The structure of Wanderlust 2024 focuses on exploring mixed-media through different supplies. That’s why it’s important that you have some basics to work with, and the rest is optional. Below you’ll find two supply lists. Essentials (in rough order of appearance) and extras. Please keep in mind that you don’t have to have all of these supplies before the course starts. Also don’t let this list intimidate you - you don’t need to know much about any of these supplies before the course starts.

The essentials

These supplies will repeat in many lessons throughout the year and will be used in different ways. If you currently have nothing choose a few from this list to start off. See below for descriptions, tips and colour suggestions.

• An art journal
• Pencils
• Pens
• Palette knives
• Acrylic gesso
• Acrylic paints
• Papers & fabrics
• Glue
• Paintbrushes
• Silicone brush
• Spray bottle

The extras

These supplies will be used more sporadically, some may appear only once. We suggest that you don’t buy any of them until you watch the lesson in which they are used and then decide that this is something you want to try. The last thing we want you to do is to spend money on expensive products that will end up unused in your drawer.

• Pastels
• Stencils 
• Gel medium
• Texture paste
• Stamps
• Lino carving block & tool
• Watercolours
• Needle & thread
• Heat embossing tools
• Paper punches
• Needle-point applicator
• Sponge
• Gelatine printing plate + a brayer

Please remember you don't have to buy all of these supplies. Give yourself time to learn about products, watch the Wanderlust videos and then choose what you want to try. Though remember that Wanderlust is about trying new things so if there is something you were always afraid to use, now is the right time!

Additionally, each Teacher will have their own product list that will be published in the classroom a few weeks before the lesson goes live. Even though we ask our Teachers to keep the products simple, it may happen that it will include something that wasn’t mentioned on the product list above.

The article below isn't sponsored by any brand and all recommendations are based on our subjective opinions and experience. All links lead to the Everything Art shop (UK shipping only) so feel free to use them as reference.

Descriptions, recommendations and tips from Kasia:

The essentials

An art journal - prepare a journal that you are going to work in. You will need at least one to last you through the year. We will create at least 50 artworks so make sure it has enough space for that if each takes two pages. As you’ll approach the second half of the course you may notice that your book is feeling full even if there are still some blank pages. It may be a good idea to then get yourself another art journal to fill in. But start with just one. 

The paper - make sure the paper is matte and thick enough (I recommend at least 190g/m2). My favourites are Dylusions Creative Journal (in all sizes) and Stathmore Mixed Media Visual journal in 9" x 12" size, Fabriano (15x23cm) or Pink Pig (8x8")

The binding - choose a book that you like and feels nice. Wire bound or stitched will all work fine. 

I also keep a sketchbook for ideas and quick drawings - a small Pink Pig book or a soft sketchbook is all you need. But anything that’s small and easy to grab will be good.

Pencils - it will be useful to have two plain pencils, one soft (2B) and one hard (HB). We'll also be working with watersoluble pencils in some of the classes, e.g. Stabilo Woodys (that's our BIG favourite!), watercolour pencils, Stabilo All's or any others you have to hand.

Pens - there will be classes using fine liner pens, e.g. black Sakura Pigma Micron 05, 03 and black Faber - Castell PITT artist pen. Helen Colebrook will be using Tombow brush markers in her lettering class but you could use any brush pen. There will also be a class on dip pens/ bamboo pens. Optional: metallic pens.

Palette knives -metal palette knives are my favourite, but to start with you can try cheaper plastic ones. You will need at least two different sizes - a small one and medium.

Acrylic gesso - white gesso is the most important but I'm sure you will also find a clear gesso with smooth finish very useful.

Try to choose better quality gesso as it won't turn yellow (well known brands will usually have good quality gesso, Daler Rowney, Golden, Wisonr&Newton, Liquitex) over time and will provide you with a better surface to work on. They are all similar in texture. If you want to get clear gesso, it would be better to choose one with smooth or medium smooth finish. (for instance Liquitex is quite coarse, my favourite clear ones are Holbein Medium and Prima Marketing Clear Gesso by Finnabair). Choosing a smoother finish will allow you to use your gesso in a bigger variety of projects.

