Benable — create shareable lists of things you recommend!
E.g., products you love, local businesses, travel recs - you can add anything to a Benable list!
How I Finally Picked Up a Creative Hobby Again After Letting It Die for Years
44
items Somewhere between adulting and doom-scrolling, I stopped making things with my hands. Drawing, painting, even doodling — all gone. If you used to be the creative kid and now you just stare at screens wondering where that person went, this is everythi...
Sections
11
Sketchbooks That Don't Intimidate You Into Never Opening Them
Drawing Pencils and Pens That Feel Good in Your Hand
Watercolor Kits That Won't Overwhelm a Rusty Beginner
Acrylic Paint Sets for People Who Haven't Painted Since High School
Craft Kits That Give You a Finished Project in One Sitting
Desk and Workspace Setup That Actually Makes You Sit Down and Create
Sketchbooks That Don't Intimidate You Into Never Opening Them
My biggest block was staring at a pristine white page and freezing. These sketchbooks broke that spell because they feel low-stakes — like scribbling on a napkin, not committing to a masterpiece.
Grab this if blank pages scare you — the paper handles pen, watercolor, even coffee spills. I started drawing ugly circles on page one just to kill the perfection pressure, and somehow that unlocked everything.
Canson, Mixed Media Pad, 9x12 inches, Side Wire
Switch to toned paper and suddenly every mark you make looks intentional. For anyone who quit sketching because nothing looked good enough — the tan background does half the work for you.
Strathmore 400 Series Sketch Pad, Recycled
Keep this by the couch for when ideas hit during TV commercials. Lined pages tricked my brain into thinking it was just note-taking, not Art with a capital A. Sneaky but it worked.
Piccadilly Essential Notebook Medium - Black - Graph
Toss this in your bag and sketch at lunch — the hardcover means you don't need a table. Spent three months drawing terrible sandwiches at my desk before I realized I was actually enjoying it again.
Arteza 5.5" x 8.5" Spiral-Bound Hardcover Sketchbook
Drawing Pencils and Pens That Feel Good in Your Hand
Cheap pens made drawing feel like homework. The second I held something that glided instead of scratched, my hand remembered what it used to love doing.
Use these if you haven't colored anything since middle school — they blend like butter and the colors are rich enough to make stick figures look fancy. Brought back that childhood art-class dopamine instantly.
Prismacolor Premier Soft Core Colored Pencils
Try the 005 tip for tiny details and the 08 for bold lines — I filled an entire sketchbook page with patterns while on hold with my insurance company. Accidentally meditative.
SAKURA Pigma Micron Fineliner Pens
For anyone who remembers loving pencil shading but forgot how — these go from whisper-light to deep dark with zero effort. Felt like muscle memory kicked in after ten minutes.
Staedtler Mars Lumograph Graphite Drawing & Sketching
Snag this for loose, flowy lettering or sketching — it responds to pressure like a real brush but costs less than a coffee. Started doing fake calligraphy quotes for my kitchen wall and now friends keep asking me to make them one.
Pentel Arts Micro Brush Tip Sign Pen - Black
Watercolor Kits That Won't Overwhelm a Rusty Beginner
Watercolor used to terrify me because everything bled everywhere. Turns out I was just using the wrong supplies. These made it feel forgiving instead of punishing.
Bring this anywhere — it fits in a jacket pocket and the colors mix cleanly even if you have no idea what you're doing. Painted a terrible sunset at the park and a stranger said it was nice. Hooked.
winsor & newton cotman water colours sketchers' pocket box
Use this instead of regular paper or you'll wonder why everything buckles and warps. Learned that the expensive way by ruining three paintings on printer paper before someone told me.
Canson XL Series Watercolor Paper Pad
Pair these with any watercolor set — the bristles hold water perfectly and spring back instead of going floppy. For anyone whose old brushes looked like they survived a garbage disposal.
Princeton Velvetouch Series 3950 Round Brush, 12 Pack
Try these if traditional watercolor setup feels like too many steps — they're pre-loaded with ink that blends with water. Drew flowers on envelopes for holiday cards and people thought I bought them custom.
