40 must-have craft supplies for beginners
My #craftycrew has asked, so now I’m going to answer the burning question about what I recommend you have in your craft stash! Here are my top 40 must-have craft supplies for beginners!
I’m so excited for you to start crafting, and step one is starting your craft stash!
Crafting for beginners can be so overwhelming. I know, because I’ve been there!
Everyone has to start somewhere, and it’s helpful to have someone tell you where to start!
That’s why I put together a list of my 40 must-have craft supplies for beginners!
If I’d had this list when I got started crafting, I think it would have saved me from feeling overwhelmed and I would have been able to focus more on my creativity instead!
You might also love this HUGE post where I share my TOP AMAZON DEALS
That is right! I get asked all the time. “where did you get that?”, “where can I find that?”, “what supplies do you recommend I have in my stash?” so I figured I should create a place for you to go to get the answers!
So I came up with 40 must-have craft supplies for beginners! If you are an avid DIY’er or Crafter like I am then you might already have some of these things in your stash of supplies and tools, if not then you are in luck! I am going to help you build your craft and DIY toolbox!
Let’s get right to it! (these are my affiliate links. If a purchase is made through one of my links I may earn a small commission but that does not cost you any extra)
Camera mount
1. Mini Sander
I get asked where did you get that sander at least 20 times a day! Its definitely a must have and my number 1 craft supply i recommend you have in your stash!
Heres the budget sander link and the Gator Zip sander link
Glues, Sticks, and Adhesives!
2. Mod Podge
There are many different Mod Podge products to choose from by Plaid Crafts but I always keep a large container of MATTE Mod Podge on hand!
3. Sure Bonder Glue Gun
I used to have a tiny mini glue gun until one of my amazing followers sent me this Sure Bonder Cordless one! Hands down it is the very best around! (I am considering getting a Ryobi Glue Gun to go on my battery pack for outdoor use too)
4. Stapler
You might also want a stapler on hand too when you cant use glue! I also love this handheld stapler
5. Glue Sticks by Gorilla Glue
I’ve tried all the other glue sticks and I will say Gorilla glue sticks are by far the best I have used! I always snag a larger pack when I order them! I will say this brand isn’t too bad either, if you don’t plan to use outside consider this big box!
Cutting Tools and Craft Mats
6. Rotary cutter
I absolutely love my Fiskars Rotary Cutter so much! It comes in handy with so many craft projects that I have done. Especially fabric crafts!
7. Exacto-Knife
You can use a basic Exacto-knife if you prefer. However, the Slice cutter is hands down one of the best Exacto-knives I have ever used! As you can tell from the photo it is also comfortable too!
8. Scissors
I love this pair of scissors! SO MUCH! I refer to them as my “good scissors”.
These Fiskars scissors are hands down my absolute favorites! I honestly wish I had 2 pairs!
9. Wire/Bolt Cutters or Aviation Snips
These aviation snips are AMAZING! I highly recommend them!
10. Needle Nose Pliers
These are an absolute must in your craft stash! You never know when you will need a smaller point tip to grasp something.
11. Staple Puller
I find that I use a ton of things that have staples in them. Sometimes I will use a butter knife to pry the staples out but this staple puller is pretty amazing!
Yes, all these cutting tools are absolutely a must! You can get by with just a few of these til you build up your supply stash!
12. CRAFT MAT
This one for me is a must! You can use craft paper but I will say having a mat in place is great for me!
Spray Water Bottle
13. Continuous spray water bottle or spray bottle
A water bottle or spray bottle is definitely a must for crafters and DIY’ers! I use it all the time! This is the exact one I USE but mine is black! I think I own like 4 of these!
PAINTBrushes
14. Chip Paint Brushes 1-inch and 2-inch
I do buy all my brushes in bulk simply because I use so many of them. I prefer the 1 inch and I get the 96 pack which makes them about $0.26 cents each!
15. Art brushes
I am a bit of a coffee snob and a paintbrush snob too! If you are too then we can totally relate to each other!
I am pretty particular about my professional brushes. But when it comes to crafting and such I stick to the cheap basic brush packs. I love the variety I get with the packs.
16. Sponge brushes
I don’t use these gen foam brushes a whole lot but I love to have them on hand for when I need one! These are the cheapest brushes for crafting you will find.
You might prefer wedge sponge for crafting instead
TIP: Chippy brushes (1 and 2-inch), as well as Art brushes, are MUST HAVES in your craft stash! I use a ton of chip brushes and art brushes. I am not much of a fan of sponge brushes, but you can totally use them if you like!
PAINTS
This is like the best part of a crafter’s stash – THE PAINTS! I personally use all different kinds of paint! My fav is DecoArt acrylics and Chalk Paint, Acrylics and Heavy Bodied paint! But you can totally start with basic craft paints! Like Apple Barrel!
