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.

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.

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.

Time was, everybody's grandmother had a button box. Today's grandmothers are too busy updating their Mugbook page to cut buttons off discarded clothing, but you can start you own collection with this bag of approx 100 buttons. Very assorted, because you never know what you'll have to match. Sizes range from roughly 3/8" dia to 1-1/2" and they're sew nice you should get several bags.

We saw articulated, foot-tall wooden artists' 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" 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 intended, as artist's models, but where's the fun in that?

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.

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.

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.

This plain white muslin doll is 13" tall, with 8” of skinny legs. Wires inside the stuffed arms and legs make him easily posable. Him? Well, it looks himish, but it’s naked and decidedly gender-free. It also looks like there’s an Edward Gorey character trying to get out, but that’s just our impression. A bunch of these painted in dancing costumes, or as frogs, or acrobats, on a mantel would make a mighty pretty scene, we think.

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.

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.

Made for your home darkroom, but loaded with dozens of uses for you creative types, this is a set of (5) 3/4" alligator clips, each on a 2" length of fine steel cable and strung on another 12" cable. Mount the 12" length, using the small ring or the removable 1-5/8" suction cup at each end. Hang pix to dry, multiple phone messages on a glass door, holiday/birthday cards on a mirror, freshly washed socks on a motel bathroom wall. Or buy several and accessorize any room in the house. It's a look that will drive that Crockery Barn bunch crazy with envy.

Or at least put some cork on it with this 4-pack of 6” square x 3/16” thick natural cork tiles, which we can prove on account of they’re from Portugal where they peel the cork right off the trees. Color is, yes, natural, which is a medium/light brown. Each pack covers a square foot, so just figure out how many square feet of walls are in your bedroom, office or wine cellar and order from there.

Queen Elizabeth (the II) has interchangeable jewels on one of her tiaras, and likes to change them herself to match her outfit. They call it her “Tiara Time.” Now you can be Elizabethan too with this handy pack of 200 small acrylic jewels. Sizes range from 7/32” to 15/32” in round, square and rectangular shapes with self-adhesive backs. In clear, red, pink, blue, green, purple and orange--or ruby, blue and pink sapphire, diamond, peridot, topaz and amethyst colors if you’re feeling princessish.

If there were a girl doo-wop group who loved crafts...oh, never mind. These are 12" long x 1/4" dia chenilles--pipe and gun cleaners to some, but dandy craft materials to the rest of us. This pack of (150) is in (15) colors including neon green, yellow, purple, puce, white and red & green stripes.

Craft wire in a dozen lively colors: red, pink, burgundy, teal, medium blue, navy blue, violet, forest green, black, silver, copper and brass. You get (9) feet of each, all in 26-gauge. Jewelers, scrapbookers and crafters in general love this stuff. You think black isn't a lively color? It's what they use to make jewelry for merry widows!

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.

Sticky butterfly notes. Which is to say, sticky notes shaped like butterflies for when you’re sick of squares. The color is sort of a faded orange. They come (40) sheets to a pad, which means you’ll get (80) notes total, at a 2-5/8” wingspread x 2-1/8” tall. The sticky is down the middle, so they’ll flutter in a breeze. Don’t miss the “Story of the Butterfly” on the package, written, we think, by a unicorn.