So I'm a Model Car hobbyist, and I'm always looking for new paint colors to use on cars. I've used nail polish plenty of times through my airbrush thinned down and had great results. But I'm always looking to try different things. And someone told me about using eye shadow powder. I love mixing it into my acrylic colors I already have to give them a nice metallic or pearl look. Also instead of modge podge glue for the acrylic, I use Pledge Revive it floor finish. Yes Pledge lol I know it sounds weird but it's been a go to for us modelers for years! It's just Clear Acrylic and you get a huge bottle that will last you for years! But I love mixing it into the Pledge and having a nice pure color to work with. It's nice to see others using the eye shadow colors for making paints. Beats paying high dollar for those little bottles of model paint when I can make my own.
This was really great NOT JUST for the money savings but for the CONTROLL we get over the product and process too. Keep up the good work. We all love you.
I was about to toss the Pearl Ex I have had for about 25 years and never used...now I am heading to the give away box to reclaim it! I have been wanting to find the perfect metallic watercolor paint and now it is possible I have had it all along! Thank you, Lindsay!
This is awesome! I am going shopping at our local dollar tree. My 6 year old G-nephew has gotten addicted to one of the iridescent acrylic paint brands, and can go through it like mad. At $12+ a set, that is pricey. This will work perfect with liquid acrylic medium, and I can even re-use the pointy bottles that the more expensive paint comes in so he can continue to paint with it. Thanks a bunch, Lindsey!
How funny to see you working on this idea too! I've mixed the eye shadow with clear glue stick for a rub on glue stick like texture that stays moist in a covered pot for a couple months now. I mixed the mica with gloss gel medium and gloss medium (thinner version than the gel) with great results also. I stored mine in similar little pots as yours and they have stayed just as wet as the original media 2 months on. I mixed mica with melted beeswax and a bit of coconut oil for a waxy rub on paste. It also works with beeswax and soy shortening or soy wax or with paraffin and a few drops of mineral oil but I like the glow of the beeswax blend better. I used glycerin and gum arabic with micas for my watercolor blend to keep it creamier in the pots. Unflavored cheap generic lip balm lightly melted and mixed with mica also makes an interesting waxy rub on when cool. Other mixes I've used are Diamond glaze, glossy accents, pledge floor finish, Elmer's clear liquid paper glue and Elmer's glue gel. Ive had fun experimenting with different bases with the micas and am in the how do they hold up over time in the pot and on surfaces phase. So far nothing in pots have failed by drying out or growing nasty things. My surface tests are also holding up well to light, flaking, peeling, and holding their textures in the cases of thick texture mixes. My favorites so far are the glue stick, gloss gel medium, beeswax/coconut oil, and glycerin/gum arabic. There are slight variations in the clear liquid adhesive blends, but nothing remarkable. They do dry faster due to thinner coats.
you guys just save me ~ $25! I have been wanting a set of Molten Metallics (at 8 oz per bottle they may be cheaper in the long run but I have some experimenting to do!) Now I'm going to use what I have (no gum arabic but I'm doing acrylics - so no matter) to make my own! Wax too. I do wonder, though, if I use the wax on beads if Ii can use a sealer OVER the wax - or if the wax has to be the last step.
I just saw someone make it from mica eyeshadow and glossy accents. She didn't store it just used what she made right away. The advantage seemed to be that once it dried - it was already sealed.
@Evelyn. Have you found a source for cheap mica? I've been searching but... (keep in mind I'm a total newb to painting) it looks like by the time you pay for the mica, it's almost the same price as regular paint? Unless we actually need less mica than I assume was needed? Lindsay only made tiny little bits of sparkly paint with that dollar store eye shadow, and frankly I feel like I'd use that up in an hour or two once I get into the groove of actually using my new craft room. (Plus I need a lot more colors, lol, I love sparkles!)
Candi Creates thank you for good information and taking the time to explain how you do it. Please make a video. I'll look for it. Enjoy your day. Connie 💐✌️💜
I love this because we have dollar stores all around here. I found a 16 oz. bottle of photographers grade gum Arabic for around $13 on Amazon, and the paint companies sell about 2.5 oz. for the same price. The photographer's kind works just as well as the paint brands; painters had even bought it to use in their paintings because it worked the same and cost a lot less.
Thank you very much for the tips!! I have had a bottle of Winsor Newton Gum Arabic for 16 years and had no idea of what to use it for but was too cheap to throw it out and there is nothing wrong with it. So now finally I see something I can use it for and that I would actually like to make. The funny thing is that I also have powder eyeshadows in really nice colors from the 70's and 80's so I also now have something to use them for too. I live in Europe where Glam rock was inn back in the 70's and even men were wearing glitter eyeshadows so they were just too nice not to keep and use for something:) I find that no matter what I decide to keep and my Family says I'm crazy for keeping it always turns out there is a use for it all.Now I just need to find something to use my David Bowie double lip gloss in a container made like an Oreo cookie for:) I just made an album for my 4 years younger sister about her life and put in mementos I had kept since she was a child, like Little notes she had written and her first this and that. And she loved it. Even as a child I was a horder:) So when it comes to throwing out Things remember the Words of Michael Jackson in Billy Jean - Just remember to always think twice:)
OMG this is soooo me too!😂😊 I also have a W&N Gum Arabic that I’ve had for wayyyy too long and never used it, also have tons of old but too pretty to throw away eyeshadows! Can't wait to try this out! 😍
thank you so much for sharing this! I was actually looking to see if i could turn my entire eyeshot pallet into paint before i started traveling 6 months ago. now i just stumbled upon this fantastic video! will definitely try it after i finish traveling! thanks again!
