Since I was a kid, the stars and planets have fascinated me. I imagine that holds true for many kids. Like many other kids, I am sure, I looked through toy telescopes and was less than impressed. Even when I went to a real observatory I was not that impressed as we got a quick look after an hour of waiting. Even though I was impressed with all things space-related I really could not find a way to participate in it until much later in life.

I found myself able to use a fairly nice amateur telescope and had some fun. I have always had an interest in photography, mainly the technical side, so I wanted to pair that with my new abilities in astronomy. Astrophotography seemed like just the right hobby, but it could be really expensive. I needed to do some research.

I visited some forums including Cloudy Nights (best for technical issues and advanced imagers) and Stargazer’s Lounge (better for beginners), both excellent and full of knowledge. Pouring over the posts there I was just overwhelmed. The more I read, the more I didn’t understand, and I could just not see a way forward without just throwing money at it and seeing what stuck. My bank account just said no.

Then someone on one of the forums seemed to see my problem and suggested that I try a book instead of just trying to piece everything together myself. That sounded like an excellent idea, but astronomy books I had seen were way over my head and/or didn’t cover astrophotography, particularly for the absolute beginner.

One day while searching around I found a listing for books titled The Five Best Books on Astrophotography I  know, I normally don’t ever stop for any articles that have any wording like “the five best” in the title because they can be just trying to sell you something and have never actually used the items. What can I say, I was desperate.

Looking at the list I went to Amazon for each one and read the description and reviews for each one. I was initially intrigued by the fact that there were two books on the list by the same author. I checked the reviews, they seemed good, and I really liked the fact that both books seemed to be pointed right at the person starting from scratch. I decided to get one and see if it was any good.

I wound up purchasing Getting Started: Long Exposure Astrophotography by Allan Hall. I have to admit, I was impressed. It was an older book but was exactly what I needed. It assumed I knew basically that I wanted to take pictures of stuff in space, and nothing else, it started with the basics and built from there. It was much more like talking to a friend over pizza and beer than a technical manual, and I really liked that.

One of the other things that drew me to this particular title was the fact that the author has published a slew of related books, a pretty extensive astronomy and astrophotography website, a reasonable YouTube channel, and has even started a Gskyer Telescope Manual website for people who purchased those really cheap telescopes and don’t know how to use them. This made me believe that whatever direction my interest took, I could find information from the same source and I found comfort in that.

There was some research to be done as parts of the book covered hardware and software that was outdated. Fortunately, that was the easy part. It turns out that even if a piece of software is really old, there is usually an update, and telescopes always have something comparable on the market even if you have to switch brands.

It did take me some time, no doubt, there is a lot to learn. There is also a lot of equipment to get working together. I just approached it the same way the book did, step by step.

Once I started getting images, the excitement grew. The really awesome part about this for me was to see the improvement almost every time I went out. I learned that this was just as much an art as it was a science, and that fits my personality just right. There was a basic formula that would get you into the ballpark, but then it was up to you to find what worked best for your equipment, time, imaging location, and abilities.

One can get started in this hobby with nothing more than a DSLR equivalent camera, or an inexpensive telescope and your phone’s camera. From there, the sky is the limit, pun intended. I did spend a little more money than I wanted initially, but I think I got a pretty good system that will last me for a really long time. Something I can really grow into.

I think that is probably the way to go as it allows you to concentrate more on learning what works and how you should approach things instead of constantly fighting with your hardware.

The art of astrophotography

Once I got the technical basics under my belt I was free to express a little more artistic flair in my images. You see, once you have captured the data for the images you need to meld all that data together, stretch it, massage it, and knead it into a form that matches your inner vision. If this sounds like you are just creating a bunch of photoshopped images that have little basis in reality, well, that is partially true.

You see, very little in outer space is actually very interesting to the naked eye. Things like nebulae are either not visible at all, or are in a spectrum of light that our eye is just not very sensitive to. This means that all the cool images you see by NASA, and everything in Sky and Telescope magazine, it is all “fictionalized” in image processing software so that you can see them.

This doesn’t mean there is no basis in fact, it just means that where your eye might see a little smudge of gray cloudiness representing the North American nebula, an image taken of it with 50 frames at 10 minutes of exposure per frame, then stacked, stretched, and manipulated will show a bright red nebula showing an immense amount of detail roughly in the shape of the North American continent.

Technically, the nebula is emitting light from Hydrogen-Alpha which is in the red part of the light spectrum, but in such small quantities that you would never be able to see the red even if you were literally inside the nebula, in a spaceship, looking out the window.

I  feel this is more an intensification rather than a falsification as the colors you are bringing out are really there in some form, you are just making them stronger, more vibrant. We do the same things to images all the time. No bride really looks as good in person as in her wedding pictures.

This is where you get to use your artistic side. What shade of blue is the Iris Nebula and how bright is it? Is the Rosette more towards pink or dark red? How far do you stretch the Lyre dark nebula to show that it really is there? There is no wrong or right answer to these questions, it is all up to you. The image processing software gives you the tools to make this happen.

There are many types of astrophotography, I chose what some call long exposure astrophotography. This is for very dim objects like nebulae.  Earlier I mentioned you might be working with 50 images, each with an exposure time of 10 minutes. That works out to 500 minutes plus another 120 of setup and tear down time so let’s say about 620 minutes or just under ten and a half hours. Most of that time you will spend just waiting on the camera and telescope to do their thing, this is where the zen comes in.