Acrylic paints - there are two kinds that lots of teachers will use: heavy body (thick) and fluid (thin, liquid almost).

Now this may sound like a lot, but please remember you don’t need many colours to get started and you can go for artist quality (those with names that come from pigments) or craft quality (such as Fresco Finish by Paper Artsy).

We would always recommend getting a smaller basic colour palette of acrylics rather than tons of tubes that may get wasted. So if you're just starting out, try not to go for a ready made set of several colours, but choose single smaller tubes of colour that you really like. At the end of the day this is about the fun of painting and so I would love you to use colours that bring you joy.

If you’re starting with nothing then have a good look online or at your local art shop and choose two or three colours of each kind - heavy body, fluid and craft. And then also add heavy body white, black and one of the earthy, burnt colours (burnt umber, burnt sienna or similar). This will already give you a massive choice of colours and options and will allow you to do most of the lessons. As the course goes on you’ll learn more about colours and kinds of paint you truly enjoy. Remember, you can always treat yourself to another colour later on but you can’t take a tube back to the shop after it's sat hardly used in your drawer for months. 

Papers & fabrics - throughout the classes we'll be using tissue paper (save some from gifts or new clothes/ shoes!), teabag paper (save from new or used teabags) tracing paper and old photographs (you can pick these up at car boot or yard sales), amongst other papers. Cost free options can also be random leaflets, cut outs from magazines, postcards, labels, old book pages, pretty illustrations, old envelopes, old cards, notebook paper, napkins. In one class we'll also be using some fabric scraps, so if any of your favourite clothes wear out, save the fabric! If you’re starting with nothing ask around, for instance on your local FB group, if anyone has any magazines or postcards that they want to get rid of. 

Glue stick and PVA glue - glue stick is a must, PVA glue (the white, liquid kind that kids use at school) is optional as you could use your gel medium instead. But I like to have a bottle of PVA anyway because it’s much cheaper than gel medium.

Paintbrushes - if possible try to invest in better quality brushes. Their bristles won't change and fall off. Buy the best you can afford, you won’t regret that.

A perfect starting kit would be: one round big nylon brush (my favourite is Pro Arte Polar 12 ), at least two flat soft synthetic brushes in different sizes (e.g. Ranger Artist Brushes or Acrylix). I also always have one inexpensive bigger brush for my glue and gel medium. If I accidentally forget about washing it and the glue dries then I don’t have to worry that I wasted my best, expensive brush.

Silicone brush - this tool is very versatile, and very enduring - there are no bristles to ruin! Perfect for colour mixing, applying large, smooth areas of paint, mark-making and creating texture, they're ideal for a lot of different mixed-media techniques and they're extremely easy to clean. They're featured in one class in particular, but you'll see them cropping up a few times throughout the course. There are silicone brushes by Prima Marketing and Catalyst in our shop but if you go to your local art shop you may find other less known brands. So just ask for a silicone brush. NOT silicone shaper brushes, as these are much smaller and won't give you the result we're looking for here.

Spray bottle - a little bottle with a fine nozzle will be very useful to spray water on your water-based mediums. You don’t need to buy one, check out your cupboards, you may already have something that can be reused (think window cleaning products, hair products - just wash it and fill it with water).

The extras

Gelatine printing plate and a brayer - We will be using gel plates at least twice during the year and it's a tool worth investing in as it will provide you with hours and hours of fun. There are various brands, but if you decide to buy go for a medium size gelli plate and a brayer that’s slightly smaller than the width of your plate.

Pastels - Any brand will be fine but the most useful will probably be soft dry pastels (a couple of colours that you like will be enough) My current favourite brand is Unison. Optional: a watersoluble pastel or two (for instance Neocolor II).

Stencils - there are lots of brands that do some amazing stencils. For our course I would recommend getting a background stencil (a pattern that can be repeated) rather than an object kind of stencil (like a guitar, or a face). A background stencil will give you more options and you’ll be able to use it over and over again. Some most popular brands are StencilGirl, Tim Holtz and The Crafters Workshop.

