Some crafty gift suggestions for the holidays

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Shopping for the crafter in your life can be intimidating if you’re not familiar with their particular creative niche. Trying to determine which size and what kind of knitting needles to get, what type of yarn is best, how many beads to buy and what kind of paper to choose can be baffling when there are thousands of choices. And what the heck is a dapping block, anyway?

Luckily, craft stores and the people who run them are used to this gift-giving dilemma and are more than happy to assemble items for someone just starting out or well into a hobby.

At Millie Papercrafts in Los Angeles, for example, owner Jennifer Hinkle recommends a scrapbook kit, pictured at left, that includes a 12-inch-by-12-inch embossed K & Co. scrapbook ($30), patterned and plain paper and cardstock (priced from 50 cents to $1), and some embellishments: Kaiser Scrapbook red and blue rhinestones ($2.25), K & Co. Berry Sweet Grand Adhesions three-dimensional stickers ($4.25) and Heidi Grace alphabet stickers ($3.50). Some basic tools round out the package: an E-Z Runner adhesive dispenser ($6) and a Fiskars 12-inch paper trimmer ($21).

The store also carries numerous items for more experienced scrappers and paper artists, including stamps, inks, chipboard and mini-albums.

Jewelry making is becoming increasingly popular, as artists express themselves via beading, metal fabrication, collage and wire work. Farrin O’Connor Design Studio in Pasadena offers tools, metal, wire and beads for jewelry designers at all levels, and the staff will happily explain what some of the unfamiliar equipment is and how it works.

For those starting out, owner Margo Farrin O’Connor suggests some basics, shown at right: 20-gauge sterling silver wire ($1.40 per foot), 26-gauge copper sheet ($6.50), a set of needle files ($6.95), butane torch (for connecting, altering, and softening metal and glass) ($39.95), ring clamp (for holding small objects) ($6.95), and various jewelry pliers and a wire cutter ($6.95 each). For those interested in beading, the store has hundreds of styles to choose from, plus related tools and findings. If the selection is too mind-boggling, ask for help in gathering beautiful stones, beads and pearls, which can be sorted neatly into a see-through plastic case.

If fiber arts are what your recipient is into, Wildfiber in Santa Monica is like a candy store for yarnaholics. Walls are lined with every color, texture and weight of yarn imaginable, plus other items to help a knitter or crocheter on their way, including books, magazines, needles and hooks, ribbons and buttons. The staff knows its way around a skein of yarn and can help amass a collection of items to make even the most well-stocked crafter happy.

Shown here at left are two skeins of Manos Del Uruguay wool yarn ($14.95 each), the book ‘Knitting School: A Complete Course,’ ($24.95) and a set of Bryson Distributing rosewood knitting needles ($13.75).

All of these stores (and most independent craft stores, for that matter), also offer classes for beginning to advanced levels. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to throw in a gift certificate for a class along with the goodies. You could even sign up, too.

Oh, and that dapping block? It’s used for making raised, domed shapes in metal.

-- Jeannine Stein

Photo credits, from top: Millie Papercrafts; Farrin O’Connor Design Studio; Wildfiber