Hi Creative friend,
The holiday season is near and that means so is gift giving. What do you give someone who’s a life-long learner, doodler, fabrics and threads lover, and an all-around creative person?
That’s the question a lot of people who have friends just like me are asking themselves, right this minute. So, I wanted to share what’s on my holiday wish list with you in the hopes that it will give you ideas on what to buy for that creative person in your life. Or possibly what to get for yourself or ask for yourself.
The items on my list are things I personally came across or noticed people using or recommending during the course of the year. Out of all of them, I saved my favorites to my wish list. I love wish lists. You can let your imagination ran wild and dream.
So here goes:
Please note that all Amazon links in this post are affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase I will get a small percentage at no additional cost to you. Thank you!
Textile Artist Gift – for the Studio
Inktense Blocks have been around for a while, but I’ve never tried them. They are blocks of color which can be used to paint, either dry or wet. And they are highly recommended for use on fabrics. This year, I watched some awesome videos on how to use them and I’ve been wanting to try them out since.
Everyone knows ironing is an integral part of sewing. Sewists have been raving a lot about this pressing iron. Oliso’s iTouch technology which automatically lifts the iron of the ironing surface while not in use is not only functional but also sooo cooool.
- Iris Threads
I can always do with some more threads since I use so much when I’m drawing and shading with threads. And I’ve already got the perfect storage for them – a pegboard on my studio wall with 100 hooks for holding threads. This kit of 50 cones of Iris Threads will be so cool to have and to hold on my pegboard.
A couple of years ago at Christmas time, a pin got stuck in my nephew’s foot while he was playing in my studio. We spent the better part of a day in the emergency room. Since then, I’ve become paranoid about keeping pins and needles where they belong. Although I’ve got some other magnetic pin cushions, I like the concept of the Zirkel brand because it not only has a strong magnet but it organizes the pins for easy pick up.
Currently, I use the Frixion Heat Erasable pens for marking designs on my light fabrics and the Fons and Porter Fabric Pencil (white)on dark fabrics. But I’ve heard good things about these small Japanese Leonis pens by other makers on Instagram. So I’ll like to try them. They also have a water erasable version.
Textile Artist Gift – for Your Digital Needs
I love my digital tools. I’m a nerd. I don’t know what I’ll do without my nerdy tools. 🙂
For a long time, I’ve been thinking of drawing directly onto a digital device instead of on paper and then digitally scanning it. I understand the iPad Pro does a better job at digital drawing than the older version I currently have.
The Apple Pen’s pressure sensitivity is supposed to be one of the best in mimicking your hand’s pressure on a traditional drawing instrument like a pen or pencil. So you see why I want one, huh?
- SD Cards for my Camera
I lost my case which contains my large storage SD cards. It will be so awesome to get this 128G SD card. Can you imagine the number of photos of my artwork, exhibitions, and thread sketching videos I can take and store on this card? So exciting!!!
- Adobe Creative Cloud Subscription– My copy of Adobe Illustrator (the software for digital drawing ) is old. Recently, I upgraded my MacBook Pro and then bam, my Illustrator, wouldn’t work anymore. It would be nice to get a 1-year subscription to Adobe’s Creative Cloud for not just Illustrator, but Photoshop, Lightroom and Indesign as well.
- Procreate App – I currently use the Graphic app for illustration and Tayasui Sketches app for painting on my iPad. But I understand Apple’s Procreate (UPDATE: it’s not free) is also pretty good for sketching, painting, and drawing. It’ll be fun to play with it.
- Various Online Courses to learn all sorts of things like Adobe Illustrator. These courses look interesting and a lot of fun.
I think gifting an online course on a topic that’ll will be of interest to someone is a really nice and personalized gift.
Textile Artist Gift – Books
I have a very long list of books I’ll like to read. So, I’m going to list only a few of them here. I add to my book list on a very regular basis. I don’t know if I’ll ever get to read all the books on my list. So, recently, I’ve been using Audible to help make that happen.
- Color by Design: Paint and Print with Dye (Spiral Bound), Ann Johnston
I own both of Ann Johnston’s DVDs – Color by Accident and Color by Design. I love her approach to surface design. The spiral bound books will be great additions to my library for easy access to her step by step instructions. - A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future, Daniel Pink
In this book, the author argues that people with right-brain–oriented skills – empathy, creativity, design, and pattern recognition – are more likely to be successful in business and lead a meaningful life than other people. - G’Morning, G’Night: Little Pep Talks for Me & You, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jonny Sun
This is a book I added to my list just recently. I like the combination of motivational quotes and hand-drawn illustrations. I have a thing for hand illustrated books. This is what one reviewer had to say about the book: “If you’re looking for a little pick me up or even a fun little gift this is it!“
So there you have it.
What’s on your wish list? Do share, pretty please. 🙂
Warmest Regards.
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Also published on Medium.
I can’t find procreate free.
My bad, Cheryl. There was a time Apple offered Procreate for free. But I guess that deal’s long gone. It’s currently $9.99