The $15 Art Journal Starter Kit: Everything You Actually Need
Can I show you something?
This is the collection of supplies I recommend when someone says "I want to try art journaling but I don't know where to start." It's not fancy. It's not expensive. It's everything you need, nothing you don't.
Total cost: About $15. Seriously.
What You Actually Need (And Why)
I've watched people drop $200 on "beginner" art supplies and then feel too guilty to make a messy page. That's the opposite of what we want here. Art journaling isn't about having the right stuff — it's about making something with your hands and seeing what happens.
1. A Sketchbook (That You Can Mess Up)
My pick: Strathmore Visual Journal Mixed Media ($6-8)
Budget alternative: Canson XL Mixed Media Pad ($5-6) or literally any spiral-bound sketchbook from a drugstore ($3-4)
Here's the truth: your first art journal is going to have pages you hate. Pages where the watercolor bled through or you wrote something cringey. That's GOOD. That's how you know you're actually doing it. Don't buy a $25 leather-bound journal you feel precious about. Get something cheap enough that you won't stress.
The paper weight matters — mixed media or watercolor paper (at least 90lb) handles wet media better. But honestly? A regular sketchbook works fine if that's what you have.
2. Something to Add Color
My pick: Koi Water Color Pocket Field Sketch Box ($12-14)
Budget alternative: Prang Watercolors ($4-5) or Crayola watercolors ($3)
The Koi set is genuinely lovely — small enough to fit in a pocket, surprisingly vibrant pigments, includes a water brush. I use mine constantly. But the Prang set my niece uses? Also fine. Crayola watercolors from the kids' section? Also fine.
What matters is that you have color you can move around. Watercolor is forgiving because it's transparent — you can layer, you can lift, you can cover mistakes. Perfect for art journaling.
Don't have watercolors? Use coffee or tea for sepia tones. Use marker scribbles activated with water. Use literally anything that makes color.
3. Something to Write With
My pick: White Gelly Roll pen ($2-3) + a black gel pen you already own
Budget alternative: Any ballpoint pen, any white gel pen from the craft store ($1-2)
The white pen is magic for writing over dark watercolor washes. The black pen is for everything else. You probably already have one. Use that.
Don't overthink the writing part. Messy handwriting is valid. Crooked lines are valid. The page doesn't care.
4. Something to Stick Things Down
My pick: Glue stick ($1-2)
Budget alternative: Same thing, different brand
Glue sticks wrinkle less than liquid glue. That's it. That's the reason. Grab one from the school supply section.
5. Something to Tear Up
Cost: Free
Old magazines, junk mail, receipts, ticket stubs, fabric scraps, book pages you're okay with destroying. This is collage material. You don't need "scrapbooking paper" or "art ephemera." You need things that mean something or look interesting or just feel right in your hands.
What You DON'T Need (Yet)
Gesso: It's useful eventually, but you don't need it to start.
Gel medium: I love this stuff, but a glue stick works for now.
Expensive brushes: Your fingers, a Q-tip, or a cheap brush set ($5) is plenty.
Washi tape: It's fun, not essential. Skip it if budget is tight.
The $200 watercolor set: No. Just... no. You're learning. Use the cheap stuff.
The Real Starter Kit
Here's what I'd grab right now if I were starting over:
- Canson XL Mixed Media pad ($6)
- Prang Watercolors ($5)
- Glue stick ($1)
- White gel pen ($2)
- Ballpoint pen you already own ($0)
- Junk mail and magazine scraps ($0)
Total: $14
That's it. That's the kit. You can make a hundred pages with those supplies. You can process feelings, play with color, glue down memories, write things you can't say out loud.
My Actual First Page
I made my first art journal page with a composition notebook, a blue ballpoint pen, and a magazine I stole from the dentist's office. It was terrible and I loved it. The pen smeared when I tried to watercolor over it. The magazine image was crooked. I wrote "I don't know what I'm doing" across the top.
Fourteen dollars of supplies wouldn't have made that page better. What made it work was that I finally gave myself permission to make something messy, just for me.
That's the whole point.
Want More Options?
I'm planning a deeper dive into individual supply categories — watercolor brands tested head-to-head, paper that actually holds up to collage, the gel pens that actually work. Let me know what you want to see next.
And if you started with $15 (or less), I want to hear about it. What did you use? What did you learn? Your journal pages don't need to be fancy to be valid — and neither do your supplies.
There's no wrong way to do this... including doing it on a budget.