Supplies! Supplies!

Inevitably in class, we wind up talking about supplies, so I thought it was time for a post all about what we use and why I recommend it.

I try to keep things as simple as possible, particularly when it comes to the images I use. Cheap is good, free is better. Magazine photographers work hard to get things right ~ colour, light, contrast, so why shouldn't we take advantage of their dedication and use them to make ourselves happy and our journals beautiful?

As far as other supplies, I mentioned recently in class that splashing out on the *whole colour spectrum* in a new medium can be a pricey adventure, so I try to bring you lots of fun things to play with so you can try before you buy. I learned this the hard way when I repeatedly bought something that "worked fabulously for someone else", but went dead in my hand.

Of course, there's lots of stuff I can't bring you, but I've hit upon what works for me, and you should definitely try those while you can.

Here are the basics I always have with me when I set down to create:

2-sided tape ~ I like Sookwang/Scor-Pal brand - it's super sticky - no local suppliers anymore, so I usually order it from Amazon - not cheap, though!! I also like iCraft Easy Tear Tape, which can usually be found at Michaels, but lately, I've also ordered it from Amazon since Micheals was out of stock. Also not cheap, but LOTS of tape on the roll, nice and compact for traveling. Almost any 2-sided tape will do - so dollar stores and Daiso are good backups locally.

Gluestick ~ I prefer UHU Brand. Just sticks better in my opinion. Your mileage may vary.

Blank journal ~ I usually handmade with non-precious papers. I generally don’t worry about paper quality because I tend to collage and/or paint over the whole page so they get thicker and sturdier as I go

Found papers ~ magazines, old text pages, collage sheets, random lined (love the little notepads the realtors are always sending as junk mail!), graph paper, wrapping paper, patterned paper napkins, etc.

Gesso ~ Start with white, but you might want some black gesso to play with later. Honest. We'll play with these later. Can be found in most almost all art supply stores. Used for making a good "toothy" base layer on pages, or as a wash to partially obscure backgrounds, as well as other things.

Acrylic paint ~ My favourites are student grade basic acrylics - not too expensive to experiment with, lots of colours, and Pebeo Studio has some lovely, lovely iridescent colours that make your backgrounds almost too pretty to cover over. The other brand I buy locally at Opus and Deserres is  Amsterdam.

Stencils ~ you can cut your own stencils out of thin cardstock or plastic sheet, but for longevity, beauty and variety, my favourite stencils are from two sources: The Crafter's Workshop (TCW) and Tim Holtz. I've found TCW stencils on Granville Island at Maiwa, but the other option is Clipper Street (sadly, all the way out in Langley) or you can order TCW and Tim Holtz online. If you want some truly lovely ones and your budget permits, check out StencilGirl, too. Stencils last *forever*, so if you find something you love and know you'll use it, I say go for it.

Andrea Matus DeMeng stencils (which we use in class) from StencilGirl

Another StencilGirl stencil, by the person who started the company, Mary Beth Shaw.

Stencils from The Crafter's Workshop are designed in both  12x12 and 6x6 sizes.

Tim Holtz stencils are designed like large tags, so you can keep them on a ring.

Sponges ~ a must for stencilling. The basic wedge-shaped ones are okay, but for really good stenciling, the dense ones (usually egg-shaped or similar) are worth the extra money. You can find them in dollar stores and drug stores. They wash easily and last much longer than the wedges, too.

These are the dense ones - they work well and last a long time.

These soft wedges will do in a pinch.

Murphy's Oil Soap ~ super efficient for cleaning stencils and sponges. Add Murphy's Oil Soap to some warm water and leave stencils and sponges overnight and they scrub off easily the next day. Make sure you DON'T get the spray - it needs to be the concentrate, like the bottle shown here:

Scrapers ~ old credit cards, hotel key cards and coffee loyalty cards are perfect, but have a limited life span. For the class, I recently bought some car repair body filler scrapers - and they will last a good long time. You can get similar ones in hardware stores for doing wall repairs.

Washi tape ~ Don't get me started on washi tape. Seriously. This lovely patterned, coloured tape has a long history in Japan where they're used for the beautiful packaging details. It's not suitable for actually sticking something in your journal firmly, but it makes a gorgeous accent on your page. I have a bunch of it in class ~ try it out!