Gel medium - if you don't have any choose a soft one (thinner) at the beginning. It works perfect as an adhesive and a medium for transfer techniques. I'm using mostly Soft Gel from Golden, but any other brand will also work just as well.

Texture paste - also known as modelling paste. This will be occasionally used by different teachers. Can be substituted with thick gesso or thick gel medium (you could add fine sand or baking soda to both products for extra texture). If you choose to invest in a jar of modelling paste, I'd recommend one that says "light" on the packaging because it dries faster.

Stamps - same as with stencils, go for patterns. One of my big favourites is Viva LasVegaStamp - they have a massive choice and are pretty inexpensive. You can purchase stamps that are mounted on a piece of foam or wood (they are ready to use and you’ll get best, most precise result), but my personal favourite are unmounted stamps (simply a piece of rubber), which you can either mount yourself or like me, use as it is. I like a little bit of randomness in my mixed-media so the result that I get from using unmounted stamps is exactly what I crave. Everything Art has it's own line of stamps created in partnership with PaperArtsy. See all designs here.

Lino carving block & tool - you can buy a small kit to try this. You'll only need one carving block and carving tool. For another class there will be some simple foam stamp making, so if that's something you would like to try, you could buy a small sheet of foam (or maybe you even have some already in the kids' craft box?)

Watercolours - I do a lot of mixed-media but I mostly get by with just five or six tubes of watercolour paint. This is because I chose the colours I truly love and use over and over again. And I also decided to go for a high quality brand - Daniel Smith which has an amazing finish and ultra high granulation (meaning the pigment particles are large and they settle and dry on paper giving you an out of this world look full of depth and sparkle). With products such as craft acrylics, gel medium or modeling paste you can definitely go for a cheaper option, but with watercolours it’s worth getting the best you can afford. You can go for tubes or pans. Tubes have more intense colours, pans are usually a little cheaper and more portable. Choose three or four colours that you love and this will do nicely for the year. Have a look at some of these: Daniel Smith watercolour tubes, Golden Watercolours, Pan palettes - I recommend these half pans: Sennelier l'Aquarelle Watercolour Half Pan , Winsor & Newton set.

Needle and thread - we'll be doing a little bit of slow stitching in our class with Lisa Goddard. You may already have these a needle and thread in a sewing kit, no need to buy anything fancy. I'm sure this addition to your journal pages is one you'll love - you can experiment with different types and thicknesses of thread and find what you like best! Add a little bit of string to your kit, too.

Heat embossing tools - for this technique in Vicky Papaioannou's class, you'll use embossing powder, usually applied with a stamp, and embossing ink , then set with a heat gun (heat gun recommendations in the next section) Please note, embossing will be featured on maximum 2-3 lessons, so it's really not essential that you get the kit for it.

Paper punches - we're bringing them back for Wanderlust 2024! Somewhat of a lost supply, you might have one or two of these lurking, unloved, at the back of a drawer from your scrapbooking days. Bring them back out into the light, or alternatively you could use a basic office hole punch, or even the punch fixture on a cropodile!

Needle-point applicator - this is the perfect tool for precise application. Tania Ahmed will be showing us how she uses one in her art journals.

Sponge - either a natural or synthetic (e.g. makeup sponge) will be ideal. You could even use a foam pad for distress inks if you have some to hand.

Also useful to have during the course

Craft heating gun or a hair dryer - For making the drying process faster. Heating gun makes it easier though. It’s hotter and doesn’t blow away as much. I'm using a Ranger Heat It Craft Tool, but any other will be fine as well (e.g. American Crafts Zap embossing heat gun, Martha Stewart Crafts heat tool, Dovecraft Pink Heat Tool. A hair dryer will also do, though it cannot be used for heat embossing techniques (mentioned above)

Palette for colour mixing - I like to use an old plate or a piece of toughened glass (Ikea Billy glass shelves are great!) as it can be washed and used again.

Disclaimer: this is not sponsored, and unless otherwise stated all products were purchased by us and our teachers.