Question:What do you consider basic crafting materials? What are your crafting staples? What is your "can't live without" crafting supply??Thanks in advance...mj
Answer: MJ...Thanks for this most EXCELLENT question! There is NO easy answer to your question...crafting is a very personal thing. What you like will usually dictate what you need; however, there are a few things that I think ALL crafters need in order to craft.
1. GLUE-we know what it does and we know how to use it, but we often misuse it!! There are as many glues on the market as there are crafts in the world. Having a basic white glue like Elmers on hand is good for most paper crafts. But...what if you want to glue fabric, or add rhinestones to a mirror, or make party invites? A good multi purpose glue is Aleene's® Original Tacky Glue®. Tacky Glue ROCKS!!!! I would also highly recommend E-600. It smells HORRIBLE...but it works like no other. I tend to use it for industrial projects, like gluing flat back acrylic rhinestones to Crocs. For my greeting cards I prefer glue sticks, my current favorite is Scott's Glue Sticks by 3M. They have superior stick-ability, have no odor and tend to not dry out as fast. I only buy them from Sam's Club where I can get 28 of them for about $6.00. You already know my favorite fabric glue...Fabri-Tac.
2. SCISSORS-I normally go pretty cheap on scissors. That way when I ruin a pair...I do not have to go into panic mode. I just scrape up another two dollars and buy another pair. I normally get my cheap cuts from Hobby Lobby or Michales. I have NEVER paid more than $1.99 for a pair and I NEVER will. I normally buy 2 or 3 pairs at a time. I also like to keep a couple pairs/set of embroidery scissors on hand too. These work wonderfully well for cutting small things and for getting into tricky places.
3. PAPER-Michaels and Hobby Lobby always have their scrap booking paper on sale. I load up on what I like. I also get baby and kid friendly papers too. You never know what you might need. I also will sometimes buy Michael's bulk packs of CHEAP card stock for my less refined crafts. For my fine paper crafts, I LOVE Stampin' Up cardstock. I always keep a nice selection of pastels (pink, light blue, yellow), neutrals (white, grey, black), primary's (red, blue, green) and metallics (silver and gold). I also like to have a few sheets of parchment paper on hand in white as well as other colors like soft pink and light blue. I typically get my parchment paper from Michael's and Hobby Lobby.
4. PENCILS/PENS/MARKERS-Since the invention of computers and affordable color printers...I no longer purchase these items as staples. My computer and printer offer me a WIDE variety of fonts and colors. I do keep black, blue, red and silver Sharpies on hand.
5. FREEZER PAPER-I use it for stencils (I will post a pic later) and for covering up my work space. Wax Paper is also useful and cheaper.
6. PAINTS-I have yet to find a paint more flexible that acrylic paints. They come in a MILLION colors, can be easily thinned with water, are quick and easy to clean up and dry quickly. They can also be turned into fabric paint by mixing them with textile medium. I get my paints and textile medium at Walmart, Hobby Lobby and/or Michaels.
7. TAPE-Clear Scotch tape, masking tape, box tape and duct tape are all staples in my repertoire. Occasionally, I use double sided tape, but not often. I also LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Glue Dots.
8. TIME-This is the thing that we need the most, run out of the fastest and can never get enough of! This can be a serious crafters worst nightmare. Try to plan your projects before you start them. If you know it is going to take three days to complete a craft, figure out when you have three free days so that you do not have to abandon the project. I almost NEVER plan things out and, as a result, I have numerous piles of almost finished crafts. "Craft smart from the start"(sounds a lot like "If it doesn't fit...you must acquit...I am now channeling my inner Johnny Cochran. This might become my mantra).
The above are just a FEW of the millions of supplies that I currently have in residence. Of all of these, the thing that I CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT is...Tacky Glue. I use it almost daily.
Thanks for the question MJ...I hope this helps...
~Quita
Marquita, does your crafting include sewing & knitting, that kind of stuff? Can you do pants hems and waste bands? Is there a quick way to un-snag a zipper? It takes me FOREVER! And another thing that takes me FOREVER is...pulling a drawstring back through. Know what I mean, getting it all the way back to it’s “exit hole”, it takes me an eternity to inch it back around jabbing & hooking it with a safety pin. Have you found an easier way? Also, you've got me thinking about re-inventing some broken stuff I can't bear to throw away. (example: an expensive silver picture frame that fell off the wall & split into pieces). That reminds me...My grandmother had a knack for re-using broken stuff that my granddad would truck home from the construction site dump, stuff like broken bricks (she used to wall around her small garden) and broken pieces of tile (she made a table top for an old table). She even used the ashes from the fire place and put them in her garden. She grew watermelon & greens & tomatoes (They were good as any). Twenty years ago, they put new roofing on the house, and....well, she never found a use for those unused roof shingles.
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