The zen of astrophotography

When you have huge stretches of time with little to do but wait, all under clear dark skies, you tend to spend a lot of time sitting there looking up.

At first, you might spend that time reading, looking at different targets, or checking them out with binoculars or a second telescope. That is how it started for me anyway. Eventually, that led to me just looking up with my eyes, taking it in, and seeing the beauty that had always been there and therefore hidden.

That sounds like a cheap fortune cookie but it is true. Think about your home town, then really try and think about it from the point of view of a tourist who has never been there before. What would they see? My own personal observations are that there are a lot of things in my small town I take for granted, that I pass every day and never really see for how interesting they really are. It is because I am there, seeing it all the time, that it becomes part of the background.

The stars were no different for me, they were just background noise for what I was really after. That is until they became what I was looking at because I had nothing else to do. They became the front and center of my interest. Once there, they were simply amazing.

I read an article from that same author whose book I bought talking about how he was out imaging one night and the clouds started rolling in. Instead of getting upset he just sat there, staring at the clouds, smiling. For the first time in a long time, he could actually see the clouds for how amazing they were and really appreciate them. I can completely get on board with that.

Once I stopped and just looked, no phone, no camera, no binoculars, no star map, nothing, just looking, the result could absolutely be called zen.

You do not have to sacrifice features or capabilities to get the best sewing machine under $200 today, there are plenty of great models to choose from. Of course, which one is right for you depends on which features are the most important to you as they vary by model and manufacturer.

Below is a list of the best sewing machine under $200 for the typical home user. While these are not commercial machines, it is quite amazing what all they can do today, and for so little money.

First Place: Brother cs6000i

Second Place: Singer Heavy Duty 4423 

Are you looking for the best sewing machine under $200 but want something with less bells and whistles, and meant for serious use? Perhaps you quilt at home for some extra money and need a machine that will stand up to some serious work, maybe you are using heavy fabric and need better than average piercing power, then the Singer Heavy Duty 4423 might be the perfect machine for you.

Third Place: Brother HC1850

If you like the Brother cs6000i at the top of the best sewing machine under $200 list, but want something with a little more capabilities and a foot pedal, then the Brother HC1850 might be the perfect machine for you. While this model is just barely inexpensive enough to make this list it is packed with more features than I will ever use, and probably more than you will either.

Packed with Brother’s almost famous reliability, above-average warranty, and enormous feature set, this model is sure to please even the most avid sewer.

Fourth Place: SINGER 7258

This is another machine that just barely is inexpensive enough to make it onto the best sewing machine under $200 list, the Singer 7258. This Singer model does two things that really help it make it to the list; it has a feature set comparable with the Brother models, and they added a warranty that matches the Brothers as well.

In most best sewing machine under $200 lists you find nothing but Brother models, this is changing as Singer adds features users want as they did with this model. If you want the best of both the Singer and Brother worlds, this may be the right machine for you.

Fifth Place: Janome 2212

If you are just getting into making your own cheese at home, picking the best cheese making kit to start with can be difficult as there are a lot of them on the market. Fortunately making your own cheese at home is very easy and there are some fantastic kits on the market so let’s take a look at a few.

I should note that also some of the kits advertise themselves as complete, most also note that they do not come with the milk and/or cream needed to make the cheese. No kits do, it would not be practical to ship you fresh milk or cream. You can almost always use whatever milk you can get including standard pasteurized store milk, or something a little different such as fresh goat milk, with virtually any cheese making kit.

Every kit on my list of the best cheese making kit can use standard store milk.

Standing Stone Farms is a popular manufacturer of some of the best cheese making kit around so it should be no surprise we start with their Standing Stone Farms Basic Beginner Cheese Making Kit. This ingredients kit can make up to 20 gallons worth (25-30lbs) of Mozzarella, Chevre, Goat Cheese, Queso Blanco, Queso Fresco, Mascarpone, and Ricotta. It even includes the curd drain bag. This is the perfect place to start if you want to try making cheese at home.

You will need a few things at home, mainly a thermometer and a pot, it would also help to have some kind of strainer and a large spoon or ladle. Pretty much standard equipment in any well-appointed kitchen. If you don’t have these items, look a little down and they make an excellent kit that includes absolutely everything but the milk and cream!

You will find several Standing Stone Farms kits on this list because they tend to be some of the highest quality kits that don’t skimp on the little things. One example is the tablet rennet some kits use which you have to figure out how to dissolve and split up and divide among your batches. Standing Stone Farms ships with a liquid rennet ready to go.

The Standing Stone Farms Ultimate Cheese Making Kit is their basic kit above with the addition of culture, lipase, and an instant-read thermometer. The additions allow you to make different cheeses and control your temperatures better so your cheese turns out better. With this kit you can easily make Mozzarella, Burrata, Ricotta, Monterey Jack, Feta, Chèvre (Goat Cheese), Cheese Curds, Cream Cheese, Butter, Cultured Butter, Queso Blanco, Queso Fresca, and Marscapone.

This is my personal favorite on the best cheese making kit list, and will make between 25 and 30 pounds of fresh cheese.

