Art Supplies you cannot live without

[Cynthia85]

This thread is for any kind of arts and crafts you might be involved with.

I thought it would be fun to share what kind of materials we use and are devoted to.

So what kind of art supplies can you not bear to be without?

For my drawing I need my Derwent 9B, 8B, 2B and HB pencils, kneaded eraser, blending stump and Strathmore Smooth Bristol board. I've been using Derwent and Strathmore stuff for 10 years and I love them!

 

[One day at a time]

Good thread!!! I have several types of things that I do....so lets see....
I too love to draw and love my pencils (that no one is allowed to touch except for me LOL)
I rubber stamp....so I need ALL my stamps, papers of various colors, stamp pads...the more the better, corner rounder, scissors or different cuts, etc!
I love to crochet so I need my crochet thread (since I am a doily maker), and my 6,7, 10 size needles.

I would say that is a good start on my things!

 

[ILuvBoxers]

It's paint for me.

 

[AgapeBible]

I need my drawing pencils... I am not very particular, I like a soft light pencil for the original outline sketch that doesn't dig into the paper and erases easily, then I outline in pen and color my pictures with colored pencils. I really don't like black and white and prefer color in my finished drawings. That's why I use color pencils. I also paint in acrylics and watercolor, need good brushes for that. I need good paper for drawing, use strathmore sketchbooks or vellum for something special. I use 140lb watercolor paper by Strathmore. I have Nu soft pastels and Rembrandt pastels, also pastel pencils and watercolor pencils.

 

[regencygirl]

Faber-Castell drawing pencils and Prismacolor colored pencils have been my favorites for the past 10 years or so. Gum erasers as well, any other kind drives me crazy.

For painting I am not so picky, maybe because no matter what supplies I use, I'm never going to be an outstanding painter! I suppose we can't all be good at everything, right?

For sewing, I need Gutermann thread...everyone else seems to favor Coats & Clark, but my sewing machine seems to think C&C is evil and does all kinds of horrible things with it Oh, and Ginger scissors - dressmaker's and pinking shears especially...a bit of an investment, but if they're taken care of, they'll last a lifetime!

 

[Cynthia85]

For sewing, I need Gutermann thread...everyone else seems to favor Coats & Clark, but my sewing machine seems to think C&C is evil and does all kinds of horrible things with it Oh, and Ginger scissors - dressmaker's and pinking shears especially...a bit of an investment, but if they're taken care of, they'll last a lifetime!

I actually just bought my first spool of Gutermann thread because it was just the right color I needed. I'll let you know this weekend if I like it or not.

And I will definately look into Ginger for scissors. I need pinking shears, I've never had a pair, but I borrowed a friends pair and I love them! Makes things so much easier. Any advice on a sewing machine?

 

[regencygirl]

I actually just bought my first spool of Gutermann thread because it was just the right color I needed. I'll let you know this weekend if I like it or not.

And I will definately look into Ginger for scissors. I need pinking shears, I've never had a pair, but I borrowed a friends pair and I love them! Makes things so much easier. Any advice on a sewing machine?

I have a Singer Tradition. They aren't terribly expensive, I bought mine at Target for $75 or so and have used it to make everything from curtains to satin blouses. It's great as a basic sewing machine (Singer has been around forever and they're easy to find parts and accessories for). It makes buttonholes and just about every stitch you could need. The Tradition can be a little fussy with thread that it doesn't like, but I haven't had many problems with Gutermann.

You definitely wouldn't regret getting Gingher shears I think my pinking shears were about $45, but considering what an amazing job they do and that I'll probably have them for the rest of my life, I figure it was money well spent.

Pinking shears are awesome! I only wish I'd gotten a pair sooner, would have saved me years of fussing and complaining about unraveling fabric!

 

[Cynthia85]

I have a Singer Tradition. They aren't terribly expensive, I bought mine at Target for $75 or so and have used it to make everything from curtains to satin blouses. It's great as a basic sewing machine (Singer has been around forever and they're easy to find parts and accessories for). It makes buttonholes and just about every stitch you could need. The Tradition can be a little fussy with thread that it doesn't like, but I haven't had many problems with Gutermann.

You definitely wouldn't regret getting Gingher shears I think my pinking shears were about $45, but considering what an amazing job they do and that I'll probably have them for the rest of my life, I figure it was money well spent.

Pinking shears are awesome! I only wish I'd gotten a pair sooner, would have saved me years of fussing and complaining about unraveling fabric!

Thank you for the suggestion. I've been looking for a decent, budget friendly machine. I'll have to go shoping this weekend.

Oh gee, I started this dress that has a sheer floral overlay to it and I didn't have pinking shears. Holy carp is that thing unraveling! I have some fray check, and it works well, but it's a pain to have to apply it to all the seams and wait for it to dry. Ugh! I've used so many excuses not to work on it because I dread having to fray check all the seams!

Side note: love your profile picture! If I could, I would wear those dresses all the time!

 

[regencygirl]

Thank you for the suggestion. I've been looking for a decent, budget friendly machine. I'll have to go shoping this weekend.

Oh gee, I started this dress that has a sheer floral overlay to it and I didn't have pinking shears. Holy carp is that thing unraveling! I have some fray check, and it works well, but it's a pain to have to apply it to all the seams and wait for it to dry. Ugh! I've used so many excuses not to work on it because I dread having to fray check all the seams!

Side note: love your profile picture! If I could, I would wear those dresses all the time!

Hehe, I'd been sewing since I was old enough to hold a needle without impaling myself, but somehow I never heard of pinking shears until I looked at a copy of "Sewing For Dummies" late last year!

I love Regency-era dresses! I've made two of them and like to wear them to work...I work in a bookstore, and customers assume I'm in costume as Jane Austen or Elizabeth Bennet. (Then they think I'm nuts when I tell them no, I just like empire waists and white muslin! )

 

[IreneAdler]

prismacolor pencils (drool... but i have to cut off an arm every time i need new ones to afford them... sigh)

my kimberly pencils as well

moda fabric for quilting (love moda)

I'm spoiled, I inherited my mom's Viking machine... it has all the bells and whistles. I could never have bought it myself

 

[regencygirl]

I'm spoiled, I inherited my mom's Viking machine... it has all the bells and whistles. I could never have bought it myself

Ooh, a Viking The holy grail of sewing machines! Hehe, you are lucky!

 

[IreneAdler]

what's killer is it has the plates that have the different stitches that you can switch out (I'm super lucky)

 

[Cynthia85]

Hehe, I'd been sewing since I was old enough to hold a needle without impaling myself, but somehow I never heard of pinking shears until I looked at a copy of "Sewing For Dummies" late last year!

I love Regency-era dresses! I've made two of them and like to wear them to work...I work in a bookstore, and customers assume I'm in costume as Jane Austen or Elizabeth Bennet. (Then they think I'm nuts when I tell them no, I just like empire waists and white muslin! )

Same here! I was constantly stealing my grandfather's old socks to turn into Barbie dresses, lol. I took quite a hiatus, but when my grandmother died in 2008, I went back to it and now it seems like I can't stop!

I made a costume extremely loosely based on one of Elizabeth's dress in Pride and Prejudice (1995 BBC version), but it didn't turn out amazing It's okay, but hey, I was on a tight budget and made it by hand in less then 24 hours before Halloween, so I guess Ican't complain, lol! Did you make the one in your profile pic? Because it's lovely! I wish I had to guts to wear them in public like that!

IreneAdler - I love your username and signature I've been reading Sherlock Holmes since I was a child and it remains in my top 3 favorite books!

 

[IreneAdler]

ACD is an amazing author.

 

[regencygirl]

Same here! I was constantly stealing my grandfather's old socks to turn into Barbie dresses, lol. I took quite a hiatus, but when my grandmother died in 2008, I went back to it and now it seems like I can't stop!

