You Don't Need All the Things: Real Talk About Starting with What You Have

Hey friend —

Let’s have a little heart-to-heart, shall we?

How many times have you watched a tutorial, got all excited, and then immediately thought,

“Oh no... I don’t have those supplies. I guess I can’t start yet.”

Yeah. Been there. More than once. Like… dozens of times. 🙃

It’s that sneaky little voice that whispers,
“You need more before you can begin.”

And suddenly, you're spiraling into a late-night shopping cart full of tools, trimmers, stencils, binders, brushes, glue #47 and that $32 ink pad everyone swears by… because clearly this is the magic ingredient that’ll finally unlock your creative genius.

Spoiler alert: It won’t.

That's why ALL my Supply Lists and Tutorials say "Suggested Supplies"!!!!

When I first started painting , I was convinced I needed it ALL. If someone used it in a YouTube video, I needed it. If it was “trending,” I bought it. If it was sparkly? Add to cart.

And then guess what happened?

Nothing. Nada. Just a bunch of untouched supplies staring at me while I sat there feeling completely overwhelmed, wondering where the heck to even begin.

I used my 3 favorite brushes and about 6 colors out of the 25 Acrylic colors I already owned. 

Here’s the thing I wish someone told me:

You do not need a craft store explosion in your dining room to start making beautiful, meaningful, creative things.

Seriously. All you really need is:

• 3 decent paint brushes
• white, black, red, blue and yellow acrylic paint, (maybe throw in a fun purple or bright green)
• A multi media pad (I like the 9X12 Canson Multi Media pads. You can get yours here: https://amzn.to/40RMOm3
• A good pair of scissors
• A couple types of glue- I like these Glue Sticks from Darice. 
• Some paper you love (junk mail counts!)
• Basic binding supplies (hello, washi, thread, or even rubber bands)
• A sprinkle of curiosity
• And a pinch of “let’s just see what happens”
• That’s it.

In fact, the fewer supplies I use, the more creative I actually feel. Fewer choices = more freedom.

Here is my Amazon list of some of my favorite supplies. 

Less pressure. Less second-guessing. Less “Am I doing this right?” Honestly, the less I think about my paint strokes, the better they are at this point. 
Just make something because it feels good.

When I share tutorials, go live on YouTube, or host one of my classes, I always try to give you options. I want you to feel empowered to use what you already have, not pressured to shop before you create. There’s room for everyone at this crafty table — and trust me, no one’s judging your glue stick or your kid’s scissors.

So if you’ve been waiting until you have all the “right” supplies before starting your first acrylic painting or junk journal, this is your permission slip to start anyway. Right now. With what’s already in your stash.

Because friend, what you have is enough.

And so are you. 💛

Now go dig into that pile of paper scraps, grab a glue stick, and just begin. I’ll be right here cheering you on (iced coffee in hand, of course).

-teresa XO