For those that think gum arabic is too expensive, I wonder if you are looking at the food grade? Gum arabic comes in several types. The food grade is expensive but the watercolor painting bottles aren't that bad. DaVinci brand at Dick Blick is $5.15 plus shipping. I got a bottle of Windsor Newton brand at Hobby Lobby years ago and it has lasted forever. You only use a few drops to make the paint so a 2 oz bottle should last a long time. Another use for it is to soften the tube paint that dries in a watercolor pallet. Some brands of paint crack as they dry so I put a couple of drops in the paint while it is still soft. I have had problems with only one tube of paint, Van Gogh Azo Yellow Medium, going hard and not softening up nicely with the gum arabic added. I can still use it but it is crumbly and gets little hard pieces even when it is re-wetted. I bought the Cottman (which is Windsor Newton's student grade paint brand) travel set and as the colors get used up I replace them with the better quality artist's grade Windsor Newton paint from the tubes and let them dry hard. I use masking tape to write the names of the colors and attach it to the lid of the pallet so I can change the names if I change colors. When one of the colors run out I save the little plastic box it was in to use for another color as needed, again filling from a tube of paint. If the color cracks as it dries I wet it down and add a drop or two of gum arabic and it softens up pretty good. I have also bought the empty pallets that come with a clear plastic lid and hold about 8 colors. They sell these at WalMart as well as hobby stores. I have a pallet made of Van Gogh paints, one of guache, and one of metallic colors (Dale Rowney?) and switch back and forth as needed for the color I want. I have heard the damp paints can mold; that has never happened to me, but I let the paint dry with the lid set loosely on top to keep out cat hair (my cat loves my craft table!) until they are completely dry before closing the lid tightly. I have used gun arabic in all of these except the metallic and it works great.
wow thanks for that. Holly Lobby sells a TINY little bottle for $16 so I figured it was relatively that expensive everywhere else. Just checked dicks and they're still selling it a much more reasonable price! However, in another video Lindsay mentioned (if I'm remembering correctly) that a floor wax would also work. Think maybe I'll stick with the gum arabic from Dicks since as you said it can be added to the regular (expensive) paints.
Hi pretty lady LINDSY-I thought I was a solitary genius. I should have known if two people discovered evolution at the same time, then who am I? I have bought the dollar store, they were screaming at me. Plus, I belong to a couple of makeup, subscriptions, and I've gotten overwhelmed with neutral eyeshadow pallets, so I changed my profile to be bohemian wild, and now I get lots of glittery shadows. I also get glitters at a couple of the off-continent super inexpensive goodies for a dollar a set.(usually sold as nail decorations) Gee, we are brilliant🎨 Blessings to you and fam from your favorite fan granny❣
Fantastic!! I was just thinking I needed some different/unusual colors but didn't see any when I looked. Fun way to mix and get what you want instead of manufactures telling us what we want.
Fantastic hacks and I love usually yours videos about new ideas that I am using and my art in general but these are good for coloring book as well! I love your energy even if you are speaking fast we can catch everything you are saying! TKY frugal crafting! 😊 from Quebec in Canada near of Montreal!
I found an empty chocolate box was perfect to make a palette of these paints and I could mix each one right in the individual slot. (And I could eat the chocs, of course...) I actually used some mica powders I've had for years that I used to use with polymer clay. I also experimented with using Winsor & Newton's Iridescent Medium instead of gum Arabic. And I found that I could mix powders to make my own colour combinations.Great video as always Lindsay, I've learned so much from watching your videos and I love the way they're presented. Thanks!
Thanks Lindsay, awesome ideas. I love those $Tree shadows for color. I didn't realize you can make watercolor just by adding gum arabic, that's so cool. What I do to remove the bottom is, I poke an awl right in the center of the bottom, kind of hold it close to me so I don't flip it out, and pull and tip up to get the bottom off. That way I'm not fiddling with the sides, altho that would work too. I just put masking tape over the hole to store the loose power still in the container. Well off to try this, such fun.
You are a absolute blessing for you doing this video. I live in Johannesburg South Africa and we don't have access to all the products from companies overseas at an affordable price.... but I can buy cheap eyeshadow powder here. Yippee. Thank you.❤
This is awesome! I'm using watercolors to paint a giant white paper lamp from IKEA, and was having a hard time getting the sheen I wanted out of the paint. This is perfect! Thank you for all your great ideas.
Thank you so much for your wonderful tutorial! I looked around at local stores and liquid gum arabic was like $18 (for 2 oz?! ouch) But I did find a 1 oz powdered gum arabic by Jacquard for only $3! It seems to work much the same, it even says you can mix it with water and store for convenience. The powdered has a 4:1 ratio of pigment to arabic and works great! I found the powdered gum arabic next to the pearlex pigments if anyone else wants to hunt for it! I got mine at my local fabric store (Fabric Depot) Thanks so much for being so awesome, you're officially my crafting hero!
Thank you Lindsay! I have all this old eye shadow I was going to throw out. I just knew there was some reason I was saving it. I'm excited now to make my own sparkly acrylics.
I have just started to try to learn one stroke painting, having never done any painting of any kind, but watching your tutorials has created in me a real fascination with the watercolor painting process. The apparent lack of control over the paints makes me sort of apprehensive, but it is really interesting to see the back washes mix themselves. The OS is not going too well, and when I tried your Lupine flowers, I made such a mess that I had to spray it down into a backwash, LOL Perhaps I can't paint, but I love your tutorials!
Hi, I bought the pink and I saw you take the bottom off, I was totally amazed and I said I'll never be able to do that. Last night I tried it and it came off very easily!!!!!!! Thank you very much. Also at the Dollar Store they have these fabulous gel pens, you get 6 of them and they work great.
How awesome ! . I bought these eyeshadows a couple months ago after I watched your bubble paper video, then I made my own glimmer mist with them also. Now I have yet another use for them...best couple of bucks I ever spent ! Lol
The comments your video sparked added so much info, Fantastic! Thank you for answering my question, eye shadows give me the effect I was looking for, & a lot less $. The critical commenter has 12 subscribers in 3years, watching 1 would show you how good your videos truly are. I enjoy your enthusiasm & communication style. :) please keep going!
I just found out something I find really neat: transparent airbrush medium ( I used transparent base "createx" brand) mixed with these mica dollar tree eye shadows creates such a nice, thin, easily spreadable acrylic paint, as opposed to the thickness of using mod podge. Also, it stores well if you go to family dollar and for a dollar get eight little "tuppawear like things", that way u don't have to use it up right away and can make batches. Airbrush medium is fantastic for thinning acrylic paints, much more archival than water, which you really shouldn't use to thin acrylic paints on paintings you wish to last for many years.
+prettypaperthings maybe she was just explaining that the airbrush medium is not as thick as midge podge and not describing mode podge to actually being thick.
hahahaha ah man! I'm a soaper.....at any given time I have micas for coloring soap.... I buy it by the oz or more. I have jars of mod podge....buy it....forget where it is...buy more...find other bottles....etc. and I have powdered gum arabic bought years ago to make my own labels..... and I have a whole jar of it. and now I have your brilliance! hahaha all this time...I've been buying little bottles of paint for too much money. ha-ha THANK YOU!!!!
Hi Peepla7, I am another craft addict and love Lindsay. I too soap and have tons of mica, so guess I am going to be using them for this too..Woo hoo...I just have to buy my Gum Arabic now...
That is cool. (abt how you used them on your house numbers) I will have to try that on many things now that my brain is just running away with all kinds of ideas! LOL I think it is great your a man, and you love to craft and make soap..We have men in our soap groups on fb and they are just as fab as the ladiies! and who cares what sex we are as long as we are using our brains and having fun! RIGHT?!!!! I don't care and I don't judge! Have you ever used MAD OILS mica's for your soaps? They are fablulous and I know of one other person who has wonderful colors...
buy your little bottles which are 4 oz from the American Bottle Company out of Tampa Fl, I think I paid 20.00 for 200 of these without the tops, to add the tops they cost five cents each. 0.05 for the tops, they are really good. I have enough here for the dyes that I use.. I just love how they form.
My mother past away a couple years ago so I had put painting on hold. She bought Make-up/eye shadows for the company she worked for years ago when I was a child. I'm turning 61 next month, but she had so many cases of the most beautiful eye shadows that all of us would go crazy over. I couldn't throw them away or take them to a Thrift Store because they had lots of memories from my mother dressing me up every Halloween as a Gypsy. All my friends was in love with the way I looked! Let me tell you. the most gorgeous bright Pinks, Purples, Blues, Golds and Green eye shadows that you could even dream of having. Sad to say that I could have kept them and made these bright and beautiful Watercolor paints out of all of them and painted some beautiful paintings from them for all of my children, 29 Grandchildren and 6 Great Grandchildren. I'm so very sad now... I do still have a couple left and my 4 daughters do also, so I guess I'll tell them about this and see if they would let me do that with them. Well as my father would always say; A day late and a dollar short! Lindsay I do have to thank You once again for sharing your beautiful talent with all of us that live in our beautiful
Thank you, Lindsay! This is such a great idea, I love to use a little bit of shimmer in my paintings but I never would have thought of doing this! You've just saved me a lot of money :)
when you're like: " i REALLY should finally clean up my mess now", because i re-organized my whole crafty corner and then BAMMMM the idea of making your own shimmer watercolors out of unused eyeshadow hits you. And where's the place to go watch out for inspiration? OF COURSE IT IS YOU!!! :D Thanks so much for your inspirational beeing, Lindsay! ~°Sunny shimmery greetings from Switzerland°~
Super useful, thank you so much! Your video was the first thing that I shared on my inspiration blog and as soon as I get my payment next week, I am SO making these, the result is amazing!
Lindsay, not sure if you found it yet but there is a pre-made hole in the bottom of those eye shadows that you can use tweezers or any small tool to pry that bottom off a lot easier.
I am glad you didn't cut your finger off in that video, but if you did, I bet you would create a new video showing us, "how to stitch on your own finger" using items you already have around the house. Ha,Ha. You are awesome! Thanks for all the great info that you share in such an entertaining way.
You can get straight micas super cheap from TKB Trading, too! They're great for makeup as well as crafting, their samples are $1.50 and most are a tablespoon of product.
I just now finished making some watercolour metallic paint using an blusher that was too dark, and mixed it 50/50 with the powdered gum Arabic. The packet said add water drop by drop and doing that was fine: I got a stiff paste which is now drying in an old embossing powder container. I found the powder just fine to use. I just came back here to double check about the drying. cheers!
wow, this is just so good thank you lol. It's amazing how much people don't know unless informed of what they can do with what is readily available. I personally have too much eyeshadow in these sets I've bought some time ago. NOW I have a real use for them or rather, a more useful one! lmao!
Good tip, works really well! I did not make as much as you, but a little goes a very long way. Mixing is easy with a coarse paint brush (for the mica and the gum Arabic). Thanks!
Yea! I actually found the eyeshadows at the dollar tree and mixed with gum Arabic and they are so awesome!! Thank you so so much for this tip! The colors are really beautiful! Can't remember, does this work with glycerin too? Thanks again!
Fantastic ideas! I have lots of these eye shadows and have stopped purchasing the more expensive craft shimmer powders. I am going to try these paints on my polymer clay pieces. Thank you for the information. Cheryl AKA - Foreveraftercrafter
i am facinated that u filmed this... actually i do add this eye shadows to my paints for a shimmer... but i never mixed them a head of time .... i wonder if i can use the bindex acrylic paint binder from pepo to make these instade of modpoge? i use it to expand my paints without thinning them out.. thanx dear
Hmmmmmmmm time to go dig out all those old eye shadows that I was saving for "something"! Even have some Gum Arabic and Mod_Podge....what fun, new colors of shimmer paint!! I can see some sea horses coming up on my cards! R/
WOW! I had no idea that you could use eyeshadow for paint! I did know about taking the bottoms off of those to get the most product because I depot-ted all of mine, I was going to tell you, but then you already found out. LOL! Thank you for sharing luv! ♥
have you used these paints on leather, suede or faux? you are so knowledgable so I wondered what you would recommend for shading leather and rubber stamping on light colored leather or faux?
Thank you for sharing another great idea. I am doing an art journal page that I put black gesso all over. I want to do a she art girl and Ik wasn't sure what to use to paint her hair. Now I know. Thank you so much.
I love shimmery paints and use them a lot. Can't wait to see if I can get the bottom out of my dollar store eye shadows. LOL Unfortunately, the local dollar store didn't have much of a selection of colors--just gold and bronze. I'll have to check there again and see if any came in.
great tip, I ordered some eyeshadow and the kit had funky colors i wouldn't use.. pinks yellow etc - this is a great way to use them with some very unique colors. thanks Lindsay............... dee
I have finally found gum Arabic however I am trying to make sprays and don't have liquid watercolours. what I am wondering is if I put gum Arabic in with my eyeshadow will the glitter stick to the paper as of now it sprays glittery but all flakes off after awhile
Thanks Lindsey, good to know, I just mixed some up with the Future and it is in a tightly sealed container. I have some powdered Gum Arabic and will be sure to use that for the watercolors.
Love it! Sadly, over here in the UK our Poundshop doesn't do loose powder eyeshadow. I'll have to check on their solid ones to see if mica is the first ingredient, then I'll have fun beating it to a pulp xx
Bejay, I'm in the UK and found these exact type with the little brushes in a cheapy make up stall in the market. Even the solid type we tend to get are ok to crush, I use a pestle and mortar.
Angie Beaumont That's good to hear, Angie. Maybe I'll be able to find something. Here in Truro our market doesn't have anything like that unfortunately, but perhaps I'll strike lucky and find some eventually
Angie Beaumont Trago Mills isn't close enough for me to get to without transport, but I looked in Poundland this morning and they have one brand with three colours in one pack, and they also had another solid one with mica at the top of the list of ingredients, so I'll give them a go and enjoy grinding them down :)
I am a soap maker and buy mica to color my soap. I have a ton of colors and decided to try this. I buy mica from Mad Oils. You can even make your own cosmetics as long as the mica is skin safe. Also, you can purchase oxides and pigments the same way. Check online for soap making suppliers to find mica and pigments. I would imagine you can find the colorfast information as well. Soapers don't like when their colors morph during use or over time and are picky about their colorants. Some suppliers offer sample packs with a variety of colors at a reasonable price. They don't make much soap, but they'll make a decent amount of paint. I know this video has been up for a while, but it just turned up on my home page and I thought you would like the information.
Belinda Short I love TKB!! I absolutely love k. la! I have been making cosmetics for a long time and almost solely get my pigments and micas from her. I get some other INC's from a couple other places. But as far as any of my colorants and base powders, i stick with TKB.
S.M. Horne TKBTrading.com is a website that sells ingredients for making your own cosmetics. They sell a lot of pure mica powders at a really good price. I bought a bunch of 1 ounce bags of mica years ago and still haven't even made a dent in them
I would think you could add the eye shadow to any acrylic medium, instead of Mod Podge, and then it won't harden until used for painting. Cool idea and I'm gonna try it! I recently did a large decoupage project and part of it had a blue-ish undertone that I didn't like. I didn't have any yellow paints to make a glaze (making the blue-ish green-ish) so I grabbed a bottle of tumeric and buffed into the surface and it worked!
![How to make Metallic Watercolors at Home | Start to End [Full Process]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Z57OuFT4i_s/mqdefault.jpg)
![How to make Metallic Watercolors at Home | Start to End [Full Process]](/img/tr.png)
So I'm a Model Car hobbyist, and I'm always looking for new paint colors to use on cars. I've used nail polish plenty of times through my airbrush thinned down and had great results. But I'm always looking to try different things. And someone told me about using eye shadow powder. I love mixing it into my acrylic colors I already have to give them a nice metallic or pearl look. Also instead of modge podge glue for the acrylic, I use Pledge Revive it floor finish. Yes Pledge lol I know it sounds weird but it's been a go to for us modelers for years! It's just Clear Acrylic and you get a huge bottle that will last you for years! But I love mixing it into the Pledge and having a nice pure color to work with. It's nice to see others using the eye shadow colors for making paints. Beats paying high dollar for those little bottles of model paint when I can make my own.
This is my favorite Frugal Crafter video! I'm so glad you showed the entire process, thank you for so freely sharing your talents!!
This was really great NOT JUST for the money savings but for the CONTROLL we get over the product and process too. Keep up the good work. We all love you.
I just used a bunch of old eye shadows to make some paint! I can’t wait to see how well they work tomorrow.
This saved me so much of money. Thank you for this amazing tutorial.
I was about to toss the Pearl Ex I have had for about 25 years and never used...now I am heading to the give away box to reclaim it! I have been wanting to find the perfect metallic watercolor paint and now it is possible I have had it all along! Thank you, Lindsay!
Pearl ex is such a versatile product! I love stamping with versamsrk and brushing it on and also using it on polymer clay. Enjoy!
thefrugalcrafter Lindsay Weirich thx Lindsay, good ideas to explore!
I have shadows that are way past the expiration. These are a good way to use them foe crafts 😁
This is awesome! I am going shopping at our local dollar tree. My 6 year old G-nephew has gotten addicted to one of the iridescent acrylic paint brands, and can go through it like mad. At $12+ a set, that is pricey. This will work perfect with liquid acrylic medium, and I can even re-use the pointy bottles that the more expensive paint comes in so he can continue to paint with it. Thanks a bunch, Lindsey!
