Arts and Crafts Supplies

The Martial Arts Supply Launched – Gear & Information

2010-03-01T11:04:00.000-08:00

By Matthew Canei

The Martial Arts Supply is a new martial arts store/information hub for the masses. Its purpose is to collect and organize products and articles from all over the web into one location so that practitioners of the martial arts have all of the information and gear they need at their fingertips on one internet location. The creator of the website, Tae Kwon Do gold medalist Matt Canei, believes that by having a majority of the information and products on one site, it will greatly facilitate and cut down on shopping for martial arts supplies and information.

The site is organized into a variety of easy-to-navigate categories to uphold a balanced, well-composed website to reflect the principles and notions of the martial artist. The main content area is the martial arts articles section. Through this section, both site staff and registered users of the site may submit content articles that will be sorted into the martial arts articles categories. This will allow for users to submit their own martial arts related content, to make their own contributions to the site and help the site achieve the status of the one-stop shop for both information and supplies.

The other features of the site include vast product listings of the highest quality of martial arts gear. The product brands range from Tigerstrike and Century to Everlast. The product categories are as follows: kicking bags, e-books, martial arts shoes, sparring gear, uniforms, weapons and targets. Matt also will release his own products on the site such as his already released Tae Kwon Do terminology guide that will be included in future Tae Kwon Do packages that he will produce. Matt will soon release a video series of 12 video lessons going over basic and advanced Tae Kwon Do techniques as well as forms from white belt to 1st Dan black. The videos will be sold for $19.97 a lesson, or all twelve with an assortment of bonuses for just $97.00 which is under half of what it would cost to purchase each lesson individually.
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Art Supplies - Buying and Cleaning Paint Brushes

2010-02-26T11:01:00.000-08:00

By Anne Clarke

Remember when you were in grade school and painting seemed so simple because your teacher just handed you art supplies and helped wash brushes afterwards? Approaching the medium as a more mature artist, you must learn about paintbrush materials and how to properly care for your brushes.

First, you must decide whether you will need soft or stiff hairs for your paintbrush. Either can be made of natural hairs or synthetic fibers. A thin paintbrush is ideal when you want to do detailed work or precise painting. It allows you to spread paint easily. Hard bristles on the other hand are better for manipulating thick paint. This allows you to create brush marks in the paint that can be seen on the canvas. Vincent van Gogh's work is famous for this technique, as evidenced by his painting The Starry Night.

Most purists will say that natural hair will always be superior to synthetic fiber because of its flexibility and strength. The hair for paintbrushes comes from animals including Sable, squirrel, hog, camel, ox, pony and goat. If the thought of using hair from one of these animals makes you squeamish or you have ideological problems with this, do not fear: modern synthetic brushes have come a long way and are even less expensive than their natural hair counterparts.

The next step is to learn a little bit about paintbrush anatomy. The handle is usually made of wood and is called the ferrule. This holds the hairs or bristles. The tip of the bristles is referred to as the toe.

When deciding which paintbrush to use it is important to know the size of the brush. This can be determined by looking at a number on the side of the handle. The smallest size is 00 followed by 0, 1, 2 and so on. If you are buying online it is important to see a picture of the brush you're purchasing. Two brushes sized the same can actually be very different because of the number of bristles and the width of the handle. This problem can be alleviated if you shop in an actual store or are already familiar with the brand of brush.

It takes a lot of time and money to get the right paintbrush, so it makes sense to take care of them, which includes proper cleaning after each use.

Before you get started, make sure you have mild soap (or turpentine if appropriate) and some tissue. You will also need lukewarm water and a place to dry your brushes.

Wipe off the excess paint using a soft cloth or tissue. Then, rinse your brushes in turpentine if you are using oils, but use lukewarm water if you're paint is water-based. Hot water can cause the hairs of your brush to fall out. Afterwards, gently wash your brushes with mild soap. Rinse and repeat as many times as necessary until no color comes out and your brush returns to its original color. Next rinse your paintbrush in clean water. Remember to shake off the excess water after this. If the brushes seem misshapen, use your fingers to gently bring the brush head back to its original shape.

Now you are ready to dry the paintbrushes. Wrap the bristles in tissue or toilet paper while they are wet. When the bristles dry they will contract in this way and will maintain their shape. Let the brushes dry at room temperature. Be sure not to rest them on their head because this is another potential hazard to maintaining appropriate shape.

Since some of these materials can be toxic protect your skin with a pair of gloves. These can be purchased at an art store or even at a drugstore or hardware store.

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Buying Martial Arts Supplies Online? Check These 6 Things First!

2010-02-23T10:59:00.000-08:00

By Qaisar Shah

1/ Price. Obviously you want to get the best possible price for what you purchase so does the store offer a best price guarantee? If not, don't purchase from this store and keep looking, you are bound to find a better price elsewhere. If the store does offer such a guarantee you can feel safe in placing the order straightaway.

2/ Money Back Guarantee. Very much linked to Price, again you want to put your mind at ease in case the product doesn't meet your expectations that you can simply return it to get your money back.

3/ Safety. When placing orders online, make sure the store offers 128 bit encryption. The last thing you want is for your credit card to become compromised. Better yet look out for security seals such as the Hackersafe seal as these show that the store owner is conscious about customer security and has the site tested daily.

4/ Privacy. Make sure the store has a clear privacy policy to avoid being sent unsolicited emails.

5/ Knowledge. Avoid companies that don't know anything about martial arts supplies as you are unlikely to receive sound advice from such people. Where possible order from store owners who know something about martial arts to ensure you can be guided in a way that will benefit you.

6/ Contact details. You will probably feel safer ordering from a site that clearly has contact details displayed on the site and can be contacted. Walk away from any site that doesn't display such details

At Total Martial Arts Supplies we believe that our customers are our greatest assets and endeavor to provide the best possible service to them.

That's why we fulfill all 6 of the above requirements and more. Have a look for yourself.

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Buying Cheap Art Supplies Online

2010-02-20T10:55:00.000-08:00

By Brenne Meirowitz

The phrase cheap art supplies can mean many things to many people. Advertisers, especially on the Internet, use such phrases to entice buyers to their website or their store. However, this does not mean that the prices or products are any less expensive or of a lesser quality than competitors, but in some cases it may. Most art suppliers carry a standard stock of the most popular art supply manufacturers, such as Prismacolor. Prices usually are adjusted according to season, primarily following the school calendar. Seasonally, i.e. fall, spring, and summer, manufacturers send pricing catalogs to their distributors and retailers, which reflect their specials. Normally, the retailer will pass this savings onto the consumer - but not always. Sometimes, it's just a way for retailers to make extra money.

The best strategy that I can offer the consumer, is to do a price comparison online for the products you are interested in buying. Using my browser, I open up multiple tabs for each retailer, so that I can easily compare prices. If you are unfamiliar with tabs, it is a much easier way to work than working with multiple open windows. Simply right click the ad or hyperlink on a web page for the company where you want to do your comparison shopping. A drop-down menu will appear with the choice of opening the new page in a new window or a new tab; choose new tab. In addition to product price comparison, also compare shipping costs. Some online retailers will offer very cheap art supplies, but may charge higher shipping fees than their competitors that charges slightly higher prices for their products, but less for shipping. The difference in shipping fees may make a big difference in the overall cost of your order. Also, some companies will offer free shipping if your order totals a specified minimum amount. The total, however, does not include tax and shipping fees - only the total price of the items ordered.

Some of the larger art supply retailers also sell their own brand. Depending on the product, this may or may not be a good buying decision. It's similar to buying generic or supermarket brand products. The standard of generic or store brand art supplies may or may not live up to your expectations. If in doubt, it's usually best to buy a name brand product, such as Prismacolor colored pencils, unless you already have firsthand experience with the retailer's store brand. Store brands may not always deliver consistency either, as they may change the manufacturer that produces their products. In other words, a store brand colored pencil may not be made by the same manufacturer that made the pencils the year before.

Another thing to beware of when shopping for cheap art supplies is the retailer's return policy. Some retailers may charge a restocking fee for returned merchandise. Be careful of final sale policies, with wording such as no returns or exchanges. Alternatively, some retailers may only give you a store credit, rather than your money on returned merchandise. On the other hand, if a product arrives damaged, retailers will usually issue a DOM (damaged on arrival) return label, in which they take full responsibility for all shipping costs of returned items. In such cases, retailers should not charge a restocking fee for products damaged during shipping.

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Turning Traditional Display Fixtures Into Art Supply Holders

2010-02-17T10:52:00.000-08:00

By Terry Keenan

Because there are various kinds of display fixtures specifically designed to showcase art supplies, it's pretty easy for a store manager or owner to find the display fixture or fixtures perfect for showcasing almost any kind of art supply. For example, mobile scrapbook racks and slot paper racks are designed with scrapbooking and other art and hobby supplies in mind.

However, display tools specifically designed for showcasing a particular art supply aren't always necessary. There are numerous kinds of fixtures out there that can hold a wide variety of merchandise types - these fixtures wear many hats, so to speak.

If you're just now starting an art supply display in your store, check out the six display fixtures below. Chances are, you might already have several of them on hand - and if you don't, ordering them means you can use them later for other kinds of displays!

Plastic Containers

You probably already know that plastic containers are some of the most common - and popular - retail display fixtures around. This is because plastic containers are durable, versatile, and convenient, and they're available in a variety of shapes, sizes, styles, and even in both clear and colored versions.

Plastic containers work well to hold small kinds of art supplies, such as small paint brushes and writing utensils, rolls of stickers, packets of glitter and sequins, and even small tubes of paint and glue.

Acrylic Round Face Bins

Acrylic round face bins are a version of plastic containers, but pack enough extra punch to get a category of their own. These acrylic bins include hinged lids and attached scoops, and while they're generally used as display fixtures for food products like unwrapped candy, yogurt and ice cream toppings, and gumballs, they're great for displaying and allowing your customers easy access to art supplies like loose beads.

Bucket Display Racks

Bucket display racks actually combine two different display fixtures - plastic buckets for holding merchandise and display racks for holding the buckets!

You can use bucket display racks as art supply display fixtures much the same way you can use plastic containers. Small kinds of art supplies work best with these fixtures, and the racks allow you to situate the display nearly anywhere in your store where there's space enough for the rack.

Pegboard Display Racks and Accessories

Pegboard display racks and their accessories, such as pegboard hooks, trays, and bins and buckets, work in similar ways to bucket display racks in that they provide both the fixtures to hold the art supplies and the means to hold those fixtures.

Because of the wide variety of accessories that work with pegboard display racks, there are plenty of options when it comes to which art supplies to display. Pegboard hooks allow you to display merchandise designed to (or included in packaging designed to) hang, while the trays and bins allow you to display small and moderately sized art supplies that need to "sit" in a container.

Wooden and Wicker Baskets and Racks

Think of wooden and wicker baskets and racks as the charming cousin of the bucket display rack. These fixtures, which are available in both fixed-position and rotating versions, can hold fairly sizeable art supplies and add charm to your store at the same time!

Table Displays

Table displays are excellent choices when you plan to use stand-alone fixtures such as plastic containers and acrylic round face bins. These tables are usually available with two or three tabletops and in a variety of "wood" colors, which also helps them add as much charm and visual appeal to your art supply display as wooden or wicker baskets and racks.

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Six Ways to Save Money on Art Supplies

2010-02-14T10:47:00.000-08:00

By Jamie Jefferson

With the economy in the shape that it is, everyone is looking for ways to save money on things they need. If you're an artist, you need to know how to pay as little as possible for your art supplies, especially when money is tight. Here are six quick tips for finding art supplies at a discount.

1. Buy in bulk. One of the easiest ways to save money on art supplies is to buy in bulk whenever you can. Artist supply companies may give you a price break (sometimes as large as 30 percent) if you buy in large quantities. You may have to do some searching and asking around to get the best deal. Once you have established yourself as a repeat customer, the supply company may be more inclined to offer that discount.

2. Shop auction sites. Look for your favorite art supplies on auction sites such as Yahoo Auctions, eBay, or WeBidz, where you may able to find brand new art supplies for much less than retail prices. Some sellers may even have them listed well below wholesale.

3. Buy local. Check out local art supply or crafts stores, which generally have sales throughout the year, especially when new items are being added. Pay attention to unadvertised, in-store sales. If the store has a mailing list, make sure to sign up because the merchant will often announce special sales to newsletter recipients. If the store has a website, make sure to sign up for online newsletters and check for online coupon codes before you buy, as well.

4. Shop yard sales and estate sales. Quite often people will purchase art supplies thinking they'll enjoy a particular craft. When they actually start the hobby they find they don't like it after all and have spent quite a bit of money for supplies they'll never use. You can often find some really good deals on art supplies like this.

5. Don't throw out the Sunday advertisements. Larger national chains will often place coupons in Sunday's papers because they know more people read newspapers during the weekend. Some coupons can be as much as 40% off a regularly priced item.

6. Make your own art supplies. You may be able to make art supplies cheaper than you can buy them. For example, make your own finger paint with unflavored gelatin, cornstarch, sugar, cold water, food coloring, and dishwashing liquid. Make your own modeling clay can be made with cornstarch, water, and baking soda. Search online for "homemade art supplies" and you'll come up with a number of websites offering recipes, often using materials you have in your kitchen cupboards.

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5 Cheap Ways to Keep Your Art Supplies Organized

2010-02-11T10:44:00.000-08:00

By Rihana Martinson

It's a myth that your work-area has to be a disaster. It is not impossible to keep your work area clean. Certain types of art are, by nature, messy (for example, pottery). That doesn't have to mean that it has to look like a kiln exploded in your workshop.

It's a secret embarrassment of many artists, something that doesn't often come up for discussion. It gets written off as a topic more suited for housecleaning than art. After all, when you chat with other artists, you'd rather spend your time discussing technique... not the fact that your work area is a disaster. Whether you're a high-school art prodigy, a college student with a course-load of fine art classes, or a professional artist, managing your diverse and often-messy cache of art supplies can become a secret nightmare.

A messy work area can also be very frustrating. It is impossible to get your work done quickly if you can't find anything that you need in order to get it done in the first place. This can have a negative impact on your bottom line: your income. The faster, more efficiently, and better you get your work done, the more money you are going to be able to make. Period. I will also openly admit that I personally feel far less inclined to do work when doing work is inconvenient. The easier and more convenient you make it for yourself to do work, the more work you will do. The more cluttered and frustrating your work space it is, the more likely you are to go "I'll do it later" and walk away. The best way to get a lot of work done is to make it as easy as possible for yourself to do your work. This article isn't just for people with a dedicated workshop, though. It easily applies to art students and hobbyists.

It's a misconception that building a nice work area takes tons of money. While your equipment itself may be expensive, you don't have to spend a ton of money organizing your work area and art supplies. In fact, I'd advise against it - the less money you spend getting everything in order, the more you'll have to spend on the REALLY FUN things (like jigsaws). Here are five ways to cheaply organize your art supplies:

1. Set aside a dedicated work-area

This is an area for art, and your art supplies. Nothing but art supplies goes in this area, and art supplies do not go anywhere else. This includes dedicated storage for your art supplies. The more they get mixed in with other things, the less likely it is that you will be able to find them when you really need them.

This doesn't have to be a separate room, or the garage (although both of these options are really nice if you have the luxury). It can just be a corner of a rec room, a bedroom, a closet. A special table dedicated for these purposes will also help, as you won't have to worry about destroying other furniture with paint, glue, clay, etc. Make sure that the table is used only for art, and art projects. It will make keeping it clear and protecting anything that is drying/curing/etcetera a much easier task.

2. Make sure that you can see everything

Many art supplies are expensive - any broke college student knows that! Even the cheap ones add up after a while. How often is it that you have desperately needed a specific tool and been unable to find it any of your toolboxes? How often has your artwork suffered because of this?

For a long time, I kept the majority of my art supplies in opaque tackle-boxes. They were cheap, they had compartments, they did the job. The problem was that I would forget what was in my tackle-boxes, only to come across something that I really could have used months ago and didn't know that I had. This can be expensive, because you keep buying the same art supplies over and over again, when you could have avoided the problem if you had just remembered that you had them in the first place - and knew where to find them.

Nobody can keep a perfect catalog of all of the supplies that they have in their head. A system of labeling your boxes or keeping inventory on paper is annoying, time-consuming, and ultimately unwieldy. One of the best things that I ever did was to start keeping all of my tools and supplies in exclusively clear plastic bins and toolboxes. You don't have to buy special boxes for this task - a trip to the Dollar Store or Walmart will net you a load of cheap, clear plastic boxes. There's no need to go to a specialty art store and buy boxes and toolboxes dedicated to this task.

Don't look for these in the arts & crafts section, as anything you find there is going to be overpriced. Go to the Homes section, and check out the Hardware section as well. Often, there are very cheap tool-boxes and tackle-boxes with some nifty clear compartments. Tackle-boxes are especially useful. Just because they were originally intended for fishing lures doesn't make them less suitable for storing art supplies. The compartments are great for organizing your odds and ends.

Odds are, not everything you have (or most things you have) will not fit neatly in a tackle-box. A slightly more expensive option that has paid off for itself in convenience is to buy the small dresser-like plastic storage compartments with clear drawers that you can find in the Homes section. They come in several sizes, and are useful for holding everything from pencils to electronic parts. One of the things that I did to make my sketch-pads more manageable was to put them in a clear plastic dresser. Some of the organizers have drawers that are the perfect size for printer paper and notebooks.

To manage my many drawing pens, pencils, and markers, which long languished in the bottom of a tackle-box, I bought some pencil cases from Walmart for 50 cents apiece and dedicated a case to each kind of drawing implement. The cases fit nicely in the drawers of the organizer, and stack nicely in plastic bins. If you can find clear or semitransparent cases, even better. I label the outside of the cases so that I know what is in each pencil case. Finding the right pen or pencil used to take a while, now it takes about 15 seconds. You don't have to buy special cases for this though, although the hard cases will protect your more delicate pencils better. Large zip-lock bags are also excellent for this task. They're also great for storing your tubes of paint, erasers, etc.

An exception to the "put everything in clear bins" rule is some paints. Some of them are light-sensitive and shouldn't be out sitting in the light all of the time. My solution was to put them in clear bins and then drape a dark cloth over them. Even better if you have a cupboard you can put them in. This way, I can open my cupboard and peek under the cloth to see exactly what paint I have, without worrying about light destroying the pigments.

3. Label everything clearly

Even if you can see into your drawers, label what is in them anyway. Get a piece of masking tape and write a list of the things contained in your drawer or bin - "Micron Pens, Prismacolors, Grease Pencils". Affix this to the front of every drawer, and the top and side of every bin. It seems pretty dumb - after all, you remember what's in your bins, and you can see what's in them, right? Well, when you have 20 bins and 16 drawers and you're trying to find something quickly, these labels will help you find it much more quickly than your memory can.

People may comment on it, they may try to make fun of you. It doesn't matter, let 'em. The same friends who thought that my labeled drawers were silly are the ones who marvel at how quickly I can get things done.

4. Get a peg-board, and a cork-board or dry-erase board

A peg-board doesn't cost much, but it keeps your tools off of the tables/counters and in plain sight. Both of these things are important. You should be able to pick up a decent-sized peg board at a hardware store for $15-20. It is a more flexible alternative than screwing hooks into your walls, is easy to install, and will save you a lot of grief when you are looking through all of your toolboxes something and can't find it.

A peg-board is useful for more than just things like hammers and drills. It is awesome for hanging rulers, T-squares, L-squares, and larger-sized paint brushes. You don't have to worry about your rulers getting bent, and you won't be panicking because you can't find your French Curve.

The cork-board is great for pinning up things like lists, notes, and reference pictures. It doesn't seem all that important, but it's valuable when you need to keep track of things like schedules and appointments, and is as much a part of your work area as your pens and pencils. A dry-erase board can serve the same function, helping you keep track of your schedule and projects. The reason this is important is because your To-Do list and projects are right there in front of you constantly, and it keeps projects from "slipping between the cracks" and getting forgotten about (something that can cost you money and reputation).

