ART SUPPLY SUGGESTIONS!

Hello, artists!! The evolving art supply list below contains affiliate links through Amazon / Dick Blick, so I’ll get a small commission if you buy after clicking.

If you prefer to shop local, you can find most of these items in local art/office supply stores.

  • -PAPER: You’ll want heavier-weight paper to make your pop-ups 'pop' more easily. (Although you can make pop-ups with lighter paper, if you've never made them before, it is harder to work with.) You’ll need a good chunk of sheets for class and afterwards - we’ll  do lots of playing around in class learning techniques, and many cards you make will use two pieces, one for the interior and one for the exterior.

    I'll have a whole section further down the list on envelopes/mailing considerations.

    My recommendation: 8.5"x11" cardstock, 65lb weight.

    Since cardstock is on the stiffer side, pop-ups made with it are easier to "pop," so it's a great choice for beginners. 65lb is a good in-between weight, fairly easy to fold and cut without being flimsy. It's also a great size if you want to create cards that fit into standard-sized mailing envelopes without cutting down your paper or trimming finished cards.

    There are tons of great options online. Here's a brand I've used: 

    The slightly more affordable alternative: Tru-Ray construction paper.

    Construction paper is a bit easier to cut, fold, and layer than cardstock, and you can make great things with it. The tradeoff is that it "pops" less easily than cardstock for certain folds, which can feel frustrating when you're just learning. I recommend Tru-Ray because it's a heftier weight than most construction papers; if your construction paper feels floppy or lightweight like printer paper, it won't work well for pop-ups.

    -Note: if you want to comparison shop, you can usually find Tru-Ray cheaper at art supply stores like Dick Blick.

    -SCRAP PAPER: When using glue, I suggest that you always glue on top of scrap paper. It keeps glue off your work surface, and off parts of your card where it doesn't belong. You can use something like junk mail, or lightweight printer paper (don't use newspaper - the ink will smear all over). If you don't have any paper handy to use, I'll link to an inexpensive pad below, but you could also probably find something at a dollar store.

    The great news about scrap paper is that when you're using it with glue sticks, the residual glue dries very fast so you can reuse the paper over and over again.

    -OTHER DECORATIVE PAPER (absolutely optional - I'm not going to be using much myself): You may wish to decorate your pop-ups with colored/patterned paper or images.

    • Decorative Origami Paper Pack - this paper is for potential decoration only, NOT FOR USING AS THE BASE STRUCTURE OF A POP-UP! This is only on the list in case you don't have any decorative paper at home and want to fill out your decorative paper stock. This is great to cut up and collage with. (And of course you can use it for origami!)

    • Old magazines, wrapping paper, anything decorative that you can cut up - National Geographic always has great, interesting imagery! But you can even just look for colored areas in the back of ads in any magazine, or cut out words to use in your cards.


    OTHER STUFF

    -GLUE STICK: I suggest glue sticks for collage in general, because with their lower moisture content, they dry quickly and don't wrinkle your paper. If you don't already have a glue stick at home and are buying new, then I recommend the large fat glue sticks versus the thin ones; they don't dry out as quickly, and cover more area in fewer passes. I also prefer the clear ones over the purple ones because I've found that sometimes they don't dry perfectly clear. That said - If you've got thin purple ones at home or whatever variation, just use what you have!

    • Avery LARGE glue sticks - set of 6 (you absolutely don’t need 6! But the price of ONE SINGLE ONE is almost half the price of this set of 6, so why not? Or, just find a single elsewhere.)

    -WHITE GLUE (optional, but occasionally nice to have): I don't suggest white glue as your primary glue for basic pop-ups because of the higher moisture content and drying time, but it's handy to use in small amounts if you are gluing tiny things where it's more challenging to use glue stick (eg, stems for flowers), or adding embellishments like textured paper or a piece of ribbon. I suggest something like Aleene's Tacky Glue, which is thicker than typical white glue (eg Elmer's) and grabs on faster. If you want to try it, it comes in all sizes. Here's a link to an option I really like, this newer design that has a nice small tip and stays upside down so it’s less likely to dry out:

    -SCISSORS: As long as you have a sharp pair you're comfortable using, you're all set! If you don't, and want to level up from regular scissors, you might check out:

    • Non-stick Fiskars Scissors can of course be used for paper, but ALSO for stickier things like packaging tape or duct tape without ruining them. Cool :)

    -FOLDING TOOL: For pop-ups to work well, you need sharp creases! Although you can make sharp creases with your fingernails, the fastest way to do it is with a folding tool of some kind. You do not have to buy a folding tool; there are many household items you can use in place of one. For example:

    • a popsicle/craft stick

    • the side of a ruler

    • the side of your glue stick

    • a non-serrated butter knife

    Obviously, none of these were designed specifically for folding, and craft sticks will definitely scuff up your paper more than some other things will. But at least one of these options might be in your house right now! 

    If you do want to buy a tool whose sole function is helping you fold, here are some options:

      Vegan-friendly:

      Definitely not vegan-friendly: genuine bone folders.

    -DRAWING MATERIALS: bring whatever drawing media you like to use to draw & color with!


    OPTIONAL STUFF:

    -EMBELLISHMENTS: stickers, washi, thin ribbon, etc.

    -ENVELOPES: you do NOT need to buy envelopes for class! However, here's info below if you want to put your cards in envelopes and/or send via snail mail.

    Mailing / postage considerations:

    The largest envelope you can mail with a single stamp is 6"x9". (Note, though, that even if your card fits in a single-stamp-sized envelope, if it's super bulky and/or has lots of embellishments, you may need more postage anyway.)

