A Great Gift for a 12 y.o. girl or boy

Someone recently asked :"What kind of art kit can I give my 12 y.o. granddaughter?" (The same could be asked about a grandson) Several of us immediately thought of THE ULTIMATE SKETCHING AND DRAWING GIFT SET by Faber-Castell. Colored pencils, watercolor pencils, graphite drawing pencils, paintbrush, eraser, fineline markers, sharpener, watercolor paper, drawing paper, black paper, booklet. All in an elegant black expandable portfolio. This is the best kit by this old, well-established Swiss art company. It costs $59.99. 

This will never be outgrown, but it can be added to.....

A MOLESKINE journal with watercolor or sketching pages or lined for writing. Pocket or purse-sized. Ready to grab and sketch in. Then save until you need ideas tomorrow or in 30 years. It's pronounced "mol-a-skee'-na" (not like the skin off one of those cute little mouse-like creatures that dig holes in our lawns.) These have been used by writers and artists for a couple hundred years. French origin, but now from Italy. Prices vary, but worth every dollar. 

Of course, there are other sketch books also, some of which are of completely recycled paper and totally ECO-FRIENDLY. 

>>>>>>as I get more used to this format, I'll get better at adding photos, etc. So be patient and just read my notes. Remember - I'm from the days when dinosaurs used CARBON PAPER to make copies instead of a Xerox machine. And our copiers made purple copies (mimeographs).