How funny to see you working on this idea too! I've mixed the eye shadow with clear glue stick for a rub on glue stick like texture that stays moist in a covered pot for a couple months now. I mixed the mica with gloss gel medium and gloss medium (thinner version than the gel) with great results also. I stored mine in similar little pots as yours and they have stayed just as wet as the original media 2 months on. I mixed mica with melted beeswax and a bit of coconut oil for a waxy rub on paste. It also works with beeswax and soy shortening or soy wax or with paraffin and a few drops of mineral oil but I like the glow of the beeswax blend better. I used glycerin and gum arabic with micas for my watercolor blend to keep it creamier in the pots. Unflavored cheap generic lip balm lightly melted and mixed with mica also makes an interesting waxy rub on when cool. Other mixes I've used are Diamond glaze, glossy accents, pledge floor finish, Elmer's clear liquid paper glue and Elmer's glue gel. Ive had fun experimenting with different bases with the micas and am in the how do they hold up over time in the pot and on surfaces phase. So far nothing in pots have failed by drying out or growing nasty things. My surface tests are also holding up well to light, flaking, peeling, and holding their textures in the cases of thick texture mixes. My favorites so far are the glue stick, gloss gel medium, beeswax/coconut oil, and glycerin/gum arabic. There are slight variations in the clear liquid adhesive blends, but nothing remarkable. They do dry faster due to thinner coats.
love the wax idea, thanks for sharing!
you guys just save me ~ $25! I have been wanting a set of Molten Metallics (at 8 oz per bottle they may be cheaper in the long run but I have some experimenting to do!) Now I'm going to use what I have (no gum arabic but I'm doing acrylics - so no matter) to make my own! Wax too.
I do wonder, though, if I use the wax on beads if Ii can use a sealer OVER the wax - or if the wax has to be the last step.
I just saw someone make it from mica eyeshadow and glossy accents. She didn't store it just used what she made right away. The advantage seemed to be that once it dried - it was already sealed.
@Evelyn. Have you found a source for cheap mica? I've been searching but... (keep in mind I'm a total newb to painting) it looks like by the time you pay for the mica, it's almost the same price as regular paint? Unless we actually need less mica than I assume was needed? Lindsay only made tiny little bits of sparkly paint with that dollar store eye shadow, and frankly I feel like I'd use that up in an hour or two once I get into the groove of actually using my new craft room.
(Plus I need a lot more colors, lol, I love sparkles!)
Candi Creates thank you for good information and taking the time to explain how you do it. Please make a video. I'll look for it. Enjoy your day. Connie 💐✌️💜
Wow, what a great idea. This is amazing. I see those powders all the time, but never thought I could make paint out of them.
I love this because we have dollar stores all around here. I found a 16 oz. bottle of photographers grade gum Arabic for around $13 on Amazon, and the paint companies sell about 2.5 oz. for the same price. The photographer's kind works just as well as the paint brands; painters had even bought it to use in their paintings because it worked the same and cost a lot less.
Thank you very much for the tips!! I have had a bottle of Winsor Newton Gum Arabic for 16 years and had no idea of what to use it for but was too cheap to throw it out and there is nothing wrong with it. So now finally I see something I can use it for and that I would actually like to make. The funny thing is that I also have powder eyeshadows in really nice colors from the 70's and 80's so I also now have something to use them for too. I live in Europe where Glam rock was inn back in the 70's and even men were wearing glitter eyeshadows so they were just too nice not to keep and use for something:) I find that no matter what I decide to keep and my Family says I'm crazy for keeping it always turns out there is a use for it all.Now I just need to find something to use my David Bowie double lip gloss in a container made like an Oreo cookie for:) I just made an album for my 4 years younger sister about her life and put in mementos I had kept since she was a child, like Little notes she had written and her first this and that. And she loved it. Even as a child I was a horder:) So when it comes to throwing out Things remember the Words of Michael Jackson in Billy Jean - Just remember to always think twice:)
OMG this is soooo me too!😂😊 I also have a W&N Gum Arabic that I’ve had for wayyyy too long and never used it, also have tons of old but too pretty to throw away eyeshadows! Can't wait to try this out! 😍
thank you so much for sharing this! I was actually looking to see if i could turn my entire eyeshot pallet into paint before i started traveling 6 months ago. now i just stumbled upon this fantastic video! will definitely try it after i finish traveling! thanks again!
I LOVE THIS VIDEO...
YOU are one Smart Woman....
I am soooooo Happy to find this video...
I need a small bit of metallic paint for something I'm doing today and I have all the "ingredients"! So glad you posted this today!
For those that think gum arabic is too expensive, I wonder if you are looking at the food grade?
Gum arabic comes in several types. The food grade is expensive but the watercolor painting bottles aren't that bad. DaVinci brand at Dick Blick is $5.15 plus shipping. I got a bottle of Windsor Newton brand at Hobby Lobby years ago and it has lasted forever. You only use a few drops to make the paint so a 2 oz bottle should last a long time.
Another use for it is to soften the tube paint that dries in a watercolor pallet. Some brands of paint crack as they dry so I put a couple of drops in the paint while it is still soft. I have had problems with only one tube of paint, Van Gogh Azo Yellow Medium, going hard and not softening up nicely with the gum arabic added. I can still use it but it is crumbly and gets little hard pieces even when it is re-wetted.
I bought the Cottman (which is Windsor Newton's student grade paint brand) travel set and as the colors get used up I replace them with the better quality artist's grade Windsor Newton paint from the tubes and let them dry hard. I use masking tape to write the names of the colors and attach it to the lid of the pallet so I can change the names if I change colors. When one of the colors run out I save the little plastic box it was in to use for another color as needed, again filling from a tube of paint. If the color cracks as it dries I wet it down and add a drop or two of gum arabic and it softens up pretty good.
I have also bought the empty pallets that come with a clear plastic lid and hold about 8 colors. They sell these at WalMart as well as hobby stores. I have a pallet made of Van Gogh paints, one of guache, and one of metallic colors (Dale Rowney?) and switch back and forth as needed for the color I want. I have heard the damp paints can mold; that has never happened to me, but I let the paint dry with the lid set loosely on top to keep out cat hair (my cat loves my craft table!) until they are completely dry before closing the lid tightly. I have used gun arabic in all of these except the metallic and it works great.
wow thanks for that. Holly Lobby sells a TINY little bottle for $16 so I figured it was relatively that expensive everywhere else. Just checked dicks and they're still selling it a much more reasonable price! However, in another video Lindsay mentioned (if I'm remembering correctly) that a floor wax would also work. Think maybe I'll stick with the gum arabic from Dicks since as you said it can be added to the regular (expensive) paints.
Hi pretty lady LINDSY-I thought I was a solitary genius. I should have known if two people discovered evolution at the same time, then who am I?
