Good call, I think that’s what I was forgetting. Is it the Stabilio All pencils?
Yes, I bought three white and three black… I checked because I thought I had already purchased them, but it was the gel pens I bought from a few rounds back…thank goodness Amazon keeps track! lol I also bought the Mars black charcoal pencils but they don’t write well over paint…
1 Like
I’ve used leaves like that in gelli printing!
2 Likes
Yes. They write really well on paint even if it’s still slightly damp.
you can get black and white from amazon
Blick’s has several colors and I got some recently and really like them
Looks like they changed what colors they carry because I have a purple and teal one and not the orange and brown they have now.
and I have the yellow, red, and blue
Stabilo All Colored Marking Pencils | BLICK Art Materials (dickblick.com)
1 Like
Amazon sells that as a set…Perhaps I should have gotten more colors!
I was asked to compile a list of the top 20 products I use most often. I didn’t quite make 20.
Please don’t feel like you have to go out and buy any of it. One thing I love about art journaling is that you can use whatever you happen to have.
But I do have some favorites and these are things I use a lot
- Gesso – so far I don’t have a favorite brand but I can say Sargent Art is probably not the best. I have a giant bottle I am working through and while it works fine it doesn’t give as good coverage as some gessos
- Heavy gesso/texture paste/modeling paste – you can make your own texture paste. I use these interchangeably
- acrylic paint - I started out using cheap craft paint. And that is fine but going up a step does tend to get better results. I like Liquitex Basics
- Stabilo ALL pencils. Esp black
- White and black gel pens. My favorite are Signo Uni-Ball UM-153 but I think almost any uni-ball gel pen would work. Uni-Ball elite is pretty good. I didn’t have any luck with Uni-ball Broad but it could have been the pack I got as I know others really like those
- Staz-On black ink pad (I only recently got a white ink pad and am loving the effect)
- Mixed Media or water color paper – 100-140 lb. But really you can use most anything.
- Water colors – I am not an expert on watercolors. I have these and have liked them just fine
- Paint brushes and triangular makeup sponges I use cheap brushes
- Stencils (you can make some simple ones with scissors and paper)
- Stamps (you can make some simple ones with fun foam or use things like bubblewrap)
- Things for background texture: drywall tape, joint tape, masking tape, tiny bits of lace and ribbon, book pages
- Glue. My 2 favorites are Scotch 2-way glue applicator and Art Glitter Glue (it’s not actually sparkly)
- Faber Castell gelatos or gel crayons
- Baby wipes
- gel medium or collage pauge.
I have water color crayons, watercolor pencils, oil pastels and they are all whatever I found at Michaels. I don’t use them a lot
I also have india inks and a few Liquitex Basic acrylic inks. I like the acrylic ones because they come with droppers and the india inks dont. But I’m really not experienced enough with using inks except to make drips down my pages.
Trashy/recycleables I save:
- different sizes of bottle caps to make circles
- small boxes I can unfold (like boxes that eye drops or ibuprofen comes in)
- the backs of packaging - the cardboard piece with the hole at the top that hangs on racks
- tags - gift tags, clothing tags, tags from tea, etc
- small bits of lace, ribbon, thread, yarn
- envelopes
- notebook fringe
Recommendations from other Lettuce Heads 
Per @AIMR
- tubes of water color paint, creamy like acrylics or use water for watercolor effect.
- watercolor pencils can be shaved to make your own magicals powders
Per @photojenn
- Neocolor II water soluble crayons
- Heat tool - you can also use a hair dryer but a heat tool will dry your pages without also blowing everything around on the table. I recently upgraded and it’s so much nicer!
6 Likes
This list is awesome!! Thanks for putting it together!
1 Like
I’ll link to it on the first post. Maybe I can compile a list of everyone else’s favorites too.
2 Likes
Thanks! I think it helps to see it instead of trying to compile a list from the many videos that are out there!
I recently bought some tubes of water color paint and love them a lot…they are creamy like the acrylics I am used to but add water and you get the total watercolor effect. I also love the watercolor pencils…you can use the shavings to make your own magic powders!
2 Likes
I’d also recommend
- Neocolor II water soluble crayons
- Heat tool - you can also use a hair dryer but a heat tool will dry your pages without also blowing everything around on the table. I recently upgraded and it’s so much nicer!
1 Like
This is AWESOME.
In preparation for our last zoom I got more gesso (I flew through my first jar!) and some matte gel (for gluing/adhering the layers). Then when we were rewatching I realized she used matte medium for that.
Where does everyone land on gel medium, matte medium, matte gel? Are these actually different? Does it matter? I noticed it didn’t make any lists so far…
ETA: Oh, now I see it at the end of geekgirl’s list.
1 Like
I was this close to buying the heat tool when I was at Michaels, too. It’s sooo nice using Jess’s when I’m over there.
I think matte gel is a type of gel medium (short for matte gel medium as opposed to gloss gel medium) and matte medium vs gel medium has to do with the body of the medium, gel being thicker. I think there is also a gloss medium which, I’m guessing, would be similar in body to matte medium but with a glossy finish.
I have both but have only tried the matte medium so far. It’s thin and I find it really easy to use for collaging.
1 Like
Thank you! That totally makes sense.
I did not see matte medium, so went with matte gel. 
I actually use a lot of Collage Pauge. I’ll update my list later
I only recently started using gel medium.
Pretty sure gel medium and matte medium are interchangeable terms.
This link goes into some detail
3 Likes
I also upgraded from my blow dryer to heat tool…I am so glad I did! It was relatively inexpensive!
1 Like
Ohh, that Blick link may be my undoing. I’ve been meaning to get some Stabilos.
2 Likes
I love this thread so much and am in awe of what you guys are making right now. I love the texture of those pieces. @geekgirl and @aimr @Bel
@Abbeeroad those stickers with the background are fab. @jemimah I love that bee, so cute. @photojenn the colours with the white on yours work so well
I really wanted to join in the zoom this week, but the electricians are moving into my temporary craft space to rewire (it was a close call between safe wiring and wanting to craft 
) so I’ve had to pack up all my craft stuff again. My stash is currently split between three locations, only two of those locations are under the same roof. But 
in about two weeks I should be able to set up my temporary craft space again. In the meantime all those craft supplies I bought from AliExpress after our previous zooms are arriving- they are taunting me.
2 Likes
We miss you but know that you are in flux right now and are thinking of you as you prepare your new home! Seemed not that long ago (although it has been over 20 years!) that electricians were practically living in our home for about six weeks when we first moved back to PA…being safe is a priority and also, many older homes just can’t handle all of the technology stuff we have now that require electricity…it is mind boggling!
Glad you at least “drop in” here! Soon, dear friend!
I absolutely love the scrappy book you made me! It’s so textural! Before you sent that, I didn’t know people casually MADE books! and now I have a couple! I hoard them! But you know my favorite is the scrappy fabric bits. It’s so me!
1 Like