Art Gifts for Adults
Do you need some Christmas gift ideas? If your family and friends enjoy your art, there are many ways to turn your art into gifts that they can use and enjoy. Here are some ideas.
Framed Art. This is an obvious one- simply frame a piece of your art. If you know that the person truly likes your art, get one of your pieces framed for them. You may want to ask them which piece they like best before investing in a frame.
Note cards. Get your art put on note cards and put 6 or 12 of them, along with the envelopes and a good pen in a clear cellophane gift bag. Now tie the bag shut with a beautiful ribbon and the note cards can be given out as a gift. This is especially good for people who like to send out cards and letters.
If this sounds like too much effort, you may simply want to give them a Christmas greeting card with your art on it. You can either make the cards by hand or if you're short on time, scan your art and have it printed onto the cards. After you have your cards printed, you can add some details to make it more personal- some paint strokes, collage bits, glitter, etc.
Mint Tins. I've been experimenting with putting my art on mint tins. I use a template to cut out a piece of cardstock to fit on top of the tin, and then use it as the base for my art collage. Then I glue my finished collage to the top of the tin. At the end, I put a layer of clear acrylic medium or varnish over the top to protect it. Now it can be used as a small gift box.
Some ideas of small gifts to put in the mint tins are: a key chain, individually wrapped chocolates or other candy, a manicure set, a bracelet or necklace, money, gift card, tea bags, lip balm, lotion, USB sticks, etc., depending on who the recipient is.
Notebooks. Notebooks come in all shapes and sizes and are something that almost anyone can use, whether it's to write out lists, or capture ideas or use as a journal. It's fairly easy to put your art on the front cover. I prefer to use composition notebooks because I don't have to deal with the spirals. The back can also be decorated or painted or covered with coordinating paper.
Refrigerator magnets. For this project, you can cut a piece of magnet sheet in whatever shape or size you want and decorate it with your artwork. Another option is to create your art on a thick piece of cardstock and glue some disc magnets to the back of it.
If you would have more money than time, you might prefer to upload your art to a place like Zazzle.com. Your art can then be printed onto a variety of products such as mugs, calendars, mouse pads, t-shirts etc. that can then be used and enjoyed by the recipient.
That concludes my list of Christmas art gift ideas. As you can see, there are lots of options for the artist who wants to share their art with loved ones. In making a decision about which route to go, consider how much time you have, how much money you want to spend, and the preferences of your friends.