I have bought the dollar store, they were screaming at me. Plus, I belong to a couple of makeup, subscriptions, and I've gotten overwhelmed with neutral eyeshadow pallets, so I changed my profile to be bohemian wild, and now I get lots of glittery shadows. I also get glitters at a couple of the off-continent super inexpensive goodies for a dollar a set.(usually sold as nail decorations) Gee, we are brilliant🎨
Blessings to you and fam from your favorite fan granny❣
Fantastic!! I was just thinking I needed some different/unusual colors but didn't see any when I looked. Fun way to mix and get what you want instead of manufactures telling us what we want.
Fantastic hacks and I love usually yours videos about new ideas that I am using and my art in general but these are good for coloring book as well! I love your energy even if you are speaking fast we can catch everything you are saying! TKY frugal crafting! 😊 from Quebec in Canada near of Montreal!
I found an empty chocolate box was perfect to make a palette of these paints and I could mix each one right in the individual slot. (And I could eat the chocs, of course...) I actually used some mica powders I've had for years that I used to use with polymer clay. I also experimented with using Winsor & Newton's Iridescent Medium instead of gum Arabic. And I found that I could mix powders to make my own colour combinations.Great video as always Lindsay, I've learned so much from watching your videos and I love the way they're presented. Thanks!
thanks ... as a senior on fixed budget need to be extremely frugal . so grateful ..have an awesome day.
Wow, so neat that I can make things shine and it doesn't cost a lot. Thank u for all ur great tips. I love crafting on a budget.
This is how i've been making my metallic paints for the past 2 years or so. It's way cheaper than purchasing them at the store lol. TFS
Thanks Lindsay, awesome ideas. I love those $Tree shadows for color. I didn't realize you can make watercolor just by adding gum arabic, that's so cool. What I do to remove the bottom is, I poke an awl right in the center of the bottom, kind of hold it close to me so I don't flip it out, and pull and tip up to get the bottom off. That way I'm not fiddling with the sides, altho that would work too. I just put masking tape over the hole to store the loose power still in the container. Well off to try this, such fun.
You are a absolute blessing for you doing this video. I live in Johannesburg South Africa and we don't have access to all the products from companies overseas at an affordable price.... but I can buy cheap eyeshadow powder here. Yippee. Thank you.❤
Nice!
This is awesome! I'm using watercolors to paint a giant white paper lamp from IKEA, and was having a hard time getting the sheen I wanted out of the paint. This is perfect! Thank you for all your great ideas.
Excellent shimmery paint, love it.
Thank you so much for your wonderful tutorial! I looked around at local stores and liquid gum arabic was like $18 (for 2 oz?! ouch) But I did find a 1 oz powdered gum arabic by Jacquard for only $3! It seems to work much the same, it even says you can mix it with water and store for convenience. The powdered has a 4:1 ratio of pigment to arabic and works great! I found the powdered gum arabic next to the pearlex pigments if anyone else wants to hunt for it! I got mine at my local fabric store (Fabric Depot) Thanks so much for being so awesome, you're officially my crafting hero!
Kulyenie thanks, I never tried powdered. I ordered an 8oz bottle online years ago and I am still using it:)
Love your happy frugal techniques. Thanks!
Thank you Lindsay! I have all this old eye shadow I was going to throw out. I just knew there was some reason I was saving it. I'm excited now to make my own sparkly acrylics.
I have just started to try to learn one stroke painting, having never done any painting of any kind, but watching your tutorials has created in me a real fascination with the watercolor painting process. The apparent lack of control over the paints makes me sort of apprehensive, but it is really interesting to see the back washes mix themselves. The OS is not going too well, and when I tried your Lupine flowers, I made such a mess that I had to spray it down into a backwash, LOL Perhaps I can't paint, but I love your tutorials!
Love your ideas and instructions. great sense of humor. keep up the great work.
Hi, I bought the pink and I saw you take the bottom off, I was totally amazed and I said I'll never be able to do that. Last night I tried it and it came off very easily!!!!!!! Thank you very much. Also at the Dollar Store they have these fabulous gel pens, you get 6 of them and they work great.
Metallic paints will be a great to experiment with! I will look for the natural/pure powder lines so it is more archival.Thank You, Frances
Absolutely brilliant idea... I cant wait to try this...hitting the dollar store today!
What an absolutely brilliant idea. You're nothing short of amazing. Thanks very much ❤❤❤
How awesome ! . I bought these eyeshadows a couple months ago after I watched your bubble paper video, then I made my own glimmer mist with them also. Now I have yet another use for them...best couple of bucks I ever spent ! Lol
I have so MUCH old makeup, like ALOT! This is awesome! I’m so going to make my own acrylics!!
The comments your video sparked added so much info, Fantastic! Thank you for answering my question, eye shadows give me the effect I was looking for, & a lot less $. The critical commenter has 12 subscribers in 3years, watching 1 would show you how good your videos truly are. I enjoy your enthusiasm & communication style. :) please keep going!
I just found out something I find really neat: transparent airbrush medium ( I used transparent base "createx" brand) mixed with these mica dollar tree eye shadows creates such a nice, thin, easily spreadable acrylic paint, as opposed to the thickness of using mod podge. Also, it stores well if you go to family dollar and for a dollar get eight little "tuppawear like things", that way u don't have to use it up right away and can make batches. Airbrush medium is fantastic for thinning acrylic paints, much more archival than water, which you really shouldn't use to thin acrylic paints on paintings you wish to last for many years.
mod podge is not thick!
+prettypaperthings maybe she was just explaining that the airbrush medium is not as thick as midge podge and not describing mode podge to actually being thick.
+Erin S. sounds legit.
prettypaperthings it's thick compared to... water.. therefore it is thick... at times!
