Gouache is a beautifully vibrant, opaque paint that’s perfect for beginners and experienced hobby artists alike. It combines the easy clean-up of watercolour with the bold, solid coverage of acrylics — making it a wonderfully versatile choice for creative projects.

If you love rich colour, smooth matte finishes and artwork that really pops on the page, gouache might just become your new favourite medium.

Why Artists Love Gouache

✨ Bold, Opaque Colour

Unlike watercolour, gouache isn’t see-through. You can layer light colours over dark, create strong shapes, and build depth without the paper showing through.

💧 Water-Reactive & Forgiving

Made a mistake? No problem. Gouache can be reactivated with water even after it dries, so you can lift, blend and adjust areas as you go — ideal if you’re still building confidence.

🖌 Perfect for Layering

Gouache is fantastic for layering details, highlights and textures. It’s often used for florals, illustrated scenes, character art and decorative designs.

📒 Great for Sketchbooks

Because it’s water-based and compact, gouache is brilliant for sketchbook painting and small creative sessions at your desk.

What You Need to Start with Gouache

You don’t need loads of supplies to begin — just a few well-chosen basics:

• Gouache paint set – Jelly cup sets are especially beginner-friendly, with a wide range of colours ready to use
  
• Soft round brushes – Ideal for both larger areas and small details
  
• Mixed media or watercolour paper – Thick enough to handle moisture without warping
  
• A jar of water & cloth – For cleaning brushes and adjusting paint consistency
  

We carefully curate beginner-friendly gouache supplies that are easy to use and perfect for creative hobbies like journaling, illustration and handmade cards.

Easy Gouache Project Ideas

Not sure what to paint first? Gouache is perfect for:

🌸 Simple floral illustrations

🌅 Soft sunset skies and landscapes

📖 Decorative sketchbook pages

🔖 Hand-painted bookmarks

💌 Illustrated cards and small art gifts

Whether you want to relax with colour, experiment in your sketchbook or create thoughtful handmade pieces, gouache is a joyful and approachable way to explore painting — no art degree required 💜

Paint pens are one of the easiest and most satisfying ways to add bold colour to your creative projects — no palettes, no water jars, and no complicated set-up required.

They combine the control of a pen with the coverage of paint, making them perfect for beginners, crafters and mixed media artists who want strong, vibrant results with minimal fuss.

Whether you’re decorating a journal page, adding highlights to a painting, or creating handmade cards, paint pens are a wonderfully versatile tool to have in your creative kit.

Why Artists & Crafters Love Paint Pens

🎨 Bold, Opaque Colour

Paint pens sit on top of the page, giving bright, solid colour that shows up beautifully — even on darker paper.

✍️ Easy to Control

Because they’re pen-shaped, they’re much easier to handle than a brush. Great for outlines, details, lettering and small decorative touches.

✨ Perfect for Layering

Use paint pens over dried gouache, watercolour or acrylic-style backgrounds to add highlights, patterns and finishing details.

🧼 Less Mess, Less Set-Up

No water pots or palettes needed — just uncap and start creating. Ideal for quick creative sessions or crafting at the kitchen table.

What Can You Use Paint Pens For?

Paint pens are incredibly versatile and work across lots of creative hobbies:

📖 Decorating journals and planners

💌 Designing handmade cards and envelopes

🔖 Customising bookmarks and gift tags

🎨 Adding details to paintings and mixed media art

🖤 Drawing on dark or coloured paper

They’re especially popular for art journaling, scrapbooking and craft projects, making them a brilliant crossover tool if you love combining different creative styles.

Surfaces That Work Best with Paint Pens

For the smoothest results, use paint pens on:

• Mixed media paper
  
• Smooth card or card blanks
  
• Journal covers and thick planner pages
  
• Pre-painted or coloured backgrounds
  

Thicker paper helps prevent ghosting or bleed-through and allows colours to stay crisp and vibrant.

Paint pens are perfect if you want the look of paint with the control of a pen — a fun, low-pressure way to explore colour, pattern and creativity in your own style 💜✨

Water-based colour is a wonderfully flexible way to explore painting, blending and soft artistic effects without needing lots of equipment. These supplies are perfect for beginners, journalers and hobby artists who love fluid colour, gentle gradients and expressive backgrounds.

From watercolour-style brush pens to water brushes and soluble colour tools, this category is all about movement, layering and creative freedom.

Why Artists Love Water-Based Colour

🌈 Soft, Blendable Effects

Water-based colours can be diluted and blended to create smooth transitions, dreamy backgrounds and painterly textures.

🖌 Great for Layered Backgrounds

Perfect for creating colour washes behind lettering, journal spreads, scrapbook pages and illustrations.

💧 Portable & Low Mess

Many water-based tools, like water brush pens, are easy to use without a full painting set-up — ideal for creative time at your desk or on the go.

✨ Versatile Across Creative Hobbies

These supplies work beautifully alongside brush lettering, journaling, scrapbooking and mixed media projects.

Tools You Might Use

Water-based colour doesn’t have to mean traditional palettes. Some beginner-friendly options include:

• Water brush pens for controlled colour and easy blending
  
• Water-soluble brush markers that act like paint when activated with water
  
• Water brushes that hold water in the barrel for mess-free blending
  
• Mixed media or watercolour-friendly paper for best results
  

These tools make it easy to experiment with painterly techniques — even if you don’t think of yourself as “a painter.”

Perfect For…

💌 Soft card backgrounds

📖 Colourful journal pages

🌅 Blended skies and abstract washes

✍️ Lettering backgrounds and decorative borders

🎨 Loose, expressive sketchbook art

Water-based colour is all about play, movement and layering — a lovely way to add atmosphere and personality to your creative projects without needing lots of technical skills 💜

Drawing is where so many creative journeys begin — and it’s still one of the most versatile and accessible art forms. Whether you love detailed line work, loose sketching or building illustrations to add colour to later, the right pens and pencils can bring your ideas to life.

Our curated drawing and illustration supplies are perfect for sketchbooks, character art, journaling details and mixed media projects, making them a natural companion to paints and creative pens.

Why Artists Love Drawing Tools

🖊 Crisp, Clean Line Work

Fineliners and illustration pens are perfect for outlines, patterns and detailed designs that stay sharp and defined.

🌿 Ideal for Sketchbooks

Drawing tools are low-mess, portable and easy to use in short creative sessions — great for building a regular sketchbook habit.

🎨 Perfect Base for Colour

Line drawings pair beautifully with gouache, water-based colour and paint pens. Start with ink, then layer colour over the top for depth and contrast.

✨ Expressive & Personal

From delicate botanical sketches to bold graphic illustrations, drawing tools allow you to develop your own unique style at your own pace.

Tools You Might Use

You don’t need a huge kit to start illustrating. A few versatile tools go a long way:

• Fineliners for precise lines, outlines and patterns
  
• Brush pens for expressive strokes and varied line width
  
• Coloured pencils for soft shading and layered colour
  
• Smooth mixed media or sketch paper for the best drawing surface
  

These tools are beginner-friendly but also loved by experienced artists for their control and reliability.

Perfect For…

📖 Sketchbook illustrations

🌸 Botanical and floral line art

🧍 Character and figure drawing

💌 Illustrated cards and gift tags

🖤 Patterns, borders and decorative details

Drawing and illustration are at the heart of so many creative hobbies — a simple, satisfying way to turn everyday ideas into beautiful handmade art 💜