The Atlanta Egotist Procrastinator's Holiday Gift Guide

At $9 for the year, a Museum of Design Atlanta membership is the cheapest museum ticket in town. And did you know that MODA is a Smithsonian affiliate? With upcoming exhibitions ranging from Italian motorcycle design to bridal and bathroom design there's sure to be something of interest in the coming year. The membership pays for itself in less than one visit and the $9 is worth it just to check out their new facility, opening in Midtown in February.

Swath your iPhone 4 in handcrafted, side-stitched, stamped, Atlanta pride. From the Process Fall/Winter 2010 collection, pick it up at Standard.

Not everyone can work at Armchair, but everyone can measure pixels like they do with this deliciously elegant pixel ruler. At $39, it's definitely a splurge, but he/she/it has worked hard all year and deserves the finest pixel measuring tool an Atlanta interactive agency has to offer, right?

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This magazine holder by CommonCreativ Atlanta is the perfect gift to send a not-so-subtle reminder to your creative loved one that the past year's worth of Comm Arts/CMYK/HOW magazines piled up around the house are becoming a fire hazard. Is it ironic that an online publication sells a print magazine holder? Yes. Handmade and available for only $10 from their etsy store.

It really is true that there's nothing more thoughtful than a handmade gift, except maybe a handmade gift that's actually useful. case-mate's DIY cases are the perfect balance. If you're the creative one in the family, upload your own design. If you're the creatively-challenged one, use their imakemycase design builder and pass off the designer's work as your own (we won't tell). (Note: It takes 3-5 days + shipping for custom cases, so don't procrastinate too long with this one.)

Lacking for inspiration? Here's our recommendation:

You know the famous quote: "If you give a man a hammer, he'll build something with it." No? Well that's OK because we made it up. But that should be the slogan for 100 Hammers*.

We got turned on to 100 Hammers in a pretty round-about way, and once you hear the story, you can't help but be hooked. Essentially, there are 100 Hammers traveling the world creating a collection of things, in honor friend of Project M, carpenter David McLaughlin. Order your very own hammer, build a gift box with it, and put it under the tree for your craftiest friend to create with and pass on. Sometime in 2011 there will be a group show for all the things the 100 Hammers created.

*We'll give them that line for free, that's how much we like what they're doing.

Stuff the stockings of the chocolate lovers in your life with fair-trade chocolate bars from Alter Eco. Alter Eco is part of The Hoop Fund, which you may remember from this post, is a venture of Atlanta's own BeDo.

The sweetest part, pun-intended, is that Alter Eco products, which also include unusual varieties of rice, quinoa, sugar and olive oil, are available at just about every Whole Foods in the Greater Atlanta Area, and outside the perimeter too.

Want to invest more? The $45 Fund + Enjoy:

* $20 micro-loan to hardworking farmers in Peru
* $25 organic cotton & silk scarf by Indigenous Designs (a 28% savings)
* A custom loan certificate to present to your loved one

Somehow this missed the cut for Oprah's Favorite Things, but it didn't miss our list. Better Marriage Blankets for EVERYONE!!!!!!!

The Better Marriage Blanket - Watch more Funny Videos

When we first heard of Printies, stuffed animals that you print out on your inkjet, we kind of thought they were a joke, but it turns out they're one of the most popular toys for Christmas this year. If your child asked Santa for Printies this year, you can at least feel good knowing that Going Interactive designed and developed the Printies application

hey, matt and i from cardinal & company were a part of the 100 hammers group :) yayyy.

everyone do it!

The Open Daybook is both a compilation of original art work and perpetual daily calendar. Over the course of a single year, three hundred and sixty five artists were assigned a date and given 24 hours to create a work of art.

Each artist’s day is a page in the book. But The Open Daybook is also an invitation for the owner to record his or her own day. The book can be used as a day planner, a journal or a daily sketchbook. As the owner of the book doodles, plans for the future and records the past, a second book is created, a collaboration in which each artist’s day becomes the owner’s day as well.

For a local connection: Armchair Art Director Kevin Byrd is a contributor.

Available on Amazon for 35% off the list price of $45.00.