D White thanks for the information
Awesome! I can't get much in the way of metallic paints where I live so this is really useful to know. Thanks =)
You saying "save these cause you never know... " has turned me into a hoarder lol
Thank you for this cost saving tip! I will be trying this for sure. Blessings, Linda Hardesty
I tried it, absolutely stunning, i liked it very much❤❤❤
Thank you🙏
Wonderful!
hahahaha ah man! I'm a soaper.....at any given time I have micas for coloring soap.... I buy it by the oz or more. I have jars of mod podge....buy it....forget where it is...buy more...find other bottles....etc. and I have powdered gum arabic bought years ago to make my own labels..... and I have a whole jar of it. and now I have your brilliance! hahaha all this time...I've been buying little bottles of paint for too much money. ha-ha THANK YOU!!!!
Hi Peepla7, I am another craft addict and love Lindsay. I too soap and have tons of mica, so guess I am going to be using them for this too..Woo hoo...I just have to buy my Gum Arabic now...
+victoria Ciolek I did my house numbers with the gold "paint" I made from this method! works great!
That is cool. (abt how you used them on your house numbers) I will have to try that on many things now that my brain is just running away with all kinds of ideas! LOL I think it is great your a man, and you love to craft and make soap..We have men in our soap groups on fb and they are just as fab as the ladiies! and who cares what sex we are as long as we are using our brains and having fun! RIGHT?!!!! I don't care and I don't judge! Have you ever used MAD OILS mica's for your soaps? They are fablulous and I know of one other person who has wonderful colors...
buy your little bottles which are 4 oz from the American Bottle Company out of Tampa Fl, I think I paid 20.00 for 200 of these without the tops, to add the tops they cost five cents each. 0.05 for the tops, they are really good. I have enough here for the dyes that I use.. I just love how they form.
peepla7 I have powdered gum Arabic. Can you tell me how to mix it up to use in this process? Is there a water to gum Arabic ratio?
You always give us such great tips and ideas for the things we already have. I have a drawer full of those eye shadows. tfs.
I love those eyeshadows...never used them as eye shadow tho LOL!
My mother past away a couple years ago so I had put painting on hold. She bought Make-up/eye shadows for the company she worked for years ago when I was a child. I'm turning 61 next month, but she had so many cases of the most beautiful eye shadows that all of us would go crazy over. I couldn't throw them away or take them to a Thrift Store because they had lots of memories from my mother dressing me up every Halloween as a Gypsy. All my friends was in love with the way I looked! Let me tell you. the most gorgeous bright Pinks, Purples, Blues, Golds and Green eye shadows that you could even dream of having. Sad to say that I could have kept them and made these bright and beautiful Watercolor paints out of all of them and painted some beautiful paintings from them for all of my children, 29 Grandchildren and 6 Great Grandchildren. I'm so very sad now... I do still have a couple left and my 4 daughters do also, so I guess I'll tell them about this and see if they would let me do that with them. Well as my father would always say; A day late and a dollar short! Lindsay I do have to thank You once again for sharing your beautiful talent with all of us that live in our beautiful
I love love this idea thank you so much I so enjoy your diy videos your energy is contagious 😁
You are totally AMAZING! I have been struggling with this for a couple of days and disappointed with my results! Thankyou for sharing!!!
I luv the idea for painting ,thanx!!
Thank you, Lindsay! This is such a great idea, I love to use a little bit of shimmer in my paintings but I never would have thought of doing this! You've just saved me a lot of money :)
when you're like: " i REALLY should finally clean up my mess now", because i re-organized my whole crafty corner and then BAMMMM the idea of making your own shimmer watercolors out of unused eyeshadow hits you. And where's the place to go watch out for inspiration? OF COURSE IT IS YOU!!! :D Thanks so much for your inspirational beeing, Lindsay!
~°Sunny shimmery greetings from Switzerland°~
+time x energy (Susanna) aww, thank you:)
Super useful, thank you so much! Your video was the first thing that I shared on my inspiration blog and as soon as I get my payment next week, I am SO making these, the result is amazing!
Great idea! I bought these when you taught us to use them with Elmer's glue and the heat fun, but I have plenty left to play with.
Lindsay, not sure if you found it yet but there is a pre-made hole in the bottom of those eye shadows that you can use tweezers or any small tool to pry that bottom off a lot easier.
I am glad you didn't cut your finger off in that video, but if you did, I bet you would create a new video showing us, "how to stitch on your own finger" using items you already have around the house. Ha,Ha. You are awesome! Thanks for all the great info that you share in such an entertaining way.
Underrated comment 😂
What a great idea! I need some gum Arabic. Thanks so much.
You can get straight micas super cheap from TKB Trading, too! They're great for makeup as well as crafting, their samples are $1.50 and most are a tablespoon of product.
Thanks for this! I've been meaning to get back into watercolors as I haven't used them in over 10 years.
thank you so mutch for this tutorial! I went to the artshop and the metallicpaint was soo expensive so I'm really happy you showed me this!!
I just now finished making some watercolour metallic paint using an blusher that was too dark, and mixed it 50/50 with the powdered gum Arabic. The packet said add water drop by drop and doing that was fine: I got a stiff paste which is now drying in an old embossing powder container. I found the powder just fine to use. I just came back here to double check about the drying. cheers!
wow, this is just so good thank you lol. It's amazing how much people don't know unless informed of what they can do with what is readily available. I personally have too much eyeshadow in these sets I've bought some time ago. NOW I have a real use for them or rather, a more useful one! lmao!
Thank you so much for creating this video, I recently had a similar idea but you helped me to bring it to another level and I greatly appreciate it
Hey Lindsay! Do you have any suggestions on how to make a diy version of Nuvo shimmer mousse?
Good tip, works really well! I did not make as much as you, but a little goes a very long way. Mixing is easy with a coarse paint brush (for the mica and the gum Arabic). Thanks!
thank you so much! I just watched a video using shimmer paints and i can't source them and wallah you have solved my problem. Thrilled :)
Thank you so much. I want to do it but I hv never heard of gum Arabic don't know whether it is available in Sri Lanka. Tc stay safe
This is an excellent video! Thank you!😊
Yea! I actually found the eyeshadows at the dollar tree and mixed with gum Arabic and they are so awesome!! Thank you so so much for this tip! The colors are really beautiful! Can't remember, does this work with glycerin too? Thanks again!
