Anyone who crafts knows that their craft supply is ever expanding, however if you are just getting started here are a few of my favourite craft essentials. Hopefully it will give you an idea of what items may be worth investing in if you want to start crafting.
Craft Mat
I could not be without my craft mat it has saved my work space numerous times driving covered in glue, paint or ink. Just a simple mat is a good surface to work on it will keep your furniture clean while you are crafting. In addition many have measurements and guidelines on them that help with placement of embellishments. Buy your craft mat here
Glue Gun
If you want a fail safe gluing method then a glue gun is essential it can easily stick many of your designs together and ensures a longer lasting adhesive. Many of the cheaper glue guns leak glue whilst they are in use so it is a good idea to have a mat or some newspaper to save your work surface from being covered in glue. My most important piece of advice about glue guns is they are HOT so be very careful when sticking as you may burn your fingers. Buy your glue gun here
Stash of gems, ribbon and buttons
All craft projects can benefit from some embellishments, a good mix of diamante gems, pearl flat backs, various buttons and ribbon will help. I tend to purchase bigger packs of embellishments when I need one for a specific item that way further down the line I have a larger stock to choose from. Warning – this is a forever growing area of crafting you can never have enough embellishments or ribbons.
Alphabet stamps
Being able to personalise items is what makes crafting so enjoyable and an essential for personalising is a set of alphabet stamps. There are a range of fonts and sizes available.
It is advisable to have at least 2 sets to enable both large and small text. Now in conjunction with your alphabet stamps you will need an acrylic stamping block for placing the letters on to stamp and an ink pad.
Inks are available in numerous colours and in both permanent and washable. It is my advice to get the permanent ink pads as you can stamp on a wider range of media without bleeding of the ink.
Stamps can be cleaned using baby wipes to enable prolonged use so make a good investment. Buy your alphabet stamps here
Permanent marker
A permanent marker pen is a handy addition to your crafting tool box there are a wide range of uses. There are sets available with a range of colours however I can honestly say that none are used anywhere near as often as the black one.
Further craft supplies that would be good to invest in would really depend on the type of craft that you are interested in starting. The most popular crafts I have tried to cover below but further research into your chosen craft will give you a better idea of the essentials.
Knitting/Crochet
Set of knitting needles/crochet hooks
Row counter
Stitch marker
Sewing
Basic Sewing Machinee
Spare Bobbinss
Sharp Scissorss
Paper Crafts
Cutting Machine – a hand turned cutting and embossing machine will enable you to get professional results. I personally use a silhouette portrait cutting machine, you can read my review of this machine here https://claireyatfairycrafters.com/silhouette-review/
Small nozzle applicator glue
Double-sided tape
A mix of cardstock both plain and patterned
This is a very basic essential guide which obviously will change depending on the crafts that you want to undertake. Hopefully this guide will give you a wide starting block from which you can narrow to your preferred medium.
Thank you for reading and please let me know if there is anything you think I have missed or would like further information on. But most importantly enjoy how therapeutic crafting can be!
