A Great Idea!

[ThinkSeeDraw]

I had the neighbor kids over, and i was looking for a substitute pallete for them, and i happened to stumble upon some ICE CUBE TRAYS!!! And i thought, what a great idea! :D :D :D Deep wells to mix and paint won't splash, lots of wells for different colors, it worked great!!!!!!!! :clap: I filled the wells with tempera paint and the kids were off! and they easily mixed different colors together to make browns and purples (not to mention the infamous muddy gray!) I think that this is such a good idea to use the ice cube trays, mainly cuz they are so inexpensive! I will use it when i am doing just watercolor washes, cuz of the nice deep wells :D

If any of u out there have any other great ideas, i would really like to know about them :cat:

[TPS]

Ice cube trays is one of the old standbys of school teachers. Another one is those styro egg holders; 12 deep wells, a flat area to mix in the lid, and they're even disposable.

[Sandi]

<~~ Uses ice cube trays too. :)
A few other containers we use:
tuna cans
fruit cup containers (nice plastic!)
yogurt cups (wide bottomed ones).

For brand new:
Makeup containers. They're short, round, plastic and have tight sealable lids for the left over paints. I use these for me, as I'm the only one who rinses out the brush in between colors. lol. They cost a buck each at Target. They're real handy for pleine-aire trips. Theyr'e colorful too. :)


PS. Be sure to save your empty mustard bottles and such.

[ThinkSeeDraw]

Oh my gosh, i thought i had stumbled upon something incredible! I guess not:crying: But i do really like it, and i also really like all of your ideas, keep them coming! But oh well, i guess, kudos to the artist who started it ;) Makeup containers, what a great idea!! i have a ton of that! hehe I was wondering, i use stuff like rabbitskin glue, and i have to heat it on the stove, what do you heat them in??? I don't want to ruin any pans, and i was gonna use a coffee container, but someone said that it isn't exactly always a watertight container and that they will rust, i don't want rust in my mixture!

Oh well, thank you SOOOOOOOOOO much for all your ideas, i will be sure to try them all out! ;) :D (keep them coming pleeze!)

[jenrou]

Ice cube trays are good, as you said. Also I have found some plastic containers (cheap) in the tool department. I think they are for sorting nails and screws. They have about 6 slots, maybe an inch or so square, and a lid. Also, the dollar store has deviled egg plates (round) with the egg-shaped indentations. And--- at the dollar store, I get the tool trays, or cleaning trays that are about 3 inches high and have 3 sections and a handle. I use this for my water container at home.

[owens1299]

I just saw this and I use baby jars and old salsa jars for when I need to mix up a lot of one color and will be using it for a bit... but since i seem to break my glass palatte boards I just use foam plates and lay plastic wrap over the top of them... and when im done i just stack them up and they take up very little room... :)

[ThinkSeeDraw]

very cool! but you should use wax paper... much easier to put on, and it doesn't tend to rip like the other stuff.... I used to use foil, it was a real pain ;)

[ArtistEnigma]

This is interesting. I finally decided to get a new pallete last night and I ended up getting a tupperware egg holder type of thing, probably for hard boiled eggs. It has shallow indents which is perfect for oils. The fact that it has a lid is nice too because I can cover the oils to keep the consistancy of the paint so that way it doesn't dry or get that dreadful skin. Good topic.

[Sandi]

Strawberrie, My daughter just brought home from Costco a handy dandy tempera paint set for the little one. I don't know how we ever managed without it now!
Inside a see through briefcase tupperware type plastic carrying case comes:
4 jugs of paint
4 varying roller sponge brushes
4 different colored brushes
4 colored paint containers with spill resistant lids, brush holder slots on top of the lids, and best of all, the containers each have a hole that fits the matching color brush perfectly.

What a difference! Now he keeps his blue brush in his blue container with his blue paint, etc. He'll brush paint on his paper then sometimes take a roller brush to blend or texture. He loves it! They fit perfect in his new bday easels tray.
Sure, he still makes mud as he experiments this color over that color sometimes, like we all do, but overall he's actually happier with his color experiments now.

It cost 14.00 and worth every penny if you have kids that paint every day like my grandson does, as there is less waste.

Sorry, I don't do rabbit skin glue stuff.

[Phyllis Rennie]

Strawberrie, why not check out a few yard sales for a cooking pot that you could use especially for the glue. Or maybe one of the dollar stores. Or the Salvation Army store.

Reminds me of a funny story about my father. Seems he came home extremely hungry and helped himself to the gravy sitting in a pan on the stove. It tasted a bit funny but he was REALLY hungry so he kept eating it with a piece of bread. All of a sudden, my grandmother started yelling, "Fred, why are you eating my wallpaper paste?"

[Pilan]

Hi, i enjoyed all the tips on what everyone used for paint container and mixing.

I photograph a lot of different subjects. From family to nature. I had been using kodak film as my primary film. However, I started using fuji film because of the brightness it has for the oranges and reds. Now, I am stuck on using Fuji for one reason, the clear film containers.

These little film containers are wonderful. I put oil, stand oil, varnish, acrylics, gesso etc. in them. They close so tight with the little snap on plastic lids you have no problem keeping the paint or medium safe from drying.

Also, i have even put a bit of turp in one and so far its still okay. I thought maybe it may desolve or melt it but that did not a happen. So, if you do a lot of picture taking like myself then save the film containers. I do use the kodak ones but you can't see through the containers.

Enjoy and also the containers make it easy to take just enough medium or oil etc. with you on a trip to the workshop or even in your studio.

Pilan

[Rosemarie]

Yeah, I use the platic container from Fuji too, for salt, soap,masking fluid etc. Easy to take with you when going plein air to.

Where do you put your kneading eraser?? I moulded mine (a piece)on the end of a pencil! Never lost.

[Pilan]

Hi Rosemarie,

They are great little containers. Someday they probably will stop using plastic containers for the film. So, I better save all mine :-)
As for the kneading eraser, its hard keeping up with one or two so I have about 8 floating around my house. One in my night stand, one on the dresser in a pencil cup, one on my end table in the den and one in my art bag, two in my art room, one in my oil painting in case. I really really tried to keep track of them but it just did not work. I keep track of my pencil set in my tin but for some reason those erasers just disappear.

Also, I try and buy a few at a time. Sometimes can get quite a deal on ebay.

Have a great thanksgiving
Pilan

Originally posted by Rosemarie
Yeah, I use the platic container from Fuji too, for salt, soap,masking fluid etc. Easy to take with you when going plein air to.

Where do you put your kneading eraser?? I moulded mine (a piece)on the end of a pencil! Never lost.

[silverrayven1]

Came across this thread from a long time and had a container to add: those cheap little glad containers. You can get nice small one's at wal-mart, target, grocery stores, etc. nice and cheap. 10 or so for a dollar or two. They also have nice lids that snap tight. Supposedly they can go through the dishwasher but I haven't tried yet. I figure they're cheap enough I can pitch them if they get too gunky.

Not as cheap as the free stuff, but at least these have lids and are see through.

[David Brown]

Don't know how you melt your RSG (Rabit skin glue) but I put a coffee can in a regular pan of water...double boiler kinda deal. Then when I go to prime the panel I simply remove the can to an old rag of fold of newspaper to soak up the water...the RSG will soon plug up any un-watertight seams. Do you paint in Egg Tempera? That's the only reason I use an old world gesso...when I don't cheat and buy panelli panels....LOL :D

[obxladybear]

Gerber Baby food is now switching some of its baby food over to clear plastic containers instead of glass jars....I haven't tried them yet for paint, but I am stocking up on what ever is used by my new grandson....(have plenty of the regular glass jars from my first granddaughter)...they come with a lid and seem pretty airtight...I also use a silverware tray for my extra colored pencils..(I keep alike colors in each section) :)