Holiday Shopping Guide: 7 Gifts for Crafters and DIYers

With the gift-giving holiday season just around the corner, we compiled a helpful list of some of our favorite gift ideas for all the crafters and DIYers on your list. 

Tool Starter Set

If there is a new budding DIYer on your holiday list who recently honed in on a new hobby and doesn’t have all the right tools yet, a Boxed Tool Set is just the right gift. Not only do they contain an array of tools specific to many hobbies like woodworking, paper cutting or modeling, but they also come in a convenient wooden storage box so cleanup and storage are quicker and easier. 

Check Out the Entire Boxed Set Selection from Excel Blades

Autographed Book from Their Favorite DIYer

DIYers, crafters and artists draw their inspiration from other like-minded and talented people, and the one on your list probably has someone they follow, reference or learned from. Odds are a veteran knitter, paper artist or that incredibly talented floral photographer has a book out on the market. Many authors offer a signed copy of their titles through their websites or specialty bookstores (they still exist). 

Some expert crafters-slash-authors offer their autographed books on Etsy, like Anne Weil with her Knitting Without Needles book. So start typing away in that search engine. You’re probably going to find some books for yourself as well. 

Blade Disposal Box

This is a very specific gift for paper artists and paper cutters. Whether a weekend hobbyist or a professional paper artist, eventually the blades will dull with prolonged use and should be stored safely before disposal. A blade disposal box that’s decorative, keeps dull blades clear from the work area and adds to the artist’s workspace is an excellent gift idea. 

We love the hand-made Retired Blades wooden box made by cut-paper illustrator Elizabeth Goss out of Portland, OR. It’s made from cherry and basswood and features a whimsical laser cut design.

To further elevate this gift for your favorite paper cutting artist, add a 100-pack of replacement blades to their stocking.

Self-Healing Cutting Mat

Yes! That’s right. A serious crafter can never have too many cutting mats. They are a multi-purpose item that not only protects the surface from craft knife cuts and glue drips or paint drips, but it serves as a transportable workspace for kneading and working polymer clay, gluing rhinestones, sawing wooden pieces for that frame you’re making and more. 

Self-healing cutting mats are the unsung hero in the crafter tool collection. The best part? They come in many sizes, from a small 3.5” square mat to a 24”x36” ultimate workspace mat. 

Gift Certificate to a Class with a Professional Artist

An in-person lesson from an industry leader can be a fun and rewarding experience, a perfect way to learn new techniques or a new skill and to meet like-minded artists and network.

Learning to paint a vintage-inspired sign by hand with Bryan Yonki from Well Done Signs at one of their workshops is one of those experiences worth participating in.  

Plus, you can always buy one for yourself and make it a day out with your bestie! 

If online tutorials are preferred, there are so many creatives who offer web-based classes or tutorials like Paper Sculpture from Karin Arruda or a Birthday Card from Margaret Scrinkl.

Flexhead ‘Extra Hands’ Kit

Have you ever heard someone say “I wish I had an extra set of hands” when they were working on their soldering or electronics project? Well, that crafty someone needs this specialty tool! The Extra Hands Kit features a light up magnifying glass with LED lighting and 2x and 4x magnification. Two flexible gooseneck arms with alligator clamps can be manipulated into the necessary position and remain there. Added base clamp attaches right to the tabletop workspace for added stability.

Discover More ‘Helping Hand’ Tools

These specialty tools are perfect little helpers for positioning work, gluing intricate parts, soldering jewelry or micro electronics, painting small parts and more! 

A Gift Card from Their Favorite Craft Supply Store

Hear us out. Crafting and DIYing is a passion that can’t be explained. You have to experience it for yourself to fully understand the impulse to purchase tools and materials. We’ve all seen the TikToks where crafters sarcastically sing or say, “Why buy it for $7 at a store when I can make it myself with $130 worth of supplies?!” Yeah, you know which videos we’re referring to. 

So a gift card to their favorite art supply retailer can go a long way and will be truly appreciated. Maybe the next time you see your giftee’s new project they’ll say: “I made it with supplies I bought with your gift card!” It’s a gift that can keep on giving. 

We hope these ideas for holiday gifts for crafters took some pressure off.