Beginner-Friendly Craft Kits to Gift the DIYers in Your Life

On any given night in 2013, you could find Rebecca Beck dumpster diving around Los Angeles’ top nightclubs at 3 a.m. On the hunt for empty, premium bottles of champagne, Rebecca would go as soon as clubs closed to ensure minimal damage to bottle labels. The bottles she scavenged would become vessels for hand-poured, natural coconut wax and pure ingredients. While up-cycling glass bottles into candles — a process that uses 1% of the energy it takes to create new candle glass — Rebecca became obsessed with making a bigger impact through sharing the experience of making candles. After Party Candle Co.’s kits do just that.

Seeking a homey vibe in her space without having to break the bank, Noted’s original founder began making candles in her first apartment in Boston. It wasn’t long before everyone started asking for them, and thus, she created Noted. Made of 100% U.S. grown soy wax, Noted’s candles are handcrafted in small batches in South Boston’s Local Maker Studio.

“Is it just us, or does it seem like today’s world is filled with a crazy amount of distractions, chaos, noise and overwhelm?” Pottery with a Purpose writes. Featured by Glamour, Architectural Digest, Forbes and Hypebae, the brand was founded by Sam Hoff after she reached a mental breaking point while working in the corporate world. Pottery with a Purpose’s kits are made up of 100% natural, biodegradable and compostable hemp twine, which can be used to create hanging planters, plant-based, renewable and biodegradable tape, 100% natural sponges made from wood fiber, and a thank you gift handmade from plantable paper embedded with wildflower seeds.

While studying fashion design at Parsons, The New School for Design, Alexis, creator of Embroidery and Sage, picked up the art of embroidery and became fascinated and enthralled with every stitch. “My drive for starting Embroidery and Sage was twofold,” Alexis writes. “In addition to creating beautiful home décor, I hope to encourage others to use these modern DIY kits to learn new stitches and experience what generations of embroiderers have long known—how deeply rewarding it can be to create art with your own hands.”

Homeschooling mama of three, Shawna Fosket founded North Shore Crafts after seeking a space in her life for creativity and the joy of making something. “Punch needle is by far the easiest, most relaxing craft I’ve ever tried,” she writes. North Shore Crafts’ yarns are made of natural fibers and packaged in plastic-free packaging in alignment with Shawna’s values of sustainability. She’s made helping you create beautiful art and feeling alive in creativity the brand’s mission and believes that, through the journey of punch needle, “you’ll learn you are an artist and you can create beautiful things.”