One question I am asked frequently from people just starting out in card making is "What are the basic supplies I need to get started?". I always answer by saying that they should start out by taking a "SIP" which stands for 'stamps, ink and paper'. In order to chose what would work best for each person, I ask beginners the following questions:
1. What types of cards are you looking to make? Is there a specific theme in mind like birthdays, weddings or baby cards OR are you just looking for a versatile stamp set to create cards for different occasions?
2, Do you like to watercolor or color in your images OR would prefer to ink up an image, stamp it on your card and being done with it? This question will determine the type of stamp set you should purchase. If you like coloring in your images a "coloring book" or outline stamp set is your best choice. If you like just stamping your image a bold stamp set is for you.
3. What are your favorite colors or favorite color family? This is a great place to start to look for cardstock and inks. I usually recommend people chose an assortment of cardstock in that color family and 3-4 coordinating ink pads or markers that match that color family. If you chose a coloring book type stamp set, then you are usually better off getting a black stamp pad for the outline of your image and then choosing something like markers, colored pencils, watercolor crayons or pastels to color in your images. If a bold stamp set is for you, you might chose a couple different color ink pads or an assortment of markers for you to color your image and stamp on your cards.
4. Once you have chosen your style stamp set, picked out your inks and assorted package of cardstock to match your favorite color family, it is time to decide which neutral cardstockto use to accent and layer your cards with. Most often people go with either Whisper White or Very Vanilla cardstock. Other nice choices are Naturals White and Confetti White that have some light specks of color adding to the interest of the paper and are great for things like watercoloring.
5. Envelopes - It is best to chose envelopes that match your neutral cardstock. For example, if you chose Whisper White Cardstock you should have Whisper White Envelopes on hand for your finished cards.
Once you have answered all of the questions above, there are some other things that you might consider for your card making needs. These items would be:
- Stampin' Scrub - used to clean ink off of your stamps
- Stampin' Mist - used to spray on your Stampin' Scrub to clean and preserve the rubber on your stamps
- Adhesive - SNAIL is a great adhesive to use for card making - it is also safe for scrapbooking
- Adhesive refill - I always keep a SNAIL refill on hand in case I run out!
- Paper Scissors - Paper Snips are some of the best paper scissors I have owned. They are really sharp and come with a protective cover over the blades.
- Paper Cutter and scoring blade - this is a must have for cutting your cardstock and making layers for your cards
- Bone Folder - I love to have nice, crisp folds on my cards and bone folders work very well in giving you that nice, clean fold line.
Stay tuned for more card making tips and ideas in future articles! If you have not already done so, please subscribe to this blog's feed so you can be updated when I have a new post on my blog. That way you won't miss anything!
If you have any questions you would like answered on card making or paper crafting, please leave a comment on this post. I will answer your questions either by email or in an upcoming post.
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