Have you ever thought about painting in your scrapbooks? It may sound a little too messy and tedious, but it is pretty simple and fun if you have the right tools. I have been adding touches of paint to scrapbook pages for over a year now. The thing that I love the most about paint is that I can create any color I need to match whatever paper I am using. For example, if I need an eggplant colored brad, but do not have one, all I have to do is paint one.
Metal (eyelets, brads, photo anchors), chipboard, vellum tags and paper are my favorite things to paint. I would love to hear about and see other ideas that you have.
A couple of scrapbook companies have come out with their own line of scrapbook paint. Two of the brands that I am familiar with are Making Memories and Heidi Swapp. At first I was skeptical that they were just trying to get me to buy paint from them rather than just buying paint at my local craft store. I have done some research and found that these paints are specialized for scrapbooking because the formula includes less water than traditional acrylic paints. This is important when painting on paper because the faster the paint dries, the less likely there will be warping or bubbling up of the paper. Since the water content it lower, it does dry quickly.
The Making Memories has 48 colors (they call them “Scrapbook Colors”) of paint and is sold in sets with six 2 ounce bottles of paint, three foam brushes, and a paint tray for $12.99 or you can purchase bottles individually for $2.00. The Heidi Swapp paint has twelve colors to choose from and is sold for $2.99 per bottle.
Here’s a tip for making clean up a little easier: try keeping your brush in a cup of water when you are not using it so that the paint does not dry in the brush before you get a chance to clean it.
Happy painting!