Dianne E. posted

We painted all our workshops last summer, on a shoestring budget. I placed a blurb in our church newsletter asking for any paint that people had leftover from home improvement projects, especially bright colors. I also visited local hardware and paint stores, who will sell returned paint (the color wasn't quite what the customer ordered) for next to nothing. In most of the workshops, we projected images on the wall, traced and painted. Our walls are cinderblock, and for one wall in our art workshop, we painted random blocks bright primary colors. The remaining blocks, we had the children put their handprints in the same colors, then they could sign and date it. Another wall we had some of the kids go crazy with splatter painting. It was fun for them, and the result was great. We used plain interior latex paint (a must with cleanup). We used all volunteers to do the actual painting, so total cost was less than $200 for six workshops and a long hallway.

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'Leslie' posted

Another money saving tip: check out your local recycling center. If you call and let them know to save all the paint they receive, you'll have a good deal to choose from. Contractors have access to lots of leftovers, too.