- Jul 11, 2021

Must-Have Craft Supplies for the Committed Crafter

I am not going to lie; I have too many craft supplies. I have a short attention span and am constantly getting distracted to try something new.

Some could see this as a flaw, but for this post, I'm going to call it a commitment to art and crafting. I need to be a die-hard crafter to use all my supplies before I die.

However, you don't have to fill up your house completely like I did to be a well-rounded crafter. Below are my favorite supplies to make a wide variety of projects.

Craft paint

Craft paint is the absolute must-have supply if you plan on being a crafty creative.

I use some form of acrylic craft paint in so many of my projects. Below are a few.

Click the images to go to the tutorial

Craft paint is a better option for crafting than the more expensive acrylic paints. For one, it’s less expensive, and two, the paint is thinner than the fine art kind. That means it spreads easier and is just easier to use.

Most craft paint comes in little plastic containers. You can purchase several brands at varying prices. You can get a set of many colors anywhere between $20 and $35. I personally like to use Apple Barrel.

Resin

These products may seem intimidating to you. It does for a lot of people. But I can’t tell you enough about how excited you’ll be after you make your first resin project.

Click the images to go to the tutorial

The reason a lot of people find resin scary is that, with two-part epoxy resin, there is measuring and mixing involved. You must mix together equal parts of the epoxy and the hardener, and measuring can be a little difficult sometimes. You then have to stir the two for about 2 minutes to get air bubbles out that you might still have to deal with later. If you can get past the uncertainty of what I’ve just told you, the two-part resin is perfect for any of your bigger resin projects. It comes in all sizes.

However, the two-part resin is not the only resin in town. They also make UV resin these days. It is a one-part resin that hardens quickly under UV light, like the sun. So do not make any projects outdoors while using it. But take it outside when you’re done applying, And it will be hard in no time. The UV resin is best for smaller projects. It comes in smaller bottles.

What kinds of things can you make with resin? All sorts are the answer.

It seems like it's most often used with silicone molds. All you have to do is mix it up and pour it into the mold. Most folks add some sort of resin filler within the resin. These can be from glitter and microbeads to charms or any other embellishments you might want to use. There are also ways to color the resin. So you have many ways to make resin in mold projects unique.

Click the images to go to the tutorial

Another fun thing you can do with resin is to use it to coat things like furniture. Embedding items or materials within the resin against the surface comes out looking really cool. Have you ever been to one of those bars where coins or other fun things are embedded in the countertops?

Here is a chair I made over using resin:

Click the image to go to the tutorial

Polymer clay

This is such a fun medium to play with. For those who aren't familiar with it, it's modeling clay that you bake in the oven to harden. The beauty of polymer clay, I think, is that it does not dry out during non-use. That means you don't have to store it in containers, tho when it gets very old, it will become crumbly and non-usable. It comes in lots of colors.

What I love about polymer clay, is that it's paintable, so I always keep a brick of white on hand. But there is so much you can do with polymer clay. And you don't have to be an expert, either. You can start with very easy projects and try more advanced techniques as you get used to them. Check out these projects:

Click the images to go to the tutorial

Recycled materials

This is the most satisfying supply one can use for crafting. You can imagine how good you could feel from helping clean up the planet while doing something you love — creating art! Not to mention that the art pieces that come from recycled materials turn out so cool. And people love them. You could easily sell projects that help the earth.

Here are just a few options of things you could use:

wine corks
soda cans
cardboard
plastic water bottles
glass bottles

My recycled projects:

Click the images to go to the tutorial

And those are just a few of the different materials that would go directly into the trash or recycling bin. There is another whole world of creating art by altering objects that would probably get tossed eventually, like:

old books
game pieces
tin boxes
old clocks
lamp shades
playing cards

You name it. Essentially, you could alter anything to become art. Check out Pinterest for altered art ideas.

Here is some of my altered art:

See more on my Flickr page.

Glue gun

A glue gun is so handy to have for a lot of projects. Glue guns come in a standard size. But for most crafting, folks use a mini glue gun and mini glue sticks. You can usually get the mini glue sticks at the dollar store.

Hot glue gives immediate hold, so it’s perfect for things like attaching magnet buttons to items you want to decorate your fridge with.

But you can also use it for other things. Below is a mirror I made with flourishes that were made of hot glue:

You can also use it to make wax seals, but you use hot glue instead of wax. Another idea is to put hot glue into silicone molds. There are many embellishment ideas out there using hot glue.

And hot glue doesn’t just come in a clear stick. They also make colored glue sticks and glue sticks with glitter.

Glitter/glitter glue

What can I say about glitter — I love it 😍. I love making colorful projects and that sparkle. And glitter is cheap, so you can sparkle as much as you want. Check out my project of a glittered canvas picture:

As much as I like glitter, tho, my husband hates it. He hates it because he says it gets everywhere, which can be true. So, if you or your family is sensitive to that kind of stuff, you can use glitter glue instead.

I like to use glitter glue for all types of crafts, like my resin keychains and snowflake magnets. But I also really like to use it in my mixed media work to outline things with it, like in these artist trading cards:

Check my Flickr photostream to see more of my altered trading cards.

Acrylic Sealer

I want to give the last mention to an acrylic sealer. It's not an obviously fun craft product to play around with, but it keeps your fun craft projects more protected.

In the end, nearly all of my projects are given a coat of something to help hold the project together. It depends on what you're making to what kind of product you'd use.

Nearly all coatings and sealers come in a spray form. You can get a matte finish all the way to ultra-gloss.