Shimmerz Paints......what happens if they dry out?

Hello there.

Lydell with you again today, with a short information post.  

You may have some of these gorgeous little tubs of paints in your collection.  Some ranges and colours have been discontinued....but they are still awesome.  I have LOADS of them and they are old, and you can't buy them anymore and I still love them all!!!!

You may have seen a cool idea on the blog sometime and thought to yourself...."Hey....I have some Shimmerz Paints......I think they are in the cupboard...."  and off you go on your search to find them, only to unbox and remove the lid, and realise that your paint you purchased in 2010 is stone dry.  ugh.

BUT..... Don't panic.

Certainly don't throw them away!!!!

They are essentially watercolours.  Water based paints which were once the perfect shimmery consistency, that have now evaporated leaving a disc of solid paint in the bottom of the tub.

Living in Australia with our dry hot summer months....45 degrees Celsius (and sometimes even hotter)  The paints I bought in 2010 have dried out several times.  The beauty is- that if they should dry out (inevitable here, I am afraid)  no problem..... Just add Water!

That sounds easy right?

It really is.

Add the water and let it sit.  Lid on.  Give it a stir and you would never know it had ever been dry!

That is awesome.

There are some further recommendations though.......I have learnt from experience!


The first time I did this, the regular tap water I used added a bacteria to my paint and the next time I removed the lid, with our hot dry climate it had grown a kind of mould on the top.  ick.

So my advice would be to use Distilled water.

Still no big deal though, it peeled off and left the normal paint underneath.  Because I had gone down the path of adding regular water, I added a drop or two of Isopropyl Alcohol (pure rubbing alcohol) which kills off the bacteria, evaporates and leaves you with healthy fluid paints again.

So to cut out those last couple of steps, just start by using the Distilled water and you should skip the unpleasant step of bacteria from the tap water (mixed with our heat is the ultimate breeding ground!!!)

Hopefully you live in a climate where this is not your problem, 

or maybe you use your paints before they have the opportunity to dry out!

At least you know now not to give up on your water based paints if they do happen to dry out over time!