I made a costume extremely loosely based on one of Elizabeth's dress in Pride and Prejudice (1995 BBC version), but it didn't turn out amazing It's okay, but hey, I was on a tight budget and made it by hand in less then 24 hours before Halloween, so I guess Ican't complain, lol! Did you make the one in your profile pic? Because it's lovely! I wish I had to guts to wear them in public like that!

IreneAdler - I love your username and signature I've been reading Sherlock Holmes since I was a child and it remains in my top 3 favorite books!

Aw, I'm sorry to hear about your grandmother passing away.

Oops, sorry, I should have mentioned before that my profile picture isn't of me!

It's one that I had found online somewhere. (I'm still a bit wary of putting photos of myself on public websites after a bad experience...unfortunately I ended up with a stalker, who found out where I worked and knew what I looked like from my online photo, and would wait for me to leave the building Icky. And scary too, finally had to get the police involved and ban him from the store.)

Making clothes by hand (especially big pieces like a dress) usually takes some practice, I've found...some patterns can be really vague about instructions and a lot of getting it right is "oops - well I guess I won't be doing that again!" Lol...I remember the first dress I made, it looked like I had cut neck and arm holes in a flowery trash bag and turned it upside down, it was appalling!

Anyway, I did make a dress very similar to the one in my profile pic though (I went to a costume party as Fanny Price from Mansfield Park), and I just started working on one a lot like it today, a white one with pale blue ribbon for trim on the bodice...I think it's going to be the best one yet

By the way, Simplicity makes a pattern for Regency costume dresses that I like to use (I think the number is 4055)...you can find that at JoAnn Fabrics or probably just about any place that sell sewing patterns. It may not be 100% historically accurate - I'm not sure - but they're easy to work with and turn out really well! Plus you can modify it easily.

Hehe, I was a devoted goth for years, believe it or not, so looking funny in public no longer phases me very much. Plus it's hilarious to see how many men who ordinarily wouldn't care suddenly stand up straighter, start saying please and thank you, step out of the way to let me pass, hold doors open, and offer to carry things for me when I'm dressed like a lady! Too funny.

 

[Cynthia85]

Aw, I'm sorry to hear about your grandmother passing away.

Oops, sorry, I should have mentioned before that my profile picture isn't of me!

It's one that I had found online somewhere. (I'm still a bit wary of putting photos of myself on public websites after a bad experience...unfortunately I ended up with a stalker, who found out where I worked and knew what I looked like from my online photo, and would wait for me to leave the building Icky. And scary too, finally had to get the police involved and ban him from the store.)

Making clothes by hand (especially big pieces like a dress) usually takes some practice, I've found...some patterns can be really vague about instructions and a lot of getting it right is "oops - well I guess I won't be doing that again!" Lol...I remember the first dress I made, it looked like I had cut neck and arm holes in a flowery trash bag and turned it upside down, it was appalling!

Anyway, I did make a dress very similar to the one in my profile pic though (I went to a costume party as Fanny Price from Mansfield Park), and I just started working on one a lot like it today, a white one with pale blue ribbon for trim on the bodice...I think it's going to be the best one yet

By the way, Simplicity makes a pattern for Regency costume dresses that I like to use (I think the number is 4055)...you can find that at JoAnn Fabrics or probably just about any place that sell sewing patterns. It may not be 100% historically accurate - I'm not sure - but they're easy to work with and turn out really well! Plus you can modify it easily.

Hehe, I was a devoted goth for years, believe it or not, so looking funny in public no longer phases me very much. Plus it's hilarious to see how many men who ordinarily wouldn't care suddenly stand up straighter, start saying please and thank you, step out of the way to let me pass, hold doors open, and offer to carry things for me when I'm dressed like a lady! Too funny.

Thank you for that. Life without her is really difficult because she and my grandfather actually raised me since I was an infant. It's one reason I've been obsessed with sewing. She made a lot of her own clothes (she actually made me my first prom dress), so I feel like she's with me whenever I sew.

That Simplicity pattern is the one I used for me dress! Great minds, lol! As a general rule, I hate Simplicity patterns, I find them a pain the neck to use, but I really liked that pattern. It was easy to make, which I was really happy about. And you're right about modifying it, I made a lot of changes to it that really worked well. I eventually want to try to remake it so it looks more like the dress I pictured and make a few more because it really was comfortable. And see, my experience was different: people looked at me like I was crazy and I was wearing it just a few days before Halloween!

And I don't blame you for not wanting to post pictures of yourself! That must of been terrifying!

 

[regencygirl]

Thank you for that. Life without her is really difficult because she and my grandfather actually raised me since I was an infant. It's one reason I've been obsessed with sewing. She made a lot of her own clothes (she actually made me my first prom dress), so I feel like she's with me whenever I sew.

That Simplicity pattern is the one I used for me dress! Great minds, lol! As a general rule, I hate Simplicity patterns, I find them a pain the neck to use, but I really liked that pattern. It was easy to make, which I was really happy about. And you're right about modifying it, I made a lot of changes to it that really worked well. I eventually want to try to remake it so it looks more like the dress I pictured and make a few more because it really was comfortable. And see, my experience was different: people looked at me like I was crazy and I was wearing it just a few days before Halloween!

And I don't blame you for not wanting to post pictures of yourself! That must of been terrifying!

Lol, when I mentioned vague pattern directions, I had Simplicity in mind. The instructions always remind me of reading a poorly translated Asian food menu...I spend just as much time working out the pattern as I do sewing I do love that one though...I think those dresses are about the most comfortable clothes I've ever had on.

Though I'm definitely going to find a pattern for the accompanying undergarments before I wear them in the winter again. A couple years ago I had the bright idea of going caroling in one on a snowy, windy evening with only a slip underneath...brrr! hehe, won't be making that mistake again.

 

[MamazLuv]

for yarn dying, vinegar..... i go through tons. and dharma dyes.

for crochet, susan bates hooks. the old ones that have the sharper point. i have actually filed the tips of the new ones after i lost my favorite G.

 

[Cynthia85]

Lol, when I mentioned vague pattern directions, I had Simplicity in mind. The instructions always remind me of reading a poorly translated Asian food menu...I spend just as much time working out the pattern as I do sewing I do love that one though...I think those dresses are about the most comfortable clothes I've ever had on.

Though I'm definitely going to find a pattern for the accompanying undergarments before I wear them in the winter again. A couple years ago I had the bright idea of going caroling in one on a snowy, windy evening with only a slip underneath...brrr! hehe, won't be making that mistake again.

LOL! I'm trying to make a matching jacket for this dress I made and I made the mistake of using a Simplicity pattern. All I've done is cut it out and pinned it together and already it's irritating me! The problem is, I love Simplicities style more then the others, especially the costumes. It's a conundrum: do I use the Simplicity and end up swearing and throwing it across the room? Or do I settle for something less then I want?

And yikes! I refuse to wear skirts during the winter time for that very reason.

 

[regencygirl]

LOL! I'm trying to make a matching jacket for this dress I made and I made the mistake of using a Simplicity pattern. All I've done is cut it out and pinned it together and already it's irritating me! The problem is, I love Simplicities style more then the others, especially the costumes. It's a conundrum: do I use the Simplicity and end up swearing and throwing it across the room? Or do I settle for something less then I want?

And yikes! I refuse to wear skirts during the winter time for that very reason.

Of all the patterns I've used, I've had the easiest time with McCall's. I'm using a McCall's pattern for my wedding dress and bridesmaids' dresses (and one of them won't be here to try it on until the date, so we're going to have to mail it back and forth!) but I'll have to alter the neckline to make it more historically accurate. Haven't tried this pattern yet, so maybe it will replace my Simplicity pattern!

I agree, though, Simplicity clothes look so nice! It's a shame we end up wanting to bang our heads into the wall every time we try to use one.