15 Basic Tools for the Beginning Crafter

Having a set of pliers can help you in many different areas of crafting. Usually, when purchasing a set of pliers, you will receive a pair of round nose pliers, needle nose pliers, and wire cutters. Each of these tools is designed for a specific purpose but can make any beginning crafter's life much easier. For example, these tools could be used for wire cutting, jewelry making, or even taking the cap off a stubborn glue bottle.

Over the years, my craft knife as become my crafty best friend! Don't get me wrong scissors are important, but a craft knife can sometimes be more useful than your best pair of scissors. Why do you ask? Well, a craft knife can allow you to make those small intricate cuts which you can't get with scissors. Also, it can be used in a variety of other projects like making cards or carving stamps.

Now, when you read this, you may be thinking that a brad setter and piercing tool is not high up on your craft tool list. However, you can now find these two tools being put together, to create one helpful tool. For example, the brad setter can be used to not only deal with brads but can help with other embellishments that also have prongs. In addition, the piercing tool can be used as a substitute for an awl. Either way, this one tool (which can be purchased for about $5.00 dollars) could easily become your go-to ''Macgyver tool'' to help you in your different craft projects.

Did you know that there were tweezers especially designed for us crafters? Well, they exist and should definitely be in every beginner's craft tool box. The particular tweezers that I featured (above) are like most tweezers designed for crafters. They have a non-stick grip coating and a precise tip, which is perfect when working with smaller items. These smaller items could be gems, beads, findings, and other small embellishments.

Craft mats (like most things in the craft world) come in many different styles. For example, you have self-healing craft mats, regular craft mats (not designed for cutting), and silicone craft mats. Having a craft mat is important because it allows you to protect your work surface while still being creative!

A hole punch doesn't sound too exciting but it is an important craft tool! Having a normal round hole punch can help you to make tons of awesome craft projects. For example, you could use your round hole punch to make a garland, confetti, or a picture book.

Paint brushes are a must if you are a new crafter! Personally, I would recommend getting a pack of paint brushes that includes a variety of paint brushes like flat, round, and detailed. This is because you can use them for normal everyday painting and for more detail painting. Also, these brushes can be bought at an inexpensive price, which can allow you to build a large collection of paint brushes fairly quickly. 

Besides normal paint brushes, every crafter should have a set of foam brushes on hand. This is because foam brushes can be used for those projects that involve glues, varnishes, and special types of paints (like chalkboard paint). When using these products you really don't want to use your good paint brushes. Due to that, using foam brushes can allow you to save your normal paint brushes from being ruined and you can simply throw the foam brush away when you are done. 

This is really a no-brainer but having a good pair of sharp scissors is important for every new crafter!

This is probably the most expense craft tool on this list. However, I think having a small paper cutter is great for a beginning crafter because they can use it in a variety of craft projects. This tool is especially helpful if you are a beginning crafter that is into card making, scrapbooking, or album making.

Much like craft mats, paper cutters come in all shapes, sizes, and prices. The one I featured today is under $12.00 dollars, can cut up to 5 pieces of paper at once, and is made by Fiskars (which is the leading maker in scissors). There are many affordable options out there, so I would recommend looking at your paper cutter as an investment piece and to do your research before buying.

A ruler is another tool which seems to get lost in the sea of craft supplies. So make sure you have a good 12-inch ruler to help you in all your crafty projects!

A bone folder could be seen as important to some folks but not to others. I included it because it is a basic crafter's tool which has become really popular in today's DIY projects. The tool itself is also an inexpensive craft tool (depending on what brand you buy) and can help you in a lot of your projects. For example, card making, bookbinding, or even origami.

This is probably the most underrated and forgotten about tool in the craft universe! Having a sharpener (or a couple of sharpeners) should be mandatory if you are a crafter (lol). This is because a pencil sharpener can come in handy whether you are drawing, coloring, or just sketching an idea for your next project.

As we all know, the hot glue gun is the most important tool in your craft box! It can be used in a variety of projects, is quick to dry, and creates a very strong bond. There are also different types of glue sticks available which can give a new crafter more room to experiment but for cheap.

If you have never heard of Hot Glue Gun Helpers, you are definitely missing out! Hot Glue Gun Helpers is a 7 piece kit that helps to make hot gluing a better and less painful experience. Each tool in the kit is designed to help you to use your hot glue gun more efficiently, makes using hot glue on certain items (like gems) much easier, and helps to protect you from burns. Overall, the kit is a great investment for your hot glue gun or for any glue that you might be using.

So folks, there you have my 15 basic tools for the beginning crafter! I tried to provide a variety of inexpensive but important tools, which could be used in multiple areas of crafting. Also, if you are new to crafting and are reading this list, let me be the first to say, welcome to the DIY community!