My Top 10 Favorite Craft Supplies

March is National Crafting Month. I love that there is a month devoted to an activity that brings both beauty and relaxation to the many crafters out there. Crafting can take many forms. For some folks, they will create decorative items to beautify their homes. Or, it can be as simple as making personalized, handmade greeting cards to share with loved ones.

For me, crafting is not just a hobby. I use my time crafting as way to unwind, relax, and set my stressors aside. Crafting allows me to unplug and focus on doing something that brings me pure joy. It is almost like a form of therapy and one that I wrote about when I first started this blog. (Find that article here).

There are literally hundreds of ways to craft and many craft projects to choose from. That said, I have been greatly enjoying paper crafting. I like mixed media art journaling, creative journaling, collaging, and decorative planning.

So, in honor of National Crafting Month, I thought I would share some of my absolute favorite supplies for bringing my paper craft projects to life. Below, in no particular order, are my current top 10.

My Top 10 Craft Supplies

1. Microfleur Microwave Flower Press. Buying dried flowers is a pretty easy option for most of us these days. Most craft stores carry them, as do online outlets like Amazon. But, when I go on walks and find wild flowers growing in my backyard or in the woods behind my neighborhood, I appreciate having a way to preserve them for future craft projects with my Microfleur Microwave Flower Press. Just a few seconds in the microwave, and I have perfectly pressed and dried flowers. Although it’s a bit of a splurge, I am so glad I have one of these: (#Ad)

2. Gel Press Plate. Until I watched a YouTube video about designing your own printed paper, I had no idea I could make papers of my own design. The trick is using a gel press plate. You simply apply paint (like acrylic) or stamps (like Tim Holtz Oxides or Inks) directly onto the plate and use a brayer (a small hand roller used in printing) to evenly spread a thin layer of paint or ink onto the plate’s surface. At this point, you can also use stencils or stamps to make designs in the paint. Then, just apply some nice, thick paper (cardstock usually does fine for me, although I’ve also used watercolor paper if the paint is very wet) and press it onto the image (try it over a stencil first, remove the stencil and get a negative image print on your next pressing). Lift it up, and you have a unique design of your own making. So long as paint remains, you can take additional prints from the same round of paint, and the design will differ slightly each time. The possibilities are endless. These come in various sizes, such as the 8”x10” one below. (#Ad)

3. Tim Holtz Vintage Photo Distress Ink. Speaking of oxides and inks, I cannot live without my Tim Holtz Distress Ink pad in Vintage Photo. This is the way so many crafters and journalers are able to make a page look aged without going through the trouble of dying the paper with coffee or tea (both of which add acid to the paper, which means you risk ruining any photographs you might want to add to your project). Distress inks and oxides are archival-safe (they’re acid-free so you can add your photos without worrying about ruining them over time), and they come in dozens of colors. Vintage Photo (#Ad below) is the perfect color to age any paper so that it has a vintage look. Just use a foam blending tool, see below, to gently swirl it over paper or just to give a little weathered look to the edges of your page. (A quick note here: Distress inks and oxides react differently to water, so be sure to read up on them if you’re going to do more than just use them for aging your paper.)

4. Foam Blending Tools. This is another craft supply that I use in nearly every project. It consists of a wooden handle with Velcro that attaches to a circular blending foam. Because the foam is removable, you can wash it and use it with different media. Like many crafters, I use these foam circles to apply distress inks and oxides to age and decorate my pages. However, they also work well to apply Gesso or paint to paper. Because they are foam, they do not leave brush strokes on your project. They can wash easily with just water, so I recommend cleaning them immediately after use so they are easiest to clean. Below (#Ad) is a set that comes with two handles and several foams. You can also purchase additional foam refills, which are handy to have if you have a lot of different inks.

