Have Peerless Watercolors, will travel

Ever since my first Tangle U conference, I've been in love with Peerless watercolors. At first, I didn't think much of the product with the dark papers which resemble nothing like the actual colors they hold. However, they have become quickly my favorite watercolors, not only because of their beautiful transparent and brilliant colors, but also for their portability. Today I want to show you how I created a portable palette that can be easily transported and refilled.

I started by cutting a piece of 4x6 watercolor paper, the same size as a regular index card. I divided it into blocks of 1 inch each, 6 blocks across by 4 blocks down.

I left the top row of boxes open, and on the second row, I painted a small sample of the actual color and its name. In this case, I added only cool colors. I don't have that many colors, only 15 for now. I repeated on the last row with the neutrals.

Now here's the trick: I slipped each one of the painted recipe cards into PLASTIC SLEEVES, and this way, I protect the painted sampler. I cut out squares from the Peerless pigmented papers, and glued them OVER the plastic sleeve with a temporary glue dot. This allows me to replace those squares when they get worn out without having to remake the entire color sampler, which was a nuisance when some of the colors got used up sooner than others. The plastic sleeve also protects the sampler from eventual painting mess.

You can see here how the Peerless pigmented papers look nothing like the color they carry, and that is why I like to have that sampler in the plastic sleeve.

I made two different cards, one for cool colors and another one for warm colors. I left some boxes open for when I get more Peerless sheets.

If you can't find the recipe card plastic sleeves, you can also do the same thing with sandwich size zip lock baggies. Remember to put the pigmented squares on the OUTSIDE of the plastic.

Slip both cards in a third plastic bag and combine it with a waterbrush. Super portable and easy to carry. Enjoy!

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