I love A Maker’s Studio and Craft Smart too! And yes, I love Waverly paint as well and their wax!
17. Chalk Paint
I love all the varieties of Chalk Paints however my top 2 are Waverly and Folk Art! There really are no rules when it comes to chalk paints for crafting. (Furniture is a different story)
18. Acrylic Paint
DecoArt it is for my top choice! you might notice I’ve been using it a lot
Apple Barrel and Craftsmart are my other two favorite acrylic craft paints!
19. Wax
I love Waverly wax but here lately it seems no one can get their hands on it! Another awesome alternative is DecoArt’s Creme Wax! I think you will love it! If you are looking for a good darker or colored wax you can always mix pigment from your paint with clear wax!
Strings, Ribbon, and Fabric!
20. Ribbon
I get my ribbon from ALL OVER THE PLANET! Seriously! One of the greatest places to find the HOTTEST Ribbon is over at DecoExchange! Trust me! (photo credit: Damon Oates – DecoExchange)
You can also see if you can get your ribbon over at Dollar Tree. It isn’t as good but it is affordable.
21. Fabric
I love to shop the sales at Hobby Lobby when they have 50% off! I tend to stock up on my ribbon and fabric there but if you don’t have a hobby lobby then Amazon is the perfect alternative!
You can snag some great deals there too! But I absolutely love to get ribbon at DOLLAR TREE! But you want to have ribbon and fabric on hand in your stash! (I use old t-shirts, curtains, table cloths, sheets, and basically anything I can rip up)
22. Raffia
Raffia is by far the one thing I will say that if you do not have ribbon on hand you can make it work for any crafting project!
23. Twine or Jute!
I absolutely love to use twine and jute! You can do so much with it!
You might also want to keep Zip ties and Floral wire on hand as well!!
24. Zip ties
Zip ties are great when you need to secure pieces of your craft together. The great thing about zip ties is you can paint them to match the colors of your craft and make them blend in.
25. Floral wire
I love to use floral wire when I am making a project that I want to hang. The flexibility of floral wire is also good for attaching pieces of your craft, but it is more pliable than zip ties.
Stencils, Papers, and Surfaces!
26. Scrapbook paper
I love scrapbook paper, but I am absolutely not a scrapbooker! NOT ME! However, I will DIY and craft with it! Shop around and get a variety of patterns that match your styles!
27. Stamps
I love to use stamps when I don’t have the paper I like!
28. Stencils
I absolutely LOVE using stencils in my crafts and think it is absolutely a MUST have in anyone’s craft stash!
You can definitely get some super cute stencils from Dollar Tree, but they are not always the most durable. Check out A Maker’s Studio and Magnolia Designs if you want stencils of higher quality!
29. Kraft Paper and Wax Paper
30. DIGITAL PRINTABLES
31. Napkins
You can get these at various places like Tuesday Morning, Amazon, Home Goods, and TJ Maxx.
i also sell napkin bundles in my shop
32. Tissue Paper
I love to use tissue paper in place of scrapbook paper or napkins. I think it is pretty affordable and will last you a while too.
33. Wood Cut-Outs or Canvases
I sell wood cut outs. A growing selection of laser wood cut outs and DIY kits! THATS RIGHT!
Dollar Tree is cheap for some wood cut outs if you can find them in stock and i love getting my canvases there BUT my next favorite place to shop for surfaces has to be AMAZON! Y’all Amazon has everything.
The other place I love to get surfaces at like my CANVAS’s is Hobby Lobby or Blick Materials!
34. Popsicle Sticks
I always keep several sizes of these in my craft stash! You might want to start by just getting the standard size you want to use for most projects. Often times you can find the craft sticks that are larger at Lowes and Home Depot.
35. Paint Sticks
Paint sticks are a must! I use them often to create surfaces or frames for my projects.
36. Beads
I am such a sucker for wood beads! I will literally grab them even if I don’t even need them yet! But Amazon has the best deals on bulk beads!
Be sure to store away your scrap wood, fabric, and papers! They come in handy!
Drying, Sanding, and Finishing!
I love to distress! I pretty much distress everything I have painted or made! When I do distress I use a few different ways! Wet sand, Dry Sand, and Chip method!
37. Sanding sponges
I love my sanding sponges but I love to wet distress too with a wet wipe too!
38. Wet wipe
I think wet wipes, also known as baby wipes, are a must for your craft stash! I use these things DAILY to paint and clean with!
39. Heat tool
You can use a hairdryer but I find that a heat gun is a preference for me! I love the adjustable settings and that it is much quieter than a hairdryer!