Nicely done can I try this on fabric thank you
fantastic.... wow... I must try it at once... thank you for showing...
I used a tiny flat head screwdriver to get it open. Thanks telling me about these glittery Iridescent eye shadows. Had fun making these! :)))
WOW!!!!I love this idea!!!! Thanks for sharing!!!!
Fantastic ideas! I have lots of these eye shadows and have stopped purchasing the more expensive craft shimmer powders. I am going to try these paints on my polymer clay pieces. Thank you for the information.
Cheryl AKA - Foreveraftercrafter
i am facinated that u filmed this... actually i do add this eye shadows to my paints for a shimmer... but i never mixed them a head of time ....
i wonder if i can use the bindex acrylic paint binder from pepo to make these instade of modpoge? i use it to expand my paints without thinning them out..
thanx dear
Great idea! I use this eye shadow with alcohol to make sprays!
Hmmmmmmmm time to go dig out all those old eye shadows that I was saving for "something"! Even have some Gum Arabic and Mod_Podge....what fun, new colors of shimmer paint!! I can see some sea horses coming up on my cards!
R/
WOW! I had no idea that you could use eyeshadow for paint! I did know about taking the bottoms off of those to get the most product because I depot-ted all of mine, I was going to tell you, but then you already found out. LOL! Thank you for sharing luv! ♥
you're so clever Lyndsay, thanks!
Love these techniques! Thanks for sharing.
have you used these paints on leather, suede or faux? you are so knowledgable so I wondered what you would recommend for shading leather and rubber stamping on light colored leather or faux?
Thank you for sharing another great idea. I am doing an art journal page that I put black gesso all over. I want to do a she art girl and Ik wasn't sure what to use to paint her hair. Now I know. Thank you so much.
I love shimmery paints and use them a lot. Can't wait to see if I can get the bottom out of my dollar store eye shadows. LOL Unfortunately, the local dollar store didn't have much of a selection of colors--just gold and bronze. I'll have to check there again and see if any came in.
family dollar also had them:)
great tip, I ordered some eyeshadow and the kit had funky colors i wouldn't use.. pinks yellow etc - this is a great way to use them with some very unique colors. thanks Lindsay............... dee
can I add this product to silk with silk dyes? what can I use it for and how to take care of it too, how do you wash this too?
I have finally found gum Arabic however I am trying to make sprays and don't have liquid watercolours. what I am wondering is if I put gum Arabic in with my eyeshadow will the glitter stick to the paper as of now it sprays glittery but all flakes off after awhile
I am revisiting this video. I don't have any gum arabic around so I was wondering if there is any alternatives to that?
Thanks Lindsey, good to know, I just mixed some up with the Future and it is in a tightly sealed container. I have some powdered Gum Arabic and will be sure to use that for the watercolors.
Pauline, how much Gum Arabic powder do you use? I am going to get some and wondered what amount would be right, thanks!
can you mix with white acrylic paint without having to only mix small amounts that you use up right away?
Can I do this with just micas versus eyeshadows? I have a bin filled with micas from Mad Micas from soaping. I don't use them anymore.
Sure!
Hi thanks for the video can I stamp with this also what can I use if I don't have gum Arabic thanks
Love it! Sadly, over here in the UK our Poundshop doesn't do loose powder eyeshadow. I'll have to check on their solid ones to see if mica is the first ingredient, then I'll have fun beating it to a pulp xx
Bejay, I'm in the UK and found these exact type with the little brushes in a cheapy make up stall in the market. Even the solid type we tend to get are ok to crush, I use a pestle and mortar.
Angie Beaumont
That's good to hear, Angie. Maybe I'll be able to find something. Here in Truro our market doesn't have anything like that unfortunately, but perhaps I'll strike lucky and find some eventually
Do you have a Trago Mills nearby? They'd at least have the solid cake type
any will work, just mash 'um up:)
Angie Beaumont
Trago Mills isn't close enough for me to get to without transport, but I looked in Poundland this morning and they have one brand with three colours in one pack, and they also had another solid one with mica at the top of the list of ingredients, so I'll give them a go and enjoy grinding them down :)
Wonderful idea! Thank you for sharing!
I am a soap maker and buy mica to color my soap. I have a ton of colors and decided to try this. I buy mica from Mad Oils. You can even make your own cosmetics as long as the mica is skin safe. Also, you can purchase oxides and pigments the same way. Check online for soap making suppliers to find mica and pigments. I would imagine you can find the colorfast information as well. Soapers don't like when their colors morph during use or over time and are picky about their colorants. Some suppliers offer sample packs with a variety of colors at a reasonable price. They don't make much soap, but they'll make a decent amount of paint. I know this video has been up for a while, but it just turned up on my home page and I thought you would like the information.
thanks for the info!
Thank you Lindsey, for more great tips.
you are welcome;)
you're awesome, this just saved me a lot of money . Thanks for posting this video
If you go to TKB trading you can get micas that don't have the extra cosmetic fillers and their sample sizes are great.
Belinda Short I love TKB!! I absolutely love k. la! I have been making cosmetics for a long time and almost solely get my pigments and micas from her. I get some other INC's from a couple other places. But as far as any of my colorants and base powders, i stick with TKB.
What is TKB?
S.M. Horne TKBTrading.com is a website that sells ingredients for making your own cosmetics. They sell a lot of pure mica powders at a really good price. I bought a bunch of 1 ounce bags of mica years ago and still haven't even made a dent in them
This was wonderful honey! ...so fun and practical!
Thank you for sharing! xoxo
Love these money saving techniques....Thank you
thanks! Enjoy:)
Yo thank u!!!! I'm gonna use this method to make some shimmery paint for my furniture❤❤
I would think you could add the eye shadow to any acrylic medium, instead of Mod Podge, and then it won't harden until used for painting.
Cool idea and I'm gonna try it!
I recently did a large decoupage project and part of it had a blue-ish undertone that I didn't like. I didn't have any yellow paints to make a glaze (making the blue-ish green-ish) so I grabbed a bottle of tumeric and buffed into the surface and it worked!