A pocket-sized paint palette with mini spray/spritzer bottle.
For grins, I made a custom travel paint palette using an old tin container, polymer clay, and UV resin. I wanted to see if I could do it and found myself using it quite a bit.
In case it's helpful, below are the topics covered in this post:
Part 1: Tin and Clay
I had a tin container that was sitting in my garage for years. It originally stored an old FPV camera I once bought for my hobby-grade RC crawler. Considering its small size, I knew it was ideal for a pocket-sized travel paint palette.
I pulled a few paint pans from My SCHPIRERR FARBEN Watercolor Travel Kit to gain an idea of how many wells, or impressions that would hold paint, I could fit in my DIY paint palette. I figured six or eight wells would fit nicely in the tin container.
Twelve wells would have made a tight squeeze in the tin, but I wanted to leave some space for a water brush. Unfortunately, none of my water brushes detached fit in the tin. Not even the smallest paintbrush from my Golden Maple Travel Paint Brush Set detached fit in the tin.
I discovered that my small spray/spritz bottle fit loosely horizontally and barely vertically in the tin. A spray/spritz bottle would be useful for saturating the paint or as extra water for a water brush. I decided to leave enough space horizontally in the tin for it.
I rolled and flattened a thick piece of polymer clay to roughly fit within the tin container. While I could have carved out the wells, I decided to use a paint pan to make impressions for eight wells. I then cut off excess clay so it could fit within the tin container.
The impressions were not perfect. I attempted to create sharper edges and lines with a clay craft knife. I also used a few random tools to smooth rough and uneven areas the best I could. I found a pointy blunt tip worked well for smoothing inside the wells and a knife or other flat edge tool for smoothing the walls of the clay palette.
I placed the polymer clay palette inside the tin container. I continued to smooth what I could before baking. Since I was using a metal tin container, I went ahead and baked it altogether in my convection oven.
Once cooled, I removed the clay palette from the tin. I sanded the piece to smooth the areas I missed prior to baking. I painted it white and let it dry for several hours.
Part 2: Waterproofing
Polymer clay is porous, so I wanted to waterproof the clay palette for long lasting use. I poured some UV resin over one side of the clay palette. I used a paintbrush to spread the UV resin across the surface evenly.
Once coated with UV resin, I cured it with a UV light for about four minutes. I then flipped the clay palette over and coated the bottom and sides with more UV resin. I made sure to cure the bottom and all four sides separately for about four minutes each.
I cured the UV coated clay palette for a total of approximately twenty-four minutes. Some argue it requires less time (about two minutes per side or layer) to cure a thin layer of UV resin. When I experimented with Trying DecorRom UV Resin for the first time, I discovered my pieces would feel tacky. With addition use, I found that curing it under a UV light longer eliminates the tackiness.
If you suffer from migraines like I do, keep in mind that the longer you leave a UV resin coated item under a UV lamp, the stronger the odor emitted from the piece. Unfortunately, the odor lingers for a long time after curing, especially if the UV coated piece is stored in a closed container. It has been weeks since I made this DIY travel paint palette and I always get a whiff of that horrible odor when I remove the lid off the tin container.
Part 3: Filling with Paint
I used double-sided tape (not permanent) inside the tin container to hold the clay palette. I wanted the clay palette to stay in place but be easy to remove if I wanted to clean it before filling with a new batch of paints. After I adhered the clay palette inside the tin container, I shook it several times to make sure it did not come loose easily.
The easiest part of this DIY project was filling the wells. I used Sargent Art Watercolors my niece gifted me for Christmas. I used a toothpick to spread the paint evenly within a well, making sure it reached the sides and corners.
I made a paint swatch sheet to see the names of the colors and how they looked once dried. I 'laminated' it with clear adhesive and adhered it to the top of the tin lid.
By the time I finished the paint swatch sheet, I noticed the white paint started to crack. I figured I should wait a week or two before sharing my experience with this project on my blog.
Two Weeks Later
Sometimes with cheap travel paint palettes, the paint would crack, chip, and fall out. The paint in my DIY travel paint palette shrank and cracked, but never fell out of its respective well.
The DIY travel paint palette primarily resided in my purse along with a small DIY Travel Book, mechanical pencil, shop towel, and water brush. There were days when I stored and forgot about it in my car door's pocket. The Texas heat may have contributed to the amount of shrinkage and cracking that happened.
Yet, I was able to use the paint colors for several quick watercolor paintings over two weeks. The paint was still usable and as vibrant as when I first tested it earlier in the year. The lid made for a decent small mixing palette.
The strong odor of the cured UV resin still haunts my nose to this day. It is not as pungent as day one, but it is still enough to trigger a headache.
My Thoughts
When I decided I wanted to make a DIY travel paint palette for grins, I did not expect to create a quality item. Yet, I found myself using this set more than a handful of times. I'm grateful for the small pocket size of the tin container.
Making this project did not cost me anything extra. I already had everything I needed either in my garage or my DIY Craft Cabinet. I briefly thought about buying half pans in bulk from Amazon.com but opted to create the wells myself to save a few bucks.
Next time (and there will be a next time because I enjoyed the process!), I will use two-part epoxy resin instead of UV resin. Every time I open the tin container, my nose is attacked with the odor of the cured UV resin used to coat the clay palette. The smell lessened over time, but it is still there two weeks later.
I have a tin container that once stored a drawing pencil set. I believe this tin is long enough to store a water brush, so I am thinking about making a second DIY travel paint palette. Next time, I will fill the wells with gouache paint.
What's Next?
There are several art supplies I have yet to share with you and a few personal stories I want to write about. Do not be surprised to see more art-themed blog posts and a few posts about my personal thoughts about random things next week.
Have you made a paint palette? Comment below to share what materials you used and your thoughts (good or bad) about your experience making a paint palette.
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Thanks, and have a great day!
Simply Jelly Jam
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