Which items should I have in my basic craft tool kit - craft 101

Wow I can't believe I have blogged 101 times over the last 15 months!

Firstly I have to say thank you to those who read, share and comment on my blog because with out you this would all be pointless.

Today see the start of my Craft 101 series. What is that I hear you ask, well it's something new, I was thinking about new and less experienced crafters and how I could appeal to them and pass on my experience, in Craft 101 I plan on creating posts focused on particular skills and tools and hopefully answering commonly asked craft questions.

Today I am focusing on my basic tool kit, so grab yourself a cuppa, get comfy because here goes......

My cutting kit;

A Swann Morton number 3 scalpel handle and 10a blade, a good pair of scissors, a non slip metal ruler from Xcut and a large Xcut glass cutting mat.  With these cutting tools I find I can do all the cutting I need, Most crafters will also have a paper trimmer and/or a Guillotine too, I'm yet to find one I like and can rely on...............if you have any suggestions for a good one let me know.

Stamping and kit;

Clear acrylic blocks to attach your stamps to, Stamps,  Memento Ink , Versamark Ink for heat embossing ,Versafine ink for intricate images , Embossing powder and a heat gun......they kind of go hand in hand. Oh and definatly baby wipes and kitchen paper for cleaning up, because lets face it where there is crafting there is mess and tidy tray to collect the excess embossing powder.

Colouring Kit;

Promarkers for colouring in stamped images, I'm not an expert colourist but I do dabble, Distress ink is so versatile and can be used to create a water colour effect, Water colour pencils are more percise and can me used in a tighter space too.

Card and Paper Kit;

There are so many option that you could include in your card stash but for me I couldn't survive without 6x6 cards and envelopes, black and white cardstock. I do have lots of other patterned papers but they will be mentioned in future posts.............I may even show you inside my paper cupboard!

Glue kit;

For me double sided tape is a must, it's quick easy and allows me to tape all my layers and then construct my project where as glue would dry to quick, tacky glue is great as it grabs quick and is strong, foam pads and tape for dimension in my projects, red liner tape for a strong bond and a glue gun.

These are the things I would include in a basic kit, of course there are so many more items that after 14 years of craft are " my essentials" and I plan on taking you through them in another post and explaining why I can't live without them and what I use them for.

I will be back with another post soon, if you have any questions or anything you'd like me to feature then get in touch either in the comments or by emailing me at tkoszler@yahoo.co.uk

TX