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Let's be honest, when I start a new hobby, I want all the things. Let me repeat myself. All. The. Things. It's a problem really! I wanted to do embroidery. Now I have three, yes, three embroidery machines and I don't do embroidery anymore (anyone want to buy a machine??). When I started painting door hangers, I bought ALL THE PAINT. All the brushes. All the blank door hangers. Now, this hobby has stuck and become a business, so I can overlook my paint hoarding, but I wanted to give you my best "starter kit" if you are just getting started painting.
My paint of choice is DecoArt Americana. I like the color selection and variety annd, more importantly, the consistency of the paint. It has the best coverage, in my opinion. That said, right now DecoArt Americana can be hard to find.. There has been a bit of a shortage of paint since the quarantine during Covid-19. Many of the craft stores have a limited supply and some colors are even hard to find on the DecoArt website.
Also, many of my Front Door Fancy members do not live close to a craft store that sells the DecoArt paints. Therefore, I am giving you my top Apple Barrel paint colors. Apple Barrel paint is sold at Walmart and is $.50 a bottle. Most stores have a good supply.
For this starter kit, I visited a local Walmart and got most of the supplies off the craft aisle. The total for everything that I purchased was $24.05.
These are my top 25 colors:
1. Khaki
2. Antique White
3. Cool Blue
4. Tuscan Teal
5. Pewter Grey
6. Lilac Mist
7. Purple Pansy
8.English Navy
9. Admiral Blue
10. Key West (personal favorite)
11.Laguna
12. Kings Gold
13. Yellow Flame
14. Bright Yellow
15. Sunny Day
16. Lime Tree
17. Christmas Green
18. English Ivy Green
19. Harvest Orange
20. Pink Eraser
21. Flag Red
22.Barn Red
23. Chestnut
24. Melted Chocolate
25. Burnt Umber
Additionally, I would buy a larger bottle of white and black. Apple Barrel also has a great dark grey color called Pavement. It is a staple in my craft room. Apple Barrel does not have great orange colors, in my opinion. I suggest seeking "Spiced Pumpkin" from DecoArt for a nice, warm orange color.
I also picked up a couple of packs of brushes. If you have watched me paint, you will know that I live the triangle handle brushes. They are easy to hold and paint with. The pack has six brushes and the pack is about $4.00.
I am terrible about leaving my brushes in the water when I finish painting. That will ruin a wooden handled brush faster than one of these brushes because they have a hard plastic handle. NOTE: It's never good to leave your brushes in the water because it will cause your bristles to bend and makes them harder to use.
Additionally, I bought this blue handled pack of brushes. This set has a lot of detail brushes. These are important for outlining your designs and for highlighting. These are also found on the craft aisle at Walmart. There is a great variety of sizes with this set.
Between these two sets, I have all of the different brushes that I need to complete most any project. I love the flat edge, angled edge and detail brushes that these sets provide.
I also bought a small set of spouncers for polka dots. I typically do not use spounders, but they are great for beginners to make polka dots before you are ready to free hand the dots.
I would also add some baby wipes, paper towels, and paper plates or egg cartons to you supply list. Baby wipes are a painters best friend! They are great for messy hands, brushes and to clean up mistakes when you are painting. I use styrofoam trays that I get at Kroger for my paint trays, but you could use anything.
I hope this has been helpful! I will continue to post tips and products that I love from time to time. If you want to see my favorite products, check out "My Favorite Things" on my website!
Are you just getting started and would like to join a group to paint with? Join my "Front Door Fancy" group! You get 1 or 2 door hangers a month and we paint them together in a private Facebook group!! More details are here.
Have a great week and let me know if this has been helpful!
Keep crafting,
Frances