Creative uses for everyday objects

We are always told that we get better results if we use the right tool for the job. This is basically true. But that doesn't mean the most expensive tool or the one that is only available in the craft or art supply stores. The right tool may sometimes be found where we least expect it. For example, you could purchase fancy water buckets to use with your watercolor or acrylic painting. But, you can just as easily use empty jelly or peanut butter jars, the jars from candles once the candles have been burned and the leftover wax cleaned out, yogurt cups, or whipped topping tubs. Using these "found" objects keeps them out of landfills and costs nothing. You have more money to spend on brushes, paint, paper (OK, so that may be stretching it a bit, but you could maybe buy a couple of brushes or a tube of paint with your savings)

Here is a nifty idea for a brush holder that I wish I could take credit for, but I saw it at a workshop last Fall and have been looking for them ever since. This device is called an Ice Tube Tray. Its actual purpose is to make long cylindrical ice cubes that you can put in your bottles of water. You can find them at WalMart, but you may have to search a bit. The cost was around $2 per tray. The compartments are just the right depth to hold short handled brushes. If you find that your brushes are all over your work space while you are painting, this may be a good solution to keeping them organized. I use them with my Genesis paints to keep the brushes orderly while I paint and to keep my workspace a little neater.

Ice Tube Trays

So, look for inexpensive, creative solutions to studio accessory dilemmas. When you can find the right tool for little or no money, you have more to spend on the supplies you need to actually create your art (no matter what your art form may be).