11 Essential Craft Supplies for Beginners

A well-stocked craft kit is essential for any crafter but if you’re just starting out, how do you know what you need to have in there, and where do you begin?

Whether you’re starting out with stamping or picking up papercraft, there are a number of different tools that can be used universally and they’re absolute essentials for any craft room. Here’s our list of what every crafter needs in their craft kit.

1. Scissors and cutting tools

An absolutely essential tool for any crafter no matter your preferred medium, you’ll need to add some cutting tools to your kit.

• Scissors are super versatile and can be used for everything from trimming down card blanks to cutting out centrepieces, frames, and borders. They can be used on card, paper, and even adhesive-backed materials.
• Precision snips are essentially tiny scissors and feature a 4.5” blade. These are smaller than your usual paper scissors and are ideal for cutting out more intricate and detailed things.
• Finally, adding a craft knife to your crafting kit can be extremely useful. The sharp blade allows you to cut with precision and accuracy so is great to use for decoupage or cutting out other delicate materials. You can also use a craft knife in place of scissors for smaller elements in cardmaking.

Find even more options for cutting tools in our cutting tools category.

2. Cutting mat

Cutting mats are well worth considering for almost every craft type. They protect your surface from many different tools including craft knives, pen marks, glue, and spillages as well as offering a solid and flat surface to work on, enabling you to make measurements with confidence and accuracy. 

When you’re done with your craft, they’re also very easy to clean and wipe down to ensure no marks, smears, or smudges transfer onto your next creation.

3. Glue and adhesives

There are so many different types of glues and adhesives to choose from but no matter what medium you work with, glue is up there as one of the top essentials to add to your craft kit. From versatile all-rounders to specialised adhesives for particular types of materials, stick with us as we go through some of our favourites. 

• Collall all-purpose glue is a great all-rounder to have to hand. It’s moisture and water-resistant, as well as heat and cold resistant andcan be used with so many materials. Applications range from paper, card, fabric and felt to glass, stone, ceramics, leather, and plastic – phew! It’s a great glue for using around the house as well as your craft kit! 
• Collall Tacky Glue is a super quick-drying glue so there’s no waiting around to continue layering up your scrapbook page or card design. The precision tip allows easy, mess-free application and it forms a strong bond with a number of different materials such as paper, card, fabric and more to keep your details secure.
• A Glue Tape Pen is an excellent option for the crafters who don’t like a mess and don’t like to wait. This super-convenient tool is ideal for attaching smaller elements such as embellishments, decoupage pieces, or smaller cut-out pieces. Simply roll directly onto your image or embellishment and stick down! 

There are so many adhesive  options to choose from. For glue sprays, wet glues, hot glue guns, tapes, and adhesive-backed papers browse our glues and adhesives category. 

4. Ruler

Rulers are indispensable additions to any crafter’s arsenal. They can be used to measure, mark, and add straight lines to any craft including papercraft, cardmaking, and even fabric projects. Rulers are super useful to have to hand for everyday things as well so make sure you add our metal edge acrylic ruler to your craft kit.

5. Card and paper

No matter whether you make cards, gift boxes, or enjoy scrapbooking, you’re guaranteed to need and use a lot of paper and cardstock.

• Our white stamping card is a high-quality 300gsm cardstock that is perfect for beginner and expert stampers alike but is also the perfect blank canvas for any make. The smooth finish doesn’t bleed so you can expect lovely crisp lines when stamping on it. The thickness makes it perfect for die-cutting as well – the possibilities are endless!
• Coloured card is available in lots of colours and effects and can be used for almost any project you can think of. The finishes and effects we offer include textured, pearlescent shades, and even different coloured glitter card for a pop of sparkle.
• Paper pads are really useful for all kinds of crafting projects. Patterned paper is an easy way to add beautiful colour and personality to cards, decoupage, and scrapbooks. Cut out monograms, create borders and frames, or build up beautiful backgrounds or anything else you fancy. Choose from a range of themed pads each with a range of highly-detailed illustrated designs. 

6 .Tape

Tape is great to use during the planning and layering stages of your craft. Use Low Tack Tape while you arrange layered designs for a temporary fix before you go in with more permanent glue or mark off sections of colour to fill in later. You can also use it to fix your card to the cutting mat to stop it from moving and all without leaving a residue or damaging the surface of the paper. 

7. Pens, pencils and markers

Make your mark with a range of pencils, pens, and markers from Spectrum Noir. ArtLiner pens are perfect for adding details, fine lines, and lettering to a project. If you’re looking for something bolder, Classique or Illustrator pens help to add expressive sweeps and bold lines of colour to your work.
There are plenty more ways to unlock your artistic side, so for even more info and specialist pens including watercolour Aqua Markers, Acrylic Paint Markers and Sparkle Brush Markers, take a look at our introduction to Art and Colouring.

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8. Decorations

Whether you’re embellishing a card or a hand-sewn project, having decorations to hand can be really useful. You can gather items from around your home such as spare buttons, scraps of ribbon, or loose sequins – they’ll come into good use and will be saved from going into landfill. 

Adding ribbon, metal charms and pre-cut toppers is a quick and easy way to give your make texture, dimension and personality!  And why not go luxe with stick-on jewels and dots, glitter and glitter pens? You can find plenty more ideas for decorations to add to your craft box from our embellishments category.

9. Storage

All of these wonderful craft supplies need somewhere to live! Keep your craft kit organised and safe with our range of craft supply storage options. The Crafter’s Companion Portable Tote is the perfect way to keep everything together, visible and at your fingertips whenever you need it. The central handle means you can grab and go – whether you need your table for something else or are headed out to a craft workshop.

10. Stamping Platform

Stamping is a fun and easy hobby and it’s so simply to pick up, even if you’re a total beginner! This craft technique opens up so many creative possibilities with a world of stamp designs and inkpads to choose from. With the Crafter’s Companion Stamping Platform you can line up your stamp perfectly before pressing straight down onto your material for a pristine, smudge-free, stamped image. So you can create professional stamped designs straight out of the box! 
Read our How to guide on Stamping for loads more information and inspiration and pick up everything you need to get started from our stamping category.

11. Die Cutting Machine

A step up from cutting with scissors and craft knives is using a die cutting machine. Gemini Die Cutting Machines can create intricate and elaborate cut-out designs in a fraction of the time it would take to cut by hand. It’s super versatile and there are plenty of options for when you’re just starting out and don’t want to commit to a large machine just yet.

The Gemini Mini machine is compact and not a huge investment. It’s totally portable, manual, easy to use, and comes with everything you need to get started straight out of the box. It’s a great way to try out die-cutting for the first time and continue your crafting journey with a new technique.  For loads more inspiration, check out What is die-cutting and How to guide: Die Cutting.

We hope this guide has helped you understand where to get started with your craft kit. We have a whole range of different supplies depending on the craft you want to try. So make sure you browse all of our papercraft range as well as our craft essentials.

And once you start crafting, share your project photos with us on Facebook UK, Facebook USA, Twitter, Instagram UK, Instagram US, Pinterest UK or Pinterest US using the hashtag #crafterscompanion – we can’t wait to see what you make!