Next up is The Ultimate Cheese Making Kit by The Big Cheese Making Kit which is probably the highest quality ingredients kit in the best cheese making kit list. This box not only includes the ingredients to make Mozzarella, Ricotta, Mascarpone, Cypriot Style Cheese, Greek Style Cheese, Scottish Crowdie, Labner, Goat’s Cheese, Queso Blanco, and Paneer, but spices to flavor them!

More than just an ingredients kit, this includes three cheese molds, a dairy thermometer, and the best recipe book of the bunch. For just a few dollars more than the kit above, it really does include a lot more value. No wonder it is the best selling kit in the UK!

I wanted to include one complete, and I mean complete, best cheese making kit on my list and that is the Standing Stone Farms Complete Cheese Making Kit. This is basically their ultimate kit on the list a little further up, with the addition of the pot, strainer, skimmer spoon, and measuring spoons.

While the hardware that is included with this kit is not something you would find in the home of a professional chef, it is more than adequate for what it was designed to do and should keep you making cheese with it for many years to come. It really is a great value.

If you need the best chesse making kit for someone who has nothing, or you are not sure what they have and want to make sure they have everything they need, then this is the best cheese making kit for them.

My last selection for best cheese making kit is the Mozzarella and Ricotta Cheese Making Kit by New England Cheesemaking Supply While this kit is limited to two cheeses; Mozzarella and Ricotta, it is a very nicely done kit and is very easy and fun. It includes enough ingredients to make about 30 lbs of cheese in 1lb batches.

This may seem a little strange but I actually like this last kit for a group party night. Get a bunch of people together for a fun evening and start off with making cheese, then move to party games or whatever and later in the evening, you have cheese to go with your dinner! This kit really makes it fun.

Conclusions

I would say that the Standing Stone Farms Ultimate kit is my favorite and the one I gift the most. Virtually everyone I think of that I want to send a kit to has a well-stocked kitchen so the hardware isn’t an issue. If they are someone who really tends to try new things and you are afraid they may have made some cheese at home before, try The Ultimate Cheese Making Kit because it has some cheeses that are not typically found in kits here in the US, and some seasonings which I think is amazing.

If you are gifting for a student or young couple, you might want to consider the Standing Stone Farms Complete Cheese Making Kit that included not only the ingredients but also all of the hardware such as pots and measuring spoons. This will make sure that as long as they can find some milk and cream, they have absolutely everything they need.

Lastly. if you are looking for pure fun, go with the Mozzarella and Ricotta Cheese Making Kit.

I hope you enjoyed my article on the best cheese making kit you can get!

All of the best beer brewing kits out there have one thing in common; they allow you to craft something in your own kitchen that you can enjoy with your friends afterward. Think of it, how many other hobbies out there allow you to share your creation with your friends who will actually enjoy it?

No one wants to come over and watch that slideshow of your vacation photos unless there is free beer involved! Pick up one of the kits on this list and invite them over to try your latest sensation. If you enjoy it enough, expand your kit and start selling to your local pubs, the sky is the limit!

I wanted to start my best beer brewing kits list with something that was inexpensive for the beginners but produced a very high-quality beer, which meant starting with the Home Brewing Kit for Beer by Craft A Brew. All the basic components are here with no fluff which keeps the price down, but the result is just amazing.

This kit comes in a variety of flavors and they are all quite good, Oktoberfest Ale is probably my favorite. Try them all yourself! They have some of the best beer ingredient kits out there.

Not only is this a complete starter kit, but you can clean and sanitize the kit when you are finished, buy new ingredients kits and use it over and over again. Since the ingredients kits are made by the same people, they are made to work together and ensure you get a great brew, every time. I love Craft A Brew and their kits, they are squarely aimed at people who just want to brew a little beer at home for themselves and their friends and that makes everything they do perfectly sized for me.

For something that includes a little more try the Northern Brewer – All-Inclusive Gift Set. They advertise this kit as having absolutely everything you need to brew your own beer. While that isn’t quite true, there is no boiling pot, for example, it does include pretty much everything not already found in the typical kitchen which makes this an excellent deluxe home brewing starter kit.

This really is a great kit and I love the inclusion of bottles and pilsner glasses. If you want to make someone feel like a real brewmaster, this is one of the best beer brewing kits to start them off with. You can go from nothing to two six-packs of bottled and capped beer with this kit. Yup, they even include the six-pack carriers an metal caps. It really is just about everything the budding brewer might want. This makes it an idea craft beer brewing starter kit.

Northern Brewer, much like Craft A Brew above, has a whole range of kits and ingredient packs so when you have used up all the ingredients in this kit you can simply order new beer recipe kits from the same people and keep right on brewing using the same equipment.

Where they are different in that they are aimed more at people who want to grow into something a little larger. Northern Brewer offers chillers, burners, transfer pumps, and even their own grain mill! If you think you might want to get serious into brewing your own beer, this is the company to start with.

The Mr. Beer 2 Gallon Complete Starter Beer Making Kit falls somewhere in between the first two on the list of best beer brewing kits as far as expandability goes. While Mr. Beer does have several refills and even has bottling kits where you can bottle your own beer (minus labels) complete with metal caps and a case box, they do not have the larger and much more serious equipment that Northern Brewer does.

