Crafting Starters Kit

Craft Supplies

Strong craft glue
Podgy glue
Popsicle sticks
Wool
Paintbrushes of varied sizes
Assorted beads
Liquid varnish in a can
Clear lacquer
Safety pins
Variety of papers or saved wrapping paper scraps for podgy
Sequins
Sparkles
Material scraps
Cotton batting
Glue gun and refill sticks
Fun foam

Where to get your Craft Supplies:

ebay is fast developing into a place where you can get great fabrics and craft supplies. Its free to sign up, and there are several payment options usually available, although it varies by seller. While we occasionally hear a few outrageous things being sold on ebay, it is an excellent source to buy products. Sellers tend to be a more honest about what their product is as ebay encourages buyers to give feedback on vendors, which is posted for all to see.

I have found through experience that when buying craft supplies you can save money by going to dollar stores. I usually buy the small things such as glue gun sticks, sequins, and sparkles, and I occasionally get lucky and find some quality silk flowers. You have to keep in mind however, that there are 3 main drawbacks to dollar stores

1) they never seem to be organized that well so you have to be prepared to roll up your sleeves and really dig, and that means time.
2) Their inventory is never consistent, so timing is everything.

3)You really have to have a look at the quality of the product as you are usually getting what you pay for.

This leads me to my next point. There are some craft supplies that you just shouldn't buy at dollar stores without going over them with a fine tooth comb.

Fabrics
You will find that most fabrics in dollar stores tend to be seconds, which means that the pattern is either misshapen, it is an awkwardly shaped remnant piece, there is a dye problem, or there is a pulled stitch. While this may be good enough if all you need is remnant material, you should consider buying your fabric from quality stores like joann.com when working on projects requiring quality fabric.

Wool
Well if you get your wool at dollar stores, you are just asking for trouble lol. Very rarely will the dye lots match if you require more than one ball and it will most likely be of the poorest quality. There are a couple of sites that you can go to to get quality wool including joann.com. If you don't have a lot of money to spend on wool, go to a bargain bin in a quality store and see what you can round up before you hit the dollar stores.

Paint
Buy the good stuff! This goes for any paint that you intend to use on a personal project or gift. While dollar store paint is good for the kids to use, you will find that colours tend to be inconsistent in between batches, and there will be differences in texture. Dick Blick and joann.com are the places to go for your paint needs.

Paint brushes
If you are making a decorative craft for your home or as a gift, don't ruin your project using a cheap paintbrush from a dollar store. You will find that the bristles fall out or they are made of a really unforgiving nylon, both of which will leave streaks. You can buy quality brushes at several sites including Dick Blick, and joann.com.

Beads
If you want lots of beads but aren't sure exactly all the choices you have, visit Catalog Savings and order the Fire Mountain Jems Catalog. There is quite a variety of products to choose from. They are only allowed to send out so many catalogs a week so if the link isn't there, it just means that they have reached the weekly limit. Bookmark the site and go back early the following week (Mondays are the best day!).

Tools
Scissors
Utility knife
Self-healing mat
Needles (varying sizes including a darning needle)
Stitch ripper
Needlenose pliers
Popsicle Sticks
Don't waste you money buying tools from dollar stores. They are made from cheap materials and are poorly manufactured. While you might save a dollar or two, you will find that you will have to replace them much sooner and they will cost you more in the long run.