DIY Inktense Palette & My First Facebook Live with Demo and Q&A

Hi friends! I tried out Facebook live yesterday and did a live demo of a watering can with flowers in a loose style. I painted it with Inktense blocks but you can use watercolors.

I know not everyone is on Facebook (especially These days!) but it is much easier for me to see your questions during a live stream so I might pop in once a month and do a live Q&A kinda like the old “Ask a Crafter” videos I used to do so if you are interested in that be sure to like and follow by Frugal Crafter Community Facebook page. To make sure you don’t miss a live event click like, then follow and click see first. I plan on posting the replay on my blog here but if you want to interact live you will need to follow on Facebook.

Here is the video from yesterday:

Here is a video showing how I made the palette:

I had a full set of inktense blocks and pencils as well as a small set of 12 that a sweet viewer had sent me years ago when I was unsure if I wanted to get the full set. I like them enough to buy the set of 72 but having doubles I felt silly investing in another duplicate product just because it was a different format. Plus I couldn’t even find the Inktense pan set to purchase. Honestly I use the pencils more than the blocks anyway so I figured I could sacrifice some of the blocks to go in the palette and as an extra bonus all of my loose blocks fit in my large Inkense block tin so less storage space!

So you are probably wondering how these differ from watercolors? Well, to be honest I prefer watercolors. I find Inktense to be vibrant but yet it’s chalky and I find this chalky quality more in the block than in the pencil although they are purportedly the same thing. The big attribute to inktense is that after you paint with it on paper (and it dries completely) it bonds permanently with the paper so you can layer over it without if reactivating. That’s a boon to mixed media artists who want to keep working on a project without disturbing the layers underneath. You can use watercolor over inktense as it won’t repel the media because it dries matte. My top recommendation for the inktense line will always be the pencils but knowing how you like to use media can help you choose the right thing for you. I hope you enjoyed this craft hack and live rebroadcast. If you would like to catch my next live endeavor I will be doing a guest live stream on the LAVA soap facebook page at 2pm ET today where I will show you how to make your own Acrylic pouring medium and we will do an acrylic pour. The stream will last about 15 minutes. I’m a bit nervous so wish me luck! Have a great day and til next time happy crafting!