Arteza Real Brush Pens, Pastel Tones - 12 Pack
Acrylic Paint Sets for People Who Haven't Painted Since High School
I hadn't touched paint in fifteen years and was convinced I'd make a mess. These sets proved that making a mess is actually the whole point and it feels incredible.
Grab this starter set — the tubes are generous and the pigment is thick enough to cover mistakes, which you will make a lot of. Consider that freedom, not failure.
Arteza, Premium Acrylic Artist Paint Set, 24 Pack, 22ml Tubes
Keep these around for when the mood strikes at 10pm — having decent brushes ready means you skip the excuse of not being prepared. Half my paintings happened past midnight.
Royal & Langnickel Assorted Shapes Brown Taklon All
Use these small panels instead of big canvases — finishing a tiny painting in one sitting gave me the confidence hit I desperately needed after years of starting and quitting.
Fredrix T37131 9" x 12" Canvas Panels, 6-Pack
Toss a little of this into your paint to thin it without making it watery — figured this out after three months of either globby or runny messes. Wish someone had told me sooner.
Liquitex Medium - Gel Medium, Matte, 8 oz jar
Craft Kits That Give You a Finished Project in One Sitting
When motivation is fragile, you need a win fast. These kits come with everything and clear instructions so you actually complete something instead of abandoning it on the kitchen table.
Try cross stitch if your brain needs structure — following the pattern is almost meditative and you end up with something cute for your wall. Finished mine during a single Netflix binge.
Learn-A-Craft Enjoy The Ride Counted Cross Stitch Kit 6
Swap your phone for this before bed — sounds childish but coloring inside pre-drawn lines quieted my brain faster than any sleep app. No skill required, just show up.
Crayola Colored Pencil Set, 50 Ct, School Supplies
Perfect for the friend who says they want to try art but gets paralyzed by choices — this box literally tells you what to do step by step. Gave one to my sister and she painted three things the first weekend.
Creative Studio Getting Started Art Kit-Watercolor Pencil
Get this when you want to make something with your hands but drawing feels like too much pressure. Building a tiny garden in a jar scratched the creative itch without any talent required.
Creativity for Kids Grow 'N Glow Terrarium Kit
Desk and Workspace Setup That Actually Makes You Sit Down and Create
Realized my biggest problem wasn't motivation — it was not having a spot ready to go. When supplies lived in a closet, I never started. When they sat on my desk, I couldn't resist.
Wheel this next to your couch or desk — all your supplies visible and within reach. Removed the friction of digging through drawers and suddenly I was sketching every other night.
Honey-Can-Do 3-Tier Rolling Craft Cart with Handle, White
Use this to keep pens and pencils standing upright where you can see them — something about a cup full of colorful supplies silently dares you to pick one up.
Customer reviews for Bostitch Konnect Desktop Organizer
Pair this with your workspace if you create at night — bad lighting made everything I drew look muddy and killed my momentum. Proper light literally changed how my colors looked.
Customer reviews for OttLite LED Desk Light
Snag this if tracing helps you learn — zero shame in it. Traced reference photos for weeks until my hand started drawing the shapes on its own. Training wheels that actually work.
A3 LED Copy Board Light Tracing Box
Books That Teach You Without Making You Feel Stupid
YouTube tutorials moved too fast and made me feel behind. These books let me go at my own pace, reread pages, and not compare myself to some prodigy on camera.
Try the upside-down drawing exercise on page one — it rewires how your eyes see shapes and I went from stick figures to recognizable faces in about two weeks. Not kidding.
Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain
Read this in one afternoon when you're feeling like every idea has been done — it gave me permission to copy, remix, and play without the guilt of not being original enough.
Austin Kleon, Paperback, Steal Like an Artist
Keep this tiny picture book on your shelf for the days when imposter syndrome hits hard. Takes three minutes to read and reminds you that just making a dot on the page counts.
Pre-Owned The Dot, by Peter H. Reynolds
Ditch perfectionism by literally destroying a book on purpose — rip pages, spill coffee on it, poke holes through it. Sounds weird but it broke my fear of ruining things and that fear was the whole problem.
