OTHER ARTS & CRAFTS STUFF

What DIY babe goes without a good set of pliers? This pack from LaurDIY includes (3) sets, each 5" long: round-nose, needle-nose and side-cutter. Our samples had these cool, sort of iridescent purple and aqua-blue handles, but colors may vary. Perfect for making your own jewelry and for collecting stubborn debts, but at least try to reason with them first.

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.

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.

Say that 10 times fast! Okay, we just did. You too? Good, these high-quality fabric scissors from Fiskars® are 6" long with a safety lock, classic orange/gray Softgrip® handles and a 1-3/4” long precision, premium stainless steel Micro-Tip® blade. That’s a lot of registered trademarks, but these are special scissors! Now say that 10 times fast! Special scissors, special scissors…

One of your favorites is back! 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. Comes with black minimalistic hour and minute hands and a red second hand, 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". Now offering two ways to mount with the included double-sided foam adhesive and metal bracket with hanging hook. You supply (1) "AA" battery and the clock face.

The secret is ceramics. This newly redesigned 5-1/2" long precision cutter has a ceramic point that's as sharp as an X-actly knife, stays sharp 11x longer than steel, never rusts, is non-conductive, non-magnetic, non-sparking, chemically inert and is easier to maneuver in intricate cutting patterns. Cuts paper, card stock and more easily while being finger-friendly. Pencil-style ambidextrous durable nylon handle with a textured anti-slip grip and no-roll oval design has a cap and now features a replaceable blade. A boon for crafters, and a blessing for junior crafters.

Who needs a fairy godmother with this DIY jewelry-making kit? Has everything you need to be the belle of the ball, including charms, findings, a choker, a necklace and more. Instructions guide you through (3) projects, but you can improvise plenty of others. Every LaurDIY Natural Festival Jewelry Kit also includes a collectible bracelet, but not the listed booklet; it’s surplus after all. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we have to decide whether the druzy teardrop accent or faceted point goes better with these pumps.

Been to any BYOJ parties lately? Yeah, the Build Your Own Jewelry bashes can get pretty wild. Good thing you can build yours in the safety and solitude of your bedroom with this Necklace Starter Pack. Includes all the must-have silver hardware that form the foundation of your baubles. Comes with (119) pieces and makes (5) necklaces. All you add is the beauty.

Sew zippers on your jackets. Hem some pants. Mend a tear. Do it all with this nice (100)-piece sewing kit, which comes in a clear, double-sided, snap-shut, compartmentalized storage box, approx 6” x 4” x 1-3/4”, including a hanging hole. You’ll get (1) seam ripper, (3) needles, (1) needle tube, (12) thread spools, (1) folding scissor, (1) threader, (8) buttons, (5) straight pins, (1) pin cushion, (1) thimble, (40) color head pins, (24) safety pins, and (1) measuring tape. ! WARNING: SHARP POINTS—Handle with care. Not a toy

Been to any BYOJ parties lately? Yeah, the Build Your Own Jewelry bashes can get pretty wild. Good thing you can build yours in the safety and solitude of your bedroom with this Earring Starter Pack. Includes all the must-have silver hardware that form the foundation of your baubles. Comes with (136) pieces and makes (9) sets of earrings. All you add is the beauty. ! WARNING: CHOKING HAZARD–Small Parts. Not for children under 3 yrs.

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.

Three heads are better than one, at least when it comes to LaurDIY’s 3-in-1 tool, which looks a lot like pliers. There’s a cutter, a standard pliers vise and a needle-nose extension on the end. You pick: the 5-1/2” long tool with iridescent purple and aqua-blue handles, which reminds us of a tie-dye we wore to a Dead show in ’72; or the 5” long tool, which is maroon with a gold glitter finish

With this nice hot laminating machine, and the included (50) thermal laminating sheets, you can protect your documents and still see them at a glance. Comes with a cutter, corner rounder and hole-punch, which works for single holes and (3)-ring binders. Unit measures approx 12” x 4” x 2-1/2” tall, which means it fits on pretty much any desktop, and has a 230mm inlet that’s 9” wide (A4 size). You’ll get (10) A4, (15) A5 and (25) A6 laminating sheets. Surely you have documents, cards and photos to preserve.

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.

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.

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.

This (18)-piece Deluxe Wood Burning Kit from Plaid® heats up way hotter than Fahrenheit 451. This wood burner goes all the way up to 750F, hot enough to sear words and designs into genuine wood. Make holiday ornaments, coasters or wall art. Comes with the afore-mentioned wood burner and (6) tips, a stand, (3) practice wood rounds, (4) small wood rounds, (1) large wood round, (1) large plaque and a design template so you won’t have to guess. Finding your own wood once you burn through the included supply is half the fun.

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.