5. Always keep your table/counters/work surfaces CLEAR

I know that this sounds basic, but it gets ignored so often: when you are done with something, put it away! Some things must be left alone on the table in order to set, dry, etc. That's fine. What isn't fine is hammers, glue, tubes of paint, brushes, etc. A tube of paint here, a few pencils there -- "you'll put them away later" -- and then, suddenly, you have a mountain of miscellaneous art supplies sitting right on top of the work space that you need to use. You'll feel far less inclined to get your work done if you have to clear a heap of junk off of your work space instead of just being able to sit down and finish your task.

After you've gone to the effort of arranging them, 90% of keeping your supplies organized is just picking up after yourself. The easiest way to stay organized is to not have to keep organizing your things in the first place. Putting something away immediately when you are done with it will save you time down the road, because you are more likely to remember exactly where it goes if you just used it. Putting away a whole heap of things when you can't quite remember exactly where each one goes will eat up more time.

A messy work-space is a slippery slope - the messier it gets, the more quickly it gets messier. Cleaning it up becomes a serious chore. Save yourself the grief, and just put your pens away when you are done with them - even if you're going to use them again later today, or tomorrow. Sometimes things come up and you don't get right back to work, and that's when the mess starts creeping in.

Hopefully, these tips will help you keep track of your art supplies a little bit more easily. Keep things where you can see them, know exactly what you have, keep your containers and drawers clearly labeled, and keep your work-space clear, you will be able to get your work done more quickly and efficiently while you avoid spending unnecessary money buying items that you already own.

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Finding Wholesale Art Supplies

2010-02-08T10:41:00.000-08:00

By Ashlie Esco

If you engage in any sort of art or craft, you know that supplies aren't cheap. A quick look around at any art store will make that apparent. Getting wholesale, or near cost, art supplies is a much better option than buying them individually at full price, particularly if you are trying to make money off your art.

When buying supplies this way, you can create your art cheaper, and then sell it for a decent price. On top of this, your profit margin can still be good, and make your art support you.

Online is one of the best places to buy art supplies near cost. When you look around on the internet you will find many places that offer inexpensive supplies. The trick is just finding the right store. You need a store that knows what they are doing, and carries a wide array of items

Whatever your specialty is, you should look for a store that offers a lot in that category. Some stores specialize in painting, but lack in sculpting supplies. Find a place that sells wholesale art supplies, and caters to your specialties. If they carry a lot of other things as well, this is a great perk because you will always know where you can find stuff for other projects. A well-stocked, well-rounded store is your best option.

If you create a lot of art, you may also want to look into bulk art supplies. Like most things, buying in bulk is a much less expensive option for supplies.

Items that aren't "perishable" such as paper, metal, and things like this are especially good to buy in large amounts. If they are sealed up properly, things like paint and clay can also be bought in bulk if you use them regularly.

Some stores specialize in selling wholesale supplies, and these are the stores you should shop at if you are interested. Many stores sell a few items this way, but if one specializes in it, you are going to have a wider variety of items available to you, and you are more likely to get the best price possible.

One perk to shopping for things like bulk art supplies online is that you can have them shipped right to your home. Instead of going to a store in person to pick them up, then taking them home, you can enjoy the convenience of just waiting for them to arrive. Many people like this option because they spend less time shopping, and more time creating their art.

Wherever you buy art supplies, see what kind of return policies they have. If something you buy is defective, or you are shipped the wrong thing, what can be done to remedy the problem? Make sure you check on this before you buy. But most stores have very reasonable return policies.

Buying art supplies wholesale is really a great idea. Whether you are a professional artist or an amateur trying to perfect your craft, you need supplies to keep yourself going. Getting them as inexpensively as possible is key. Once you find a store you like that sells near cost or in large quantities at a discounted price, you can feel secure knowing exactly where to go to get what you need.

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Art Supplies for Pencil Artists

2010-02-05T10:37:00.000-08:00

By Adam Valentine

If you are a pencil artist, or you aspire to be, you're going to need some art supplies. Now, you could just go on down to the local art supply store and pick out what ever has the most eye catching packaging, or you could educate yourself a bit and save some time and money by picking out the right supplies the first time.

The obvious first item on the list will be pencils. I just recently wrote an article all about pencil choices so I'll keep this part brief. You'll want to get a good quality set of pencil that have varying degrees of hardness. Harder pencils are labeled with an H and give you a lighter tone. Softer pencils are labeled with a B (I don't know why) and give you a darker tone. The pencil right in the middle is the HB and is equivalent to the #2 pencil we all used in school to do those multiple choice fill in the bubble tests.

Now lets move on to paper. If you're just doing some sketching or doodling then any paper will do. You can use your computers printer paper. But, if you're getting a little more serious about your drawing and you want the finished product to last, you'll want to use a better quality paper. When you look at a pad of drawing paper, there is a weight on the cover. It will say 50lbs or 75lbs sometimes more sometimes less. The "heavier" the paper the thicker it will be and the thicker it is the more abuse it can take. Abuse like lots of shading, blending, erasing etc. The paper that I prefer to use is called Bristol Board. There are several different brands of Bristol Board and I don't really have any preference for one brand over another. Bristol Board is a very heavy weight paper and it feels like card stock. You can get Bristol Board in a vellum finish or a plate finish. The vellum finish has a bit of a tooth or a texture to it. The plate finish is smooth and it happens to be my preference. Some artists like to have a bit of texture on the drawing paper but I prefer the smooth finish so that I can determine the texture my drawing has by using shading and highlights rather than having the paper dictate the texture. Whichever you prefer, if you're drawing something that you want to last, you'll want to use a good quality paper.

Tip: Do your sketches and preliminary drawings on cheap paper and when you get your design the way you like it, transfer the line drawing to your more expensive higher quality paper for the final drawing.

Next let's talk about erasers. You probably have the handy pink eraser that we've all used since kindergarten. That's fine I use that one too. It's good at what it does and that's removing unwanted lines from your paper. Just be careful not to over use it. When I was a youngster starting out I used the pink eraser on copier paper and rubbed a hole right through the paper ruining a pretty good drawing.

The kneaded rubber eraser is something every pencil artist should have in there arsenal. It can be molded to a fine edge or a sharp point and used to lift out precise highlights. It's a very useful tool. It can also be used to lighten an area that may be just a little too dark. By simply pressing the kneaded eraser down and then lifting it back up the eraser lifts some of the graphite up with it.

Some other eraser options are the plastic eraser, this one is pretty good at removing graphite and not too rough on the paper or the art gum eraser. The art gum eraser is also good at removing graphite and not too rough on the paper but it leaves a lot of little crumbs on the paper. Which leads me to the next tool you should have.

A horse hair brush. It's better to use a brush to clean any debris from your paper than to brush it away with your hand or just blow on the paper. If you brush it clean with your hand you can smear your drawing especially if you're using softer pencils and if you simply blow on your paper to clean it off you might end up spitting on your drawing (I've done it).

Another tool that I use all the time is a tortillion or a blending stump. These both serve the same purpose which is to blend your shading so that any visible pencil lines blend together to give the appearance of a smooth surface. Both tools are cylindrical and come to a point on the end. A tortillion is a tightly wound cone of paper that comes to a point and a blending stump is more like a solid hunk of paper that also comes to a point for blending.

Some other tools that are not mandatory but may be helpful are rulers or even a T-square. I always hear people say "I can't even draw a straight line". Who can? That's what a ruler is for. Another tool you may want to get that only costs a few pennies is an erasing shield. With an erasing shield you can protect the part of your drawing that you don't want to erase while getting rid of the part that you do want to erase.

Well, there are more tools available but that should be plenty to get you started. So get out there and start drawing.

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How Important is Quality in Your Art Supplies?

2010-02-02T10:34:00.000-08:00

By Samantha Asher

Are you a famous artist that paints for a living and has sold dozens of paintings? If you are, then quality in your art supplies is of utmost importance, but if you are a much lesser known artist, how important is the quality of your art supplies? If you go to the art supply store or search online, you will see a big difference in price in many of the different art supplies. You might see a 4 ounce tube of paint for $3 and another 4 ounce tube of paint for $15 dollars. What makes it cost so much more and should it matter to you?

Often the reason why paint costs more or less depends on how much of what ingredients are present in the paint. For example, if a tube of oil paint is made up mostly of low quality oil and little else, it will be cheaper. If it has a lower amount of oil, quite a bit more pigment, and more preservers of higher quality, meaning you get a better finish, it will cost more. The same goes for other art supplies such as acrylic paint or pastels. Another example is paintbrushes. Synthetic brushes are always much cheaper than brushes made of real animal hair.

When should you buy the good stuff and when is the cheap stuff okay? All of your art supplies, whether you are a beginner painter or an advanced artist, should have some amount of quality. Don't use the plastic paintbrushes with black plastic bristles you find in kid art sets. They will not work well and they will only hinder your painting ability. Also, don't necessarily use the cheapest paint you can find, make sure it is a good name meant for quality.

If you are a beginner, the quality of your supplies doesn't have to be top notch. If you are a painter and most of what you do is messing around and practicing, buy the cheap acrylic. If you are advancing and looking to possibly sell your work, upgrade your paints. If you are a beginner who plans on moving up to a higher grade in the near future, don't buy gallons of the cheap stuff, only buy what you need. If you buy 3 gallons of white paint and only use have a gallon, that's a lot of wasted paint. Hopefully you can get your money back or sell it to someone else.

As you progress, you may start to notice the difference in quality of your supplies. Upgrade as you see necessary. As a beginner painter, synthetic brushes may suffice, but as you get better, you might see how much better animal hair brushes against the canvas. Use what works for you while keeping in mind the affordability factor and you will progress as an artist.

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Are Prismacolor Colored Pencils Cheap Art Supplies?

2010-01-30T10:31:00.000-08:00

By Brenne Meirowitz

Prismacolor colored pencils are not cheap art supplies, but do cost less than most other name brands. For example, compared to Derwent, a single Prismacolor colored pencil costs about $.95 - $1.43, whereas Derwent costs $1.34 on average. Stabilo colored marking pencils sell for approximately $1.40 each. Dick Blick has its own private label brand of colored pencils which range from $.67 - $.79 depending up the quantity ordered. So, Prismacolor is not the least expensive, but does costs less than the leading name brand competition. They are also made consistently from very high quality pigments, which are smooth and very rich in color saturation.

In the case of a private brand label or a generic product, quality may not always be as consistent as a specific manufacturer. The reason - name brand manufacturers are counting on customer loyalty and satisfaction. One the other hand, when a famous soda company came out with a new branded soda, the majority of consumers hated it. They scrambled to remove it from the market. However, in the case of new soda versus the Classic soda, the consumer knew that they were buying a different product from what they had in the past. With a generic or private label product, for example, you never know who is really manufacturing the product - it could be Coke one year and the next season it could be Pepsi! Therefore, for the most part, my suggestion is to stick with a name brand product that has proven its quality and consistency to you over time. Not all cheap art supplies are created equal!

A set of six Prismacolor colored pencils costs anywhere from $5.89 to $9.65, so depending upon where you buy them, you may or may consider them to be cheap art supplies. The higher price is the manufacturer's list price. A tin box set of 132 pencils sells for about $102.99 online, compared to the manufacturer's list price of $212.40. That certainly is a big difference! When bought individually, these pencils can cost anywhere from $.89 - $1.60 which is the manufacturer's list price. My advice, especially if you are investing in a large set, is to shop around in order to get a general sense of what the market and individual online and local stores are offering. However, when you buy online, you also have to consider shipping and handling costs. Some online art supply stores will give you a rebate if you buy a certain minimum amount of art supplies from them. Others will offer free shipping if you meet their minimum purchase threshold. However, then you have to compare the cost of free shipping to the actual cost of the goods. Additionally, some online stores will also charge you sales tax, while others won't. Therefore, you will have a lot of homework to do if price is important to you. One more key point to keep in mind is the time of the year that you are making your purchase. Right before the school semester begins, prices usually are lower. End of season close-out sales are another good opportunity to find cheap art supplies. Happy shopping!

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Buy Quality Art Supplies Online

2010-01-27T10:28:00.000-08:00

By Caitlina Fuller

If you are an artist, you are well aware of the fact that art supply shops in the malls and shopping centers are very expensive. The prices in these stores are so high in fact that many people who would like to engage in their favorite artistic past time do not do so because they cannot afford to.

Art is one of the most well-loved hobbies. Whether you are simply enjoying art for yourself or if you do it for a living, you know that art is joyful, comfortable and a great way to express yourself.

If you partake in artwork at times and need some art supplies, then you should look for the best bargains. Make a list of what you will need then keep an eye out for the sale fliers that come in the mail from your favorite art supply shop. Keep an eye out for bargains and slashed prices and try not to make major purchases until you can locate a good deal. Many artists buy in bulk as a way to save money on supplies. Most vendors will give you a decent discount when you buy in bulk and you are often able to save anywhere from 20 to 50% off the original price when you purchase several items.

You can also shop online to find artist material. There are many wholesale art supply dealers on the internet that allow you to purchase everything you need at one time for a great price. Shopping online is also much cheaper than buying locally. Most online art supply stores offer a variety of shipping options so you can receive the supplies quickly and painlessly. These online shops are also perfect places to pick up art gifts for the artists in your life.

Of course you must be discerning when shopping online for art supplies. A poorly made, cheap paintbrush for example can be very inferior to an expensive one and the difference will undoubtedly show in the work done with it. However, you can often find much cheaper paper, paint and other art goods that are of the highest quality.

So the next time you need any supplies for your artistic hobby, take the time to shop around. Use the internet, keep an eye out for great deals locally and watch the advertisements you receive in the mail. Attempt to locate the best deals you can on good quality art supplies. High prices should not stop you from expressing yourself artistically.

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Give the Gift of Art Supplies to Creative Family and Friends

2010-01-24T10:25:00.000-08:00

By Caitlina Fuller

Aspiring artists have a need to make their mark on the world through inspiration. A great deal of time and effort has been devoted to fine works of art and in order for any type of artist to create his masterpieces he needs some great art supplies in order to get the job done.

If you have a friend or a family member who is creative and likes to make art, then buying art supplies for this friend or family member is the perfect gift idea. If the person is a painter then you can purchase brushes, paints, canvases and palettes. A sculptor would love to receive clay or sculpting tools and a person who does scrapbooking would love to receive a wide variety of different types of paper that he or she could use in this popular hobby.

While you can find all types of art supplies at your local hobby shop, the selection is probably not too diverse and the prices may be a bit out or your reach as well. The best place to find discount art supplies is on the internet. Not only will you find the widest selection, but you will find that the prices online are much lower than those you would pay at the corner art supply store in your city. When you shop online, you will find the most ordinary art supplies such as paper, scissor and paints as well as screen printing supplies, brush cleaning products, easels, charcoals, and fabric paint.-just to mention a few. The point is, no matter what type of art supply you need, searching for your art supplies online will no doubt result in you finding it all-and maybe even a little more!

Many of the bigger online art supply stores are actually owned and operated by people who are artists themselves. Not only will you find a huge selection, but you can be sure that if you have a question or need assistance with an art project that the staff working at these online stores will be more than qualified to answer your questions.

The next time you are wondering what to buy for those creative friends and family members of yours, keep in mind that all artists greatly appreciate gifts of art materials. Online art supply stores will surely have what you need and you can expect to find very reasonable prices as well.

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How to Buy Cheap Art Supplies

2010-01-21T10:21:00.000-08:00

By Annette Labedzki

Sometimes it is positively terrifying to walk into an art supply store. The prices are enough to give anyone a minor heart attack. What can you do though? You need pastels and paints, sketchbooks and brushes and an assortment of other things. Well, over the years I've discovered different ways of finding cheap art supplies. First it was out of necessity because I was an art student, but even now I can't stomach the idea of spending one hundred dollars on a box of pastels.

The best place to find cheap paint is at your local hardware store or paint store. Ask the clerk if they have any "mistints" or "oops" paint. These are approximately 9.00 per gallon and the pint size is around 3.00-4.00 per pint. Sometimes they also have discontinued colors that are on sale. Chinese ink is another very inexpensive product which you can find in art supplies stores. Not all of the products are expensive!

It's not always fun, however a great place to find art supplies and craft supplies is in your local Salvation Army or the corner thrift store and even at garage sales. Depending on what kind of an artist you are, whether you are a painter or sculptor, you can find great hand-me-down craft supplies, someone else's old thread and wool collections, costume jewelry and bead collections, nails, vintage buttons and the list goes on! You can get these collections for a few dollars! If you go on a regular basis you get even better deals because the store clerk becomes familiar with you.
I enjoy working on paper rather than canvas. Many years ago I was always cringing as I went to the art supply store to buy a sketchbook. I finally realized that I could buy great paper from any office supply store. However the sizes were limited. Then a friend told me about a Paper Warehouse, this is where all the printers in the city get their paper from. The one I go to has a cash and carry office where they sell discontinued papers in all different sizes! I was so very happy to find this place. Just recently I got a great deal on 1000 sheets of 20x26 inch paper for 88.00!!

If you collect fabrics then try visiting an upholstery store or a furniture store and ask if they have any discontinued swatch catalogues.

So keep your mind and your eyes open for special deals and places for cheap art supplies, because the most important thing of all is that as an artist you want to keep on working!

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5 Art Supply Containers and Racks For Your Store

2010-01-18T10:18:00.000-08:00

By Terry Keenan

Whether you already own or manage an art supply store or you're looking to open one, or even if you own or are opening a store that will sell items similar to those found in art supply stores, you must make sure you have the right kinds of art supply containers and racks to display your merchandise. Below are five kinds of art supply containers and racks to get you started.

1. Clear Plastic Containers

Because of their versatility and durability, and the convenience they offer both storeowners and customers, it's no surprise to see clear plastic containers listed as an ideal display container for art supplies. Art supply store managers and owners can use clear plastic containers to display everything from small tubes or packets of glitter and sequins to buttons, beads, and other baubles. These kinds of containers are also great for holding loose paint brushes and drawing pencils and pens.

Of course, clear plastic containers also work great as storage containers. You or your associates can keep them under your countertops or in your stockrooms to organize anything from work-related tools such as rolls of sales stickers to thumbtacks for hanging wall posters.

2. Acrylic Round Face Bins With Scoops

Similar to clear plastic containers, acrylic round face bins with scoops work well to organize and display loose kinds of art supplies like beads. The round face design of these bins add visual appeal to displays while the scoops make it easy for customers to retrieve the amount of product they want. Also similar to clear plastic containers, acrylic round face bins with scoops also work well as storage bins.

3. Slot Paper Shelves and Racks

Slot paper shelves work with slot paper racks (see below) and are designed to hold paper or similar art supplies. You can find slot paper shelves in various sizes and with one, two, or three slots and you can use them to hold everything from regular paper and construction paper to sheets of stickers and stencils. Slot paper racks are designed to hold slot paper shelves and art supply store managers and owners can find these display racks in both floor and countertop models.

4. Bucket Display Racks

Like clear plastic containers, bucket display racks are found in a variety of retail establishments because they work so well to organize, store, and display various kinds of merchandise. You can use bucket display racks to organize and display everything from small art supplies like packets of glitter and small tubes of paint to larger items like loose paint brushes, rulers, scissors, and art pens and pencils.

5. Mobile Scrapbook Centers

Mobile scrapbook centers are crucial for art supply stores that sell scrapbooking tools. These display racks are complete with display fixtures such as slot paper racks for holding sheets of scrapbook paper as well as flat metal racks for holding heavier items and on-roll shelves for conveniently displaying rolls of stickers. Mobile scrapbook centers also work well for any kind of store that doesn't necessarily sell scrapbook supplies but does sell similar items such as sheets or packets of paper and stencils as well as rolls of stickers.

