DIY Acrylic Palette

Make your own acrylic palette for a professional/personal touch.

Acrylic palettes offer the convenience of a place to put several different paint colors in one spot. You also can mix colors right on the palette and even keep a dab of water there. While you can buy acrylic palettes from hobby and craft, or paint supply shops, you can easily make your own acrylic palette with minimal expense. You might even already have everything you need to complete this project without making a trip to the store.

Things You'll Need

• Large plastic tub or container
• Wax paper or baking parchment
• Paper towel
• Scissors
• Water
• Tub-fitting lid, or plastic stretch wrap

Instructions

1. Trim a piece of the wax paper or baking parchment that is just a little smaller than the paper towel to put on top of it.

2. Put a paper towel in the bottom of the plastic tub. You can layer two or three paper towels for extra absorbency if you want.

3. Add water to the tub so that the paper towel is just wet. Avoid leaving any puddles of water in the tub.

4. Dampen the piece of wax paper and place on top of the paper towel. Smooth out any air bubbles carefully.

5. Dab your acrylic paint onto the wax paper. The moisture from the paper towel will absorb through the wax paper to keep your acrylics damp.

6. Replace the lid of the tub or cover the tub with plastic wrap when your session is over.

Tips & Warnings

• For another option, use a plastic ice cube tray from the dollar store. You can put paint or even water in the sections. The low cost of these make them a frugal choice. Mix colors in some of the compartments. Cover the tray with stretchy plastic wrap to keep the acrylics from drying out.

• Find a suitable container, such as a pie dish, deep cookie tray, or other container if you want, from a thrift store or a yard sale if you don't have the plastic container you need.

• Cut the wax paper a little smaller than the paper towel so you can add water to the towel if it starts to dry.