If you are like me, I also don’t like to wait for paint or adhesive to dry so I prefer to use a heat tool! Personally, I have a Kobalt, but they no longer make it, so here is the alternative!
Not that these are required, but I do recommend you consider one of these! I personally have the Silhouette!
CUTTING MACHINES
Not that these are required, but I do recommend you consider one of these! I personally have the Silhouette Cameo 4 and I have totally considered getting myself a Cricut!
I also own Co2 Lasers such as the glowforge, omtech and Thunder lasers
40. The Cricut or a Silhouette!
You can decide which! (I personally have a Silhouette)
The Silhouette may be my favorite but you can go with whatever you prefer. I loved the added options that the Cricut did not offer.
Well, that wraps up my list of 40 must-have craft supplies for beginners!
You can always create your own stash of supplies based on your crafting and DIY style! There really are no rules but these are definitely my recommendations! I am certain that these aren’t the only things to have because my stash is loaded with goodies, but this is the list of things I recommend most!
You can always grow your stash as your interests grow.
If you want to, you can shop for my ENTIRE AMAZON Favorites shop just click here! It is packed full of all the things I use, love, and recommend!
As a creative myself, one thing I try to do is shop affordably! My go-to places locally are DOLLAR TREE, Walmart, Michael’s, and Hobby Lobby! I occasionally check out the Dollar General and Joann’s, but not very often! I also love to shop online too!
My go-to hardware store is Lowes, followed by Home Depot! As a creative, I never turn down a good deal, and I am always thinking “I can make that”! As you search and gather goodies, your stash will grow!
Please consider also shopping my own store with craft supplies and subscription craft box!
My she shed I call the “Creative Haven”!
In case you were wondering you can get your own barn kit over on Amazon. This one is absolutely adorable!
You might just need a she-shed one day! (By the way, mine has arrived and it is FULL of all my craft goodies!)
You might also love this HUGE RESOURCE LIST of my TOP AMAZON FINDS for Crafters and DIY’ers Check it out!
I hope you have loved this list of 40 must-have craft supplies for beginners and are inspired! Be sure to pin my blog for later and get on my newsletter alerts! It is easy to sign up here!
Inspired? Leave me a comment below! I love hearing from my readers!
Join my free “ON A BUDGET CRAFTS” Facebook group!
Make sure to pin this post for later
Thank you.
Out of the 40, I need 2 items (thanks to watching you a year ago 😃). Just started crafting again today. Took a year of (did not stop me from picking items up 👍🏼.
I know nothing of the cricket or the other one, but I will.
Thank you so much for being you, a great inspiration.
Gail
Hello Amber and all your hard working staff! You are most awesome and thank you so much for this informative list and all the great things on your blog! I have a lot of it already but it is just the right list to get someone else started – which I already have in mind.
Blessings,
A happy #craftycrew gal
Love the tips I have most of the supplies on your list. Need be a little more time and money to finish it up. But I am getting there.
I just started watching you. Love how you break down your crafts and love, love your list for crafts. Love your crafts. Thank you.
I just discovered you on Sept. 30 an so glad. I love what you did that day and today I found you again love you much have for crafters. I have most of the items but will be getting the things I don’ t have. I sign up today and hope I get your email and be able to watch you more. My name is Rosie T and y email is rmla63@comcast.net.
You’re the first crafter I started follwing. Your no nosense attitude is great, people know where they stand and because of your attitude, we don’t have drama. You have a follower for life. BTW, thanks for sharing your adoreable family with us. Fridays with (Sometimes) mark. Your beautiful baby grnddtr Avery.. those precious moment are priceless. Thanks for your upbeat personality and wonderful crafts. You make my day. Charlotte
I am so happy that I run across your crafting page. I have really enjoyed watching you. Even if you are not crafting and just talking. I look forward to watching you. I really loved the trip through Ikea, Gave me a lot of ideas for my sewing/craft room that I am getting ready to embark on doing.
Thank you for being you, never change
Thank you so much for all the recommendation. They helped find stuff quickly and easily. So glad I found your group of wonderful ladies.
I love your crafts and I love love your business savvy talks.Mary Beth
Oh my gosh you are just too sweet! HUGS!
Great list of must haves but I was wondering where dpi you get your heat gun
Thanks Vera
I just love everything you do! I go to my Dollar Trees in Shreveport,LA to find your things from your videos! Kinda like a scavenger hunt! You have inspired me to think out of the box when seeing things to be repurposed and to make them into something you would never know what they were originally, like how you used the salt shakers from Dollar Tree, and yes I have started a collection of crafter must haves! I love that you are so real, stand by your beliefs, and share your Faith in God. Keep going girl, you have found your calling. Blessings to you and your family!