November's Coffee Date: Creative Gift Ideas

✨ Making Illuminated Letter "V" Art: Real Life Edition — Illuminated letters were one of the gifts we discussed in the chat. Many TPK readers have used the *Easy Illuminated Letter Tutorial* to create gorgeous handmade presents!

With the holidays right around the corner, our conversation naturally centered around DIY and handmade gifts, favorite art books, and the small creative rituals that make this season meaningful. You can watch our conversation below; then keep reading for a recap of your ideas, questions, and all the links we mentioned.

Handmade and DIY Gift Ideas

Early in the chat, Stephanie H. asked a question that sparked several ideas: “What are your suggestions when it comes to DIY or handmade gifts for kids and teens?”

How to Write Engaging Letters to Kids — While it’s not exactly a holiday gift, we also talked about how magical snail mail can feel for kids. There’s something so special about getting a letter with your name on it!

Here were some of the community favorites:

Decorated envelopes and handwritten letters (thanks, John in OKC!) — kids rarely get real mail, and it feels incredibly special (for ideas, see How to Make Engaging + Fun Mail for Kids)
Personalized gifts like bookmarks, hand-painted cards, or small framed quotes
Special artwork like calligraphy ampersands, watercolor maps, and illuminated letters
Custom t-shirts with hand-drawn designs or iron-on graphics
Homemade body glitter or “unicorn snot” (affiliate link)
Baked gifts like sourdough bread, starters, or cookies packaged in painted bags

Stephanie also shared an excellent gift idea: a sushi-themed card paired with an “Auntie date” for sushi. This is a good reminder that experiences can make for fun presents!

Book Recommendations

The right book can make an amazing gift for anyone. Several great book conversations came up during our chat! You’ll find them in the list below (with affiliate links).

A spread with illustrations of hands from "The Calligraphy Book" — Of course, *The Calligraphy Book* came up as a gift idea. If you’d like the best deal, feel free to grab it from a major retailer! But if you’d prefer a personalized copy, I’d be delighted to send one your way.

Susan Branch — Author of Distilled Genius* and A Fine Romance
Samantha Dion Baker — Draw Your Adventures and Draw Your Day (for sketchbook lovers)
Sarah Simon — Watercolor Workbook, The Plant Lady, and other floral watercolor guides
Harriet DeWinton — New Botanical Painting and Painting Watercolor Botanicals
Meik Wiking — My Hygge Home
We also suggested cookbooks as gifts — Any Ottolenghi, Gaston Acurio’s Peru, and Passionate Vegetarian by Crescent Dragonwagon

*Carlos H. asked about giving Distilled Genius to an artistic 11-year-old. While it’s not at all inappropriate, Susan Branch’s writing — and themes — are meant for adult readers.

Gifting Books & Signing Tips

Alexia R. asked a lovely question: “If you’re giving books, what are your recommendations for signing them or gifting bookmarks, especially for adults?”

A personalized copy of "The Calligraphy Book" — I like to use Tombow Fudenosuke brush pens to inscribe the inside cover of *The Calligraphy Book*.

We suggested:

Writing a short personal note on a loose insert (a small piece of high-quality watercolor or calligraphy paper)
Giving a handmade bookmark (or a bundle of them) along with the book
For archival quality, be sure to use an acid-free pen

Gifting Watercolors

We also chatted at length about gifting watercolors and making watercolor charts. Jess suggested that if Greenleaf & Blueberry watercolors aren’t in the budget, Winsor & Newton Cotman (affiliate link) makes for a great beginner palette.

Watercolor color chart — I love making neat watercolor charts that echo the positioning of the paints. You can learn how to make a color chart like this one in the *How to Make the Perfect Watercolor Chart* tutorial.

A watercolor how-to book can go a long way when gifting a palette. The Sarah Simon or Samantha Dion Baker books, in particular, make excellent companions for a new set of paints!

This is the Greenleaf & Blueberry advent calendar, which we touched on a bit in the chat. (Unfortunately, it’s already sold out this year.)

Other Highlights

Devilcat Dancewear on Etsy was mentioned by Jess for handmade tiaras and accessories.
The Greenleaf & Blueberry Advent Calendar got glowing reviews (and several all-caps moments of excitement in the chat).
Homemade watercolor palettes in vintage tins sparked a mini discussion on magnet setup and color layout aesthetics. (Be sure to watch the chat to see Jess’s gorgeous color chart!)
The conversation took some sweet turns in the attendee chat: we got to read Fran’s story about friends rebuilding her roof after Hurricane Ian, Stephanie’s fountain pen gift from her dad, and Judy’s deck of cards printed with her own colored pencil art. (Unfortunately, the attendee chat is one thing that can’t be experienced while watching a recording.)

Look at what I convinced Jess to put on for a brief moment in the chat!

Thank You!

Thank you to everyone who joined us live; your enthusiasm, generosity, and curiosity make these chats such a joy. Thanks to Jess, too, who has a million things on her plate but still makes time to meet with me for an hour every month. You’ll see in the recording that when I suggested skipping our December coffee date, she was absolutely aghast! I’m really looking forward to seeing everyone again then.

Warmly,

November’s Coffee Date: Creative Gift Ideas

Handmade and DIY Gift Ideas

Book Recommendations

Gifting Books & Signing Tips

Gifting Watercolors

Other Highlights

Thank You!

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