5. Gesso. Gesso is a primer that was originally intended to be used as a primer for canvasses before they are painted. They create a smooth and yet slightly textured surface that allows paint to grip onto the canvas. However, gesso can prime other surfaces as well. I find that if I want to paint on paper that was not designed to hold paint (such as journal pages or notebook paper), gesso is the key. It creates a surface that protects paper from being ruined by the liquid in the paint. Otherwise, my pages might rip if I paint directly on them. pages might rip if I paint directly on them. Depending on my project, I have three types of gesso that I use: clear-drying gesso works well if I want to maintain the color of the paper I’m using. I also like using white gesso (to create a blank canvass) and black gesso for projects with bright acrylics or gouache. Here is a great clear brand that I enjoy using in my pages (#Ad)

6. Crop-A-Dile 2 Big Bite Punch by We R Memory Keepers. This is a great multi-tasker crafting tool. It punches several sizes of holes and sets eyelets. Its wide slot for sliding in paper makes it so that you can punch holes or set eyelets in the middle of long paper. The punch is strong enough to punch holes through cardstock, cardboard, and multiple layers of paper, which makes book binding a breeze.  This is a gadget I didn’t really think I needed until I got it, and I am so impressed how easily it works. A bonus is that you only need a little hand strength to use it. Find it on Amazon below (#Ad).

7. Sizzix Big Shot. Another splurge item, but one that I definitely cannot live without, is the Sizzix Big Shot die cutting machine. There are so many metal dies for creating beautiful paper embellishments, but you need a good die cutting machine to make sure you get the most out of metal dies. This machine is manually operated and does a fantastic job of cutting through thin and thick paper. I have used it to create embellishments for my projects. The machine can also be used with embossing folders and plates to press raised images into paper. Below is a link to a starter kit (#Ad), but you can always look for used ones on sites such as Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace or Mercari. They are totally worth it.

8. Metallic Rub Ons. To create a weathered or shimmery patina on a mixed media page could not be easier than it is when using metallic rub-ons. They come in a variety of color palettes, and they are so easy to use. Just use your finger or an eyeshadow applicator and rub onto your piece. The metal glistens and gives a beautiful luster to the piece. And, given the waxy material, it doesn’t take much to use it, so I find they last a long time. Here is the first set I ever purchased (and still enjoy using) (#Ad)

9. Wax Stamp Glue Gun. Another embellishment I find myself using in my crafting these days are wax seals, which give a lovely, vintage look and can also be used to seal packages and cards. Although the process of melting wax to create the stamps is romantic, it is not always practical. Also, depending on the wax you use, your seal can crumble if it is not handled carefully (like in the mail). So, when I learned that there were wax stamp glue guns, I was intrigued. The wax glue sticks seem to be colored glue gun sticks. They work exactly like a glue gun, so the gun heats up cylinders of glue, which you then squeeze into a round shape and place your wax seal stamp to impress an image. The sticks come in an array of colors. These are so easy, I make them ahead of time using a silicone wax stamp mold. Below is the glue gun I have, which comes with colored sticks and markers to use on the stamped image to make it stand out (#Ad).

10. Dymo Label Maker. This has to be one of the most nostalgic crafting supplies I’ve ever purchased. I was born in the 70s and grew up seeing the utilitarian labels produced by these embossing label makers. I remember being so impressed with the Brother Label Maker I bought when I got married, with its sleek fonts and glossy white labels. They seemed so much more sophisticated than the old Dymo ones. But, recently, when I found myself wanting to add a word or phrase to my paper crafts, I knew I wanted something different to convey the sentiments. So, I rediscovered this old stand by label maker (which has admittedly gotten a bit of a modern facelift, although it works the same). These are so easy to use, and since it is entirely manual, there is never a need for batteries. I also found that the label tapes come in lots of colors. I currently have them in black, red, blue, green, silver, and gold. This little guy has made it so easy for me to create pages with vintage-looking wording. And, it comes at a great price point. Below is the exact model I have, which came with three tape refills. (#Ad).

So, there you have it. My top 10, can’t-live-without-them, favorite craft supplies I am currently using. I hope this encourages you to get crafting.

And, if you have craft supplies you cannot live without that weren’t mentioned here, please leave a comment! I’m always interested to see what folks are using when they’re creating!