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Art Supply Online Warehouses - A Great Way To Save

2010-01-15T05:41:00.000-08:00

By Susan G Phillips

It can be a lot of fun walking into an art supply store at the mall or to a local art and craft warehouse. The shelves contain a variety of art supplies, from acrylic paints to wooden easels, and the staff are often very friendly and passionate because they too are artists. However, what isn't so friendly is overpaying – why pay full retail prices when you could be getting discount art supplies through an online art supply store or warehouse.

Remember that when you buy a table top easel at a traditional art supply store, you aren't just paying for the easel. You're also paying for the presentation of the supplies, in the traditional brick and mortar environment. An online art supply store or warehouse saves you money because their operation costs are less. The point of going into a store is to get help when you need it. When it comes to art supplies, most artists know basically what they need. Eliminating the middle man at an online art supply store or warehouse to get your art supplies makes good business sense and can also be exciting in its own right.

As an artist, you're probably not accustomed to putting practical thoughts about time and money when it comes to your time spent in front of a wooden easel. It is worth a thought though, when you consider how fast costs can add up. A few dollars saved today can equal more time available to create tomorrow. Although shopping for online art supplies is very easy, it still can make you nervous.

For one thing, there is something about buying something you've never touched that can seem weird, but art supply stores or warehouses can provide art supply catalogs to alleviate that worry. With art supply catalogs you are viewing an artistic depiction of art supplies. At that point you are one step away from viewing a painting of a wooden easel displayed on a table top easel that's been balanced on a presentation easel in a corporate boardroom. However, it really is a practical solution to filling your needs.

Traditional art supply stores are great, but the prices are marked up, and you might not get what you want, when you need it. When you look through at art supply catalog and order your art supplies that way, you eliminate the chance that what you need will be out of stock at the time you purchase. So not only do you save money, you save time and worry.

On top of saving money, the art supplies available online are of great quality. You won't be sacrificing for the sake of saving money. The only thing you'll be giving up is a few of the things people like to complain about. And if you order enough you might even qualify for free shipping.

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Oil Paint Art Supplies

2010-01-12T05:33:00.000-08:00

By Seth Miller

In the world of painting and other arts forms, oil paints are quite popular. They give the painter enough time to work around a thought or idea, even after they are used on canvas or board.

Usually, oil paint is available in tubes. It is advisable to buy good quality primary and secondary colors, than to spend money on cheap paints. Oil paints are also available in pans or bars.

Thinners or solvents, such as turpentine, are generally used to dilute oil paint and for cleaning the brushes and palette. The addition of white or mineral spirits to oil paints makes it watery. It is recommended to use low-odor solvents in a well-ventilated room.

Mediums are materials that are used to dilute color, increase transparency and gloss and reduce drying time. Readymade mediums are available, off the shelf. The various forms of linseed oil can be used for this purpose. It is important to keep in mind the constituency of the paint before adding thinners or there may be insufficient oil left for binding.

It is recommended to use stiff hog-hair brushes when using thick oil paint. It is ideal to invest in good quality brushes, as they last longer than the cheap ones. Soft sable brushes or even synthetic alternatives are effective when it is important that the brush marks are not seen. It is advisable to try out different types of head shapes and lengths of handles, before choosing the appropriate brush.

It is essential to treat canvas and boards with primers, before using oil paints on them. Acrylic primers are favored in the business, as they dry fast and do not require any sizing underneath.

It is advisable to invest in good quality art supplies as they serve the artist better in the long run.

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Art Supplies Catalogs

2010-01-09T05:31:00.000-08:00

By Seth Miller

Catalogs are a list or itemized display of articles that are on exhibition or sale. They include information and illustration, describing the products in detail. Catalogs are created for all kinds of materials, from the hallowed portals of fashion designing to kitchen products. Art supplies catalogs have information on articles relating to art, such as canvasses, paints and brushes.

Catalogs are basically marketing tools that attract customers with their glossy prints and attractive colors. Since they are the basic tag line of an outlet, manufacturers and retailers are more than willing to invest in them. It should be ensured by the manufacturer, that the details in the catalog, are as per the specifications available and give an in depth idea of the product on sale. It is worthwhile to check the dimensions and the price of the product displayed. It should be ensured by the seller, that the catalogue is a systemic layout of all the products in the shop and on the websites.

Normally, the seller clubs all the products of a similar type, under a single category, to make it easier for the salesman and the customer. Some catalogs have a comparative price list of the various sizes and varieties available, of the same product. During the off-season or at times when discounts are being offered, the special rates are included in the catalog too. Catalogs help the seller in saving precious time, as the customer can conveniently go through the catalog instead of physically being shown each item. Shop owners save on manpower as well.

The art supplies catalogs also have a small color picture of the product to make it more pictorial and easier for the buyers to decide on their purchase. There are various sections that demarcate different products, like paints, easels, brushes and palettes.

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Purchase Discount Art Supplies

2010-01-06T05:29:00.000-08:00

By Seth Miller

People are generally of the opinion that low or discounted prices indicate poor quality. This may not always be the case. There are genuine sales and discounts, where a buyer is able to get genuine, good quality material, at discounted rates. Many sales offer a variety of products, at rates that are extremely profitable when the articles are bought in large quantities.

The purchase of a product, just because it is on sale, is not a wise decision. It is important for the buyer to test the product on discount. The customer should also seek professional advice and conduct research on the product.

There are many reasons for a product to be available on discount. It need not always be that the product is of inferior quality. At times the shop owner is left with a large quantity of the product. This results in product stagnation and could be the call for a genuine discount sale.

Sometimes the shop owner decides to shift base or the products he offers. This also leads the need to sell out the existent stock, without much of a loss. It is possible to look for discounted art supplies in a local shop or by browsing through the net and connecting on to specific sites. Genuine art supply discount sales offer a good range of art supply material such as brushes, paints and easels. The buyer can choose from brushes made of hog hair to the synthetic ones. It is also possible to get good canvas and palettes at throw away prices, on discount sales.

Certain manufacturers have annual discount sales to get rid of stagnating stock. A buyer can buy these articles at reduced rates, which would otherwise be beyond their budget. Practitioners of various art forms can avail of good deals, through sales.

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Online Art Supplies

2010-01-03T05:27:00.000-08:00

By Seth Miller

Art supplies are various materials that are used to draw and color on a canvas or a plain sheet of paper. They include painting and drawing accessories, easels, paintbrushes and palettes.

These materials help a person to enhance the creativity within and unleash their thoughts on canvas. Canvases are easily available, off the shelf, in many brick and mortar stores. It is easy to go online and search for these supplies and in the bargain get better quality and cheaper varieties.

Many people dismiss the online sites as dealers in inferior quality or practitioners of dubious ways. This is not true and it is proved that many online deals result in good quality and worthwhile bargains.

It is seen that many people who have great ideas for good products, do not have the backing of big manufacturers and distributors. They sell their products online where both the seller and the customer, stand to profit. It is not necessary for a quality product to have large distribution channels. The larger channels usually only represent big brand names and high prices.

It is very easy to log onto a site selling art supplies and browse through the various catalogs available online. It is also easy to compare the rates of the various articles online and settle for bargain that fits the pre-determined budget.

Some of the online sites come up with great discount offers that are difficult to resist and are worth the effort. There are also sites that offer wholesale rates to buyers, where they get the pick of the articles at very low prices.

It is important for the buyer to consider the incidental charges, including shipping and negotiate with the online seller. These prices should also be calculated in order to arrive at the total cost of the product.

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Children's Art Supplies

2009-12-31T05:24:00.000-08:00

By Seth Miller

Are your children enthusiastic about the arts? Do you see budding artists in them? Encourage your children to be the best they can be. Fire up their creativity. Provide them with the tools to help them realize their dreams.

Children's art supplies include basic art materials such as art paper, pens, coloring materials, sketch pads, brushes and clay. Most of these are available in art shops or even from art dealers. These art materials are perfect for your little artists as they are child-sized, washable and non-toxic.

How and Where to Find Children's Art Supplies

For moms who want to develop the artistic inclinations of their children, there are a lot of quality art materials available online.

The Internet hosts many online shops that include children?s art supplies in their catalogues. On these sites, you can find a wide array of choices. There are starter kits for young kids and complete art sets for older children. These shops also offer miniature art equipment to suit your children?s needs. Online shops also offer art supplies at discounted prices. You can order anything you want with just one click and have your purchases delivered to you promptly.

Children?s Art Supplies Safety Tips

Although most children's art supplies are safe, there are some objects, such as scissors, bottles and other items that can hurt your children if handled improperly. Make sure that you supervise young children in their art activities. Teach them how to use the scissors correctly. Keep breakable bottles at a safe distance from their work area. Keep a close eye on items that have small parts, lest your children swallow and choke on them. After your children have finished creating their masterpieces, be sure to keep all art materials far from their reach.

You can leave older children unsupervised in their art activities. However, in buying them art supplies, check for non-toxic materials.

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Art Supplies Online

2009-12-28T05:22:00.000-08:00

By Seth Miller

If you are a person who spends a lot of time creating art, then you probably realize the importance of using the right art supplies for your projects. You should know the best places to visit to shop for the tools of your trade. The market, nowadays, provides you with everything you need when it comes to art supplies. But if you?re just too busy to go out and buy your supplies, there are many products available on the Internet.

Buying art supplies online can save you the trouble of having to go out shopping. Basically, art supplies online are online shops that offer different art materials, from paint brushes and technical pens to sketch pads and drafting chairs. You can browse online catalogues that feature a wide range of products. Today, everything that has to do with your craft is just a few clicks away.

The most notable advantage of buying arts supplies online is that your purchases can be delivered right to your doorstep.

Discount Art Supplies Online

Most artists would agree that discount offers are a bonus to buying art supplies on the Internet. Almost all online shops offer discounted supplies and affordable product packages. You can get a specific item at half the price or get premium items at a very low cost. Some shops even offer affordable delivery rates.

You?ll be amazed at the great deals you can get just by shopping for discounted art supplies online. However, a few customers may encounter minor difficulties. Among these is finding the best website among hundreds. This can be solved easily enough. You just have to be very patient in browsing. First, gather as much information about the specific art supplies you need. It is important that you know what you are looking for so you don?t go buying on impulse.

Next, look for online shops offering the art supplies you need. If possible, compare inventories and price ranges. The more shops you have on your list, the better your chances of landing the best deal. It is also vital that you find testimonials about the shops you are patronizing. You may also inquire about their transaction policies through their toll-free numbers for more secure purchases.

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Cheap Art Supplies

2009-12-25T05:19:00.000-08:00

By Seth Miller

You can find a variety of art forms everywhere. Art is considered as one of the best forms of expression. For some people, art is the easiest way to convey a message. Resourceful individuals can create masterpieces using indigenous materials and ordinary household items. However, art materials are not always so easily obtained. Sometimes, they can only be bought from specialty stores that charge a premium from them.

If you are new to the field of arts, it is advisable that you get cheap art supplies. Affordable items are usually available either in art stores or from art dealers. These products boast less hefty price tags for a variety of reasons.

Cheap art supplies are not always unreliable or of low quality. You should just be careful in choosing your materials and the shops you get them from. Nowadays, you can find a miscellany of art products online.

Cheap Art Supplies Online

There are advantages to searching for art supplies on the Internet. You have a wide array of choices since there are user-friendly catalogues available to you for browsing. What's more, convenient transactions can be conducted through toll-free numbers. And with a variety of sites within easy reach, you are able to compare products from many shops with just few clicks. Now you can purchase everything you need without hours of shopping.

In buying art supplies online, you should ask as many questions as possible. Inquire about inventories, prices, discount offers and delivery policies. It would be beneficial for you to gather as much information as you can about the online shop you want to patronize. Testimonials will do great. You will be able to tell the kind of service a shop offers from actual customers.

Another way of knowing where to find cheap, high-quality art supplies on the Internet is by joining online art forums. Here, experts and arts enthusiasts can provide you with useful information.

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Sand Art Supplies

2009-12-22T05:14:00.000-08:00

By Seth Miller

Art is one of the greatest forms of human expression. It is one thing that people from all walks of life can appreciate. If you are among those people gifted enough to create art, then you have probably dabbled, at one time or another, in some form of sand art. However, if you are a pro in sand art, you must know a thing or two about the best sand art supplies you can get on the market today.

Basic sand art supplies include strained sand, sand colors, glitters, bottles, sculpting and molding devices and expression boards. Now that sand art is becoming more and more popular, it won?t be as daunting to look for sand art materials to suit your needs.

Sand Art Supplies and the Diversity of Sand Art

Generally, sand art supplies command cheaper prices compared to those materials used for other visual arts, such as painting. You can even get your items from the least expected places. If you are resourceful enough, you can find use for twigs, paper, old cartons, bottles and leftover paints.

You can find sand art materials from many art supplies stores, both in the traditional and online market. Many design templates, sand art guides and informative materials are also available when you surf the Internet. Several online shops are now focusing their business on sand art supplies.

With sand art, you can create masterpieces with less time and effort, using only minimal supplies.

Finding Sand Art Supplies

The beauty of a sand art masterpiece depends largely on the quality of the materials you are using. Very coarse sand and low-quality color paints can affect the outcome of your creation. It is advisable that you look for the best materials available.

Visit as many stores and online shops as you can. Try comparing their items and special offers. Find testimonials about their products. Afterwards, you can select the best deals for a specific sand art project you want to undertake.

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Discount Art Supplies - How to Get Them

2009-12-19T05:12:00.000-08:00

By Michael R Marchetta

Due to the current economic conditions, everyone is looking for ways to save money on purchases. If you are a professional artist or simply someone who enjoys doing art in spare time, you need to know where to shop and how to pay as little as possible for all your art supplies. When you go to your local art supply stores, you will be shocked to see that most of the things have a high price tag. Even a single paint brush can cost you as much as $15-$20. However, when you move on, you will see that there are certain art supplies that are way too cheap. The huge difference in price is due to the quality of the products and there are certain factors that will determine the quality of supplies you would want to buy. If you are beginner, you would like to start with the cheap products to try out whether art work is your thing or not. However, if you are a professional artist, you may consider buying the higher quality art supplies, but the high price tags may make you take a back step.

If you are in a situation like this, there are numerous places where you can purchase discount art supplies including paint brushes, oil paints, and easels and so on. Discount art supplies do not always indicate poor quality. There are many reasons as to why art supply stores may offer artists supplies at discounted rates. Many times, dealers make huge profits when they offer discounts because they are able to sell products in bulk and in large quantities. Another reason is that art supply stores need to make room for new stock that will be arriving and they can only do this by selling the already stocked supplies. These are great times when artists can take advantage of the deals and buy discount art supplies.

Here are some of the ways in which you can buy your art supplies at throw away prices.

Bulk Buying - this is one of the most effective ways of saving money. When you buy in large quantities, there are many art supply stores that give huge discounts. This may require some searching and waiting, but you will definitely get a great deal. Moreover, if you establish yourself as a regular customer, you may get the same offer over and over again.

Check Out Local Art Supply Stores - local art supply stores have sale most of the time, especially when they are about to add new items to the shop. To make room for the new items, they generally run a clearance sale and offer huge discounts on stagnated supplies. Most stores these days also have websites where they announce their promotions and offers. You can sign up for weekly newsletters and check out the deals that are being offered. Local stores also have mailing lists and you can sign up for these as well.

Auction Sites - these are really popular among online shoppers these days. There are a wide range of products which are being auctioned everyday and you can even find brand new artists supplies at below retail prices on these sites.

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Arts & Crafts or Antiques?

2009-12-16T05:09:00.000-08:00

By Lisa Page

On ebay and all round cyberspace, you can find people getting rich from selling antiques or making arts and crafts to resell. You can find success stories everywhere you look. Who hasn't heard of that person who found something in their attic that was worth thousands of dollars? Or that person who purchased something at a yard-sale for 5 dollars and resold it on ebay for thousands of dollars. It's the luck of the draw with antiques sometimes. But is there a better way to make money? Arts and crafts have become popular sellers everywhere. What is better to resell; arts and crafts or antiques?

I have had lots of success with selling antiques and crafts. You definitely hear more about people selling antiques successfully. You can find some really great deals in antiques. The people that want to get rid of antiques usually don't know anything about it. They just want to get rid of it for various reasons. The best places to buy antiques cheap is your local paper. You can find yard and garage sales there among a few. Flea markets are another great place to find antiques. Your attic or basement may hold a treasure that you don't even know about. Maybe go clean your parents or grandparents attic and basement for them. Make a deal that you will clean the place up in return for some antiques they don't want. One year I helped clean my grandfathers cellar and came across a huge baseball card set from the 1940's- 1960's. He had no idea where it came from and said I could keep it to resell.

I made over 10 thousand dollars reselling the cards on ebay. Antiques can come in any form, from silverware and china to collectibles and non-collectibles. But unless you are an antique expert, which is very rare these days; you never know what you have until you try and sell it. For the most part, an antique worth $1.00 could sell for hundreds or thousands of dollars, just because that person wanted it. There is almost no price on an antique item someone really wants. People may want that item specifically because it's old, original, or one of a kind. There are tons of one of a kind or limited edition antiques, that are worth tons of money or have lots of interest. So buy up those antiques you can buy for cheap and resell them for lots of dough.

Arts and crafts are another story, but you can make some really great money doing it. You are usually the manufacturer when you resell arts and crafts. Home made jewelry is a HUGE money maker on ebay right now. I have seen people make and resell sports and casual home made jewelry. There are people on ebay and all around the net right now making money off arts and crafts. You only need the materials and you make it yourself, so your profit margin can be tremendous.

If you know how to knit, crochet, mend, or sew, you can make tons of dough also. You can make blankets, place mats, pillows, pet clothes and beds, tons more. Look around cyberspace and you will see a new age of arts and crafts. The creations being made at home put some big companies products to shame. They are usually cheaper to buy, since the only thing your really paying for is the labor for time put in to the project. The resell value is kind of bad, so I wouldn't recommend buying arts and crafts to resell unless you were getting a great deal. The problem with buying arts and crafts in bulk is; usually each piece is original and unique. It's very hard to get more than one arts and crafts item to look exactly like the last. But that is the beauty in it also. People are usually buying the item because of it's originality or because it may be one of a kind.

A friend of mine has a website dedicated to selling her home made jewelry. Her jewelry sells like pancakes. All she does is put the time in to each piece. She already has a stockpile of supplies to last a lifetime. The rest is all profit. Don't let arts and crafts business fool you. They come in all shapes and forms and are very profitable. If you have the talent to make something, use your talents. You never know, you may invent the next multi-million dollar product.

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Getting Ready For Your Arts & Crafts Project

2009-12-13T05:02:00.000-08:00

By John Madsen

It's no secret that any sizeable arts and crafts project needs a lot of preparation. There are plans to find (or create!), materials to buy or gather together, and then - maybe most importantly - there's finding the time to actually sit down and get to work. Most hobbyists will tell you, time budgeting is probably the hardest part of getting ready to create.

This is a shame, because you can't shoehorn the creative process into a given timeslot. Creativity - the combination of mental and spiritual processes in which the mind and subconscious interact to express each other - works at its own pace and takes it time. If you've ever heard the old cliché about an artist can't rush his work, consider your own creative process and how it operates for you.

Getting yourself mentally prepared to create

There's no way to rewire your brain for creativity, but you get the process warmed up by taking steps to make sure your creative "river" has a smooth channel in which to run.

First, make sure you have enough time to do what you want, without interruptions. The time of day isn't important, but take steps to make sure you don't have anything preoccupying your thoughts. When your mind is preoccupied, even a part of it, you can lose focus on creating, making the work you do less than your best effort.

This advice might seem like telling you to save your arts and crafts project for last on your list of daily or weekly priorities. In fact, it's just the opposite: creativity works best when you've got everything else out of the way. Save the best for last when you set your priorities.

