★ Gift Ideas for Creative Kids | Best Craft Presents for Boys & Girls ★

Professional Cartoonist

Amazon Price: (as of 05/31/2012)

An excellent means of improving drawing skills at the same time as having fun, this professional cartoon kit is a great gift for older children (ages 8 and up).

The accessories are all contained in a grown-up portfolio, and the kit contains tracing underlays, pencils, paper, and animation zoetrope and everything you need to start cartooning.

Watercolor: For the Artistically Undiscovered (Klutz)

Amazon Price: $12.29 (as of 05/31/2012)

I own this book myself so I can personally recommend it as a fantastic book for motivating people of any age to pick up a brush and start painting.

Perfect for aspiring artists and creative kids, this top quality book consists mainly of watercolor paper pages with blank spaces to complete yourself (with encouragement from the renowned illustrator Thatcher Hurd along the way), plus a palette of artist-quality watercolor paints. A top buy.

The Klutz Book of Animation: How to Make Your Own Stop Motion Movies

by: Nicholas Berger

Amazon Price: $9.17 (as of 05/31/2012)

I always had a great interest in animation as a child so I would have loved this book.

It provides a great beginner's guide to the world of stop-motion animation, with ideas on making your own movies and clips - and all you need is a cheap webcam and a computer! Clay is included, and so many household products can also be moved around to produce brilliant animated images. There are so many possibilities - the only limit is your imagination.

Drawing: For the Artistically Undiscovered (Klutz S.)

Amazon Price: $11.97 (as of 05/31/2012)

This is another Klutz book which I own myself, so I can personally recommend it as a fantastic book, especially for beginners who need the motivation to pick up a pen and actually start drawing.

Perfect for aspiring artists and creative kids, this top quality book consists of plenty of white space for you to draw until your heart's content, and each page has direction and suggestions for what to draw, plus example illustrations.
Included with the book are a quality sketch pen and two watercolor pencils, and because the book is by Quentin Blake - the illustrator behind Roald Dahl - the design, humor and illustrations are familiar in style, and very fun and quirky.

Age not specified, but this would be appropriate for anyone over 7. A 1999 Parents' Choice Gold Award Winner.

D.I.Y.: Kids

by: Ellen Lupton, Julia Lupton

Amazon Price: $5.97 (as of 05/31/2012)

Plant the seed of creativity in a kid's mind so that they will forever consider making things for themselves before just immediately buying things in the future. This is a brilliant book full of ideas and projects to try and provide an alternative to the computer and TV.

Examples of the craft tutorials provided include purses, bags, stuffed animals and journals (so probably more suited to girls than boys).

Sewing School: 21 Sewing Projects Kids Will Love to Make

by: Amie Plumley, Andria Lisle

Amazon Price: $7.36 (as of 05/31/2012)

Sewing is a brilliant skill for kids to learn because it will be useful for their whole lives - whether it's used for mending or for creating clothes and other products from scratch.

Sewing has such a wide variety of uses that creativity can really be stretched, and this book contains lots of easy projects to get started, including pillows, blankets, bags, coasters and pot holders.
All projects have been kid-tested, most can be made using simple hand stitches, and all have room for a personal touch. Each craft has a clear step-by-step tutorial with plenty of photos, and there are also free cut-out patterns included as well.

Cameras for Kids: Fun and Inexpensive Projects for the Little Photographer

by: John Crippen

Amazon Price: $14.95 (as of 05/31/2012)

Photography is brilliant hobby for kids to get into because it encourages them to look more closely at the world around them, and also to record their unique view of it for the future.

This book is filled with information on the basics of photography for kids who are just starting out, plus inventive, inexpensive and fun projects to try. It's bound to keep children entertained for a good while, and give them a good foundation in photography too.

Doodles: A Really Giant Coloring and Doodling Book

by: Taro Gomi

Amazon Price: $4.44 (as of 05/31/2012)

A very popular and highly rated giant coloring and doodle book for kids to let their imaginations run wild in!

Renowned children's book illustrator Taro Gomi has made this book to encourage kids (or adults) to draw, imagine and create, providing unfinished pictures to complete, and drawing prompts to send your imagination soaring. There are 400 pages so it'll certainly take a while to fill it up.

The Kids' Building Workshop: 15 Woodworking Projects for Kids and Parents to Build Together

by: Craig Robertson, Barbara Robertson

Amazon Price: $6.24 (as of 05/31/2012)

If you know a child who likes to get their hands dirty, then this book is a must-buy. It teaches essential woodworking skills which will last a lifetime, including drilling and sawing.

Instructions for 15 safe and fun woodworking projects, which increase in complexity. are included. Examples of projects in the book are a bird house, tool box and a stool.

Creative Crafts for Kids

by: Gill Dickerson, Cheryl Owen

Amazon Price: $9.74 (as of 05/31/2012)

A top rated arts and crafts book for kids upto about 10 years old. Each project has step-by-step instructions and photographs, and the time and materials needed for each project are listed too.

There are loads of interesting and creative ideas to try out including cards, gifts, decorations, ways to embellish t-shirts, how to create costumes, plus recipes galore!