Paint Color Chip Maker and Organizer:

singing I Like Paint Chips, I cannot lie, where other Models deny, I make them big and round... , well OK maybe oval shaped.. Enough with the Sir Mix-a-Lot sing along...

I do like paint chips, I tend to make them whenever I use a new paint color, whether it is straight out of the bottle or a custom mix.  I started out using a template and spraying my paint chips onto index cards.  But I found out the color on paper can be a bit different from the color on plastic.  So here is my solution.

The first thing you will need is a shape cutter like the one in the photo above, (its the black thing on the left).  They are not that expensive and I got mine at a national craft store chain, using one of their infamous 40% off coupons.. so it only cost a few dollars.

The second thing you will need is a chip for your paint sample.  I use plastruct styrene sheet stock to cut mine out with the shape cutter.  I use some of the fairly thin plastic sheets, remember the thicker the sheet the harder it is to cut.

Now that you have some blank paint chips, what do you do? Well we use them.

I put mine on a craft stick with some tape.  When I have my airbrush ready to lay down some paint, I first pick up my paint chip and make my sample chip.

Now that we have a Painted Paint Chip, what do we do with them.  Well I like to be organized so here is an idea for a Color Paint Chip Organizer.  First go to the store and buy an Spiral Index Card Book like the one below.  You can get something else but I recommend it be Spiral because when you add your chips, the book will expand in thickness.

Now you just need to attach your chips inside with glue,  I use a thick super glue.  And remember to create some organization.

On my organizer I put four chips per page,  its important to note the paint brand, color and number, sometimes I list which airbrush i used and which model it was for.  Since this is for my own personal reference I just add whats important to me, by the way don't mind my handwriting, I know its pretty bad, but just remember the writing in my book is me being neat, you ought to see it when I don't care.  Sometimes I can't even read it, which is why I learned how to type,  the one skill I learned in High School that I use almost everyday....

Hope this helps someone out there who likes Paint Chips like I do.