Getting Your Materials Ready

Getting your arts and crafts project going is sometimes like taking a trip in a car. Some people prefer to take only the bare necessities with them, picking up what they need as they go along. Others like to pack heavy, preparing for all possibilities while keeping a ready supply of emergency materials close at hand. You may like to have all your supplies with you and organized beforehand. You may also prefer to just get going and get any additional materials you need later.

But with regards to the creative process, you'll probably find you work better, that you're more creative, if you get all your supplies and materials ready before you begin. When you're fully equipped, there's no need to take a break or stop - interrupting that creative process - because you're missing that one crucial element that will put your project over the top.

Start when you want, stop when you must.

Stop working on your project only when you feel comfortable putting it down for a while. Don't neglect your other responsibilities, but give yourself the freedom of following your creative spirit through to either its conclusion or a natural breaking point. When you come back to work on it again, you'll likely find you can pick up exactly where you started.
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Making Rubber Stamps: Learn How To Make Your Own Art Craft Rubber Stamps For Stamping Up Paper Craft

2009-12-10T05:00:00.000-08:00

By Robert De Rooy

Making stamps at home does not mean producing amateur stamps suitable just for kids' stamping. With a little information and the right rubber stamp making supply, manufacturing rubber stamps is fun and easy!

Classifying Rubber Stamps

For starters, rubber stamps are classified into two categories: business rubber stamps and art rubber stamps or craft stamps.

Business stamps are hand stamps, self inking stamps (pre inked) or dating stamps; the text of which makes them personalized rubber stamps. When using a hand stamp you must stamp it up and down on a stamp pad to load the stamp with ink before making your impression.

Art and craft rubber stamps are a lot more interesting as graphics such as hand drawn artwork, craft clipart along with alphabets and photographs can be used. Used in creating scrapbooks and greeting cards these custom stamps can also be used with embossing powder or ink for embossed rubber stamping. If you have ever tried to locate a Chinese character rubber stamp, you will know they are hard to find, so why not make your own? Stamp art has no limits - all your stamp ideas can be realized once you start making stamps at home so start gathering your rubber stamping ideas!

You will never again need to buy from a Rubber Stamp Manufacturer!

The fantastic thing about making your own stamps is that you will save money and do away with buying stamps from a rubber stamp maker or rubber stamp company. You can get all your rubber stamp making supplies or a rubber stamp kit and make your own personalized stamps, photo stamps, signature stamps and craft stamps within the comfort of your home.

Different Methods of Rubber Stamp Manufacturing

Does it sound impossible? Well it isn't. In fact making rubber stamps can become addictive once you grasp the basics. You must have an understanding of how different methods of rubber stamp manufacturing is carried out, then you can start searching for the relevant rubber stamp supply to start creating your rubber stamping ideas!

* Hand carved - Creating a carved stamp is still practiced in some countries. A simple example of a carved hand stamp is carving on erasers but this is beyond the skill level of most of us and is very time consuming.
* Vulcanizing - You may be familiar with magenta rubber stamps that utilize self cling foam similar to EZMount for sticking to acrylic blocks. These are vulcanized rubber stamps like the ones you buy from Stampin Up. Vulcanized stamps require a matrix mold to be produced for each new design making it an expensive process for small quantities of a single design. The vulcanizing heat press is also quite an expensive stamping machine for home use.
* Laser - Sounds hi-tech and so will your bills be! You can also make your own rubber stamps using a laser engraving machine, however, expenditure is high including its maintenance and operating costs, which are much higher than the vulcanizing process. Lasers are usually used for business style stamps where a custom rubber stamp is required.
* Flash technology - This relatively new stamping technology is not too expensive but the finished stamp has only a single colour, similar to the self inking stamp. This means it's unsuitable for your creative craft stamps. Flash Stamp technology employs a technique where ink flows through a membrane after exposure to a light source. The sections of the membrane containing the artwork remain open from which the ink flows.
* Polymer stamp making - Using a liquid polymer, artwork and a UV light source polymer is the clear choice for making custom rubber stamps at home with its simplicity and cost-effectiveness. You will only need a computer, laser printer and a UV exposure unit and of course the correct polymer for stamp making.

Stamping up with Polymer Rubber

Among the various ways for manufacturing rubber stamps, the polymer stamp making technique is the winner of all available stamp making methods for rubber stamp makers at home. Manufacturing polymer stamps will allow you to get professional quality custom rubber stamps at the lowest price possible!

It might surprise you that polymer stamp making is now the most common method of manufacturing stamps commercially today. The majority of business ink stamps, self inking personalized stamps and increasingly so craft stamps are now more often polymer stamps. Polymer stamps are also known as acrylic polymer, clear stamps, clear rubber stamps and rubber plastic stamps. Interestingly, polymer stamps contain no rubber at all and are still called rubber stamps!

Stamp Making Rules

Before you launch into making your own polymer rubber stamps, you must keep in mind three important factors about polymers. Pay attention to these and you can be assured of a high quality rubber stamp.

* Platemaking Polymers - Used extensively in the printing industry not all photopolymer plates will produce rubber stamps. To make a stamping die a polymer with the durometer reading of 40 is ideal; this is the hardness scale of the cured polymer. InstaPlate is just such a kind of polymer designed to make rubber stamp dies and best suited for home use. It is available as a photopolymer gel in a sachet (commonly known as ‘polymer in a bag'). With InstaPlate, you can be assured of a good quality polymer so request it when you investigate your stamp making supply.

* Polymer Solidification - Some stamp making kits employ other types of polymers that solidify under natural light or a single light bulb. This is not recommended as polymers that solidify under a specific UVA light range are always better. All professional stamp makers use polymers like InstaPlate as it allows control of the UVA light at a specific wavelength to make stamps. So invest in a quality UV exposure unit along with a commercial grade polymer such as InstaPlate to create stamps like the professionals do, this is especially important if you are interested in producing wholesale rubber stamps at home for resale.

* Strength of your Rubber Stamp - We often come across polymer stamps with no structural backing allowing the stamp to naturally stick to a mounting block. While these seem great, they are susceptible to tearing, dirtying and distortion. A strong permanent backing avoids these problems and is becoming very popular now that we have products such as EZMount and InstaGrip. InstaGrip is a new method of affixing rubber stamps to acrylic blocks and is a repositionable mounting system designed for mounting stamps onto acrylic. InstaGrip is basically a clear thin silicone repositional mat that sticks both to the stamp backing and the acrylic block. Since it's transparent, it will allow you to see through the stamp and the block to place your impression, making your stamping process easier than ever before.

The Light Source

You don't need to spend a fortune on a light source for making stamps at home. Commercial stamp machines have built in timers that control the exposure of the polymer and are quite expensive. A better alternative for home stamp making is a smaller craft stamp maker that utilizes an external portable countdown timer. The UVA light output from one of these units will produce the same quality stamp as the larger commercial stamp making systems.

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Save on Kid's Craft Supplies - Recycle!

2009-12-07T04:57:00.000-08:00

By Pam Lester

Here is some information about how to collect and use recycled objects in your crafts!

You can save a lot of money on arts and crafts supplies by saving things that you might ordinarily throw away! If you are building up a craft supply box for a classroom, daycare, church or school - get the parents involved by sending out list of these items so they can help out too!

Make sure to prepare each item for storage. Wash and dry anything that contained food or liquids. Remove labels from jars, boxes, containers, etc. Be sure to have a place for each type of item. Plastic shoe boxes or empty baby wipe containers are great for storage. If you organize well, the supplies will be ready and easy to find when you need them!

plastic milk jug lids

plastic milk jugs (1/2 gal. and gallon)

soda can tabs

paper towel tubes

paper grocery bags

plastic grocery bags

baby wipe containers

baby food jars and lids

frozen juice can lids

plastic containers and their lids(like Cool Whip)

empty milk cartons (any size)

plastic soda bottles (any size)

soda bottle lids

junk mail

newspaper

broken crayons

camera film canisters

old computer and music cd's

plastic produce baskets

magazines

popsicle sticks

old markers

mismatched board game pieces

cardboard or foam egg crates

candy wrappers

rubber bands

Now what do you do with all of this stuff?? Create! Here are a couple of ideas:

Wheelbarrow Planter

Need:

Laundry detergent scoop

2 plastic milk jug lids

6" length of ribbon

potting soil

flower seeds (seeds)

craft glue

water

Clean and dry scoop and lids. Glue a milk jug lid to each side of the scoop to form the wheels. Allow the glue to dry. Tie the ribbon to the handle of the scoop. Fill the scoop with potting soil, and plant the seeds. Sprinkle the soil with a few drops of water. You can have the child make these planters as gifts. Enjoy!

Ocean Treasures in a Bottle

Need:

empty small clear plastic soda bottle

water

cooking oil

blue food coloring

beads

shells

glitter

coins

Remove the label from the bottle. Pour enough water to fill 3/4 of the bottle. Add a drop of blue food coloring. Add in the shells, beads, coins, and glitter. Fill the remainder with cooking oil. Place the lid on securely - you may want to wrap the secured lid with electrical tape. Now you have an ocean in a bottle - with treasure!!

If you have trouble getting the entire label off - you may want to place a label over it saying "(child's name)'s Ocean in a Bottle".

Have fun and let your children be creative with their recycled treasures!

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Seven Foolproof Techniques For Painting Your Next Arts & Crafts Project

2009-12-04T04:54:00.000-08:00

By John Madsen

For lots of hobbyists, beginning a new project feels much like the anticipation of cooking a gourmet meal. There's the sense of buildup, and the gathering together of supplies and ingredients, and finally the meticulous but ultimately rewarding process of creating the object of your fascination.

Losing control of the painting, however, is like finding the stove is broken, or the recipe's ingredients have all gone mysteriously sour. There's nothing like the disappointment - fortunately! - of watching the best-laid hobby plans go wrong through no deliberate fault of your own.

But there are solutions to even the biggest painting crises, and most of them require nothing more than a little forethought. The seven techniques presented below allow you the freedom to avoid mistake by getting around them in the first place. Prevention, after all, is the best medicine.

1. Use a sealant before you paint. Sealants such as Dull-Cote give your subject material a slightly adhesive coating, meaning it better holds primer and other forms of spray paint. Coating with a sealant first is like primer for the primer.

2. Plan to take your time, and use multiple coats. Sooner or later everyone gets ahead of themselves, applying paint like there's no tomorrow out of enthusiasm for the finished project that's already taking shape before their eyes. Going too fast is a mistake: use multiple, light coats, letting the paint thoroughly dry between coats. If you're using transparent paint, don't paint in the same direction each time but paint in a lattice pattern, to make a smoother coat.

3. Don't be afraid to use different tints of colors. You can mix most acrylic paints to get a different and original hue than the ones offered in the stores. Actually, the paint sold in hobby stores is cheap and lasts a long time, so don't be afraid to pour a little out of several tubes and mix them together. You might be pleased with your "original" color shade creation.

4. Stock up on brushes. Brushes are comparatively cheap, too, and can be found in the clearance sections of most hobby stores. Plan to buy a lot, so you don't run out.

5. Accept that adhesive glue will likely be necessary. Chips, edges and outright breaks happen all the time, especially when you're working with ceramic, wood, and plastic. Have the super glue ready just in case, but remember to use it sparingly to avoid cleanups later. A little craft glue goes a long way.

6. Ask for help before you get stuck. There are hundreds (if not more) online pages and forums about using all manner of arts and crafts supplies. If you're confused, or just want to get advice from people who've likely had the same problems you're having with your project, check there first. You can always benefit from someone else's experiences.

7. Make time to do your hobby thing. Because hobbies aren't "essential," they're often the activity first bumped from any hectic schedule. But painting and other hobby pursuits recharge us mentally and give us a real sense of gratification that easily carries over into the rest of our busy lives.

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Wood Craft Supplies For Beginners

2009-12-01T04:52:00.000-08:00

By Angela Hamm

If you are in need of a group project for a kids club and would like to teach basic wood crafting skills, consider a simple birdhouse or shelf. For projects this size, the wood craft supplies can be fairly cost effective, especially if you are willing to use scrap lumber and borrowed power tools. Many people are more than willing to donate or offer use of tools and supplies, you may even get volunteers to help with teaching. Even so, you will still need to buy a few essential wood craft supplies. Check funds from your clubs treasury and make a list.

Purchased Wood Craft Supplies

Sandpaper-No matter what project you are undertaking, you will need sandpaper to eliminate cut and splintered ends and to smooth surfaces. Sand paper comes in many grits, you will need an assortment of all kinds.

Wood screws and nails-It just would not be wood working without drilling or hammering. Purchase wood screws and nails that are long enough to attach your wood together.

Wood glue-Applying wood glue to joints before attaching with wood screws and nails will insure a long lasting bond. Once the glue has been applied and the joints put together, wipe off any excess glue that has squeezed out. Wood glue does not dry clear.

Paint and stain-Small bottles of paint can be purchased at craft stores or hardware stores. Clear spray sealer is a wonderful finish to apply to a birdhouse, after it has been completed, to seal the paint from the weather.

Borrowed Wood Craft Supplies

Jig saw-This saw is a versatile tool for woodworking. It can cut dowels to size or cut simple shapes that have been drawn out on wood.

Power drill and bits-Drilling a pilot hole before adding a wood screw will eliminate splitting. Use a drill bit to drill the hole, change to a screwdriver bit and attach the screws.

Miter saw-A chop saw is perfect for cutting straight cuts on narrow boards and, as the name implies, mitering angles.

Sander-An electric sander will give faster results than sanding by hand, which can overwhelm some wood crafters. Some electric sanders are even small enough to reach tight corners.

Clamps-A third hand is always nice when woodworking. Clamp wood to aid while cutting, drilling or to hold glued pieces together while glue is drying.

Measuring tape-There is an old saying, "Measure twice-cut once". Enough said.

Goggles-Eye protection is a necessity for all aspects of woodworking. If you can't see your project when you are finished with it, it wasn't worth doing.

Note: Never allow children to handle power tools of any kind without constant, hands on, adult supervision.

The Internet is full of simple wood craft patterns that are free to download and copy. Consider designing your own if you can't find what you need or want. Visit your local library for an abundance of books on the subject or scan the magazines at your local supermarket for wood craft topics.

Wood crafting can instill a life long skill and interest in a child and years of accumulating his or her own wood craft supplies.

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Arts and Crafts - Top Rated Arts & Crafts For Kids

2009-11-28T04:48:00.000-08:00

By Hope Pope

Here are some top rated Arts & Crafts for kids. Other consumers like yourself have rated all of these Arts and Crafts excellent.

1. IlluStory - Make Your Own Story Kit.

* Price: $21.95
* Product Description: "Write and illustrate your own book. Imagine your child's face when she or he sees their own story and drawings made into a professionally typeset, hardbound book! With this multi - award winning kit, you simply have your child write and illustrate their story using the materials supplied in the kit, which are then mailed in (in the pre-paid envelope provided) for publication. You'll soon receive a beautiful, professionally typset, 12 page, 7" x 9" hardcover book, complete with an "about the author page", title and dedication pages and your little author's name, title and drawing laminated on the cover. Extras books are optional and make great gifts for grandparents. Winner of Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Seal Award, Parents' Choice Classic Award, Family Life's Best Learning Toy Award and Dr. Toy Best Toy-Classic Award."
* Recommended Age: 7-12 years (manufacturer's). We recommend 6-9 years

2. Melissa and Doug Deluxe Stamp Set

* Price: $14.99
* Product Description: "Kids can use the 16 playful stamps and 2 inkpads to create countless scenes, and then color in their pictures with the 7 colored pencils! Well-crafted set is conveniently contained in a sturdy wooden box with clear sliding lid. It's a tremendous value that children will use over and over again! Ages 3+. 11" x 8" x 2"."
* Recommended Age: 4-8 years

3. Crayola Super Art Coloring Kit

* Price: $39.97
* Product Description: "The Super Art Chest is a dream come true for most kids, not to mention parents and teachers. A sturdy plastic reusable tub houses everyone's favorite art supplies: Crayons (48), character-topped sidewalk chalk (6), Super Tip markers (20), Ministamper markers (10), Classic Colors markers (8), assorted Model Magic modeling clay packets and project idea booklet, washable watercolors (8), paint brush, activity and coloring book, and desktop caddy. Bring out the art chest for vacations, waiting rooms, slumber parties, rainy days, and sure, even sunny days. Who can say "I'm booored!" with this tub o' fun around? It's all about good old-fashioned imagination now."
* Recommended Age: 4-8 years.
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Choosing Wood Types For Your Craft Projects - Craft Supplies Makes All the Difference

2009-11-25T04:45:00.000-08:00

By Lance Winslow

For the creative type that is always doing arts and crafts projects they know that they must choose which type of wood to use carefully when designing their latest project. There are all types of wood that can be used, and different Wood has different types of grain, so the texture, consistency, and the flow makes a big difference. Later on when they add paint or stain things show up that may not have been seen before. Sometimes it can make or break a project.

A knot in the woods can often be tapped out when creating certain types of things such as a bird house, or used for visual ambience of the completed artwork. Also special consideration should be given to the density of the wood and its hardness. Pine might be a great thing to make bird houses out of but if that bird house falls it could split in half, and the weather could get to it. If the wood is to dense it is very hard to hammer nails in it or fasten anything to it.

If the grain is too bumpy it may be hard to glue something to it, or in some cases it might be easier depending on what the second material is. Another issue is the weight of the wood. If you are building something to be light weight, of course you'd like to use balsa wood. However, it also has to be strong you might have to go with Pine, or a plywood.

If your project needs to have a backing sometimes it makes sense to use a poster fiber board if it is made for an indoor project that will not have to withstand the elements. In some cases it makes sense to use exotic Woods with high density would like teak.

Nevertheless, whichever wood you choose for whatever project you are doing, it makes sense to have a good amount of various types of wood already on hand as you choose how to go about your project. Please consider all this.

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Framed Art Crafts - How to Enhance Your Framed Artwork With a Theme of Your Choice

2009-11-22T04:43:00.000-08:00

By Linda M Johnson

Do not throw away the wooden picture frame you have just because the glass is missing or broken. Instead, recycle your frame to create a beautiful unique design that would look great in any home décor.

To start out, cut a piece of cardboard and mount it to the back of the wood frame large enough to cover the opening of the frame and secure it with clear packing tape. The cardboard will now replace the missing glass and will hold your project in place.

Next, cut, peel and stick cork finished paper to the size of your frame opening and secure it to the cardboard. Note: this step can be done prior to securing your cardboard to the back of the frame opening.

Then, arrange photos and embellishments by your theme of choice using double sided foam tape. Try adding ribbon, decorative push pins, peel and stick words, letters, numbers or charms to personalize your project.

The main thing is to have fun with it and make your own. Tip: Painting your picture frame to coordinate with your project would also enhance your finished art work, especially if you are not satisfied with leaving the frame as is.

Supplies:

* Wooden Frame
* Cardboard Peel and stick cork-finished paper sold by the roll
* Photos
* Package of embellishments, or you could make your own (for this project to coordinate with the doggie photo, dog theme embellishments were used)
* Double sided foam tape
* Brown and white plaid ribbon (¼ in. width)
* Optional: Peel & Stick words, letters or numbers
* Optional: Decorative push pins
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Free Carpet Square Samples - Great Craft Supplies For Any Project

2009-11-19T04:40:00.000-08:00

By Lance Winslow

When we make crafts and gifts we are often limited by the materials we have but generally not our imagination on how to arrange them to make cool stuff and great gifts. Still, if you really want to have the most awesome crafts, then it is all about materials and supplies.

One nifty material to have around to do your craft projects is carpet. It does not make sense to have giant rolls of carpet in your garage, because you would never use it all anyway, but it does make sense to have various sizes and shapes of carpet in all types of colors.

It is very easy to get free carpet square samples from a local carpet store. Often they give them away. You see, they get in samples, that they let people take with them to see if the carpet matches their furniture. Then when they sell out of that shade of carpet they have no use for those samples anymore and they often have boxes full of them that they give to the recycling center.