Duct (or Duck) Tape ~ I use duct tape to reinforce the spines of the journals I make and can be used to cover your whole journal cover to make it weather and wear proof if you carry your journal everywhere with you - like I do.

Watersoluble Crayons ~ My all-time favourites are Neocolors II from Caran d’Ache, but they are oh so pricey! I bought mine on sale many years ago and we are still using the stubs of those first crayons in class now. A much more affordable alternative is Mungyo Gallery Watercolor Crayons, available at both Opus and Deserres. See images below for price comparison. Also lovely are watercolour pencil crayons. For the "crayons" there are multiple ways to use them to imitate watercolour painting. For the pencil crayons, it's best to colour just as you would with regular pencil crayons and then add water afterward.

Mungyo Gallery Watercolor Crayons: Set of 36 from Opus $27.76.
Not as wonderful as Neocolor IIs, but really, really good!

Caran D'Ache Neocolors II: A set of 30 from Opus $99.60.
Make sure you get NEOCOLORS II, the NEOCOLOR I series isn't water soluble.

Another excellent addition. These ones (from Amazon) are $19.50.
I bought the sets we use in class (12 pencil crayons) at Daiso for $2.00, so keep your budget in mind!

Waterbrushes ~ so many options! Available in lots of places ... Opus, Deserres, scrapbooking stores, etc. The handle is a water tank so you can easily work with water-soluble crayons without needing a water bowl to rinse the brush in when you change colours. Highly recommended. I have three different types for you to try in class. Try them all and then you can figure out which one works best for you.

Marabu Crayons ~ These lovely lipstick-like creamy crayons have become one of my other favourite ways to get colour on the page quickly. There are other products on the market that are very similar, but I did my research and I believe Marabu have more pigment for the money, and nice, bright colours. The other two products I've tried are Gelato Crayons and Distress Crayons. They're equally good, but Gelatos (being from the quality art supply line of Faber Castell) are more expensive, and the Distress Crayons are geared to go with the Tim Holtz colour palette, which is very muted. There are other creamy, smudgy options (all shown below), but for their brightness, ease of use and volume, I've chosen Marabu Crayons for the class. Sadly, there isn't a local source for these and I ordered them from Dick Blick in the US.

Rainbow Pencils ~ My newest love. I have my favourites and one thing I love to do is draw in lines on my journal pages with these to write on. They make for an instantly colourful page. Two options we have in class are the Koh-i-nor Magic Pencils. Each pencil has 3 colours repeated multiple times for a "theme" colour: Original, Fire, America, Tropical and Neon. These are available at Opus for $3.90 - and you also need the oversize pencil sharpener for $2.20.

The Black Wood Rainbow Pencil (made by Stubby Pencil Studio) is available at Paper-Ya on Granville Island for $3.95 ~ it uses a regular pencil sharpener, and has 7 colours, each colour only appearing once. The third option we have in class are pencils I bought from Amazon. Each pencil is only four colours: red, blue, yellow, green.

Alphabets ~ both rubber stamps and alphabet stickers ~ great for adding words. I also have a collection of letters and words cut from magazines.

Rubber stamps ~ the more "non-specific" the better. I only buy a rubber stamp if I really love it and expect to be using it over and over, which is why I favour patterns, textures and borders over the "cutesy" products out there.

Self-healing Cutting Mat, X-Acto Knife & Quilting Ruler  ~ I recommend a cutting mat that's at least 12” x 12”, so you have room to work without cutting your table. Mine is lined off in inches and centimeters, but as long as it has straight lines of some kind, it'll work. I have quilting rulers left over from when I used to work with fabrics, and I like seeing through them to see exactly what I'm trimming, but any ruler will work. Some people like paper cutters, and they're okay, but I like the portability of cutting mats and rulers so I can work outside, or travel with my usual supplies without too much bulk.

Scissors ~ Also very basic, but cutting paper is much harder on scissors than cutting fabric, so best to keep your good sewing scissors away from your art table. I also added an old pair of pinking shears on my art table when they became too dull for fabric.

If you have all these things, you'll set for some prime creativity. Off you go!