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Inexpensive Materials for Hobby Hoppers
13
items From a certified hobby hopper, undertaking new hobbies can get expensive. These are the inexpensive materials I’ve used and loved to try out a new activity, craft, or skill.
Sections
3
Letterboxing
Drawing and Sketching
Birding
Letterboxing
A low-stakes, easy-entry hobby that allows you to engage in an ongoing scavenger hunt in any area by making and trading carved stamps found in hidden caches.
Speedball Speedy Carve is your gateway to making linocut prints and illustrations or stamps, which then allow you to participate in Letterboxing.
Letterboxing is similar to geocaching except instead of using coordinates, you use clues written by Le...
Speedball Speedy Carve Blocks
To carve your linocut prints or stamps from Speedy Carve, you’ll need a lino cutting tool.
✨This carving kit comes with 5 different heads that allow for different widths and depths to be carved from your print.
✨Switching out the heads is simple ...
Speedball Linoleum Cutting Kit
✨Archival, permanent ink pads for your linocut stamps
✨When Letterboxing, it’s helpful to add an ink pad to a cache you’re hidden for Letterboxers to use with your stamp. It’s equally helpful to bring along a stamp pad of your own in case there isn...
Archival Ink™
This miniature drawing pad is the perfect size to tuck into a Letterbox if you are hiding a cache of your own for others to find, or to keep in a waist belt bag to take along on your own Letterboxing expeditions.
I keep mine in my bag at all times f...
Drawing Pad by Artist's Loft™, 5.5" x 8.5"
Drawing and Sketching
Aren’t you so envious of people who just whip out a sketchpad and expertly doodle their current view? Materials to help you (and me) be that person too.
This book contains 30 step-by-step, easy to follow lessons on drawing basic shapes, structures, and details that allow you to sketch out so much of what you see in the world.
I keep my copy in my bag along with my drawing pad to practice drawing wh...
You Can Draw in 30 Days: The Fun, Easy Way to Learn to Draw in One Month or Less|Paperback
I prefer to keep a separate sketchbook to practice my drawing and sketching in.
The wire bound rings on this book allow your pad to lay flat, which I prefer.
Black Wirebound Sketchbook by Artist's Loft
Birding
Inexpensive ($35), compact, easy to use binoculars if you’re just starting your birding hobby. You can always upgrade later to more expensive binoculars, but for a beginner, these are a great start.
Comes with a carrying case and a neck strap so yo...
Occer 12x25 Compact Binoculars
If you’re adding a bird feeding station to your backyard or deck to attract birds, a bird bath is necessary!
This one has adjustable clamps that allow you to easily mount the bath on your deck or porch railing without tools. Sturdy mounting allows ...
Deck Mounted Bird Bath with Adjustable Clamps
This is a high quality blend of seed that attracts common backyard songbirds that doesn’t use filler as the first ingredient. The birds go crazy when I use this mix in my backyard feeder- blue jays especially love the suet nuggets.
Pennington Feeding Frenzy Cardinal and Songbird, Wild Bird Food Blend, 5 lb.
If you’re especially interested in attracting corvids(crows, Blue Jays) or grackles, peanuts are their preference. These are unshelled, although this brand also sells peanuts in shell.
❗️Important to note: peanuts for wildlife are unsalted! Salt is...
Pennington Shelled Peanuts for Wildlife
I have this bird feeder on a hanger on my back deck. Easy to clean and fill. The plastic doors allow for a responsive flow of seed as birds eat what is available on the tray.
The side brackets hold suet cakes or seed cakes!
Pennington Red Cedar Wild Bird Feeder
Seed cakes are the best way to draw woodpeckers to your feeding station. The downy woodpeckers in my area flock to the seed cake.
This can be tucked into the side brackets of the red cedar feeding house.
Audubon Park Woodpecker Seed Cake
Suet cakes can be added to the side brackets of the red cedar bird feeder house. There are many varieties of suet cakes, but be sure to purchase the no melt variety in summer. Suet is made of beef fat, so it can be quite drippy and messy if you’re no...
Pennington Feeding Frenzy No- Melt Suet Dough