Now some carpet stores sell them for one dollar each, others just give them away in a giant box labeled; "Free." Why not pick all your favorite shades of carpet squares for future projects that way you have them available when you're ready to start on your next big craft art piece.

Let's face it even though "Free" is a four letter word, it is probably one of the best four letter words that you've ever heard. Therefore, it makes sense to get all you can, and all the shades that you want before you need them. Please think of this.

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Get Creative Without Splurging - Tips for Cheap Craft Supplies

2009-11-16T04:36:00.000-08:00

By Jamie Sloan

I am an avid scrapbooker and love creating homemade crafts, so I know that buying supplies from art supply retail stores can be quite expensive. So, here I've compiled all of the ways I've found to save on supplies and still be super unique and creative.

1. Put Old Magazines to Use- There are so many ways you can finally get some use out of that huge magazine stack that's been collecting under your bed ever since you first subscribed. A technique I love is to cut out different sized and colored letters and make sayings or quotes. You can cut out letters from the cover page, different ads, and article titles. Combine them all to get a cool retro feel. I recently cut out letters in different shades of blues and made a collage for my son's nursery that says 'Children are potential, not possessions". I love that it cost next to nothing to make, and is homemade and completely original.

You can also look through old magazines for cute pictures and graphic designs to incorporate into collages, scrapbooks, or any other visual project. I also like to use the pages from fashion spreads as background pages for my scrapbooks. They are always really themed and have little to no writing on them. If they do have some writing, you can always cover it up with a picture or other design.

2. Use Search Engines to find Graphics- This is a really good idea when scrapbooking. For example, when I started my son's scrapbook, I searched Google images for terms like "baby boy", "it's a boy", and etc. I found a lot of cute stuff and saved!

Just search on different search engines images tool for terms related to the project you're doing. You'll find plenty of results which you can print out and use in your projects. I'd suggest you only use these graphics for personal purposes though, since some may have copyrights on them. As long as they're used only within your personal crafts, that shouldn't be a problem.

If you don't have a printer, you can print them out at your local library or school if you attend for a couple cents a sheet. It's still much cheaper than buying stickers and designs from art supply stores.

3. Got Glue?- It's a little known fact that if you've got no glue, you can make some! Mix an equal amount of flour and water, depending on how much glue you need. Mix it up until it turns into a pasty substance.

This type of glue should be used right after you make it, as it will go moldy if left out and unused. It's good for paper projects and should be left out to dry completely after it's used.

Also, even if you do have glue, you can always add glitter for a nice touch. Use it as paint to decorate stuff.

4. Homemade Modeling Clay- There are alot of cool crafts out there which call for some type of modeling clay. Instead of splurging on the stuff at the store, you can make it right in your kitchen with ingredients that you've probably already got. Use 1 cup flour, a tablespoon oil, 2 tablespoons cream of tarter, 1/2 cup salt, and 1 cup water. Mix all the ingredients in a large pan and cook gently for around 3 minutes. Let it cool, and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator until you plan to use it. Make sure the container is air tight or the clay will dry up!

You can also add food coloring if you want to.

5. Look Around!- There are supplies all around you! Paper Plates can be masks with some scissors and markers, A pizza box can be cut up to provide the cardboard for a big wall collage, dry pasta can be painted various colors and glued onto different crafts as decoration.

When you're crafting, look around the house using not only your eyes, but your imagination. The options are endless!

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Craft Supplies Statement - Ribbon Craft Projects Considered

2009-11-13T04:33:00.000-08:00

By Lance Winslow

Whether you are making an award ribbon for a nonprofit group, or making ribbons as a statement of your support for the troops, or a certain special gift, no craft person should be without colorful ribbon material of various types. It is amazing the variety these days at the art and craft stores, but that's not the only place you can get such materials. Ribbons can be made to just about any strong flimsy material. And how you bunch it up, attach it to itself, and work it around medallions, medals, and other objects makes all the difference in the world.

If you will recall a ship captain from Pennsylvania, was on a ship that got hijacked by pirates. Luckily, thanks to the United States Navy Seals he was rescued and the crew of the ship was saved. Also thanks to his heroic thinking, and the intelligence of the crew for acting fast everyone lived to tell about it. When he got home to Pennsylvania he found a thousand yellow ribbons tied around every single oak tree. And who do you think did that?

The arts and crafts women of the town decided they were going to stick up for one of their own, so they banded together to make a statement, and they designed and made thousands of ribbons in a huge project. The national media showed up and saw the support of his local town and it captured the imagination of everyone in America.

Craft supplies and statement ribbons for such projects say so much about the human spirit. I hope you will take your ribbons and your crafts as seriously as those women did in that Pennsylvania town. Please consider all this.

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Craft Supplies - Don't Cut Out Vinyl

2009-11-10T04:31:00.000-08:00

By Lance Winslow

There are many materials that are used as craft supplies, and we often think of materials used to make blankets, bird houses, pottery, clothing, scrapbooks, dolls, and other nifty creations as common craft supplies like yarn, cloth, wood, clay, paints, and perhaps even plastics. Not often do we think about vinyl, still many of the crafts that we make do need vinyls. We cannot make everything out of leather, nor does it make sense to.

Vinyls are a very cheap material, and it comes in an array of colors, not to mention it's very easy to get. If you are truly into arts and crafts I recommend that you can retake a look at using more vinyls in your projects. Now, I realize many people are purists, and they've been handed down their talents and crafts from previous generations, generations, which never had the abundance of vinyl material have today, but we live in the present and we makes crafts and gifts and present periods, not in past periods.

Of course, everyone that makes crafts-and-gifts and has wonderful projects as well as a certain way of doing things, and they like to do things their way. I am not one to stand in the way of your concepts, or ideas of how things should be done, rather I am simply reminding you of potential opportunities that you may be passing up, or may not have thought of.

Often, I find it amazing that folks spend so much time going to thrift stores, scouting throwaway materials, and walking up and down each child of arts and crafts stores, and yet, forget about one of the easiest materials to use; vinyl. Please consider all this.

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Recession Proof Your Arts & Crafts Business

2009-11-07T04:28:00.000-08:00

By David G. Robertson

We all know that the Arts and Crafts Business is not the easiest business to be successful in, even in the best of economic times. This business is fraught with ups and downs that are beyond your control.

Trends that are hot for months or years suddenly die out, and new and unexpected hot niches develop overnight. There are some things that you can do to help you Arts & Crafts business be successful over the next few years.

The good news is that money is not going to disappear. There will still be people buying gifts and decorating homes and going on holidays. All of these people will be trying to get the best value for every dollar that they spend in any circumstance.

Sell The Service Aspect
If you are selling arts and crafts your market may change a bit. People will be looking for quality, and exact fit to their needs. So in these recession economic times service becomes extremely important. If you are a producer of arts or crafts can you do custom work. Can you make a painting of the same theme but scaled to fit the customers exact measurements? Can you install that custom piece of furniture that you built. Are there colors or finishes you can offer that your competitors can't duplicate?

Service becomes very important and people will be willing to pay a little more for a product if there is tons of high quality service to back it up. To be successful in recessionary times you will have to work harder, but your business will benefit in the long run from this.

Have Multiple Price Points
Depending on your art or craft, price point may become an issue. Take painting as an example. You may have been selling large canvasses (4 feet by 6 feet as an example) and start to see a slow down in this niche part of this market. Try making a few canvasses in the 3 feet by 4 feet and 2 feet by 3 feet size. Keep some of the larger canvasses to attract your buyers. You will find many will opt for the smaller canvasses if they have financial considerations.

Try to develop several price points, so that you are broadening the appeal to your customers. There will occasionally be sales of the high ticket items. You will find most of your sales come from the mid price products so make sure you have lots of the mid range on hand.

An old tip but still works, is to take your top end and make that your mid-range price point. Suddenly you have up scaled your business and your customers will still tend to buy what you normally produce. This is a bit tricky as you don't want to invest heavily in your new top end products. It can make you top heavy and set you up for a financial crash.

Give Classes
If you are skilled in your medium or if you are a store owner and have a good relationship with your artisans, set up classes in the process. Many people can justify the expense of a course in "Learn How To Make______" (fill in the blank with your idea) before they can justify the purchase. With courses there is opportunity to sell supplies, tools, books, and secondary level courses. Done well this can be very lucrative. People develop an interest in the arts and crafts, and in their minds they are getting good value for their money. They are having fun, socializing, making something that gives them pleasure, and being entertained all at the same time.

One fee and they receive so much benefit. It just happens that you receive some financial benefit as well.

Use The Internet
The most powerful marketing tool of the modern age is the Internet. If sales of your particular arts & crafts endeavor have slipped in your area, it doesn't mean that they have dropped in another geographic region. You need a website and should promote your business to the whole world. This broadens your potential customer base to massive proportions. It is not as hard to build a website as you might think.

If you are a potter you can promote your pottery to galleries all over the world as well as have "walk in traffic" to your own website. Consider using video of the forming process to interest customers in the hands on aspect of your art or craft.

Recessionary times need not cripple your business. Always keep you customer in mind and go that extra step to make them feel valued. You may have to work a bit harder for the next little while but that doesn't mean you can't survive it.

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Cheap Craft Supplies

2009-11-04T04:25:00.000-08:00

By Candis Reade

Crafters and artisans all have something in common - finding the best supplies at the lowest cost to increase their profit margin. And divulging where they find those awesome bargains is like asking your great grandma to tell the world her secret recipe for pecan pie. Finding craft supplies at rock bottom prices is fairly simple if you know where and when to look.

The easiest place to start your hunt for cheap craft supplies is online. Head over to eBay (www.ebay.com) and do a search for, you guessed it, cheap craft supplies. The results may be hundreds of items up for auction or ready to purchase under a Buy It Now listing. Try looking for the specific craft item you need to get a narrowed down list of items. While a number of sellers on eBay are honest folks like you and me, some have less than desirable ratings leading some to steer clear of this venue.

So while you're still online, pop on over to Oriental Trading for a myriad of craft and craft items at very reasonable prices. Be amazed at the amount of kids' crafts that could make any child's next birthday party a smash hit. Need silk flowers for a wedding bouquet, or 3D embellishments for your scrap booking project? Oriental Trading has an abundance of items and is a hot spot for craft supply finds.

Another gold mine for cheap craft supplies is AllCraftSupplies.com, which has just about every craft item under the sun - even leathercraft and paper mache items that are not always easy to find in a brick and mortar store.

Then there are the local favorites: Michaels (michaels.com), A . C. Moore, Hobby Lobby, or Jo-Ann Fabric & Crafts (joann.com) all waiting to dazzle visitors with in-store and online specials. Sign up with any of these businesses and receive email alerts inviting you to super secret online only sales events.

Before shopping online at any of your favorite craft stores, take a quick detour over to Ebates (ebates.com) and find out which stores it has partnered with that offers rebates on your purchases. While the rebate percentages are small - some only 2 or 3 percent, hey if you're going to shop at the particular store anyway, you might as well get the rebate.

There is also a funky place online called Etsy.com (pronounced like Betsy without the B), especially for crafters and artisans. It proclaims to be a showcase for everything homemade. Type in a search for "destash", which is crafter lingo for someone clearing out leftover supplies they no longer want and are selling cheap.

Now that you have a few examples of where to buy cheap craft supplies, the trick is also knowing when to buy. Weekly sales are, of course, the most popular time to buy those items that are...well, on sale. A number of sales circulars have coupons and some craft stores even accept competitors' coupons. End of season sales can mean up to 80% savings on some items.

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10 Easiest Ways to Advertise your Arts/Crafts Business

2009-11-01T04:17:00.000-08:00

By Marmar Smith

1) CREATE A WEBSITE

This will act as a Portfolio and lists all the items you created and want to sell. Make it detailed and list the pricing information for those interested in
purchasing. You can even add a shopping cart and get fancy with features you'd like to present to your audience like an "about" page for example. Add shipping information, and a section for those who would like to buy in bulk like wholesalers or buyers. If you do not know the first thing about how to create a website, there are a lot of ways you could get someone to make one for you or find online companies that give a package for your site including hosting, domain name and so forth.

Here are some links to website creators:
http://www.web.com/
http://www.very-visible.com/our-pricing.html

Or check out our 1 page website deal which is quick, cheap, referenced through our network, and gets advertised to buyers across the globe:
[http://www.marmarsgifts.com/websiteassistance.asp]

PRO: Will always be referenced. Easy place to find your art/crafts. Easy place for others to shop for your art/crafts and you to make money.

CON: Time taken to make one, mechanism for advertising required unless it's included in the package.

2) MAKE A CATALOG

Create your own using software or get assistance from the US Postal Service. You can then have this catalog get mailed all over your area. The USPS website has a lot of good information and helpful tools with prices on how you can get this started. Visit them here: http://www.usps.com

PRO: Will get to people's hands. Forced way to get customers

CON: Can become costly.

3) CREATE BUSINESS CARDS

You may not know it, but this is the one tool that has stayed with people for very long periods of time. Ever look in your wallet credit card section? Notice your business cards you've picked up and kept with you. Well, the very same way you can stick to people with this approach. Pass these or stick these around anywhere you see fit. Parties, Shows, Friends, Family, School, Bulletins, Shows/Exhibits, and Stores. You can make them yourself by using Microsoft Word and picking up a set of blank sheets to print at your local office supply store; eg. Staples, Office Max, Office Depot.

PRO: Fast, Cheap to get customers

CON: Creating them takes a little time

4) CREATE YOUR OWN EBAY STORE

Do you have a few items? Want to try it out and see who's interested? eBay is the largest and most traffic driven site people go to find stuff. I mean, you can find anything in there. If you don't have the time to create a website or find other ways to advertise and are willing to pay a percentage for each of your items that does sell, then eBay is a place to start. Then when you find people buying and business starts looking good, you can open an eBay store or direct them to your website. http://www.ebay.com

PRO: Can list items and bring lots of traffic to your site

CON: % Deducted on each sale you make

5) FIND A LOCAL CONSIGNMENT SHOP TO SELL YOUR ITEMS

You will need to make a photo album with your products or take some samples to see if they will sell them for you. Most will do this if they do not already have something similar in stock. You need to find out how their rates work so you can make some kind of decent profit. Be cautious as some may take more than you are willing to get paid for.

PRO: Sure way people will see or feel your products

CON: Percentage taken for each sale

6) PUT YOUR STUFF IN ARTS/CRAFTS SHOWS

Register and put up a booth with your items on display for everyone to see. It's almost like your own mini store. And, everyone who comes to visit is looking for arts/crafts.

PRO: Lot of interested people and definite sales

CON: Fee to be in show

7) ADVERTISE TO ONLINE ARTS/CRAFT SHOWS

Most people who know how to use a computer these days like to shop online. If they don't buy anything, they will look. And there is so much to choose from. They can be more successful if they find a place that is specific to what they are looking for. For example, if one is looking for household gifts, they will search for home gifts or something of the sort. So if you advertise in Arts/Crafts Shows Online, then you are giving those interested in arts/crafts a way to find you. You can place an ad in free sites and ones that have a fee. Be aware of the free ones since they can sell your email to other vendors. Paid advertising provides more services and incentives to keep you as a customer.

We offer membership for $2.99 a month in which you place your ad for buyers across the globe, international, in state and local, to bulletins, blogs, zines, wholesalers, shops, search engines and webrings. In addition to other services, free advice, and royalty free. http://www.marmarsgifts.com
You can also try: http://www.craftsfaironline.com and
http://artsandcraftsfair.com/

PRO: Allows others to advertise for you while you just keep doing what you love without paying % for each item you sell

CON: Choosing plan to fit your needs.

8) CALL STORE BUYERS

Often times buyers for stores are looking for new things they are not sure how to find. Taking the initial step for them may save them time and they can appreciate your contact. This is a type of solicitation, so not all buyers may be willing to listen, but with a little patience, you may find success from this approach. And Big success with that!

PRO: If your items are wanted - they will be bought in bulk - and if they sell you could make it big!

CON: patience & solicitation

9) MAKE A BANNER ONLINE

Banners are annoying, but they do a great job to grab your attention. Not only that, but they are "visual" information. The human eye first sees, then interprets or analyzes. Therefore, it is a method of saying "Hey! Look at me!" You can make this yourself or have someone or a tool make it for you. It can be advertised for a price or free based on how you take the approach. If you choose to pay for it to be advertised, then beware of the fees, never select pay per click...since these are not sure ways you will make a sale, just a way others can get money from you. The best way is to trade with others wanting the same, like a banner exchange. Search for "banner exchange" and you'll be amazed at what you will find.

PRO: Catches attention of viewers & brings them to your site

CON: Need to make one & decide whether to pay or use exchange method

10) MAKE YOUR CAR YOUR FRIEND

If you drive, most likely you will stop and in front of you will be another car and its rear end. You've got nothing better to do for the next 2 minutes then stare at that bumper in front of you or check out the rear display. Well, then so does the next guy who is behind you and so forth. Why not make it worth the effort and advertise your arts/crafts with a personalized bumper
sticker or magnet on your car leading them to your website or an email? Give them a few words to think about and something they'll remember, and be sure they'll pay your site a visit! You can find places that will make these for you usually at a sign shop or bumper sticker store.

PRO: Brings traffic - people will see your advertising with no choice if they are near your car
CON: Make sure it's short and sweet and easy to read at a distance.

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Thrifty Craft Supplies Makes The Difference

2009-10-29T04:14:00.000-07:00

By Sammy Kay

Anyone of us could walk into the craft store and spend a fortune on supplies. Personally, I have enough fabric and patterns to make clothes for my family for a year, but I still go back for something new! When making craft projects like scrapbooks or pictures, I like to look around the house to see what craft supplies I can find.

You don't have to spend a fortune on craft supplies to make stunning works of art. You can find wonderful supplies in common places. For instance, look outside. You can find stones, sand, shells, sticks, dried leaves, and dried flowers. All of these can be used to create beautiful projects. Leaves and the right colors of paint can make creative pictures or stamps to use on your walls. Take a look around the house as well. You can find pictures, quotes, and other decorative patterns in magazines, cards, and even junk mail. Thumb through them before you throw them away. Cut out anything you like and keep it in a file.

You can save other items around your house to use as craft supplies. Save cans, glass jars, paper towel tubes, and shoe boxes. These items can come in handy, especially if you have school age children that need craft supplies for school.

If you want to create a special photo or scrapbook from a vacation, collect your craft supplies along the way. Collect brochures and take lots of pictures along the way. I created a decorative matte for a family photo at Disney World from the brochures, free gifts (a small keychain with the ring removed), and our room keys. Don't discard items like plane tickets, movie or amusement park tickets, or room keys. They can add a personal touch and a great reminder to any photo. Seeing the plane ticket stubs again may remind you of something that happened during the flight that you may other wise have forgotten.

When you are shopping for craft supplies, you should try looking online or at the dollar store. You never know where you are going to find great supplies. You can also buy supplies at wholesale, or in large quantities if you know that you are going to use the supplies. It is not a bargain if you are not going to use it all! Ask your local art supply, craft store, or child’s school for left over materials that would otherwise be thrown out. Sometimes you can get left over paint, remnants, or other materials at a discount – or free!

There are also some inexpensive craft supplies you can keep on hand if you or your children decide to do an impromptu project. Keep simple materials like white and colored paper, colorful felt pieces, craft paint in primary colors, crayons, white glue, scissors, and paint brushes. Your kids will love using piper cleaners and googly eyes, too.

In the end, what supplies you need or use will depend on your project and your taste. No matter what you need, follow these suggestions to find great craft supplies without spending a fortune!

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Thinking of Starting an Arts & Crafts Business?

2009-10-26T04:11:00.000-07:00

By Dan Diewald

It seems to me that "now" may be the best time to start planning and developing your own "Arts and Crafts Business". A lot of people are searching for ways to supplement their income. Selling your own handmade products may be a great way of "earning an income" and "working for yourself".

There are many factors to consider when planning your new Arts & Crafts Business:

Do you have the time to run your own arts and crafts business? Remember, you may need to make a hundred pieces of your specific craft to display at Arts & Craft Shows. If it takes 3 hours to build each craft then you need to set aside 300 hours to prepare for the show. Also, keep in mind that many of the shows are on weekends and you may have to work many weekends to sell your products.

What is the material going to cost to produce the crafts I need for a show? If it costs $3 in material for each craft you make and you need 100 pieces to display in the show then your investment is going to be $300 in materials or possibly more if you consider extra material for mistakes in assembly or faulty materials.

The cost of the Arts & Craft show must also be considered. If the show costs you $100 to exhibit, then you must take these costs into account.

Other costs to consider Many people forget to consider the "other costs" which may be necessary to take part in a Arts & Craft Show. Other costs may be: Advertising or Marketing costs. The cost for a "helper" to assist you in your business. The cost to move your products to and from the show.

Where can I store my merchandise when not being displayed at a show? For smaller crafts this may not be an issue but with larger crafts you may have to rent a storage room or storage locker.

What happens if my work doesn't sell at the show? Everyone wants to sell there products they worked so hard to make in quantity for the long awaited "Arts & Crafts" Show but sometimes it just doesn't happen. I personally would not plan on selling anything for sure, in other words don't count on it paying your rent. I will give you a few examples: When I was 12 years old my brother and I built about 100 A-frame birdhouses and took part in a craft show. We spent several days building the "Birdhouses" and spent the entire day at the craft show and did not sell "one" Birdhouse. My father took part in a craft show a few years ago and had sold all his product and was unable to continue the show because he did not have any other product left to sell.

Where is the best place to get the supplies for the crafts? It all depends on what crafts you are making. It make be that you can go to "Hobby Lobby" or "Micheals" to get what you need at an affordable price. I believe checking around for the best price for the supplies you need. You can check online and do "Google" searches for the items you are looking for for your project. Otherwise, consider Ebay or Craigslist for a inexpensive source for your supplies. Also, I like the idea of paying "Nothing" for your supplies. If you deal with fabric you be able to get free fabric samples from fabric stores or online. If you deal with wood crafts you can call local cabinet shops and ask if they have any scraps. Lastly, if you make products out of twigs or logs you may be able to harvest your own products right off your own property. In fact, I manufacturer my own rustic furniture and baskets. I get all my supplies from my property and this sure helps to keep the costs down.

What items are the most popular to sell at the Arts & Crafts Shows? I can't tell you what the "hottest" crafts are selling at the shows and it depends on your location. The best way to find out is to visit the shows, talk to the exhibitors, and keep a eye on what items are moving.

What items will give you the best return on your investment? The best way to research the return on investment is to keep accurate records of the time it takes for making each of your crafts. For example. my mother made several "Angels" for a show and she made three sizes(small, medium, and large). It took her 30 minutes to make the small ones, an hour for the medium angels, and three hours for the large. At the show she sold 15 small at $10, five medium for $20 and zero large angels. The cost of materials was $2, $4, and $6 respectfully. She made a gross return on her small angels of $150 and a net of $120. So she made 120 for 7.5 hours which translates to 16 per hour. But keep in mind she did not take in to consideration her time at the show or any additional expenses she incurred for being at the show. The medium angels grossed her $100 and netted her $80. So she made $80 for 5 hours or $16 per hour. She did not make any money on the large angels. You may want to talk to piers or online forums to get more information on what products you can make for the best profitability.

The business plan! The business plan is an important aspect of starting any new business. Many times there are limited funds when trying to start a business so consider the following recommendations: Rather than purchasing a "Business Plan" software at your local computer outlet go to the library and many of them have kits on "How to start your own business" for many popular business types including the "Art & Craft Business". The kits have a great resource of information including: The initial cash outlay, the legal ramifications, the pros and cons of starting this kind of business, the average income a Arts and Crafts person can expect to earn, and additional information. Also they should have information on business plans and how to write one. Lastly, you can look online and there is wealth of information online. You can google "Business Plan" and probably find some good information. Otherwise, try "About.com" and they may have helpful information too.

If you are looking for art and crafts show then try artsandcraftshows.net they have thousands of shows throughout the country to help get you started. Also, check with your local "Chamber of Commerce".

Lastly, before diving into the "Arts & Crafts" business take some time to consider all the parameters required for running a "Small Business". There are even online questionnaires that you can fill out to see if you have the mind set for running your own business. Some of the important traits to have include but are not limited to the following: determination, hard working, dedication, responsibility.

I started out my business doing "Arts an Crafts" Shows and now run a multimillion dollar business. So there is good hope for your future. My best words of wisdom would be "never give up" and "learn from your mistakes".

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Thank Heavens for Arts and Craft Supplies and Projects!

2009-10-23T04:08:00.000-07:00

By Anne Clarke

Can you imagine what the world would be like we were all deprived of art and craft supplies? Imagine how boring summer camps would be for children! Think of how school lessons would drag on for kids if there was no break to play with arts and crafts supplies!

Luckily, we do not live in such a world. If we did, it would not just be the kids who would suffer, either. We adults would certainly suffer, as well. What would we do if someone took away all of our acrylic paints, oil paints, leather craft supplies, wood supplies, and other craft supplies? I, for one, would cry.

In a sense, I did grow up in a world that lacked art and craft supplies. How so? Well, to put it simply, my parents thought that “art” was a waste of time. They preferred that all of my free time be spent reading and learning. In fact, they were so dead-set on this idea that they decided to homeschool me!

As a homeschooled child with no access to crayons and other craft supplies, I feel that I really missed out on something great. I did not get a chance to try out my artistic skills until I was in my teens! Let me first say that my premier arts and crafts projects were not pretty. That being said, let me tell you that from the very first moment I held a paint brush in my hand, I was hooked.

I love art! I love crafts! I can think of no better way to spend my time than grabbing a few paintbrushes and some acrylic paint or oil paint and having at it. I love to paint! Of course, I also love paper craft supplies and wood craft supplies and leather craft supplies. To put it simply, I just cannot have enough.

My parents would roll over in their graves if they saw my closet full of art and craft supplies! Of course, to their credit, I still do love learning and reading and all of those other things that they deemed “important.” Nonetheless, I do feel that I missed out on an important part of childhood by not being allowed to practice the art of art.

I believe that is very important that all children get very well-rounded educations – this means that they should be surrounded not just by books, but craft supplies, sports supplies, music, and other such things. Children should be given a chance to be creative.

Of course, I believe that the same is true of adults. Adults should most definitely surround themselves with scrapbooking supplies, leather craft supplies, paper craft supplies, and other arts and crafts supplies. It is amazing how soothing it can be to work on a craft project after a long day of work. It is good to use a different part of the brain, for a change, too.

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Can You Design Kids Art Crafts Patterns For Money

2009-10-20T04:04:00.000-07:00

By Ian McAllister

If you sell your arts and crafts patterns successfully you can take a pride in the millions of copies that have been made up around the world.

And the money isn't bad either.

How much could you earn if you made up one of your designs and sold it? Enough to pay for the materials?

Now for the bad news

* You have to learn all the basics and work advanced patterns too before you can start.

* Designing is an art. Does every artist make money? No.

* Copyright problems can bankrupt you.

What does the public want? That's the big important question. If you are in an arts and crafts club you might be able to find out from other members what patterns they would like.

But club members can only see the demand for one craft at a time. What if they are all into china decorating, and there is a sudden world-wide demand for Mexican spray paint art? You can teach yourself the new art, then start creating patterns and books for it.

Join arts and crafts forums on the Internet and write down all the questions that people ask. That way you can soon decide what patterns would be popular. Where there is a big demand and people are queueing for your patterns you don't need salesmanship.

If you find something that is in enormous demand, does this demand mean that you can sell your designs? Unfortunately no. Artistic things either click with the public or they don't . Most of the time there is no logical explanation. You either like something or you don't.

Copyright Problems With Popular Items

If you design a jumper with a photograph of Harry Potter knitted into it, you are likely to have legal charges of breach of copyright before you can draw your breath. If you photograph the actors (not dressed as the characters) you can use them in the designs - but they will no longer be popular.

There are things you can do to take advantage of recent news. Some of them are decidedly inartistic, but could make some money for you. For instance - I visited a bomb-site in Iraq and all I got was this lousy T-shirt. It's a revolting idea but it might sell.

If you are really expert you might be able to make designs suitable for kids arts crafts. These have to be the simplest designs of them all, and they also have to convince the parents that they are simple enough and pleasing enough to entertain their children. Knitting, quilting, and jewelry are very popular crafts for children.

You can even prepare designs for recycling. For instance if you have a long-haired wooly dog, you can collect the hair for several years, then wash it and tease out the tangles. Then you can make up a garment without spinning the hair first. It won't work with a long-haired hairy dog, because the hairs don't bind together into thread, but wool is great.

You can come up with recycling designs for the garden, using old margarine containers or soft-drink bottles etc.

You don't have to give your work away. Look on eBay to find out what people are buying.

You'll probably decide that most craftwork sells for less than it costs to produce, but it doesn't have to be that way. What you want to do is discover what is in big demand, and then learn how to direct that demand towards your patterns for hobbies crafts.

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Where to Find Inexpensive Art and Craft Supplies

2009-10-17T04:01:00.000-07:00

By Jeff A Hardy

You are a Hobbyist and find crafts very fulfilling. However, engaging in arts is also expensive. What to do then? Where to go for cheap art and craft supplies? May be somewhere mentioned in the following list!

Local Library: For old, colorful magazines and books that can be used in collage, mixed media and altered art.

Recycle Groups: Join the groups in your area on some recycle websites. You might get a bag of fabric scraps or some old leather item for your next project.

Online Communities for Classifieds: Check the network of online communities, featuring free online classified advertisements. You might get something at lower prices.

Thrift and Resell Stores: Most of them have a section of art and craft supplies. Otherwise too, you might find other items that you can turn into craft supplies especially when you need fabric or books.

Family, Friends, and Neighbors: Check with them. Exchange items among yourselves. What is a waste for them, might be useful for you and vice versa.

Local Shops and Decorators: Upholstery, furniture shops and decorators might be willing to sell their scrap to you at very low prices. Don't hesitate to ask them though politely. Grocery shops can also give you wooden crates etc.

Local Dollar Store: Not all will be quality material but it's a good location to look at and stock up on some basics like paint brushes and storage containers.

Children's Discarded Stationary: Look into the discarded stationary items, pencil boxes, bags etc. of you own or relatives, friend's children. You might find craft paper, crayons, paints etc. from there.

Discount Websites: There are many discount websites. Check them, see what online bargains can you get. You might find promotional codes and free shipping offers, saving yourself a lots of money.

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Art & Craft Business Tips for Entrepreneurs

2009-10-14T03:57:00.000-07:00

By Jeff A Hardy

Today craft supplies are the heart of any arts and crafts business. Without supplies and good suppliers, your business will be in jeopardy. Search the right supplies at the right price and your business will have a much better chance of grow successfully.

Starting and running a craft business can sometimes be as confusing as it is rewarding. Here are 5 things to know before starting your venture into the world of professional crafting.

1. Shop Around

Always comparison-shop for supplies. Prices can vary greatly from vendor to vendor. Once you find a low-cost supplier, don't stop there! Over time, prices do change. It's a good idea to keep an eye out for another distributor.

2. Buy at Wholesale Cost

Many suppliers offer discounts to qualified buyers. Qualifications differ, but usually a Retail Tax ID number will suffice. Call your local courthouse to find out whom to contact to obtain a retail tax permit in your area. (If you are selling crafts, you should already have one.) Once you have your tax identification, ask individual suppliers if they offer wholesale discounts and how to qualify.

3. Buy in Quantity

Often, buying supplies in bulk can save money. When comparison-shopping for materials, ask each vendor if quantity discounts apply and if so, what the percentages off will be.

4. Use Recycled Materials

Be creative with your raw materials! You may be able to save quite a bit by using recycled wood, textiles, plastic, metal and anything else you may use. Of course all of your supplies cannot be obtained through recycled materials, but you might be surprised at where you can cut costs if you give it some thought.

5. Shop at Discount Stores

Many large chains offer comparable prices on certain craft supplies. If you intend to resell the finished product that you make and have a Tax ID number, you can avoid paying sales tax. Ask the store manager for details on tax exemption status.

Marketing is the another key ingredient to any successful business! You must have ways to get the word out about your products. Whether you will be attending craft shows, placing mail order ads, or selling your crafts online.

Selling crafts online involves more than simply publishing a Web site. Successful online marketing requires time, dedication and a basic understanding of marketing in general. Your online craft shop is merely an extension of your real-world business and all forms of marketing should compliment each other to work efficiently and effectively.

This article is not only intended to give craftspeople ideas on how to market an arts and crafts Web site, but also to help crafters become aware of the importance of real-world marketing of a cyber-world storefront.

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Discounted Craft Supplies

2009-10-11T03:55:00.000-07:00

By Katie Appleby

Hard economic times call for creativeness when it comes to giving gifts or making your home more attractive. This is the reason arts and crafts have increased in popularity recently. Although getting arts and crafts supplies can sometimes get a bit costly, especially when there is a need to make something special. This is when finding discounted crafts supplies can be a great help.

Getting supplies for arts and crafts is always very easy because everyone has a lot of odds and ends in the house that could make good materials. Nature is even teeming with a lot of free stuff like shells, stones, leaves, barks and even weeds, that could make great decorations in a creative arts and crafts masterpiece.

However, when supplies coming from arts and crafts stores are really needed, there are more options than ever before. Now, a lot of online shops and local dollar stores sell these supplies at cheaper prices than traditional stores. Anyone can get discounted crafts supplies at wholesale because it is guaranteed that discounts will be given out by those who will buy in bulk.

Discounted crafts supplies are not hard to come by nowadays, especially if you keep an eye out for crafts or arts supplies stores having a sale or online offers of great discounts. All kinds of crafts supplies can be availed of for lower prices and these could range from yarn to little buttons to silk flowers, among others that can be used for the pages of a scrapbook. These crafts stores provide such things as baskets, frames and even such hard to find items as doll arms or teddy bear eyes.

Another good thing that anyone can do to make sure that he or she is getting a real bargain on the discounted craft supplies is to shop around first before settling on a particular store. Comparison shopping is the best way to know that you're getting your crafts supplies at a lesser price. It is also important to make sure that the crafts supplier has quality products. Getting discounted products does not mean that you should also have to compromise the quality of your purchase. Another thing to check is whether a supplier offering cheap crafts supplies will accommodate smaller orders or if they will only fill out bulk orders. A great supplier will always fill out orders, whether they are in bulk or retail.

So, getting discounted crafts supplies is really all that simple if people are just patient at finding the right store that sell the quality supplies. Once you've gotten your crafts supplies at a low price, then you'll be ready and excited to create your masterpiece.

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Choosing The Right Art and Craft Supplies For Your Kids

2009-10-08T03:52:00.000-07:00

By Benjamin Brookes

Doing arts and crafts with your children from an early age has shown to be important in recent studies. Arts and crafts can develop your kids motor skills and imagination. You will not have to worry about by expensive arts and craft supplies for children to get them interested. As a general rule, kids love arts and crafts so even if you only get them some simple arts and craft supplies to work on, they will soon be engrossed in the activity.

Although kids love just about any type of arts and craft supplies that they can get their hands on, you should not just any type of arts and craft supplies for your kids to use. Always remember that they are some types of arts and craft supplies that contain harmful ingredients so you should be very careful when buying art and craft supplies for your kids. To help you choose the right type of art and craft supplies for your kids, here are some tips for you.

Checkout The Label

Before you buy any type of art and craft supplies, you should read their labels carefully. Look for the "non-toxic" sign on the packaging to make sure that the item is safe for your kids. When shopping online, make sure that you deal only with reliable and reputable companies. Always remember that labels are so easy to fake these days and there are many people out there who do not have any qualms about selling products that contain toxic ingredients.

Watch Out For Lead

When buying coloring materials, make sure that the coloring materials you buy are free from any lead contents. According to studies, lead can cause a lot of health problems on your kids. Lead can affect the mental development of your kids so be very careful not to expose your kids to this substance. In most cases, lead and other toxic ingredients is present in permanent marking and coloring materials. To be on the safer side of things, buy only those water-based and non-permanent markers. Moreover, buying water-based products have other advantages. For one thing, it your kids decide to use your walls as canvass, it will not be impossible for you to wipe out the markings on the wall.

When It Comes To Glue White Is Best

Although those colorful glue are very attractive, they are usually more toxic compared to plain white glue. An alternative to white glue would be a white library paste. The good thing about white library paste is that it is less messy compared to the glue.

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Arts & Crafts Supplies For Your Next Project

2009-10-05T03:47:00.000-07:00

By Ashley Conner

If you have some spare time in your hands and you think you have a flair for the arts then why not start a hobby in arts & crafts? There are different ways to develop your skills in creating things that have practical and decorative uses. Arts & crafts have different types which include those involving textiles, wood, metal, clay, paper, canvas, and plants among many others. You just need to choose which one interests you the most and purchase arts & crafts supplies in the nearest shopping mall, arts & crafts supply store or online.

Arts & crafts supplies can be bought from stores or can be recycled from stuff you can find right at your home. It only takes patience and a lot of creativity to create handicrafts which you can use as accessories and decorations. Arts & crafts can serve as a hobby or a way to earn some extra money. This is why most schools have programs and subjects which include creating things manually to give children a chance to discover and develop skills which can be useful in the future. Parents in turn can help their kids to enhance their interests in the arts and crafts because this can also be a way to spend quality family time together.

Arts & crafts supplies can be bought in kits according to their different types such as:
* Textile arts & crafts - calligraphy, cross-stitch, crocheting, embroidery, knitting, macramé, needlepoint, quilting, sewing, scrapbooking, weaving and t-shirt art.
* Wood, metal or clay arts & crafts - woodworking, jewelry making, pottery, sculpture and metalworking.
* Paper or canvas arts & crafts - card-making, collage, origami, paper craft, papier-mâché, and rubber stamping.
* Plants arts & crafts - basket weaving, floral design, pressed flower craft and flower arrangement.
* Other arts & crafts - balloon animals, beadwork, doll and dollhouse making, mosaics and toy making.

Supplies may include the following:
* Brushes
* Canvasses
* Paints & inks
* Pencils, pens & markers
* Yarns & wools
* Glue & adhesives
* Fabric
* Foam
* Ribbons
* Candle & soap
* Leather
* Glass
* Beads
* Paper
* Dried flowers & leaves
* Clay
* Crayons & oil pastels

The easiest arts & crafts projects you can do with your kids are those involving paper and some crayons. You can do coloring and drawing activities, card-making for all occasions and the Asian art of folding paper called the origami. These are fun ways to spend time with the children and which can be done by everyone all at the same time. Arts & crafts supplies for these activities can be easily purchased from the bookstore or stationery shop. Your kids may even have these materials right in their school bags. However for more ambitious projects, it would be best to purchase arts & crafts supply kits which come complete with illustrations and instructions.

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Olive Drab Duck - Arts And Crafts With Your Kids!

2009-10-02T00:42:00.000-07:00

A paper mache olive drab duck will make a great birthday and/or celebration piñata. A paper mache olive drab duck will also make a wonderful creative arts and crafts project for you and your family on a sunny (or rainy) day. The olive drab duck project is both inexpensive and easy to do. You can complete the olive drab duck project from the comforts of your own home.
Supplies:

2 balloons (large); newspaper ripped into long pieces; glue; flour; tape; scissors; olive drab colored feathers (or any other color feather you wish to decorate your duck with); 1 toilet paper roll; yellow construction paper; orange tissue paper; and other miscellaneous fun decorations (sequins, glitter, etc.).

