I've worked out the perfect storage for those little Twinkling H2O and Cosmic Shimmer watercolour paints. They're difficult to store because they're tiny, and to use them you need to take the lids off.

The CD case closed, with all the paint inside

Case open, with the 1st layer lifted out, showing the second layer as well

A plus is that the lids are interchangeable, and fit either brand, although the Twinkling H2Os are see-through and the Cosmic Shimmer lids are black. It's just as well the lids fit either paint, as I can never remember which is which!

The case with all 3 layers taken out

I've use a short CD stack for my storage. This comfortably takes 2 layers of paint, and I've fitted 15 paints in here. One layer is my 'brights' and the other my 'darks' (to keep it very simple) and these little palettes sit on a desk comfortably.


HOW IT'S ALL PUT TOGETHER

Very bottom layer has tape glued underneath, forming handles

I arranged my paints on top of blank CD discs, those totally transparent ones you find at the bottom of the package, which are unusable (just for storage).


I then attached each paint with a good amount of Diamond Glaze underneath (Glossy Accents would work just as well). These are dimensional glues, dry totally transparent, so you can see the names of the colours - and not only does the glue fill in the lip under the case of the paint (meaning no gaps between it and the CD disc) it also allows enough drying time to adjust the positioning.


I attached both layers this way.

Very bottom layer. The 'handles' will tuck inside the outer case when it's all put together

The bottom-most layer is totally blank, with a piece of tape glued underneath, forming 'handles' to lift it out (and the bottom layer of paints with it). I've done it this way as there's always a rim on the case, to screw the lid onto - which sticks up just that little bit too far to be able to get your nails underneath that bottom layer. Which means you'd have to pick the layer up by one of the paints, and the danger it might become unglued.

TIPS

When using this type of paint - a solid cake, highly pigmented with mica added for the shimmer, there's a trick to using it.Spritz with water, and allow this to sit for at least 10 seconds - this activates the paint much quicker.

When you've finished, wait until the paint is completely dry before putting the lids back on, or the cake will liquify, and if it's on a tilted surface, you'll find it will have all flowed to one side of the container!

Both types of paint will adhere to pretty much anything (MDF, Kraft and chipboard, leather, fabric and of course paper).

Hope you found this idea useful.