True surplus! We recently acquired a bunch of brand new Testors Mighty Mini™ airbrush compressor kits. Great, but why’s that surplus? Because the box says it comes with paints--and what’s missing? The paints! What’s NOT missing? The 120VAC compressor (measures 6-1/4" x 4-3/4" x 4") with a 6-foot power cord, and the Testors Aztek airbrush system, which includes a single-action external mix airbrush with 6-foot hose, (3) 1/2 oz jars with screw caps, two vented caps to mate with the airbrush (plus cover caps for them), and a pipette. Sweet gift!

And we did it ourselves with this self-healing cutting mat. It's hard rubber and no, we don't know how it heals itself, but it does. Measures 11-3/4" x 8-3/4" x 1/8" thick, it's marked in 1/8" and 5mm increments and 1/2" squares, with lines for 45° and 60° cuts.

Make your own custom clock in a tick with this quartz movement. It's in a 2-3/16" square x 5/8" thick black-plastic case with a built-in hook for hanging it. Comes with minimalistic hour, minute and second hands, the latter (2) of which will extend out 2" from the clock's center; the shaft measures 5/16" Dia. and 1/2" long, but the max. thickness of material it will work through is 3/16". You supply (1) "AA" battery and the clock face.

Take these (250) little translucent beads into the sunlight and they burst into assorted colors faster than you can say "assorted colors." How do they do it? Well, they're UV-reactive, that's how. Mostly pink, purple, rose, yellow and cream and they fade to a nice pearly color inside. Amaze your friends at picnics. Beads measure 5/16" dia x 1/4" with a 5/32" bore. Come with classroom application notes. Click here for the video.

In the traditional arch-top piratical shape, this mini-chest measures 4-3/4” long x 3” tall x 2-3/8” deep with a hinged top and a little gold-tone clasp in front. In sanded but unfinished pine, ready to decorate. Handy for small presents (gift cards sit up nicely inside), cleverly and classily displaying business cards, storing jewels or interring gerbils.

Our each is a pound of modeling clay, ready for pounding into shape and re-pounding, since it’s non-hardening, which means the fun never stops. You’ll get a quarter-pound each of bright red, blue, green and yellow clay in 5-1/4" x 1-1/8" x 3/4" sticks, but feel free to mix ’em up to make new colors. Non-toxic and gluten-free, seriously.

The Clay People were all gray in Flash Gordon’s world, but this 24-piece set of modeling clay comes in (24) colors, including the non-rainbowish black, white and gray because a lot of stuff is, after all, those colors. Pieces are 2/3-oz and 3/8” x 1/2” x 3-3/8" long sticks. And they’re gluten-free--says so right on the box.

Very popular with elementary school teachers, these hardcover blank books let students create their own storybooks. (Middle-schoolers interviewing and making books for primary grade kids is a popular and civilizing project.) Also great for sketching, journaling or scrapbooking. Pure white blank covers with (14) sheets (28 pages) of 80-lb blank paper inside with a sewn-in binding. You pick the 6” x 8” books or the 8-1/2” x 11” versions.

Put a little major-league glam in your printer with our heavy, sparkly, silvery, glittery paper that displays rainbow hues when moved. No loose glitter to gum up your printer, of course. The sheet measures 8-1/2" x 11" x .007" thick and works in both ink-jet and laser printers. Perfect for attention-grabbing signs, photo mats, those extra-fab memos, or wrapping up Ziggy Stardust CDs.

The secret is ceramics. This 5-1/2" long precision cutter has a ceramic point that's as sharp as an X-actly knife, stays sharp longer, is easier to maneuver in intricate cutting patterns, and is nearly impossible to cut yourself with. Cuts paper and card stock easily. Pencil-style, with a cap. A boon for crafters, and a blessing for junior crafters.

You certainly could, but these oversized pipe cleaners are actually indispensable craft items. Our each is a pack of (100) 12" long x 1/4" dia chenilles in a dozen assorted colors, including some neons.

So you can decorate it, you crafty thing. This tan-colored papier mache mask is 8-3/8" tall x 5-3/8" wide at the eyes, pretty much the size of your average human face. The side curves around so the mask is 1-3/8" deep. The material is 1/32" thick and very sturdy. Not crafty? Left unpainted, the mask has a certain spooky charm.

Odd lots, in fact. We'll send you (3) packs of a dozen sheets of 12" sq x .005" thick (think card stock) craft paper from the apostrophe-challenged Michaels craft stores. You'll get three different patterns which could be anything from stripes, geometrics, clocks, musical instruments, leaves, animals, vegetables, minerals, whatever.

We saw articulated, foot-tall wooden artists' human mannequins just like these in a Paris gallery window last year, with all their little articulated parts painted in different high-gloss colors. Very harlequinesque, and many, many Euros. Our 12" human body mannequins are in unfinished wood, but if you've got paint you could get all avant rive-gauche and paint your own. Not that sensitive? Paint your local NFL uniforms on 'em. In a pinch, you could use them as an intended art supply, as artist's models, but where's the fun in that?

This potter's tool set has (10) two-headed tools, 7" to 9" long, with wooden handles, plus (1) knurled aluminum brush. The (21) heads include blades, spades, brushes, scrapers, drills and many more. Very nice set. Equally handy for other crafts, including carving and print-making.

So we've got a mountain of 7" long wooden stakes/skewers flying 2" x 2-3/8" red-orange paper flags with a black paw print on each side. Might be a wolverine. Might be a bearcat or coyote. Might be a beagle. Don't start with us, just buy 'em because where can you get (500) of anything for less than nine bucks? Useful on construction sites, for laying out gardens, or holding sandwiches together, especially if you're a University of  Michigan or Cincinnati alum.

Which means it’s heated to make it harder and more malleable, which makes it craft wire among other things. TMI? OK, we’ll stop. You’ll get (2) spools of (100) feet each in 28 gauge (really thin) black wire. Packages have a built-in cutter.

Before there was Google there were googly eyes, and nobody has ever gotten tired of them. (Stick a pair on a stapler and transform your desk; stick them on your forehead and confuse your dog.) You pick from our eyeball collection: our 1/2” dia eyes at (8) to a package; or the big eyes,1-1/16” dia, at (2) to a package.