One of the largest sand traps of many who would like to craft but do not is what you may have endured as a young child within your art and craft endeavors. I remember being screamed at to stay in the lines, and color this a certain color, that hot pink cannot be considered a color symbolizing "happy" and so forth. Today, I disregard what my art teachers had to say in their own trap of perfectionist expectations. Instead I tell my children to color outside the lines if they want to, and go ahead and color the tree leaves purple. When I do my own craft projects, I try to block out the "rules" once imposed in art and painting classes, and do my own thing. After all, Mr. Reese and Mr. Krake do not get a chance to grade my work anymore, this is for me.
Remembering these things are sometimes key to whatever you create. Nothing brings me more relaxation than knowing that if I don't like the color, I can paint over it. If I don't like how it looks, I can rip it off and glue something else there. I think at least in my growing, up there were too many people complaining about the cost of things and worrying about the perfection of it all.
What many people do not realize is that craft supplies can be reused, sometimes even when you think they are beyond hope. I recently received a large amount of tempera/acrylic paint for free because the art teacher swears that they go "bad" after a year. So I graciously took them from my mother in law and brought them home and painted away as usual.
- Sticky dried up paint can often times be revitavilized by adding a few drops of paint thinner and/or nail polish remover (shh... they are pretty much the same thing).
- Mix your own paints and save money in some cases. Often times big bottles of primary colors are less expensive than those of "specialty" colors. (Plus I always pretend like I'm Bob Ross mixing and dabbing away at the new creation of each color, getting ready to paint my "happy little tree").
- What if you want gloss paint/sparkle paint etc? If you buy the paint gloss or even plain varnish (that's usually cheaper too), and mix a little with the color that you would like, you have instant gloss paint to your specifications for less than what you would pay on some already made and in a jazzy bottle. Sparkles or glitter can be added to any tempera paint as well, as well as gloss etc. so experiment in making your own color-glitter-gloss.
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