I’ve noticed that the supply list for Ever After is quite similar to Lifebook so If you have bought art supplies for either of these courses, you are probably good to go. Some of the art supplies listed are easier to find in the UK than they are in the US so I’ve gone through and found alternatives you can find on Amazon or in retail art stores in the U.S.
Watercolor Paper for Life Book
Tamara recommends watercolor paper over mixed media paper because lots of the art lessons are pretty “wet” She uses hot-pressed paper sometimes in a block. For the US market, hotpress paper is harder to find and quite a bit more expensive so you can experiment with what you can find. I have found that Strathmore WC Paper works well for me but I’m going to try some hotpress I found at Hobby Lobby in Life Book 2020.
Several people in the class are using art journals this year and I’m attempting that as well with this beauty that my husband gifted me with for Christmas. It’s SO LARGE for me but I’m determined to give it a go.
Strathmore 32 page 11×14 watercolor journal
It comes in several sizes and I’m excited to try it out.
Strathmore 11 x 14 US UK or Canada
Strathmore 8 1/2 x 11 US UK or Canada
Paints for Life Book and any of Tamara Laporte’s classes
Tam’s favorite mixed media supply seems to be Caran D’Ache Neocolor II crayons, she also uses artist watercolor crayons that are no longer being made but you can find them on occasion in art supply stores, they are called Neoart. In the UK and Canada these are called Watercolor Pastels. It is the same product.
Click to order Amazon US – Amazon UK – Amazon Canada
Or Jane Davenports Watercolor Crayons at Michaels or Amazon
Flesh Tone Acrylics
Flesh tone acrylics are of course quite important to create Tam’s iconic whimsical ladies. It doesn’t have to be expensive.
Jane Davenport has a nice set of flesh-colored and blush-colored acrylics.
Ceramcoat Santa’s Flesh is also a favorite.
CLICK HERE to order Amazon US, UK or Canada
Posca Paint Pens are perfect for fine details and work over every type of art medium and then dry permanently.
Tam recommends 1 white & 1 black posca pen with a fine nib
Gel medium or (impasto gel) either Liquitex or Golden Matte Gel are fine but get Matte not gloss.
Gesso – Once again either Liquitex or Golden works perfectly. Make sure you get Matte. Gesso’s regular state is white but it also comes in clear and black. You can also tint Gesso. You’ll learn all about this magical substance in the Lifebook art lessons
Jane Davenport also makes a nice duo of gesso & mat medium in small tubes if you just want to get your feet wet before you invest in a larger artist quality jar.
Art Supply Shopping
Sometimes I think searching for and collecting art supplies is my favorite part of the process. Collage Papers can really be things you already have, sheet music, book pages, movie tickets, scrapbooks or cardmaking paper you already have in your collection. Pick things that have colors that make you happy! Places to look for old books & sheet music are the library used book stores or thrift shops. You can also print interesting papers off of the internet. The New York Library free to use image collection is amazing to find unique ideas. Sometimes art supplies are found in the strangest places. Did you know that pretty printed napkins make amazing backgrounds in your art journal or mixed media projects? I didn’t either until taking this course. The best variety and prices I’ve found in the US is at Tuesday Morning.
Washi Tape
Washi Tape is meant to be a semi-permanent tape so you can reposition it or use it to hold things down while the mat gel gesso dry. There are so many colors and designs, I, of course, adore all the Jane Davenport designs because she uses lots of aqua and pink and mermaid ocean themes.
Don’t forget to use your coupons online at Michaels and then decide to use the free shipping or to have it delivered to the store for you to pick up.
I love Strathmore paper, but have a problem with the size. Because it is an American size, it won’t fit in a normal home printer which here in England the largest size is A4. This means cutting it down which is so hard to do accurately. It doesn’t matter too much if doing ones own artwork; but if wanting to print off a pdf for adult colouring for example it is more difficult. I keep saying I will try one of the tinted colours – paper heaven.
Oh yes I’m sure, On Tamara’s website she lists WC paper for those folks in the UK, I had difficulties finding those papers so I wanted to offer up the options I came with for US folks. I don’t know why we Yanks like to have everything a special size and don’t use the metric system! This comes into play when I want to buy cookbooks from my all-time favorite show the Great Brittish Back Off, the recipes don’t always translate well.