    Fitting cards made from 8.5”x11” cardstock in envelopes:

    Fitting cards from 9"x12" construction paper into envelopes (since the size doesn't correlate perfectly to standard envelope sizes, it's a bit more complex):

    • 9” x 12” construction paper folded in half makes 6"x9" cards, which are slightly too large for 6"x9" booklet envelopes. So if you want them to fit into an envelope, you need to either buy larger envelopes (which you can't mail with letter postage - it costs more), trim your finished cards to fit, or cut the paper down slightly before you make your cards.

    • If you want smaller cards, cut your construction paper in half first to make cards that are 4.5" x 6" - slightly too big for A2 envelopes, but they'll fit in A6 envelopes (4.75" x 6.5"). Or you can trim them to fit in the slightly-smaller A2s.

    EXTREMELY OPTIONAL STUFF:

    -PAPER CUTTER/TRIMMER: This is completely optional, and I won't be cutting paper down in class. And it's definitely not something you need to decide before class! But if you ever decide you want to make smaller cards, cutting your paper down with a dedicated paper cutter/trimmer is much quicker and neater than using scissors or a craft knife.

    I'm including links to two that I own & use often:

  • When I’m doing my Imagination Break classes, or just doodling, here are some of the things I reach for most often:


    Wax Pastels - Caran D’Ache Neocolor I non-soluble wax pastels are basically fancy artist crayons. They’re smoother than wax crayons, but not super chalky like chalk pastels. I adore them. Amazon may be quicker, but they are generally more affordable on Dick Blick, especially the larger sets.


    Black Markers - I cannot tolerate the smell of Sharpies, but love a good permanent marker! Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pens are wonderful, non-water-soluble and completely odorless. They come in all different nib styles (the kind of point). My favorite is the 1.5 bullet tip. You can try out a multi-pack to see what you like best! These are cheaper on Dlck Blick than amazon.


    Inexpensive Markers - Crayola Washable Markers are great because in addition to being low-budget and coloring a lot of area quickly - since they’re water-soluble, you can simply use a paintbrush dipped in water to turn them into “paint” on your paper! I almost always use the broad line, because you can also draw thin lines with the very tips. But I’ll include fine line as well in case you are a fine-line type!


    Inexpensive Crayons - I generally only use these for wax resist, with watercolors, because I love to draw with my wax pastels (listed above), but these can be fun to blend with!

    Colored Pencils - I love Prismacolors - they are sooooo blendy. If you’ve never tried them, give them a go. I’ve included the smallest set below; you can always go bigger!

    Construction Paper - great to draw on with wax pastels or colored pencils; fun for collage projects. Tru-Ray is thicker and nicer than most other brands. Their classic assortment is a little boring (I perfer brights) but brights doesn’t give you brown/black. Both listed below. They sell MANY different assortmnets, though.


    Weighted Desktop Tape Dispenser - I like being able to just rip off a piece of tape with one hand! It makes it much easier to use tape in a project.


    Glue Sticks - brand isn’t super important. But get a FAT one!

  • Oil Pastels - 3 creamy, inexpensive brands, ranging from appx $7-$15. You can see my ‘review’ of them in the Skool classroom.

    Black Paper

    • Tru-Ray 9x12 Pack of 50 Sheets You really only need around 2 sheets for class, but Tru-Ray is good for collage, as well, so has multiple uses! (You can write notes or draw on it with a white or silver gel pen, or colored pencils!)

  • General notes:

    Watercolor Pan Set
    I would suggest AVOIDING the kind that come in “suitcase” sets).

    I no longer recommend Prang - which used to be my absolute favorite - but they reformulated and their colors are much duller now :(

    QUALITY NOTE: you can absolutely find other decent sets - but TRY THEM FIRST before committing to an entire painting with the! Cheap sets often have very low pigment-to-binder ratios. which makes it harder to get a lot of color on your brush.

    Watercolor Paper (make sure you get dedicated watercolor paper! I recommend 140lb over 90lb weight for a little extra heft - 140lb won’t curl up so easily)

    You can find lots of brands - here’s one I like.

    And a pricier/fancier one for when you start to feel more comfortable and want to try paper with a different feel: :

    And when you want to spend a lot more, for a treat - Arches 100% cotton paper is an experience.

    PLEASE NOTE: although thick drawing or multi-media paper in a sketchbook can work with watercolors for basic painting where you're not trying to use watercolor to full effect, special effects and gradations won't work well since the paper will absorb far more quickly than watercolor paper. When paper absorbs water quickly, the paint soaks in and then you can't do gradients or get special effects in the same way.


    Brushes
    You will need more than the tiny brush that comes with the watercolor set!
    You’ll want a bigger, thicker brush - and some variation (both round/pointy & flat/rectangular).

    You can find decent inexpensive paintbrushes - the biggest issue is making sure they don’t shed bristles super fast, so check reviews if you to just look around!

    See below for some simple suggestions.

    Royal & Langnickel make brushes that art teachers love - hold shape decently and actually have a nice soft grip. Acrylic instead of wood handles.

    The first set is cheaper, since it’s just 2 round & 2 flat brushes - it does not have a tiny brush. The second set has a large assortment.

    Crayola brushes are also surprisingly decent - just AVOID their “craft brushes” which are awful! I’ll paste an example of their Taklon sets below, which you can also find at Staples. Their sets have ONLY round or ONLY flat, though..


    OTHER THINGS YOU’LL NEED FOR CLASS (that you probably don’t have to buy!):

    • scotch tape

    • a water jar

    • paper towels and/or tissues

    • plastic wrap

    • wax paper (if you happen to have it)

    • crayons

  • For Upper Elementary/Middle School/High School:

    Elementary/Any age: