If you are new to rubberstamping, you may feel a bit daunted by all the equipment that is available. You have probably seen some pictures of stamp rooms where the walls are covered head to toe with thousands of stamps. Some of these decked out rooms have cricut machines, professional paper cutters, and all sorts of other high end equipment that easily can run into the thousands of dollars. However all this equipment is certainly not necessary when starting out! With a few key beginner stamping supplies you can go along way and make many beautiful cards. Lets go through some of the essentials:

Rubberstamps

Certainly if your going to do stamping, one of the most important stamping supplies is rubberstamps. I would recommend getting at least a handful of general use stamps when starting out. A great place to get cheap stamps is at the dollar store. The stamps here tend to be medium sized and are often very generalized in nature, which is perfect if you dont have alot of stamps. You will often find stamps of hearts, trees, stars, fruit, and other generic types of objects that are great to use in many situations. Another great place to look for cheap beginner stamps is at your local craft stores dollar bin. Many of the large stores have dollar bins where they put all the old stamps, books, ribbon, and other items they are trying to get rid of. Hunt around and you can find some excellent deals.

Ink Pads

The one thing that goes hand in hand with rubberstamps is an ink pad. If you are just starting out, go ahead and purchase one nice large black ink pad that is suitable for stamping. This will get you far in your stamping since most beginner stamping is with your normal black ink anyways. You can skip the special reinkers, embossing pads, and rainbow pads for right now.

Card Stock

You are definately going to need some decent paper when stamping. You can use plain construction paper if you have to, but one of the first things you should do is invest in some inexpensive cardstock of varying colors. A decent cardstock will go a long way in making your cards more professional looking. Using a decent stock and quality of paper will also make stamping on it easier, as well as making gluing and other effects easier and cleaner.

Other Critical Items

There are some basic tools that are necessary when starting stamping. These can usually be found around the house and will work almost as well as the 'stampers version' of the tools which are often specially made with stampers in mind.

- A quality pair of scissors for cutting.
- A standard foot long ruler for measuring and folding.

Other Household Items

- Colored Pencils.
- Buttons and beads.
- Paper clips, staples, eyelets.
- Ribbons and fabric.
- Clear plastic bags.
- Dried Flowers.
- Stickers.
- Food coloring.
- Magazines and photos.

This is really just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to all the beginner stamping supplies you can find around the house. Dont worry if you cant rush out to the crafting depot and purchase thousands of dollars worth of supplies right now. Start small and you can build your collection as you go along. Your creativity knows no bounds. Happy Crafting!