This does not take away from the home brew kit however as the kit is excellent and includes everything you will need that isn’t already in most kitchens (pot and stove).

Two things make this mr beer kit stand out; the unique keg fermenter which is, in my opinion, the best of any kit, and the fact that it is made by a real brewery who will answer your phone call if you need something. Yes, the fermenter looks a little gimmicky, but if you look past that, it is a very high-quality piece for the money that is very well thought out.

The Brooklyn Brew Shop Everyday IPA Beer Making Kit is a good middle of the road kit that has some refill packs allowing you to reuse your equipment and produces a good beer. In fact, they have some of the most interesting ingredient packs including grapefruit honey and jalapeno saison which is a large portion of why this kit is on my list of best beer making kit as they are some of the best beer recipe kits out.

Brooklyn Brew Shop also sells bottling kits, cappers, and caps should you want to start bottling your creations although their selection of accessories and additions is not as extensive as Northern Brewers or even Craft A Brew.

What I do not like is the instructions and lack of real-time support. If this is not your first time brewing beer at home, or you don’t mind using google a few times while working, and you like uncommon beer flavors, this could be the best beer making kit for you.

Last on the list of best beer brewing kits is the Simply Beer – Small Batch Beer Making Starter Kit which is exactly what it says, simply beer. This is the easy, simple, small, no-nonsense home brew starter kit I give to people who I suspect will use it once and throw it away.

That isn’t to say this is not a good kit, it is! It is just that unlike the other kits on this list of best beer brewing kits they do not offer refill kits (although their original ingredients come from Northern Brewers so I suspect you can use theirs) and they offer no expansions such as larger fermenters, bottling packages, etc.

So while this is the cheapest and least reusable kit on the best beer brewing kits list, it absolutely can produce a quality beer so it is better suited for someone who has no real interest in becoming the next Sam Adams.

I hope you enjoyed my article on the best beer brewing kits!

Choosing the best soap making kits to recommend requires a few ground rules; it must contain everything the typical person is going to need to make the soap, and it must end with a quality finished product that you can actually use. Making soap just to say you made it is not enough, it has to end in a product you will actually use.

What follows are the best soap making kits I have found that follow those rules.

My first choice for the best soap making kits list was easy, the DIY Melt & Pour Shea Butter Soap Making Kit by CraftZee. This kit contains everything you need to make up to 12 bars of fantastic soap in your kitchen in an afternoon of fun.

What really makes this a great kit is that it contains the soap base that you melt in your microwave or in a double boiler, a mixing bowl to mix in the colors and fragrances which are included, and a pouring pitcher, molds, and even boxes to put the soap into when you are done. What else could you want in a beginner’s kit?

The results are also great with excellent fragrances that are just strong enough without being overpowering, and a fantastic soap base that really nice to use. Everything cleans up with just a little soap and water (yes, I was being funny there) and is ready to go again. While there is plenty of fragrance and color to make more, you would have to purchase more soap base to keep going.

When anyone wants a suggestion for the best soap making kits, this is always the first kit that jumps to mind.

Next on the list of best soap making kits is this DIY Luxe Rose Coconut Goat Milk Soap Making Kit 2which I added to this list because it is so focused and well thought out. Not only does this kit make excellent soap, and use the best 100% natural ingredients, it also is perfect for making Valentine gifts, anniversary gifts, or just for that special someone at any time of the year.

With red food coloring, amazing scents, and a rose-shaped mold, it is sure to be a hit with that special someone in your life. It may be a smaller kit, but it’s focus always makes me think of it when someone wants a gift for a special little someone.

In fact, I tend to keep a couple of these around just for use as Valentine’s day gifts.

I like this kit for its variety of molds and the fact that it uses three great essential oils as fragrances. The Grow and Make DIY Deluxe Goat Milk Soap Making Kit just really well thought out. This was the kit that originally made me realize that my essential oil collection was the perfect set of fragrances for my soaps and that I should never buy any old fragrance oil.

I also really like the goat milk soap in the kit, although I am not sure I don’t like the shea butter in the first kit a little better. That, however, is more of a personal thing.

While I am not really that interested in the molds myself (I am fine with just plain bars or cuts from a long box mold) I really like these shapes for gifts. You can always find square, rectangular, and box molds all over the place but finding nice, tasteful, artistic mold patterns like these makes this kit really great addition to my list of the best soap making kits.

The Hibiscus and Lavender Goat Milk Glycerin Soap Making Kit by Chelseas 4is a fantastic kit to make soap for yourself. Not only does it include fragrances and colorants like the other kits, but it also included vitamin e capsules,  crushed hibiscus flowers and dried lavender buds.

This results in producing some fantastic soaps which not only look and smell great but feel fantastic as well. Did I mention that the goat milk and vitamin e are great for your skin too?

If you are looking for the most indulgent soap without all the frills, this is one of the best soap making kits for you. Chelseas also makes a wide array of other kits, fragrances, molds, and other soap making essentials.

To be a little different I have added the  R.E.D. Soap Making Starter Soap Kit by Essential Depot 5to my best soap making kits list. So what makes this kit different than every other kit on this list? Several things actually.