Directions For Olive Drab Duck Paper Mache Project:
• Do you have all of your olive drab duck project supplies in one space? Make a detailed list of what you have at home and what you need to purchase at the store for the olive drab duck paper mache.
• The feet of the olive drab duck will come first. Feet: Fold the toilet paper roll in half; cut in into two. Next, wrap the cardboard feet with orange tissue paper. Glue well and make sure the feet are flat.
• Next you will make the body of the duck. Blow up the second balloon until it is approximately ¼ the size of the balloon you blew up first. This will be the duck’s head. Tape the smaller balloon to the larger balloon where you want the head of the olive drab duck to be. Tape it securely.
• You will have to paper mache between two and four layers onto the olive drab duck to ensure its sturdiness. Make sure the duck is dry before cutting the hole.
• You will then cover the duck with one to two more layers of paper mache.
• Take your olive drab colored feathers and start gluing. If you opt not to use the color olive drab, go funky with bright colors.
• Glue the feet to the bottom of the duck, then cut a beak from the yellow construction paper and glue to face. Once you have used all of your fun decorating materials, glue on glitter will give your duck a great wet-duck look.

This paper mache project is easy and a fun activity to do arts and crafts with your child.

Thank Heavens for Arts and Craft Supplies and Projects!
Can you imagine what the world would be like we were all deprived of art and craft supplies? Imagine how boring summer camps would be for children! Think of how school lessons would drag on for kids if there was no break to play with arts and crafts supplies!

Luckily, we do not live in such a world. We adults would certainly suffer, as well. What would we do if someone took away all of our acrylic paints, oil paints, leather craft supplies, wood supplies, and other craft supplies? In a sense, I did grow up in a world that lacked art and craft supplies. Well, to put it simply, my parents thought that “art” was a waste of time. They preferred that all of my free time be spent reading and learning. As a homeschooled child with no access to crayons and other craft supplies, I feel that I really missed out on something great. I did not get a chance to try out my artistic skills until I was in my teens! Let me first say that my premier arts and crafts projects were not pretty. I love art! I love crafts! I can think of no better way to spend my time than grabbing a few paintbrushes and some acrylic paint or oil paint and having at it. I love to paint! Of course, I also love paper craft supplies and wood craft supplies and leather craft supplies. My parents would roll over in their graves if they saw my closet full of art and craft supplies! I believe that is very important that all children get very well-rounded educations – this means that they should be surrounded not just by books, but craft supplies, sports supplies, music, and other such things. Children should be given a chance to be creative.

Adults should most definitely surround themselves with scrapbooking supplies, leather craft supplies, paper craft supplies, and other arts and crafts supplies. It is amazing how soothing it can be to work on a craft project after a long day of work. It is good to use a different part of the brain, for a change, too.

Fun Halloween Craft Ideas

2009-09-29T00:35:00.000-07:00

Kids always have fun making crafts, especially holiday-themed crafts.

1. Trick-or-Treat bucket
Supplies: ice cream bucket, construction paper, markers, crayons, glue, glitter (any craft supplies)
Directions: Use construction paper to draw ghosts, pumpkins, scarecrows, etc.

2. Trick-or-Treat goody bags
Supplies: small brown paper bags, Halloween stickers, markers, treats (candy, pencils, erasers, bubblegum, etc.)
Directions: Decorate paper bags in Halloween themes using your art supplies. Fold the top of the bag down and tape shut with a Halloween sticker.

3. Tiny pumpkins
Supplies: acorns, orange paint, and green paint
Directions: Lay acorns on a sheet of newspaper. Paint the bottom of the acorns with orange paint. After the orange paint dries, paint the top of the acorns green (for the stem of the pumpkin). Allow to dry thoroughly.

4. Spooky Spiders
Supplies: black construction paper, cotton balls or cotton stuffing, black pipe cleaners, small bowl or saucer, and a stapler
Directions: Using black construction paper, trace around a small bowl or saucer. (Cut out two circles per spider.) Place stuffing or cotton balls on first circle. Lay second circle on top of cotton stuffing and staple half-way around. Bend pipe cleaners to make the “legs” of the spider.

Making Rubber Stamps: Learn How To Make Your Own Art Craft Rubber Stamps For Stamping Up Paper Craft
Making stamps at home does not mean producing amateur stamps suitable just for kids' stamping. With a little information and the right rubber stamp making supply, manufacturing rubber stamps is fun and easy!

Classifying Rubber Stamps
For starters, rubber stamps are classified into two categories: business rubber stamps and art rubber stamps or craft stamps.
Business stamps are hand stamps, self inking stamps (pre inked) or dating stamps; the text of which makes them personalized rubber stamps. When using a hand stamp you must stamp it up and down on a stamp pad to load the stamp with ink before making your impression.

Art and craft rubber stamps are a lot more interesting as graphics such as hand drawn artwork, craft clipart along with alphabets and photographs can be used. Used in creating scrapbooks and greeting cards these custom stamps can also be used with embossing powder or ink for embossed rubber stamping. Stamp art has no limits - all your stamp ideas can be realized once you start making stamps at home so start gathering your rubber stamping ideas!

You will never again need to buy from a Rubber Stamp Manufacturer!
The fantastic thing about making your own stamps is that you will save money and do away with buying stamps from a rubber stamp maker or rubber stamp company. You can get all your rubber stamp making supplies or a rubber stamp kit and make your own personalized stamps, photo stamps, signature stamps and craft stamps within the comfort of your home.

Different Methods of Rubber Stamp Manufacturing
You must have an understanding of how different methods of rubber stamp manufacturing is carried out, then you can start searching for the relevant rubber stamp supply to start creating your rubber stamping ideas!

Hand carved - Creating a carved stamp is still practiced in some countries. Vulcanizing - You may be familiar with magenta rubber stamps that utilize self cling foam similar to EZMount for sticking to acrylic blocks. These are vulcanized rubber stamps like the ones you buy from Stampin Up. The vulcanizing heat press is also quite an expensive stamping machine for home use.
Lasers are usually used for business style stamps where a custom rubber stamp is required.
Flash technology - This relatively new stamping technology is not too expensive but the finished stamp has only a single colour, similar to the self inking stamp. This means it's unsuitable for your creative craft stamps. Flash Stamp technology employs a technique where ink flows through a membrane after exposure to a light source.
Polymer stamp making - Using a liquid polymer, artwork and a UV light source polymer is the clear choice for making custom rubber stamps at home with its simplicity and cost-effectiveness.

Stamping up with Polymer Rubber
Among the various ways for manufacturing rubber stamps, the polymer stamp making technique is the winner of all available stamp making methods for rubber stamp makers at home. Manufacturing polymer stamps will allow you to get professional quality custom rubber stamps at the lowest price possible!
It might surprise you that polymer stamp making is now the most common method of manufacturing stamps commercially today. The majority of business ink stamps, self inking personalized stamps and increasingly so craft stamps are now more often polymer stamps. Polymer stamps are also known as acrylic polymer, clear stamps, clear rubber stamps and rubber plastic stamps. Interestingly, polymer stamps contain no rubber at all and are still called rubber stamps!

Stamp Making Rules
Before you launch into making your own polymer rubber stamps, you must keep in mind three important factors about polymers. Pay attention to these and you can be assured of a high quality rubber stamp.
Platemaking Polymers - Used extensively in the printing industry not all photopolymer plates will produce rubber stamps. To make a stamping die a polymer with the durometer reading of 40 is ideal; this is the hardness scale of the cured polymer. InstaPlate is just such a kind of polymer designed to make rubber stamp dies and best suited for home use.
Polymer Solidification - Some stamp making kits employ other types of polymers that solidify under natural light or a single light bulb. All professional stamp makers use polymers like InstaPlate as it allows control of the UVA light at a specific wavelength to make stamps. So invest in a quality UV exposure unit along with a commercial grade polymer such as InstaPlate to create stamps like the professionals do, this is especially important if you are interested in producing wholesale rubber stamps at home for resale.
Strength of your Rubber Stamp - We often come across polymer stamps with no structural backing allowing the stamp to naturally stick to a mounting block. InstaGrip is a new method of affixing rubber stamps to acrylic blocks and is a repositionable mounting system designed for mounting stamps onto acrylic. Since it's transparent, it will allow you to see through the stamp and the block to place your impression, making your stamping process easier than ever before.

The Light Source
Commercial stamp machines have built in timers that control the exposure of the polymer and are quite expensive. A better alternative for home stamp making is a smaller craft stamp maker that utilizes an external portable countdown timer. The UVA light output from one of these units will produce the same quality stamp as the larger commercial stamp making systems.

Fine Arts Forgotten - Better Art Programs for your School

2009-09-26T00:31:00.000-07:00

For younger children it helps to have more of a variety—basic supplies can go a long way if you have the right crafts in mind. Do not be afraid to be messy–even in high school art classes they use drop cloths while working. If paints are not on your list of art supplies—they should be. The younger kids can do great things with finger-paints and watercolors. With these kinds of artistic tools the students can learn lessons about the color wheel. For example: using primary colors of finger-paints, show your students how you can mix primary colors to make secondary colors. This way they are learning some of the basics of art at an early age.

For the older groups of children art supplies should also include paints as a priority. As the children get into middle school and high school their artistic skills will be developing and as teachers we want to encourage that artistic development—not prevent them from moving forward with their talents. Sometimes in high schools advanced upperclassmen, as well as some students in colleges will revert to watercolors for certain projects—but by that time they are in a whole new league. For the older grades—even older elementary students like fourth and fifth graders your art supplies should include acrylic paints and brushes of several sizes. The students will also need easels and paint trays.

As they get even older it is great to have additional art supplies such as oil paints as well as, paint sponges, spray paints or preferably, airbrushes, canvases and frames (or wood for frames the students can build themselves), pastels are great supplies and so are charcoals, as well as clay and pottery wheels—if your budget allows.

Students were able to excel in art immensely if they chose to take the art classes offered as electives. Classes like portraiture, oil painting, landscapes, abstract art, pottery, and so on. Some students even received college credits in art before they graduated high school. But without certain art supplies being provided for schools, schools will never have the option to offer such classes.

Tools and Supplies For Your Mosaics
If you're looking for a new outlet for your creative juices, consider taking up the art of the mosaics.

Beginning Mosaic Artists
If you're a beginner, you don't want to start out with a project that is too complicated. As with any new craft or skill, if you try something too ambitious to begin with, you'll soon become frustrated and give up the craft altogether. No, you need to learn to crawl before you can walk, and walk before you run.

With the mosaic, this is easy, because it's possible to purchase beginner's sets which include everything you need to create a lovely piece or art, something that will look quite nice but won't tax your skills unduly.

The most important skill for a mosaic artist, for example, is the cutting of the small pieces of tile or glass, which you'll need for certain areas of your work. You'll use a pair of nippers especially designed for the task, but care must be taken to cut the thin material carefully, or it will shatter.

Lay a Groundwork of Knowledge With Books
Before you even start out on your project, you'll want to get a book on mosaic art from your library or local bookstore, and read through the portions that explain how to do everything, from choosing a design, cutting your tile, mixing your grout, and so on.

There are plenty of sources on the web for the mosaic enthusiast. Sites that sell supplies to the mosaic artist will usually have instruction pages for the beginner, and by visiting these sites you'll also see all of the tools available to you.

Mosaic Mercantile, for example, offers over a dozen kits for the beginner, from keepsake boxes to votives to coasters to mirrors to clocks! And then there are the pre-cut bases you can purchase, in the shape of butterflies, turtles, frogs, etc.

The tools you buy are most important. There are two essentials to have, tile nippers and safety glasses. Whenever you are cutting your "tesserae", whether it be glass or tile, you simply must wear your safety glasses. The last thing you want is to lose an eye to a piece of tile. The force applied to the tile by your nippers has the capability of shooting the tile off with great force, so at best it will be very painful, and at worst you could lose an eye.

Although the tiles you get in kits will all be of a uniform size, there will be places on your base where you'll have to cut the tile to fit. This is where you'll need the nippers, which come in many different kinds, such as the "chipper nipper" or the "wheeled nipper." Next is the material - the adhesive - you'll need to affix the tesserae to your form or base. Any adhesive you get must be safe, non-toxic and quick drying. Should you decide to continue working with mosaics after you finish your first kit, be aware that you can purchase this adhesive in a variety of sizes.

With the kit you'll get an applicator set - small plastic trowels, a spreader and some craft sticks, all to be used in applying the adhesive and grout. Again, with a kit the grout will be included. There are two kinds of grout, sanded and latex, which you'll use depending on the type of mosaic you're creating. You use sanded grout when you're going to have a large spacing between your tiles - sanded grout contains cement and will be very sturdy. The grouts come dyed in a wide variety of colors.

Connect with Your Inner Artist

2009-09-23T00:18:00.000-07:00

In the "Roadblocks to Creativity" e-course, we look at the 7 most common things that block our creative expression. Well, certainly we're connected to our "Inner Artist".
Joyful – our Inner Artist sees the world as a magical place, full of curious things and people. Each day is a series of fun surprises and the chance to learn, practice and master the things we most love doing.

Exuberant – like a giddy child, our Inner Artist doesn't worry about the repercussions of expressing the joy they're feeling.
Creatively Free – Our Inner Artist has a clear channel to the muse, to spirit, to the universe and to every creative force that has been seen and unseen since time began.
Undamaged – Whatever path our lives have taken up to this point, our Inner Artist remains whole and healthy.
Unhindered – our Inner Artist is completely unaffected by the internal and external factors that block our creativity on a day-to-day basis. Our Inner Artist is only aware of what's happening NOW and is not only untouched by any previous hurts, it's also unconcerned with any future outcome.

As a music therapist, it's my joy to be able to meet the "inner artist" of my clients with special needs. No matter what their disability or limitation, I look for and consistently find that joyful, healthy and whole person to connect to – and I find it in the midst of creative play.
When we as artists are connected to this part of ourselves, we're not only transcending our creative roadblocks (such as procrastination, negative thinking and people-pleasing), we're in a state of consummate creative flow.

Put it into play
Just for today, approach your art as child's play. Paint with your non-dominant hand. Make mistakes. Laugh.
Indulge your Inner Artist on an "artist's date". This popular concept from Julia Cameron's "The Artist's Way" invites you to spend a couple of hours each week on an activity that feeds your creativity.

Noodle – Play around on your instrument, with your art supplies or with new uses of words.
Doodle – On your sketchpad, on your wall or on the sidewalk.
Google – Get lost on the Internet, feeding your interests and creativity by seeing what's "out there".

Watercolours vs The Beginner Artist
Well let's see, you vaguely remember using watercolours back in elementary or high school. There's no odour unlike oil paint, clean-up is a snap (dont' need any paint thinner for watercolour)...a few brushes, a pad of paper and presto-gallery opening here we come! Right? Well... not exactly.
It's probably the hardest to learn -- nevermind master.

The paint isn't very opaque.Meaning its not likely to cover over a mistake very well without being noticeable.
Its a finicky media, you can't really overbrush (repeatedly going over an area)since it will muddy the colour or show streaks. You have to learn to load your brush with the perfect amount of water and paint so there's not an unexpected blob of water that creates a watermark or too much pigment which is difficult to remove since essentially watercolour paint is a staining material and can't be removed to easily after being applied.It dries very quickly -so any colour blending has to be done quickly and effectively.Essentially while working on a watercolour painting you have to be a few steps ahead of what you are doing, that way since it dries so quickly you'll never get behind the eight ball and start making mistakes. There are products available that are used to delay the drying time and make the paint more manageable but some are expensive and work with limited results.

Which leads to the next topic- art materials.
Almost every department store has an arts and crafts section ...with packages of 'watercolour' brushes, and pads of 'watercolour' paper.The beginner artist usually decides--to not spend alot of money on quality materials since they are just learning ... well the old addage you get what you pay for, certainly rings true in this circumstance.

Why?
Cheaper materials are cheaper for a reason. Meaning, a new artist who is trying to learn a technique struggles with the brush either losing its hairs, doesn't absorb the medium or water well and the end result is poor.
Then during the painting the paper bubbles and doesn't lie flat or even starts to tear. The artist thinks its due to lack of ability or skill and doesn't even know that they are short changing themselves with sub-par tools and supplies.
The mid-priced items should be what you are looking for, they'll handle better, making for positive results, and with proper care will last much longer than 'cheapo' art supplies.

Make no mistake I'm not suggesting that when you are just starting out to completely avoid watercolour painting...not at all. Just consider all the other options...acrylic painting especially.
1. no smell
2. doesn't dry as quickly --but doesn't take as much time as oil paint
3. made a mistake--no problem! Paint over it...nobody will ever know.
4. easy clean up--- as like watercolours acrylic is water based and clean up is easy and fast
5. range --depending on the amount of water used with the paint, can be treated as a watercolour or an oil painting.

The more water used, the more transparent the paint becomes..some artists use very little water or none at all resulting in a very bold and strong result--much like an oil painting.
If you are determined to start with watercolour painting- exercise patience and don't get frustated, there's a learning curve with any new skill and expecting fantastic results right away is a recipe for disaster.

I suggest having a somewhat inexpensive pad of paper for learning techniques and the more pricey paper for doing a final piece.
Take a course, investigate to see if there are local art clubs or associations you can join.

Online Art Supplies

2009-09-20T00:15:00.000-07:00

Art supplies are various materials that are used to draw and color on a canvas or a plain sheet of paper. They include painting and drawing accessories, easels, paintbrushes and palettes.
These materials help a person to enhance the creativity within and unleash their thoughts on canvas. Canvases are easily available, off the shelf, in many brick and mortar stores. It is easy to go online and search for these supplies and in the bargain get better quality and cheaper varieties.

Many people dismiss the online sites as dealers in inferior quality or practitioners of dubious ways. It is not necessary for a quality product to have large distribution channels. The larger channels usually only represent big brand names and high prices.

It is very easy to log onto a site selling art supplies and browse through the various catalogs available online. It is also easy to compare the rates of the various articles online and settle for bargain that fits the pre-determined budget.

Some of the online sites come up with great discount offers that are difficult to resist and are worth the effort. It is important for the buyer to consider the incidental charges, including shipping and negotiate with the online seller. These prices should also be calculated in order to arrive at the total cost of the product.

Art Supplies Catalogs
Catalogs are a list or itemized display of articles that are on exhibition or sale. They include information and illustration, describing the products in detail. Catalogs are created for all kinds of materials, from the hallowed portals of fashion designing to kitchen products. Art supplies catalogs have information on articles relating to art, such as canvasses, paints and brushes.
Catalogs are basically marketing tools that attract customers with their glossy prints and attractive colors. It should be ensured by the manufacturer, that the details in the catalog, are as per the specifications available and give an in depth idea of the product on sale. It is worthwhile to check the dimensions and the price of the product displayed. Normally, the seller clubs all the products of a similar type, under a single category, to make it easier for the salesman and the customer. Some catalogs have a comparative price list of the various sizes and varieties available, of the same product. Catalogs help the seller in saving precious time, as the customer can conveniently go through the catalog instead of physically being shown each item. Shop owners save on manpower as well.

The art supplies catalogs also have a small color picture of the product to make it more pictorial and easier for the buyers to decide on their purchase. There are various sections that demarcate different products, like paints, easels, brushes and palettes.

Art Supply Online Warehouses - A Great Way To Save

2009-09-17T00:12:00.000-07:00

It can be a lot of fun walking into an art supply store at the mall or to a local art and craft warehouse. The shelves contain a variety of art supplies, from acrylic paints to wooden easels, and the staff are often very friendly and passionate because they too are artists. However, what isn't so friendly is overpaying – why pay full retail prices when you could be getting discount art supplies through an online art supply store or warehouse.

Remember that when you buy a table top easel at a traditional art supply store, you aren't just paying for the easel. You're also paying for the presentation of the supplies, in the traditional brick and mortar environment. An online art supply store or warehouse saves you money because their operation costs are less. When it comes to art supplies, most artists know basically what they need. Eliminating the middle man at an online art supply store or warehouse to get your art supplies makes good business sense and can also be exciting in its own right.

