Not only is it rewarding to experiment with creating a mini watercolor paint sets that suit your specific needs,
Mint Tin Watercolor Travel Cases
To customize a candy tin, first scuff them with fine sandpaper. Once you’ve roughened the entire outer surface, place the tins flat on newspaper or scrap cardboard and spray several light coats of fast-drying all-purpose spray enamel (I prefer a matte black).
Have fun
I purchased empty half pans on Amazon and attached them to the tins with tack putty so they can be removed and rearranged as needed for various projects (magnetic sticky strips can also be used).
HELPFUL HINT: Many sites offer royalty free images that can be printed and used to decorate your tins. One of my favorites is The Graphics Fairy (she even offers some lovely vintage images for free).
Polymer Clay Palettes
To create custom palette inserts, soften polymer clay (I used white Sculpey III) in your hands then push in enough to create about a 3/8″ thick layer on the bottom of the tin. Press the desired number of paint wells into the clay. (I used a paintbrush handle for the smaller impressions and a lip balm lid for the larger size.) Bake the clay (inside the metal tins) at 275˚F for 12-15 minutes. Allow clay palettes to cool thoroughly, then fill with desired watercolor tube paints and allow them to dry. This is a cheap, easy and fun way to design a mini palette that precisely fits your needs!
HELPFUL HINT: To create a swatch card on your favorite watercolor paper, trace a slightly smaller card than the size of your tin and paint a swatch for each color included in your travel palette, then cover both sides in self-adhesive laminating sheets (I use Avery 73601). Trim 1/8″ around the edge of your card and that will allow it to “stick” into the lid of the tin.
ADDITIONAL NOTE: If do-it-yourself projects aren’t your thing, tiny palettes like these IN PORCELAIN with a matching mixing tray will soon be available through
ADDITIONAL ADDITIONAL NOTE: (LOL) On a side note, if you don’t happen to have any candy tins lying about, I can recommend a delicious source. I eat a low sugar/carb diet, so one of my semi-guilty pleasures is Snowflakes Candy Chips, which is a whole other level of addictive (a fascinatingly fruity OTC substance I can’t seem to get enough of). These tasty little candy chips are sweetened from USA pharmaceutical grade birchwood xylitol harvested from sustainable forests and 100% natural flavoring. See why I said “semi-guilty?” They won’t spike your blood sugar or ruin your keto diet … but try and stop eating them! It’s not a product you come across every day, but you can find them on Amazon. And then you can craft their packaging into whimsical little travel palettes. Win, win!
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