The first difference between this kit and the others is this is an oil-based kit using a blend of olive and coconut oils instead of a milk or shea butter based product. All of the bases of the kits in this list, including this one, produce amazing soaps.

The second difference is this is the only kit that includes actual lye. Yes, even melt and pour kits made from things like goat milk have at some point reacted with or had lye introduced into them, but the soap making kits themselves probably don’t contain a bottle marked lye.

What does this mean for this kit? It means you need to be a little careful with the lye included in the kit, but other than that, it means you are getting a different kind of soap which you may like better or worse than the others. Personally, I like the shea butter the best, this oil base next, and standard goat milk base the least.

Now someone is going to read this as I don’t like goat milk-based soaps, and that is not true at all.  If everything else such as fragrance is the same, I would prefer my base to be shea butter or an oil base instead of goat milk. But I certainly will not shy away from using a goat milk-based bar of soap. Particularly if it has a better fragrance or is sufficiently cheaper than the alternatives.

I hope you enjoyed my article on the best soap making kits!

When sitting down to write an article on the best candle making kits out there it dawned on me, there are no full beeswax kits. I long ago started using beeswax either in addition to soy or completely replacing it. Sure, beeswax is considerably more expensive but it also lasts a lot longer, needs less fragrance since it already smells sweet like honey, is more solid so does not need a container to hold it while it burns, and typically has a warmer and brighter glow.

Beeswax candles also require a larger wick since the melting point is higher than soy so you can not just use the kit you bought with all soy materials with beeswax. Fortunately, with a larger wick and some tweaking to your instructions, you can either use a beeswax and soy mix or switch completely to beeswax if you want to.

There is nothing wrong with soy candles really, they are just different. I only wanted to point out why you will not find beeswax kits in this list of best candle making kits and what you need to do to make the switch to beeswax if you want to.

At the top of my best candle making kits is the Complete Candle Making Kit by SOLIGT because not only does it come with everything you need to get started making soy candles, but it is all quality components. If I am going to start a hobby I plan on doing more than once, I like to have nice things. Maybe not the top of the line to start, but things I don’t have to second guess, and this is that kit.

From the melting pot with a nice and long non-metal handle, metal wick centering devices, all the way to the natural essential oil fragrances, this kit only uses top quality pieces to ensure you have a great experience. I really like the fragrances which include lavender, eucalyptus, lemon, peppermint, cinnamon, and vanilla. This means you can make some really nice scents by combining say eucalyptus and peppermint for a stay awake candle, or cinnamon and vanilla for something for the holidays.

Having quality components in the kit and a lot of essential oils to play with also means you can easily buy more wax and keep making more candles! I use old glasses, jars, and of course tins to make all kinds of candles.

All of this is why this item is not just on my best candle making kits list, but right at the top.

For about $15 less you can get the Complete Candle Making Kit by JulWhisper 2which is a fine kit in its own right, just a little different. Like the previous kit, this comes with the basics of wax, scents, colorants, tins, a melting pot, a spoon, wicks, and holders for the wicks. This kit also includes a pair of tweezers and a knife for trimming wicks, both of which are welcome additions. The thermometer in this kit is digital which might be a little easier to read than the old school one in the previous kit but requires batteries (they are included) which I personally don’t like.

The downsides to this kit is that the items included are just cheaper than the ones in the previous kit and it includes fewer scents. I am also pretty sure the scents are not pure essential oils but I could be mistaken. They certainly are a mix of scents, except for the lavender which may be a pure lavender essential oil. I should also point out that blocks of wax are harder to melt than pellets or shavings so you may want to cut, shave, or cube the wax before melting.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with this kit and it makes very nice candles, or it wouldn’t be on my list of best candle making kits, it is just obviously a more budget-oriented kit.

For the budget-conscious who like to build their own kits, we have the Sntieecr 113 PCS Candle Making Kit 3 For the money, I think this is the best investment in the equipment portion of the hobby if you are only making a few candles. All of the components are sturdy and while I do not like the metal handle on the melting pot, I do really like the marked graduations and deep pour spout.

To use this kit you will need either some soy wax or beeswax (note that the red indicator area of the thermometer is marked for well for either).

This is the perfect kit for a student or if you want to make candles in an area away from your stove and use something like a hotplate or bunsen burner as it is small, made for about one candle at a time.

The first kit on my best candle making kits list was a quality kit, but it was also a little flowery, so I offer the Sntieecr 113 PCS Candle Making Kit for those who would prefer to have a high-quality kit with a few less decorations.

The components in this kit are every bit as good, if not better, than the first kit on the list. The twist here is that they include four white glass candle holders instead of the six tins in the first kit. Personally, I like this better. The downside is that you only get three essential oils instead of six and that is why the SOLIGT kit is at the top of this list and not this one. Fortunately, essential oil kits are cheap so that is easy to solve.

If you have any doubt about this kit, check out the reviews on Amazon, solid 5 stars and almost every one of them mentions quality.

If you are looking to make candles as gifts you might consider the Modera Candle Making Kit. In addition to being one of the best candle making kits for actually making the candles, it includes nice nondescript tins, very nice chalkboard labels, and a great little chalkboard marker.

The basic components are very nice, like the metal melting pot, four essential oils, 4 8oz bags of soy wax, and the excellent thermometer. Then they throw in a really nice hot glove and the labels and marker. Great value!

