Need gift ideas for my girlfriend. Details inside...

A nice Moleskine and pen set?

edit :: if you want to get some booty I would Write/Draw some stuff on the first few pages.

Arts and Crafts or Mission style lamp for her place, good drawing paper, new outfit for Budokon….....

Is there some special art paper that she’s been wanting?

I go to Etsy.com when I look for gifts for girls or myself. It’s a site where average people can sell their arts and crafts or findings. It can range from baby toys, to vintage clothing, to greeting cards. Might be more appreciated than a department store. :)

yes, etsy.com is a VERY good source – especially for jewelry! Great, creative items to choose from.

My boss recently got me the cookbook “Veganomicon” and I LOOOOOVE it! She might too, if she’s into cooking and interested in trying out a vegan lifestyle.

As and aritst I can tell you that art supplies are our drug. We could spend an entire day in a good quality art supply store without even realizing it.

@johnpowell makes an excellent suggestion as Moleskine sketch books are awesome. I have one with me at all times.

Another thought is a gift card for a serious art store. I have a friend who gets me one every year for my Birthday and it is my favorite gift. I will wait and watch for sales and shop on line to see what is new. Sometimes I take months to use it and will have dreamed of spending it numerous times in the interim.

Perhaps a combination of both of the above? (Each Molskine has a pocket in the back that a gift card would fit in nicely)

Does she like to cook? I’ve got loads of great vegetarian cookbooks I could recommend. The Moosewood Cookbook, The Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers and The Vegetarian Epicure are three of my very favorites – but if there’s a particular kind of food that she likes (mediterranean, indian, etc.), I can recommend lots of others!

Whenever I have to buy things for girls (usually just my sisters) I walk into bath and body works…. ask them to tell me what my sister would like, and buy one for each.

I don’t understand women, that’s one of the reasons im gay. :)

@mowens : Ha ha! That’s what my brother does.. I hate them :x

I recently told him I would just love a lunch with him instead.

It is hard to pick out art supplies for someone else so @Dog and johnpowell’s idea of a sketchbook combined with a gift certificate for an art supply store is a great one.

@janbb I agree! Especially, if you don’t dabble in the same field.

Try mixing it up a bit and taking her to a huge art store by surprise, and tell her she can grab a few things she’s been itching to try out or purchase. That way you can see what she uses and likes, while sharing a moment with her.

Haha What can I say… I just give them stuff that smells good. or candles. I am aware of my status as the worst brother ever. :)

@sdeutsch She loves cooking, yes. I’ll see if I can find one of those cookbooks (out of the three that you’d suggested, which one is your favorite?)

@Dog @johnpowell @Facade @janbb Love the idea of the Moleskine/penset and art supplies/gift card.

Esty’s awesome, too. I’ve bought a bunch of cool tchotchkes from there. I’ll have a look and see.

I’m thinking about an art book (hard cover coffee table), as one gift. She has a Dali and Maxfield Parrish.

I’m giving her as bunch, as it is for Christmas.

Thanks!

@mowens Smelly stuff is always good. I’ll toss in some stuff from Bath and Body Works.

@jmah Oooh, that’s a tough decision, but I’d have to say the Moosewood Cookbook is my favorite. It’s the first in a long series of cookbooks from the Moosewood restaurant, and it’s definitely the best of all of them. It’s full of nice, simple recipes for really good food – if I had to eat out of the same cookbook every day for the rest of my life, I could be very content with that one!

@jmah There are so many incredibly beautfiul art books. Maybe a collection of drawings by the Old Masters; I am always in awe of their skill.

give her something totally out of the box, something like this or this, or even this :D

you said he likes cosmology and if she didn’t already read one of Carl’s Sagan’s books(Pale blue dot,Contact etc) buy her one and write some quotes on the first pages.
And you can set something romantic if you want:took her to an observatory watch star together,have picnic(if possible),talk about the universe etc.

Take her to Paris.

Get her a customized bobblehead! http://www.whoopassenterprises.com/

Are her sketches and other drawing organized? You could buy a portfolio, the kind that has clear sheets, and organize her work in a book.

If she likes charcoal she might like pastels as well, for some variety. It seems like a natural progression to me.

If you can spend more money you could plan a weekend away in a very picturesque place to give her opportunity to sketch a new location.

Okay – maybe it’s just me – but I HATE getting crap from Bath and Body Works. With all the random smells they have in there, it’s so hard to pinpoint exactly what someone would like….and come on, all of us girls have had the “Freesia” and “Sweet Pea” around since we were in middle school (for me, 15 years ago). Also, if a guy gets you BBW, you know he didn’t think twice about getting something special and personal. Furthermore, it’s not cheap to buy one of their silly “baskets” – for that $50 or $75, you could get something so much more meaningful!

OR – if you want to go the whole smell-good-bath-supplies route, try someplace different, like LUSH! (http://www.lushusa.com/shop) I once got an adorable box full of personalized fragrances and bath stuff from here and it meant so much more, knowing the person had gone in and mixed the fragrances on their own!

Personally, I like the moleskin idea with the art store giftcard in the back pocket…or the trip to Paris, of course…

@melanie81 Me too. I don’t want anyfragranced anything or any candles. But, if you do buy me those things it is one less thing I have to buy for someone else, because I just re-gift. LOL.

@JLeslie Ahh! Great idea!! I’ll do that from now on :)

@melanie81 Paris is not an option. :) And, she has a few scents from Bath and Body Works that she wears often, so, that’s not ruled out.

@melanie81 I regift wine also.

* Signed art book by Erte or some other deco artist

* Art Deco desk blotter set from stamped metal

* Have some of her drawings framed for her

* New yoga mat & outfit (they get stinky)

You could get her a Jefferson desk. It’s essentially a small portable writing or drawing surface with storage space to carry paper notebooks and other materials. It’s not really suitable for people that always draw on large scales but for others it wraps up all your art supplies in a neat package for art making on the move.

Barnes and Noble has this one available, but that one has leather on it so you might want to steer clear. A search for “lap desk ” on ebay brings up some antique options 1 2 3 3 4 5 6 . I couldn’t find many options from new lap desks. They aren’t very well known or used right now.

Go to www.victoriantradingco.com

Type in “Art Deco” in the search. They have the most extensive collection of reproductions of antiques….and just interesting, beautiful, unusual things. Take a look.

I don’t know what your budget is…but they have some beautiful art deco lamps.

Also…..Etsy is fab. Just fabulous.

Do you think she would like having one of those books that are just filled with random art? They have all types of modern things like that.

I just received a candle and diffuser from my neighbor as a gift. I have actually regifted her items like this because I don’t use them?? see my post above No indication at all about where they were purchased.

A coffee table book personalized with your special moments!
I don’t think anything could be better for her.

Spam.