Wreck This Journal (Duct Tape) Expanded Edition
Digital Tools for When Paper Feels Too Permanent
Some nights I wanted to create but the thought of wasting paper or paint stopped me. Digital drawing let me undo every mistake, which was exactly the safety net I needed early on.
Grab a cheap tablet and download a free drawing app — Sketchbook or ibisPaint. Low commitment, zero wasted materials, and you can draw in bed at midnight without setting up anything.
Onn. 10.1" Tablet 32GB 2024 Model Pearl Android 14
Use this with your laptop if you miss doodling but want infinite undo buttons. Took about three days to get used to looking at the screen instead of your hand, then it clicked.
Wacom Intuos Small Wired Drawing Tablet
Pair this with an iPad if you already have one — the pressure sensitivity feels eerily close to real pencil on paper. Drew my dog seventeen times until one finally looked like him.
Pair and charge Apple Pencil (1st generation) with iPad
Toss this in your tablet so you never get the dreaded storage full message mid-sketch. Lost a drawing I actually liked because my tablet ran out of space — never again.
SanDisk 128GB Ultra® microSDXC ™ UHS-I memory card
Supplies for the Couch Creator Who Won't Sit at a Desk
Honestly, most of my creative comeback happened on the couch with a blanket. Making it comfortable meant I actually did it instead of thinking about doing it.
Use this as your portable studio — holds a sketchbook flat on your lap and has a spot for your phone to play reference photos. Created more art on my couch than I ever did at a desk.
LapGear Home Office Lap Desk, Blush Pink
Keep this closed case on your coffee table — pop it open and everything is right there, organized and ready. Lowered the activation energy to basically zero.
Crayola Inspiration Art Case, 140 Piece Art Set, Ages 3+
Stock up because nothing kills momentum like a dead device mid-session. Learned this when my light pad died during the only inspired evening I had that week.
Energizer Rechargeable AA Batteries (8 Pack)
Snag a pack of these as disposable paint palettes — sounds ridiculous but they work perfectly and you just toss them. No cleanup means no excuse to skip painting on a weeknight.
Hefty, Disposable Foam Plates, 8.8 inches, 150 count
Inspiration Sources That Don't Make You Feel Behind
Scrolling Instagram art accounts made me want to quit before I started. These sources inspired without comparing — huge difference when you're fragile about starting again.
Flip through this when you need creative energy without pressure — it's full of paper art, illustrations, and prompts that make you want to make something without judging yourself.
Flow Magazine
Try one prompt per day — they're tiny and weird and fun. Did ‘draw your breakfast’ on day four and ended up sketching my cereal bowl for twenty minutes. Didn't feel like practice, felt like play.
365 Days of Art: A Creative Exercise for Every Day
Get this purely for the vibes — painting along with Bob Ross episodes is the most stress-free creative experience possible. Happy little trees fixed something therapy couldn't reach.
Bob Ross, Paint Set, Oil Colors, Landscape Brushes
Bring this to a coffee shop and paint what you see — the thick pages handle watercolor well and the small size keeps it low-pressure. Painted a latte once and the barista asked to keep it.
Moleskine Art Watercolor Notebook, Hard Cover
Gifts for the Friend Who Used to Be Creative and Misses It
Once this stuff worked for me, I started giving it to friends who said things like ‘I used to draw’ with that sad look in their eyes. Every single one of them started again.
Pair these with a coloring book for the friend who says they're not artistic — familiar since childhood, zero learning curve, and something about opening a fresh box of these hits different as an adult.
Crayola Colored Pencil Set, 50 Ct, School Supplies
Give this to someone who keeps saying they want to try watercolor — having two pads removes the preciousness. Mess up the first one completely, that's what it's for.
Arteza Expert Watercolor Pad, 9" x 12" Cold-Pressed Paper
Wrap these up for the friend who doodles on napkins at dinner — they deserve real pencils and probably won't buy them for themselves. Watch them light up when they feel the difference.
Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils, Soft Core, 24 Count
Toss this on someone's desk as a surprise — no card needed, they'll get it. Perfect for the coworker who seems burned out and used to have a creative side before spreadsheets consumed their soul.
Zen Doodle Coloring Book: Stress Reliever and Relax