While I would probably look at the Sntieecr or SOLIGT kits for my personal best candle making kits, I would certainly seriously consider this as a first kit if I was planning on gifting the candles.

I hope you enjoyed my article on the best candle making kits!

Before we get into the best sketching paper we should discuss one subject and that is the difference between sketching paper and drawing paper. Many people use them interchangeably and if you were going to do that, I would go with drawing paper. The reason is that sketching paper is made more for unfinished works, whereas drawing paper is more for a finished product (or something that eventually will be a finished piece for sale or display).

What this means is that sketching paper is usually lighter weight and slightly lower quality, but also less expensive. You certainly can find more expensive high end sketching paper as opposed to cheaper drawing paper, but that isn’t apples to apples. Generally speaking, sketching paper should only be used for practice whereas drawing paper can be used as either. The good news is, you are the artist so you can do whatever makes you happy.

I should also mention I am sticking with something in the 9″ x 12″ish size as this is the most common size I see people carrying around and using. Not to mention if we started with everything from pocket sketchbooks to huge tablets, this list would never end. So with no further disclaimers or warnings, I present my personal list of the best sketching paper.

At the very top of the best sketching paper list is Strathmore 400 Series Sketch Pad 9″ x 12″ 1 This is Strathmore’s top of the line in sketch paper, and probably one of the best from any manufacturer. 100 sheets of 60lb high-quality acid-free paper with just the perfect amount of tooth. The spiral binding keeps everything working great from the first page to the last, and the heavy chipboard backing gives a solid surface no matter what it is sitting on.

No other paper I have ever used compares to this for sketching. OK, I have never used Strathmore 500 for sketching, but why would you?

Each page is just perfect. Charcoal, pencil, even watercolor pencil works marvelously on this stuff. If you want the best, this is it, quit reading and get a pad.

For full disclosure, I rarely use Strathmore 400 as I find their 300 more than adequate for my limited capabilities although I do love working with this material. I think I might have actually purchased a Strathmore 400 pad once in my life although I have used a couple I acquired.

This Strathmore 350-9 300 Series Sketch Pad is my personal favorite albeit in the 11″ x 14″ size. This is basically the same as the 400 paper above at a lighter weight, 50lbs instead of the 60lbs, and with a slightly less consistent tooth.

What I mean by less consistent tooth is that it seems to me I find slight variations in the tooth of the paper not only from sheet to sheet but sometimes in different areas of the sheet.

I should say that I don’t notice this when sketching at all, only when lightly drawing fine details. In fact, most people I talk to don’t notice it at all so maybe it is just me. I should also mention that this is a very small difference.

I first noticed this when using an extra fine fountain pen to ink in some details on a sketch. To be honest, this isn’t really great paper for fountain pens but I was trying something new. Extra fine nibs on fountain pens can read the tooth on paper like a blind person reads brail so any inconsistency at all shows up like an earthquake.

So why is this my favorite with this issue? Because I do this technique so infrequently that it doesn’t matter and other than this one little nitpick I really do love this paper. Not only is the 300 series a little cheaper, but also lighter and honestly I like the yellow cover too, sue me.

Another excellent paper is the Canson XL Mixed Media Spiral Sketch Pad 3and since this is a heavier paper (98lb) it tends to be more suited for when I want to add embellishments to my sketches with washes, ink or paint. Some people also just prefer heavier paper which is great although for daily sketching this is a little heavy for my taste.

I do very much like the smooth texture of the paper, it seems to deal with fountain pens better than either of the Strathmore papers and of course, being heavier weight means even using a broad nib won’t bleed through. While this isn’t really a sketch paper per se, I put it on my list of best sketching paper because so many people I know like to do washes and embellishments to their sketches I thought I would at least include one paper that excelled at taking those in addition to being some of the best sketching paper.

Since we are talking Canson, the Canson Universal Sketch Pad, Side Wire Bound, 9″ x 12″ is another amazing product from them and deserves a place on the best sketching paper list. While the Strathmore 300 is my go-to paper, the Canson sketch has almost a cult following with some people I talk to.

Some people love the fact that the paper seems so much heavier even though it is only 65lbs as compared to the Strathmore 400 at 60lbs. You wouldn’t think that 5lbs of difference in papers would make a difference but when I use it I can see what they are talking about. Maybe the fibers of the paper are just a little stiffer in addition to the extra weight?

I also notice that the surface seems a little harder than any of the other papers in this list and that the paper seems a tad brighter white. My stiffer fiber theory would also explain a harder surface.

Even with a harder surface and possible stiffer fibers, it takes ink well with no pooling or bleeding and is almost as good at taking washes and broad nibs as the Canson XL above. Of all the paper on here, this is probably the most recommended best sketching paper I have seen.

The last item on my best sketching paper list is a little small and a little different. The Leda Art Supply 160 Pages Softbound Cover Sketchbook for Artists 7 x 10 inch is am amazing little book to carry around when you don’t really want to look like the artist but need some nice paper to sketch on. Yes, they make a larger size, but to me, that kinda defeats the point. This is all about fitting inside a smaller bag, purse, or being carried as a book.

You know what I am talking about, that look you get when you walk into a museum or exhibit carrying your Strathmore tablet and pencil case. This solves that issue and allows you to carry a nicely bound book of excellent paper.

