Art Fun Cheap

Instead of water-based colors, some people prefer using decorator chalks sometimes. Frankly they look just like pastels to me, but they come in small flat pads in a case, rather than in sticks like pastels. Instead of picking up the piece of colored chalk and rubbing it on the paper, you use your finger or an applicator to apply the color. (See my earlier post on great, cheap precision applicators.)

While cheaper than the best pastel sets, I’ve found decorator-type chalks to be expensive, usually about $15 for a limited palette. I didn’t buy any until I found a nice set in a compact, layered crystal case at Wal-Mart for $10.

The case is compact, sturdy and portable, with plenty of colors at a great price.

I’m sure you can find it at other stores, too. I have a similar-looking case of watercolors, possibly from the same manufacturer, that I bought at Office Max.

My favorite chalk for backgrounds in sketchbooks and on journal pages, though, is sidewalk chalk. It’s cheap and it comes in a huge variety of delicious pastel colors (richer and deeper than they appear in the picture below).

As usual with very cheap art supplies, each brand of sidewalk chalk has limited colors. But all brands have different colors, so you can make a nice palette by buying sidewalk chalk from several different sources.

Recently I even found glittery sidewalk chalk, made by Colorific.

So keep your eyes open and experiment with fun things you find in drugstores and discount stores. If the fun art supply you try does not meet your needs, there is bound to be a child you can pass it along to who will be delighted with it. And when you find something you like, please come back and tell us about it.

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