Today I’ve been thinking about one of the most common questions I see in Facebook cardmaking groups … “I’m new to cardmaking, what should I buy?”.  The answers always intrigue me. Everyone is so passionate about what they think is the best tool or most useful thing to have, and I really love seeing everyone being so helpful to those who are new to the craft.  However, while the answers come from a place of pure enthusiasm, they’re not always going to be what the person who has asked the question actually needs.  I think, when we’ve been cardmaking or scrapbooking for a long time, we forget how we started, and so the recommendations are often items that aren’t quite appropriate for a beginner.  Also, we are all really different, with different budgets, different size spaces and storage capacity, different tastes and different needs.  One person’s essentials may be another person’s waste of money. In one cardmaking group I belong to, there is a running thread in an album that is an excellent resource for members.  When I considered the question, and thought about what I would recommend, I realised that I started with the basics. Over the years I have levelled up as I discovered new products and techniques, my needs and space and tastes changed and I figured out what I liked. My contribution to that thread was pretty comprehensive, so I thought I would share it here on the podcast (in a LOT more detail), as it might come in handy for those of you who are just starting in the fun world of papercraft.  For those of you who aren’t papercrafters, feel free to stick around, as I’ll be discussing some of the reasons when, how and why we level up, which is appropriate to a bunch of other crafts. I started where everyone starts … Level 1 – Absolute Beginner Back in Episode 2, I talked about the top 6 things you need to begin cardmaking, and in Episode 3, I talked about the top 5 things you need to begin stamping.  Here's a link ... LINK – The Craft Room Podcast Episode 2 – https://www.dawnlewis.com.au/podcast2 LINK – The Craft Room Podcast Episode 3 – https://www.dawnlewis.com.au/podcast3 And … for the quilters … Marni Franks from Frankensteins Fabrics joined me in Episode 5 to discuss her top 10 must-have items to begin making a quilt top.  Here's that link ... LINK – The Craft Room Podcast Episode 5 – https://dawnlewis.com.au/podcast5 When you’re starting out, there’s really not very much you NEED to start making cards, scrapbooking, art journals, quilts, or whatever it is that you’re into.  I don’t know anybody who starts with ALL the tools, because, honestly, the cost is prohibitive, and who has space for all that stuff when you don’t even know what you’re doing yet? So here’s me .. back when I started, about 30 years ago, at level one as a cardmaker.  I sourced most of my supplies at the big Stitches & Craft Show, which I would attend religiously twice a year after saving my craft pennies for six months.  I was into stamps pretty much straight away, and I was super careful about what I spent my money on.  In my cardmaking box (yes, everything fit into one box … incredible!) I had … Cardstock – white, black, coloured Speciality papers Cutting Tools – craft knife, ruler, self healing cutting mat Stamps Ink pads – black and coloured Adhesive Scissors Punches We are talking very late 80’s / early 90’s, and there was nowhere near the range available then as there is now.  No clear stamps, so no need for an acrylic block.  This is actually quite close to the list that I recommend for now, so I wasn’t far off the ideal set-up.  I rarely use punches now, but back then I used them all the time.  It was the trend of the time, punches were readily available, and nobody had die-cutting machines … I’m not even sure if they were on the scene at all yet.  I was able to create cute cards, quickly and easily.  I chose items that I felt I would get a lot of use out of, and I was happy creating cards in my spare time.  Until the inevitable happen