Speaking of the paper, it is 160 pages of 81lb cream-colored paper that is very smooth with just a very light tooth, enough to grab your graphite or charcoal with ease.

In addition, in the back of the book is a small pocket that can hold a few pencils or pens.

Basically this is a plain-looking sketchbook that blends well and doesn’t scream artist, while still providing top-quality paper for your sketching. It truly is some of the best sketching paper you can get.

I hope you enjoyed my article on the best sketching paper for beginners!

If you are a beginner and want the best acrylic paint set you can get to start out with, you have to think of what you really need to get going. I suppose that technically you need paint. You could use your finger and paint on your walls. Personally, I don’t want to use my fingers and paint on my walls so I am going to need a little more in my starter kit.

To me, I want everything I need except my hand and some water. This means I need paint, brushes, a canvas, some kind of easel, and preferably at least a palette. With at least these pieces I can set up and start actually painting. Following that logic, all of the kits I have on my best acrylic paint set list contain these pieces at a minimum. You won’t find cheap sets that include nothing but paint and brushes because they are really worthless to the beginning painter.

Whether you are buying a paint set for adults or kids, you need everything.

Starting off the list of the best acrylic paint set you can get is this basic, but complete kit, the U.S. Art Supply 39-Piece Acrylic Artist Painting Set. It includes 22 different brushes, 12 colors of paint, 2 canvases, an easel, and a color wheel.

There is nothing fancy in this acrylic paint set with brushes at all, but what you do get is a very function kit with reasonably good quality components at a good price. That is why it tops my list. Everything you need to start painting right now, and nothing in the box that will let you down. I am particularly pleased with the little metal easel which at this price point I was expecting it to be destined for the trash can. To my surprise, it is remarkably stable with the sized canvases included in the kit.

No, I don’t want to try and paint a 20″x24″ canvas on it, but for what you get with the kit, it is remarkably usable.

The next step up the best acrylic paint set list is this S & E TEACHER’S EDITION Complete Acrylic Paint Set. For about $15 extra dollars you move to 24 paints, a set of paint knives, some foam brushes, 4 more canvases, and extra palette, a smock, and a nicer easel. It is hard to argue the value of this kit!

In fact, I would say this is the best value for your money of any acrylic paint set with easel on this best acrylic paint set list.

One downside here is that the brushes are not that great of quality, passable, yes, but you will soon want something better. I am also not a huge fan of the easel. It is nicer than the previous metal one, but also less stable. I really like the sliding top where it grabs the canvas but the whole thing is a bit light. This is easily solvable by setting something on the back of the stand with some heft. A couple of books work just fine.

Overall it really is a great value even with the little quibbles.

This Complete Acrylic Paint Set by Glokers. ups the ante by including nicer brushes, paint knives, canvases, easel, and a wooden palette. Everything about this kit (except the paints) is just a lot nicer than previous kits on my best acrylic paint set list.

Why except the paint? There is nothing wrong with the paints, they are fine acrylic paint for beginners, there just are not as many as the previous kit, 12 12ml paints in this kit vs 24 12ml paints in the previous kit. Technically I suppose you can mix all the colors that the previous kit could, but you still only start with half the total quantity of paint.

I can overlook that because the brushes and easel are far and away superior to the previous kits. Even if you discount everything else, the brushes and easel upgrades more than earn the extra money you pay for this kit over the previous one.

Meeden makes some amazing kits, not the least of which is this MEEDEN 66-Piece Acrylic Painting Set with Solid Beech Wood Table Easel which not only includes everything the starting artist needs from a best acrylic paint set, but does it with high-quality components that will last the artist long after they run out of the paint that comes with this kit.

Speaking of paints, this kit comes with 48 colors, each in a 22ml tube. That means you get 1056ml of paint as compared to the previous kit’s 144ml. Talk about a steal! And before you ask, yes, these are excellent paints, almost professional acrylic paint if you ask me.

You might notice that this kit only includes four canvases, but before you get disappointed, note that three of them are 9″x12″ while the largest canvases in the previous kit were 8″x10″. Oh wait, I said four canvases in this kit, the fourth is 11″x14″! But you say that quantity is more important than size when just starting out? True enough, which is why this kit includes an acrylic painting pad with 15 sheets of 9″x12″ paper to practice on before you ever touch a canvas!

Also included are a wooden palette (my favorite type of palette), and a paint color wheel to help you mix the right color. In addition, these are the best acrylic paint brushes of any kit listed here.

This is the second best acrylic paint set on this list if you are serious about getting started in acrylic painting.

My absolute favorite kit on this list is the MEEDEN 70-Piece Premium Acrylic Painting Set – Solid Beech Wood Easel box. Take the previous set which, as you read, I kinda gushed over, and add a serviceable set of paint knives and build the easel into a beautiful wooden box that stores all your painting supplies and you have this kit.

Yes, this kit removes one of the canvases and shrinks another to 8″x10″, but the tradeoff is well worth it in my opinion. Having a place to store everything, particularly one that goes wherever the easel goes, is just too nice to discount the price of a couple of canvases. It is not just big enough to store what it included in the kit but extra brushes, more paints, a pencil for sketching, some rulers, and much more.