A few dollars saved today can equal more time available to create tomorrow. Although shopping for online art supplies is very easy, it still can make you nervous.
For one thing, there is something about buying something you've never touched that can seem weird, but art supply stores or warehouses can provide art supply catalogs to alleviate that worry. With art supply catalogs you are viewing an artistic depiction of art supplies. At that point you are one step away from viewing a painting of a wooden easel displayed on a table top easel that's been balanced on a presentation easel in a corporate boardroom. However, it really is a practical solution to filling your needs.

When you look through at art supply catalog and order your art supplies that way, you eliminate the chance that what you need will be out of stock at the time you purchase. So not only do you save money, you save time and worry.

On top of saving money, the art supplies available online are of great quality.

How To Save All That Money You Aren't Making At Art
Introduction:
I have discovered that many people with the talent and drive to start their own business seldom have the education and tools required to satisfy the bookkeeping requirements for their venture.

This essay was originally written for art businesses, as artists seldom come with business backgrounds. However, it can be adapted to many other small business structures quite easily.
How much risk are you willing to take? Are you willing to pay more for less risk?

a. SOLE PROPRIETORSHIP
The most risky organization is the sole proprietorship. This is because if someone sues you as a sole proprietorship, they can, theoretically, take your home, your car, and all your worldly possessions in a lawsuit. I am unlikely to get sued for damages unless I steal someone else’s art. If I was installing stairs, on the other hand, I would definitely want to limit my risk. The term for this characteristic is ‘unlimited liability.’
Now, there are advantages to being a sole proprietorship. There is little to no cost in setting it up, no legal forms to fill out, no paperwork to file with the state. When you report your income and expenses, it goes on the Schedule C of your own personal tax return (1040), and isn’t taxed separately.
There are also disadvantages, such as the aforementioned unlimited liability. There is also the fact that the company has a limited life – when you pass away, so does the business. (Ask Disney if this is important).

b. CORPORATION
If you are willing to pay a little more money on a regular basis, you can get the advantage of limited liability with a corporate setup. A corporation is a separate entity from you as a person, therefore if it is sued, only those assets owned by the company can be taken, not your personal home and possessions. This is the main advantage of having a separate corporation. It is also easier to expand, as banks are usually more willing to offer financing for this. It can have a life beyond the life of the founder, as many corporations have (i.e., Sears, Disney).
There are fees to setting up the corporation with the state (none for the federal government), and annual fees to keep the license in good standing every year. You may also need to file one for your state. And, you may have to pay taxes at a corporate rate, which is usually higher than your personal rate.
I would like to go into the differences between a C corporation and an S corporation. C is the corporations we are most familiar with – corporate monsters like Microsoft, IBM, Disney, Sears, etc. These get taxed at a corporate rate, which is currently 15% up to $50,000 in profit, and goes up from there. Let me repeat that – no tax is paid on the corporation itself. Instead, the income gets reported on each shareholder’s tax return, and is paid at their personal rate. This is usually the better deal for small companies, as personal returns are not taxed at all for the first $7000 in income.

c. LLCs and LLPs
Many people ask me about Limited Liability Corporations and Limited Liability Partnerships. These are both fairly new entities, and as such, don’t have (as of yet) their own share of rules and laws by the IRS. A savvy person can set up an S corporation fairly easily. In that case, I would recommend S corporations as the best alternative.
1. WHAT IS INCOME?
In the common usage, Income means (literally) any money coming in – whether it be a loan from the bank, a paycheck from your job, a gift from Grandma, or a sale of a painting. Income, for someone running a business, derives from operating the business. If it’s an art business, then sales from your art business is your main form of income.
That income can have several categories, though; You can have sales of existing art and art products, such as bookmarks, you can have commissioned sales of art, and you can have sales of excess supplies, or shipping, or display equipment.
COMMISSIONS
For those that are unfamiliar with commissions, it is when someone contracts with you to produce a piece of art to their own needs and desires, rather than purchasing art you created before you met them.
CONSIGNMENTS
Another form of sales is consignment sales, which involves placing your artwork in someone else’s store, and only receiving money when it is sold. Sometimes this is a gallery, sometimes a gift shop, sometimes online – but the portion of income you receive is the only income you declare, not the total price. For instance, if I have a print on sale at the local gift shop for $30, and I get $20 from it when it sales (the other $10 goes to the gift shop) then I declare $20 income from the sale.
SELLING OTHER STUFF
It’s not the sale of art, but it is slightly related. These sales are income, but not always sales income – sometimes it’s called ‘gain’ rather than profit. It’s reported differently only if you are selling fixed assets, i.e., your computer, your desk, your display equipment. If it’s just paint or brushes, it’s regular income. Sometimes size DOES matter!
SHIPPING
If you also charge shipping on your sales, this too is considered income. The cost of your shipping shows up in expenses, and usually these two cancel out.
SALES TAX
Many people ask how Sales Tax comes into play with income. In reality, we never ‘earn’ sales tax – we merely collect it and hold it for the state government. Whenever we make a sale that is taxable, we collect the sales tax. If you did not collect sales tax, but should have, you are STILL liable to pay it to the state, out of your own pocket.
Since Sales Tax is not income, when we collect it we do not include that as income (thus we don’t get charged income tax on that money). It’s not an expense that we can deduct, either… it doesn’t go on the federal income tax return at all!
CONCLUSION
All in all, income is any money coming in that is a result of a business transaction in your business. That sounds complex, but it helps differentiate between things that aren’t income – like a gift from your dad, or a loan from the bank. Those aren’t income, and you don’t pay taxes on it!

Inventory is one of those mysteries of the accounting world, an esoteric subject fit to backroom discussions by candlelight and adding machines, right? WRONG! Inventory is a very simple concept – the cost of the stuff you have that you can sell.
INVENTORY
Inventory can include any number of things, but they should be things that can be traced to a particular piece. There is no easy way to attach the cost of the paint to a particular piece, so it is instead deducted as ‘supplies expense’, along with the paintbrushes, turpentine, disposable pallet pages, etc.
So, the cost of one of my digital prints would NOT include the computer, or the program, but would include the cost of printing, the matboard, and the bag. This inventory cost is usually counted at the end of the year. The amount you have in inventory is the cost of each item you have that is ready for sale, plus unfinished pieces, which are considered ‘work-in-process’ inventory. Also include items that will be used for such pieces, like blank canvasses and uncut matboard, etc.
On your tax return, you list a beginning inventory amount (the amount of these items you had at the beginning of the year). You add the cost of purchases during the year, and you subtract the amount of these items you sold (at cost, not at sale price!). If not, you make an adjustment so it does – this is breakage, spillage, spoilage, loss, etc. and can be deducted as an expense.
By structuring it this way, the expenses for inventory are only deducted when the item is sold, as opposed to when the items were purchased. This is an important difference to the IRS!
SUPPLIES
As I mentioned earlier, items that are used for many pieces are supplies, not inventory. They are deducted when they are purchased, rather than when they are used.
Supplies typically include items used up over the course of time, such as paints, inks, regular paper (office supply rather than photographic paper), pencils, pens, erasers, tape, etc. Also, these are typically low cost items, where it would take more time to keep track of the cost than the deduction is worth!
WAGES
One of the quirks of a sole proprietorship is that you, as the owner, cannot deduct wages for yourself. You can pay someone else and deduct those, but you simply take extra cash out of the company funds as a withdrawal – this is not deductible. If you are paying someone wages and they are directly responsible for creating inventory, you CAN include that portion of their wages in inventory cost. For example, you create painted vases – you have three apprentices doing the base work for you, prepping the vases for your master’s touch. Their wages can be added to the inventory cost for the vases they prepare.
TIMING AND CASH BASIS
Timing is an important concept in the creation of inventory, and the sale thereof. The IRS likes to see an expense taken in the same month that the sale it is associated with is made (thus inventory). If you sell an item in December of 2004, and the payment is collected in January 2005, then you should record the sale in 2005 – and the associated inventory cost of goods sold. This is called ‘cash basis’ as opposed to ‘accrual basis’. Most sole proprietors and S corporations are on cash basis accounting.
Accrual basis accounting is when you made that sale in December 2004, reported it in 2004, and listed it as a receivable – a sale that is made but not paid for yet.
When you have inventory, you are on ‘modified cash basis’, and that is the preferred method for sole proprietorships, and the one I have found works best with artists.
2. WHAT CAN I DEDUCT AS EXPENSES?
There are several things that people get confused about when considering what can be deducted on a tax return for your business. I will attempt to cover those items that cause the most questions.
EQUIPMENT
One of the most confusing areas is equipment. According to the IRS, if a piece of equipment is a substantial cost (i.e., more than $100) and will last more than one year, you should ‘capitalize’ it.
Equipment can include computers, mat cutters, display booths, desks, software, any number of things. Do not include consumables such as pens, paint, paper, brushes, even if they last longer than one year – the cost of these are minimal and it is a waste of time and paperwork to keep track of them.
That is ONLY allowed if you are making a profit, and if you bought it new (not used). Furniture and fixtures are considered 7 year property, while cars, computers and other electronics are 5 year property. For other items, you can check out www.irs.gov for the list.
TIME/WAGES
As mentioned previously, you can deduct wages paid to someone else, but not to yourself. If you have set up as a Corporation, however (C or S), you CAN deduct your wages – and you must declare them as income on your personal return.
TRAVEL AND MEALS
This is one of the more controversial aspects of IRS law and business deductions. The rules are fairly simple – it’s the interpretation that’s a bear!
You can deduct the costs of travel if you are primarily there on business. If there is some business and some pleasure, you should prorate the costs. If I didn’t have my art in the art show, I would still go, so there is some pleasure factor. However, most of my time is spent in or around the art show, either setting up, tearing down, attending panels, helping the art crawl, schmoozing with other artists, etc. In my interpretation, I spend 80% of my time on business – so I feel justified in deducting 80% of my costs of the trip.
That would include transportation there (we drive, so it’s actual gas expense or mileage at $48.5 cents a mile), the hotel room, the fee for renting the panel, the fee for attending Dragoncon, and 50% of MY meals there.
Other expenses you can take in this area are fees for art shows and galleries, networking club dues, travel to such club meetings, client meetings, and installations. You can even deduct the mileage on trips to the craft store! If you are staying overnight on business travel you can deduct REASONABLE expenses for hotel and meals.
Any deductible meals are only allowable at 50%, and should be directly related to the business, i.e., entertaining potential or existing clients, or traveling on business.
HOME OFFICE
Indirect expenses are those that are paid on the whole house, including mortgage interest, real estate taxes, utilities, homeowner’s insurance, rent, house repairs, etc. Direct expenses would include a dedicated business phone line, repairs or utilities that are for the dedicated work area alone, etc. These are deducted at 100%.
OTHER EXPENSES
There are several other expenses that can be deducted that many people don’t think about. Health insurance for the artist can be deducted, and it is usually better deducted for the business (self-employed health insurance deduction) than on the Schedule A, where it is limited by your income level. This is one of those deductions you can only take if you’ve got a net profit.
Advertising – including mailings to your mailing list, business cards, etc.
Business insurance – something very important. This is separate from health insurance!
Legal or professional services – including the costs of setting up the corporation and doing the taxes each year.
Office supplies or rentals – do you have a water cooler? Postage machine? How about a credit card machine?
Rent of space or equipment – definitely deduct rental trucks or space fees. The booths at the art shows, if they are rented, and the space itself, certainly!
Repairs or maintenance of equipment – yes, this includes your computer if you use it for business! If I use my computer for 90% business, I can deduct 90% of the repairs. Taxes and licenses – property taxes, business licenses, those can all be deducted. Sales tax, however, is NOT a business expense – nor is it income when you collect it. Technically, it is something you collect and hold in order to pass it on to the state government.
Conclusion
Taking responsibility for running your own business is a big step, but it can be done with a little organization and education. Most artists are afraid of the business side of art, and that is understandable. However, the more you know the better you can understand how the business works, and the more you can devote your time, energy and creativity to forming the art you love.

Arts and Crafts Idea

2009-09-14T00:09:00.000-07:00

Crafters are able to come up with arts and crafts ideas from items that many people might consider junk! Arts and crafts ideas can be found in baby food jars, paper bags, shoe boxes, cds, and egg cartons among other items easily found around the home. When you come up with arts and crafts ideas from things you have in your home, you save money on having to purchase supplies from the craft store, and you are helping the environment by recycling.

Shoe boxes are the culprits of many arts and crafts ideas! You can create dioramas, doll houses, and box guitars. The arts and crafts ideas using shoe boxes are virtually endless- limited only by your imagination. You can also use shoe boxes for more traditional means, and create decorative storage boxes for your favorite things, momentos or other objects.
CD's are also great items to encourage arts and crafts ideas. The little hole in the center is perfect for stringing twine or chain through, in order to create hanging arts and crafts. Ideas include Christmas ornaments, candle holders, dreamcatchers, photo frames, clocks and magnets. Clear thirty five millimeter film cannisters can cause many arts and crafts ideas. With a little mirrored paper board (available at a craft store), plastic wrap and cake sprinkles you can make a miniature kaleidoscope. Drill a small hole in the bottom of the film cannister. Fold the mirrored paper board into a triangle shape that will fit inside the cannister, and tape it inside. Place several cake sprinkles in the lid of the cannister and cover with a piece of plastic wrap, taped into place. Pop the cap back onto the cannister. How is that for unique arts and crafts ideas!

Arts and crafts ideas can come from anywhere. You can recycle your empty jelly jars and make beach scenes in a jar, a time capsule, or a candle holder.
Common household items often invoke many arts and crafts ideas.

Ten Great Resources to Market Your Arts and Crafts Online
Selling your arts or crafts used to mean going to street fairs, bazaars, festivals, etc. In that case, the following online resources can help.

Online Marketplaces
1. eBay - The largest auction site, with a huge customer base. Furthermore, keep a close eye on the various fees eBay charges for listings, upgrades and sales. Go on the eBay discussion boards or buy an book such as "Starting an eBay Business for Dummies" to avoid newbie mistakes.
2. Etsy - An online marketplace limited to handcrafted articles and supplies for these. Lower fees than eBay, nice, uncluttered interface, but also a lot of competition.
3. RubyLane - An online marketplace offering "independent shops showcasing quality Antiques, Collectibles, Fine Art and Jewelry items from around the world." Charges various fees for listing, maintenance and advertising.
4. ArtbyUs - An auction site offering various media, but focusing on painting.
Discussion Boards
5. Bead and Button: Ideas for marketing your work. The community forum on the beadandbutton.com site is a great resource for beginners. 6. Reasonable Insanity - Don't be put off by the strange title. These forums at reasonableinsanity.net offer advice about many artistic techniques and media, as well as on selling your creations.
Collections of Articles, Tips, etc.
7. Home Jewelry Business Success Tips - Rena Klingenberg's website home-jewelry-business-success-tips.com is an incredible storehouse of advice about selling your handcrafted jewelry.
8. About.com Arts and Crafts Business - The about.com website is huge, and the Arts and Crafts Business section not only contains useful articles, but also a lively discussion forum.
9. Craft Business - the craftbusinesshome.com website offers a wide array of tips and articles on making money with your crafts.
10. The Artful Crafter - This website also offers numerous tips on crafting techniques and on marketing your products.

Art Supply Online Warehouses - A Great Way To Save

2009-09-11T00:05:00.000-07:00

Martial Arts Supplies

2009-09-08T23:41:00.000-07:00

The popularity of marital arts has also resulted in the innovation of martial art supplies.
Martial arts supplies can be divided into the categories of uniforms, sparring gear, equipment, shoes and clothing. One can also shop for these supplies from famous brands like Macho, Adidas, Nike and Otomix. Uniforms are the most integral part of any martial arts form and can be bought either in a student, middleweight or heavyweight variety. Most martial arts uniforms are also available with accessories like belts and sashes, patches, karate jackets and karate pants. Martial arts weapons, swords and self-defense products are also an intricate part of many disciplines, and one can select from a variety of products like cases, nunchakus, knives, and swords, among others.

Martial arts can be quite dangerous, therefore, it is recommended to buy quality safety equipment and sparring gear that can provide extra protection. Some typical martial arts safety equipment and sparring gears are chest guards, feet pads, hand pads, headgear and mouthpiece. Other accessories that are imperative for marital arts training are body shields, punching bags, hand targets, exercise mats, weighted clothes, etc. However, in order to improve your workouts, one can also buy some miscellaneous martial arts gears such as shoes, key chains and tiger balm.

Thank Heavens for Arts and Craft Supplies and Projects!
Can you imagine what the world would be like we were all deprived of art and craft supplies? Imagine how boring summer camps would be for children! Think of how school lessons would drag on for kids if there was no break to play with arts and crafts supplies!

Luckily, we do not live in such a world. We adults would certainly suffer, as well. What would we do if someone took away all of our acrylic paints, oil paints, leather craft supplies, wood supplies, and other craft supplies? In a sense, I did grow up in a world that lacked art and craft supplies. Well, to put it simply, my parents thought that “art” was a waste of time. They preferred that all of my free time be spent reading and learning. As a homeschooled child with no access to crayons and other craft supplies, I feel that I really missed out on something great. I did not get a chance to try out my artistic skills until I was in my teens! Let me first say that my premier arts and crafts projects were not pretty. I love art! I love crafts! I can think of no better way to spend my time than grabbing a few paintbrushes and some acrylic paint or oil paint and having at it. I love to paint! Of course, I also love paper craft supplies and wood craft supplies and leather craft supplies. My parents would roll over in their graves if they saw my closet full of art and craft supplies! I believe that is very important that all children get very well-rounded educations – this means that they should be surrounded not just by books, but craft supplies, sports supplies, music, and other such things. Children should be given a chance to be creative.

Adults should most definitely surround themselves with scrapbooking supplies, leather craft supplies, paper craft supplies, and other arts and crafts supplies. It is amazing how soothing it can be to work on a craft project after a long day of work. It is good to use a different part of the brain, for a change, too.

Art Supplies Online

2009-09-04T21:46:00.000-07:00

One of the numerous benefits provided by the Internet is to be able to purchase art supplies online. The only other option was to order either by phone or by mail, pay a hefty price, face a limited selection in a catalog as well as the shipping fees and long delivery waiting periods of time.

Now, with the opportunity that you have to shop for art supplies online, you do not only browse amongst a huge selection but also can afford to purchase these items at competitive prices. As for the shipping fees, these online companies often offer deals and low rates for this service which promises a quick delivery.

Teaching at elementary levels means that creativity is a daily part of your students’ educational life. The name of the subject does not matter as hands-on activities requiring art materials such as: markers, crayons, paint and more, are simply an important of their learning experience.

Where can you find good quality art supplies online? Well, there are several companies that offer these school supplies at competitive prices while offering good quality products.
So why not browse their selection of art resources, find and purchase what you need at competitive prices.

Cheap Art Supplies
You can find a variety of art forms everywhere. Art is considered as one of the best forms of expression. For some people, art is the easiest way to convey a message. Resourceful individuals can create masterpieces using indigenous materials and ordinary household items. However, art materials are not always so easily obtained. If you are new to the field of arts, it is advisable that you get cheap art supplies. Affordable items are usually available either in art stores or from art dealers. These products boast less hefty price tags for a variety of reasons. Cheap art supplies are not always unreliable or of low quality. Nowadays, you can find a miscellany of art products online.

Cheap Art Supplies Online
There are advantages to searching for art supplies on the Internet. You have a wide array of choices since there are user-friendly catalogues available to you for browsing. What's more, convenient transactions can be conducted through toll-free numbers. Now you can purchase everything you need without hours of shopping.
In buying art supplies online, you should ask as many questions as possible. Inquire about inventories, prices, discount offers and delivery policies. It would be beneficial for you to gather as much information as you can about the online shop you want to patronize. Testimonials will do great. Here, experts and arts enthusiasts can provide you with useful information.