I’ve been drawing in my sketchbook with Crayola’s Slick Stix paint sticks, which is like drawing with lipstick. The colors glide onto the paper with full coverage and minimal effort. Kids really love the Stix cause it makes covering areas super easy. I love them because just one application of color is completely opaque. Like wax crayons, they are instantly dry. You can add colors on top of colors, too. For some reason the Crayolas are no longer available, but there are hundreds of imitators. They are called paint sticks, or tempera sticks, or twist crayons, because the colors are held in a case that you twist to protrude. A typical set is Kwik Stix ($11), which are not as slick as the Crayola’s but good enough. They really are fun to use. — KK

This Citylife 17-quart storage bin is the best way I've found to organize art supplies. It comes with six removable cups that keep markers, crayons, brushes, pencils, and other items separates. Remove only the cup you need, then drop it back in when you're done. The clear plastic lets you see everything at a glance, the lid latches securely, and the bins stack. — MF

I recently spent time with friends who mounted a 36-inch by 200-foot kraft paper roll with a steel dispenser and cutter at the end of their work table. It’s surprisingly useful. Pull out a few feet for messy art projects, cover a table for a party, or tear off sheets for gift wrapping. The cutter gives clean tears across the full width. — MF

Rubber stamps are fun for kids and adults. We make thank-you cards, holiday notes, border art, and mail art with small rubber stamps and colored ink pads. My favorite set of stamps is Stamp Bugs ($26), part of a series which includes Stamp Garden and Jingle Stamps. There are 25 wooden backed stamps holding parts of an insect like legs or antenna or wings, which you combine in infinite ways to make bugs, creatures, robots, or anything at all. The other sets give you additional parts and options, and any of them are perfect gifts. (The sets come without ink pads.) — KK

Through ACER, an online integration community I am part of, I occasionally host wood whittling sessions. I am not a detail-oriented person or particularly skilled with my hands, but I find it very soothing and meditative to shape and smooth out tree sticks, which I then glue crystals and feathers onto to create wands. My only tool is this beginner’s carving kit by BeaverCraft. I’ve used it for a year now, and the knives are still sharp and easy to hold. They’re helping to build my confidence to someday carve a figure. — CD

Did you ever make a linoleum wood-block print in school? I did, and cutting linoleum was a pain. It took a lot of energy and effort to even make a small design. Recently I returned to making woodcut prints and hand-carved stamps because I discovered the secret: instead of cutting either wood or linoleum, I carve on a sheet of firm rubber, which cuts like butter. Speedball, the legendary company making carving tools, produces their own Speedy-Carve Blocks which have the consistency of a pencil eraser. Many other generic manufacturers in China offer this soft carving sheets, too. Now, making a block print is quick and enjoyable. — KK

Glue sticks are one of my favorite craft tools. Fast, cheap, versatile. But speciality glue sticks are even better. I use repositionable glue sticks so I can tweak the exact position; there is also wrinkle free glue sticks for thin materials, and for kids, there is disappearing purple glue sticks which go on purple but dry clear so they can see exactly where they put the glue. — KK

Foam core is super versatile making stuff. Together with hot glue you can make almost anything – doll houses, organizers, quick prototypes, kid’s constructions, models, displays, etc. The boards can be expensive at stationary stores. The cheapest source of foam board I know about are 20 x 30 x 3/16 inch sheets from the Dollar Tree store, at $1.25 per board. They are thin but sufficient and cheap. — KK

I used small squares of Gorilla Heavy Duty Double Sided Mounting Tape to attach panels of plywood together as part of an art project. To test the strength of the adhesive, I pried the panels apart with a screwdriver. The wood broke before the tape did. — MF

If you broke the pull off a zipper on a jacket or bag, try these replacement zipper pulls. They have a carabiner-like spring mechanism that makes it easy to attach them to the bridge. The only downside is that they are a little larger than a regular zipper, but that can actually be a plus if you use one on a piece of luggage. — MF

I’ve been sewing on buttons the wrong way my entire life. This wordless visual guide shows the right way to do it. — MF

I’ve ceased all subscriptions to the paper version of newspapers or magazines — except one. I subscribe to Uppercase, a paper-based magazine celebrating art and crafts. Each issue is overflowing with exuberant examples of creativity from non-famous artists. Painting, textiles, ceramics, patterns, vintage, printmaking, etc. It’s a hand-made quarterly, with no ads, unabashedly analog, and basically the work of one woman, who tends to feature art that is invigorating, positive, and joyous. The periodical itself is a work of art that reflects the passion of an artisan, and I derive immense pleasure from its curated pages. — KK