You could even store a small Sta-Wet Palette inside the box on top of your paints!

I hope you enjoyed my article on the best acrylic paint set!

Watercolors are unique in that there are two different main levels of watercolor paints; those for play, and those for artists. Finding the best watercolor paint set for beginners largely depends on which of those two you are.

For the people who want to play or test out the waters so to speak, with watercolors, there are very inexpensive watercolor for beginners sets that we probably all had as a kid. A tray with a clear top and a row of solid color paints with a small recess below them for the brush. To use them you filled a small bowl or glass with tap water and dipped the brush into the water, and then swirled it onto the paint to liquify some so you could use it. This is called pan or cake watercolor.

For the artist, they typically use tubes of paste watercolor paint. The advantages here are that the paint is already moist and ready to use and that it is fully pigmented so it doesn’t look washed out unless you add enough water to make it that way.

Two notes here; anyone can use either type and I am only making generalizations to explain why my list looks the way it does, and second, that there are a lot more types of watercolor out there but they are extremely uncommon for beginners, so they are not on this best watercolor paint set for beginners list.

Getting started in watercolor can be very easy and inexpensive as this Watercolor Paint Set by Free Hand shows. This is a great set for either a child or adult to start with that includes good paints, a nice set of brushes, and of course an 8.5″x5.5″ pad of paper designed for watercolor painting.

When you open the lid, each color has a dimple in the lid where you can dilute or mix your colors. This is a really nice touch and makes the set really easy to use. In the old days with the cheap little set we all had, the clear top was just one big tray which made it hard to keep mixed colors separated. That is not a problem here.

For a very inexpensive set, this really packs a lot of value and is one of my favorite gifts for creative kids.

For a little more money the glokers Watercolor Paint Set Starter Kit takes you from 12 sheets of good watercolor paper to a really nice 30 page 9″x12″ pad, adds three brushes which are a little nicer, and a comparable set of paints. This makes it one of the best watercolor pan sets for your money. You can spend more money but are not likely to get much better quality and that is why it is on my list as just about the best watercolor paint set for beginners.

I have always been a fan of glokers kits, and this one doesn’t let you down. The couple their house brand of paints and brushes which are amazing quality for the price and pair that with a Canson XL watercolor tablet which is one of the best student watercolor tablets available. They do this because they know that no matter how good the paint and brushes if the paper doesn’t hold the paint right, it will never look the way it should.

This is the perfect best watercolor paint set for older children or adults who want to get started with cake watercolors.

Here we have the glokers Premium Watercolor Paint Set Bundle, another excellent set by glokers. This is basically the same as the previous set of cake watercolors but with different brushes that are better for the thicker paste type of watercolor paint, and of course, watercolor paint tubes instead of the cakes.

Just like the last kit, they paired their great paint and brushes with an excellent Canson XL watercolor tablet which has some of the best watercolor paper available, so you can get immediately to work and expect quality results.

This is my go-to gift set for people I think might actually pursue watercolor painting long term and probably the best watercolor paint set for beginners value on the list.

So you know a budding artist who has used a cake set and now wants to get a little more serious? Try the US Art Supply 69-Piece Watercolor Paint Set with Aluminum Easel which includes everything an aspiring artist needs to start producing serious student work.

I love the fact that this kit comes with not one, but two easels. To be honest, I prefer using the wooden one that houses my paints and brushes to hold open books I am working from while I actually paint on the metal one. I have, however, painted on the wooden one and it works just fine for smaller canvases but I do wish it had something to hold the top of the canvas while I painted. Without this, if you are painting with a little dryer paint that starts to become sticky the canvas starts to move on you. I solved this by using a rubber band over one or both of the corners while I work on other areas.

I also have to admit that the larger easel gets a little wobbly when used at full extension, although it is still usable. On a table, however, it is excellent.

Even with the flaws, the fact that this kit comes with an amazing array of some of the best watercolor brushes in a kit I have seen, 24 of the best watercolor paints for beginners, a color mixing wheel, a palette, two watercolor paper tablets and storage for all your painting supplies is a huge bargain and sure to please any budding artist. Because it comes with absolutely everything the starting artist needs to get going, I thought it deserved to be on the best watercolor paint set for beginner list.

Practicing your watercolor on tablets is fine, but if you really want to do some nice work you probably want to paint on canvas. With the U.S. Art Supply 57-Piece Watercolor Painting Kit with French Easel you get most of the same pieces from the previous kit and add a really nice easel with built-in storage, and five canvases.

I do really like this kit as you can bundle everything up into a little package and carry it to where you want to paint. It works great at home too because you can fold everything up and store it beside a desk, under the bed, or in a closet.

I was also surprised at how well the easel actually worked because I was not expecting much. For the money, it did quite well. Is it as stable as my large lyre easel? Well no, but then again my big easel cost way more than this kit did so that isn’t saying much. What I can say is that the one in this kit was more than stable enough to do the job, is portable, and has great storage. My lyre easel has no storage and is only portable if I bring along a bouncer named Guido.

While this is a little expensive at a little over $100, it is still a great value for someone who you think really wants to pursue painting seriously and so I included it as the most expensive package on my best watercolor paint set for beginners list.

I hope you enjoyed my best watercolor paint set for beginners list!