Our craft supplies section offer an array of specialised materials to help with a wide variety of craft projects, most of which can be enjoyed by kids and adults alike. Craft projects for children can be a fantastic educational extra-curricular activity as it encourages creativity and stimulates thought processes. Many of the subsections in craft supplies have PDF how-to instruction sheets and videos that are there to inspire and suggest ways of using the materials in a way that could customise or decorate objects around your home. As well as having a function, applied craft projects are also fun and allow you to practise and develop skills with your hands.
The materials that we sell will enable you to try your hand at many different craft projects, including silk painting, fabric painting, glass painting, clay and polymer clay modelling, stencilling, collage and so on. We also have ‘Creativity for Kids’ packs by Faber Castell which include everything you need from materials to instructions to complete a craft project with your child (the recommended age range of each kit is specified on the back page).
The craft of silk painting is versatile and can produce both striking and bold effects, as well as gentle patterns and intricate detailing. Silk Paint is fluid and designed to sink into the silk material. It may have a little tendency to bleed, which can create interesting effects, but also sometimes unwanted effects too! In order to prevent silk pain from spreading a thicker resist paint, called gutta is available. Gutta usually comes in a foil tube with a very fine nozzle. Gently squeeze the tube to dispense thin, uniform lines onto your silk. The outlines of strong geometric designs can be drawn on with the gutta (which is usually available in a range of colours, as well as clear) and left to dry before you can freely fill in the shapes with your desired colours, safe in the knowledge that it will not spread to places you do not want it to. As with any painting project on fabric, it is easiest to stretch your silk in order to paint it, as this will keep the fabric in one place, make it more difficult to apply your paint in the wrong place, and also help you to achieve fine and intricate marks. We sell specially designed silk stretching frames for this purpose;pins are supplied to fix the silk to the frame. Silk Painting is fun and produces unique results set apart from other painting processes. Silk painting can be used to decorate clothing such as silk scarves and blouses, it can also decorate home furnishings such as silk cushions, or it can be used to create works of art that can be framed and hung on a wall just like a watercolour, oil or acrylic painting might. Different brands of silk paint will have slightly different instructions, but on the whole, your works on silk can be fixed by heat-setting (i.e. with an iron). Once fixed they will be washable. Silk paints are acrylic resin based and therefore can be washed with soap and water. The best brushes to use are very soft synthetic or natural hair, such as squirrel mop.
Silk Painting Product Ranges:
Acrylicos Vallejo Silk Colour
Marabu Contours and Effects
Marabu Silk Auxiliaries
Marabu Silk Colour
Pebeo Silk Colour
Silk Painting Brushes
Fabric Painting is the art or craft of painting on heavier duty fabric than silk - you will find that some fabric paints are noticeably thicker in consistency but most can be thinned either with water, or with special thinners available in the range. The majority of fabric paints are best used on lighter coloured fabrics, although some brands such as Permaset and Marabu do offer ‘super cover’ ranges that work well on dark fabrics, as the colours are extra opaque and will not be influenced by the colour of the material underneath. Just like silk paints, fabric paints are heat set with an iron (or in some cases you can put the painted fabric in an oven!), after which they can be washed in a washing machine if using a delicate setting. Printing is often a popular method for decorating clothing - the Colourist paints are great for monotyping on T-shirts. You simply paint your design on a sheet of paper, allow it to dry and then iron it onto the fabric, bearing in mind that the design will come out in reverse. Permaset fabric inks are primarily designed for screen printing techniques, another very popular method for decorating T-Shirts as the same design can be printed on a large quantity of T shirts within a relatively short space of time.
Fabric Painting Product Ranges:
Airbrush painting is the process by which very fluid acrylic paint is blown through a metal diffuser, spreading thin layers of paint onto a surface. The layers of paint are formed of thousands of tiny droplets of paint. This makes it very easy to blend colours with one another, or layer them seamlessly. For this reason airbrushing is a good technique with which to paint hyper-realistic works. Because application of colour is consistently thin and even, airbrushing is often used to decorate walls (murals) or the sides of cars, and model airplanes and other vehicles! Airbrush is also often used with stencils, in order to achieve clean, crisp edges. Fluid acrylic paint needs to be thinned in order to be used with an airbrush, and we do sell acrylic thinners especially for this purpose (by Golden acrylics). Our airbrush section has a comprehensive guide to all the different components available to try ‘professional’ airbrushing techniques, and we also sell a fantastic selection of books on airbrush art too.
Stencilling is a useful craft that can be applied in lots of different creative projects. It is when a template is placed onto the surface that is to be painted, which has a hole that is the shape of where you want paint to go; the ‘frame’ formed by the template masks off areas of your support to stop paint from going there. Stencils are often used by graffiti artists, but they are not only used with acrylic spray paint or airbrush: they can also be very useful when decorating walls - sponging paint through a stencil is a popular technique. Stencils can be made of anything that will not absorb paint or buckle when wet. Our recommendation would be frisket film, which is made of clear plastic. It is easily cut with a scalpel or craft knife and it is sticky on one side so that it keeps its position easily on the surface being stencilled. AV Arte Deco is an ideal paint to use if you wish to try your hand at stencilling. It is acrylic based and can be washed with soap and water.
Collage and Mixed Media
Collage and mixed media is a skilled craft that can be developed with practise over time, yet it is something that anyone visually creative can enjoy. Collage and mixed media is a popular scrapbooking technique, and can be a great way to document observations of the world around you; a way of recording ideas and inspirations. It can also be used to create unique works of art for display. It can also be used to decorate objects, such as book covers. At Jackson’s we sell lightfast Clairefontaine Maya paper which is available in a choice of weights and a wide variety of vivid colours.
