what things you can buy for cheap and what needs to be quality. So, this list is crafter approved. You can buy most of these items for less than $20 and you are almost guaranteed to put a grin on your crafty friend's face!
1. Adhesive:
While many crafters have a favourite glue and a bunch of different glues depending on the different purpose. Cheap adhesive can be very frustrating for a good crafter. So, don't buy cheap adhesive or try to guess at what works. Go to your local hardware store, I go to Bunnings, and get the largest roll of double sided foam tape you can find. These can range in price from $10 to $100. I have used the $10 tape and the $100 tape. The $10 tape works well enough. If you are paying much less than that, don't bother, it will only frustrate the crafter. You can also find liquid adhesive at the local hardware store, Elmer's glue all and Boyle's craft glue are both good quality. Mod Podge is another quality brand that any crafter would be happy to receive! Glue Dots are also a great addition to any craft room (especially the repositionable kind).2. Clean Erasers
I am always looking for my eraser and I need a clean one! Some good quality, white erasers would be a great gift for the crafter in your life.
3. Post-it tape
Full back sicky notes, post-it tape, and even low-tack painters tape are all great supplies for the craft room. Painter's tape can be purchased at your local discount store or hardware store. Sticky notes and post-it tape can be purchased at most department stores, or office/ stationery stores. These are consumable and no crafter can have too much of it. They will always be able to use it! These repositionable sheets of paper can be used for masking off areas on a project, holding things in place temporarily and making templates.
4. Fine tip pens in various colours
I have a set of these, however I wouldn't say no to another one. In fact, one really great fine tip pen would be so appreciated! Unless you think your crafty mate has too many pens... although I don't think that is possible!
5. Postage Stamps
It might sound crazy. Okay, it sounds crazy. I make loads of cards. There are literally heaps of cards in my craft room. Why don't I send them out more, you ask? There are several reasons for this, however the main one is that I can never find enough postage stamps. It costs more money to post cards and I would rather spend my money on stamps, inks and tools. A book of postage stamps can be purchased for as little as $5 or if you want to go really crazy, buy $20 or $30 worth of stamps and make it possible for me to send my artwork instead of piling it up in my craft space. That's how I see it anyway.
6. Sequins, Gems and Stickers
You can find the cutest embellishments at the discount store (dollar tree/ reject shop/ bargain centre) if you know what to look for. You would be surprised at how many of these things us crafters go through. You might think a bag of sequins is not a useful gift, but we will go crazy over them. You will be the new favourite. I promise!
7. A self-healing cutting mat/ Oven liner/ Silicone Mat
Again, these can be purchased for around $10 and while I have lots of these, I could use another one! I wouldn't be able to justify the purchase using my own money. Remember, I want to spend my money on stamps, inks and card stock. Oven liners are a non-stick mat that can be used as a craft mat for ink blending or other crafts that work best on a slick surface. They can protect a work surface from messy crafts such as paint, ink or even glue. Silicone Mats are usually used for welding, but they can be used for mirror stamping, as a water colouring surface, and a protective surface for heat embossing, gluing and using alcohol inks.
8. Magnetic Sheets
I have found magnetic sheets for about $2 each. These are perfect for holding dies in place in the die cutting machine or storage of your metal tools. You could even use some magnetic sheets to make this awesome Craft room accessory!
That's that then. Plenty of options for the non-crafter to purchase for a crafting friend. Now get shopping! ;)
