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| A guide of the top ten inexpensive gifts for makers and crafters. All these stocking stuffers are under $10 and all are the types of useful, thoughtful presents that every tinkerer needs at least one of, and would not mind a duplicate. |
#1 - Cardboard Cutter Extraordinaire
One of those simple tools that you never realized you needed until you actually try it - then wonder how you survived so long without it. The Canary Cardboard Cutter (affiliate) is an incredibly handy tool that slices through corrugated cardboard and cardstock with buttery ease. Tinkerers and crafters, even electronics hobbyists, wind up slicing cardboard frequently and this tool makes-------------------------------
#2 - You SUCK!!!
Everyone makes mistakes, so suck it up and start over. Here's a helpful combo for your electronics hobbyist - a genuine solder sucker and solder braid wick. (affiliate) Great for scavenging parts from slavaged appliances and for cleaning up your own soldering projects. The sucker, well, it sucks up excess solder off the board. And the braided copper wick soaks up extra solder like a sponge. Not only are they useful, they make a great excuse for a "funny" gift card.#3 - Voice Control Anything Use Alexa or Google Home to control a lamp or other 110v appliance. These Sonoff WiFi switches (affiliate) are ready to connect with your home voice system out of the box. And because they are open source and based on the ESP8266 your favorite hobbyist can hack and modify them easily. There are hundreds of great step-by-step tutorials on connecting these modules via the internet, Arduino, Raspberry Pi and adding additional sensors.
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#4 - Copper Tape with Conductive Adhesive
Fun and useful for serious hobbyists as well as STEM teachers and kids. This copper tape has conductive adhesive (affiliate) that makes it doubly useful. Normal copper tape does not conduct electricity through the adhesive, so it's really only conductive on one side. This type of tape allows you to tape down wires or LEDs and keep them functional. Crafters can make light-up and motorized cards and toys without soldering. Artists can make elaborate interfaces to control sounds and lights, like in my Musical Doodlebug project on Instructables. This is a four pack, so give one as a gift, keep one for yourself and send the other two to your favorite STEM or art teacher.-------------------------------
#5 - Put Some Light On It
Every crafter and Maker needs good lighting. This handy little light bar (affiliate) is light, portable and easy to install anywhere. They run off of 5v USB power. That means you can use a wall adapter, battery pack, your computer or your phone as a power source. These are not bright enough to be the main work light, but they are great for adding some extra light in shadowy areas. I own several light bars and use them like flashlights to see inside cases, sidelight stamped chip numbers for easy reading, and generally eliminate shadows on the workbench. I also use them as portable fill lights when I photograph projects, especially on remote locations.-------------------------------
#6 - Prototyping Boards
For something so cheap and plentiful, a lot of us hesitate to our commit projects to a proto board. Get rid of those excuses with this huge collection of double sided prototyping boards. (affiliate) With these, your favorite electronics geek can design to their hearts content and turn their breadboarded projects into permanent objects. With a variety of sizes included, you will be able to find he perfect shape for your next project. Now go ahead and solder it down, you have more proto boards available.-----------------------
#7 - Digital Calipers
Never convert another fraction. These digital calipers (affiliate) display inches and millimeters in big, easy to read numbers. Great for anyone who makes, designs or even has to order a correctly sized part. I owned a pair of calipers for years and never thought the digital readout would help. Now, I love the digital version. My love for them only grows with each new (and stronger) prescription for eyeglasses.-----------------------------
#8 - Thermoplastic Pellets
I am amazed at how often I use thermoplastics. (affiliate) I make cases for my projects with it. I make handles and stands and jigs and fixtures. I have made jewelry and doll accessories with it. I even repaired my heat-gun with it. And that's just the basic white stuff. This kit has colored pellets that allow you to make attractive finished projects without painting or staining.-------------------------------
#9 - Tiny File Kit
Sometimes you just need something small to touch up and trim something even smaller. This set of tiny files (affiliate) has a great selection of shapes, sizes and tooth. Half rounds, flats and squares - one of these will be just what you need to round those sharp corners, smooth a seam or make teeny tiny grooves.-------------------------------
#10 - Trinket and Gemma Boards
With the new M0 processor, both these boards are powerful, yet cheap enough to permanently install into a project. The Trinket has enough IO pins for most small projects, and the Gemma is great for tiny projects like jewelry or wearables. With a built-in NeoPixel, you are ready to start blinking right away. And both can be programmed with Python or Arduino. Although they are cheaper, both under $10, directly from Adafruit, buying through Amazon saves you on the shipping.
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