Collage and Mixed Media Supplies:
At Jackson’s we sell very thin sheets of copper anodized aluminium (one side copper / one side silver) and pure copper (a medium-heavy foil, 6-7 times thicker than household foil). These sheets are sufficiently malleable to emboss by using the special copper engraving tools to draw your image or pattern. As well as this the copper can easily be cut down to size or drawn on, and can even be shaped to cover a 3-dimensional object. The lines you draw on the copper using the engraving tool can be viewed from either side of the sheet, so you have the choice of either creating an embossed work or an engraved work. Embossed copper could be used to decorate a jewellery box, or decorate a book cover in bookbinding projects. There are many possibilities and the results are visually captivating and unique.
Copper Engraving Supplies:
Clay modelling or sculpture is a fine art form, but is also considered a great crafting material for fun and creative projects for children and adults. In this section we offer air-dry clay and polymer clay. Air-dry clay is supplied in a vacuum pack that retains the moisture - once open you must make sure that any not being worked with is kept in an airtight back as it really does set quite quickly (especially smaller pieces). We sell modelling tools that allow you to shape small pieces accurately, or add fine details (for example the contours of a figure, hairs of an animal). Once dry the clay form can be further refined with sanding. If you want to add colour, you might like to prime the form with acrylic primer (if you are using a grey or terracotta clay this will help to make the colours you use appear vibrant). The fluid acrylic colours such as AV Arte Deco, Golden Fluid acrylics etc are our recommendation as the thin consistency does not add any unwanted body or texture. Polymer clay is coloured synthetic clay that usually is set in an oven. The most famous brand of polymer clay is Fimo, and they have both classic and soft varieties for differences in preference, they also have a Fimoair range, which is an air dry polymer clay. A less known brand of polymer clay is Sculpey, but the quality is just as good. Both ranges offer some excellent project based kits for children that include pictures and instructions so that a specific object can be created, for example animals or jewellry. Finished work in polymer clay or regular air dry clay can be varnished once they are set. This will not only make them look glossy but help protect them and make them easy to wipe clean.
Clay Modelling Supplies:
Scraperboard and Cooper Foil Supplies
Scraperboard art is made by scratching into a specially prepared board. Scraperboard is sometimes referred to as scratchboard, and is made of a rigid sheet of card that has been layered with a china clay coating, which has been sprayed with an even layer of indian ink. By scratching into the board using the special cutting tools you remove the indian ink to reveal the white of the clay underneath. Cutters are available in sets in a range of shapes to make a variety of marks. The blades fit into a handle and can be swapped around whenever you need. We also sell scraperboard that has not had ink applied to the surface - with these you can ink them up in any colour you desire. Scraperboard art can be incredibly detailed as you can easily achieve very fine lines and detail; the most precise scraperboard works are very impressive. Scraperboard is an inexpensive yet intricate craft that is capable of producing stunning results. Copper Foil Craft kits from Reeves work on a similar principle to conventional scraperboard, except when you scratch away at copper foil boards the marks made reveal a shimmering metallic colour underneath.
Scraperboard and Copper Foil Supplies:
Glass paints are transparent and available as solvent based or acrylic based colour. They dry to a high gloss and are ideal for replicating stained glass effects. The highest quality paints are heat set in an oven, after this time the paint is secure and washable. We sell glass paints by Marabu and Pebeo which are suitable for decorating windows as well as painting on glass vases and ornamental bowls, glass ornaments, drinking glasses, glass plates, tealight holders etc. Anything glass!
Glass Painting Supplies:
Porcelain and Ceramic Painting
For those who are not trained ceramicists but like idea of decorating clay and ceramic work with colour, Jackson’s sells a number of different paints designed especially for use on porcelain and ceramics. They dry to a high gloss which replicates traditional kiln fired glazes, but are much easier to apply and can be done in the home. The paints are suitable for use by crafters of all ages (adult supervision advised for the younger ones). Paints can be applied with regular paint brushes. Ceramic paints by Pebeo are best used on unglazed ceramics that have been primed with the filler undercoat - there is still a lot of absorbency on this surface. The porcelain paints are better used on glazed ceramics such as crockery, tea cups and saucers and so on, as a way of decorating something you have already made or you have bought and wish to decorate with paint. In the Pebeo porcelain range there is also a range of outliners - these, like silk gutta, are supplied in a tubes with a very fine nozzle. The colour is a little thicker in consistency than the regular porcelain paint and is designed to be used by the artist to draw on an initial design, before the regular paint is used to fill in the shapes. Marabu Glas Painter pens are specially designed marker pens than will adhere to glass without the need to oven fix once your work is done. They are available in a range of different width nibs.
Porcelain and Ceramic Painting Supplies:
Marbling has been a popular crafting activity in schools, for children of ages, as it is simple yet the results are exciting and unpredictable. It is the art of decorating a surface with thin streaks of colour to create an effect that mimics natural marble stone. We sell marbling colour by Pebeo and Marabu that can be used at home or in the studio or classroom.
Homemade greeting cards not only save money but they are more personal and allow anyone to explore their creative side. Having a reason to do so (as a gesture to a friend) is also added motivation to try something you may not normally do. We sell a range of different blank greeting cards that are designed to enhance the appearance of a range of different art and craft approaches. Blank inkjet cards by Strathmore allow you to print your favourite photograph, painting, drawing or found image. The different textures available will have influence over the appearance of your printed image; there is ‘white textured’, ‘watercolour’, ‘matt’, ‘gloss’, ‘pearl’ and ‘canvas’ to choose from, which can help to replicate the texture of the original image. The special coating of the inkjet cards will fix your colours and make them appear more vivid. In addition there are also photo frame cards that make it easy for you to turn a photograph into a truly unique greeting card.
Greeting Cards Supplies: