10 Creative Ways to Use Paint Chips

Have you ever walked by the paint color swatch display at your local hardware store and marveled at all of the colors? Maybe as a kid you would grab a few of these paint chips to take home and keep as a colorful treasure, or maybe as an adult you still grab a few and dream making over your dining room or bathroom.

One of the best things about paint chips is that they are totally free for the taking, and the options of what you can do with them are endless. They come in so many colors, and their size and durability make them perfect for your crafting. They are naturally appealing to kids (just walk them by a display and watch their eyes glow) and perfect for creating some fun projects! If you have ever wondered about some creative uses for these colorful strips, take a look below at ten creative uses for paint chips.

Before you begin, head to your local hardware store or super center for a handful of paint chips. Get a variety of colors and a variety of sizes. Some come in long three tone strips while other are single colored cards. Both have their uses and are worth sampling.

Here are 10 creative uses for paint chips. I'd love to hear how you use them as well!

Create Bookmarks

The three tone strips are perfect for kids to make their own bookmarks. Just take a hole punch and poke a hole near the top. Tie some yarn or string through the hole. Kids will love using these for their daily reading and homework time.

Make Color Matching Cards

Younger children still learning their colors will love matching like-colored swatches. Get two sets of colors that are basic and simple enough for them to match. You can shuffle up the cards and allow them to match like colors into pairs.

Make Alphabet Cards

Once children have mastered the color matching, these same cards can be used for letter matching. Just take a black permanent marker and create two sets of cards with matching letters, or upper and lower case letters. Mix them up and allow children to make matching pairs.

Create a Bunting Banner

Take a pair of scissors and cut your paint chips into triangles. The triangles can then be tapes or glued onto a piece of ribbon so to create a banner. On each triangle you can glue on a letter punched out or cut out of another paint chip. Create a “Happy Birthday” banner or simple on with the child’s name.

Design a Colorful Placemat

Choose 4 or 5 paint chip samples (the three tone strips work best for this) and line them up next to each other. Apply contact paper to laminate them together and press out any air bubbles. Cut off any extra contact paper. These make the perfect sized placemats for kids and they will love designing one with their favorite colors.

Try Some Abstract Art

Cut the paint chips into small blocks. Take a large piece of poster board and allow children to start arranging the various colored blocks on the paper. They can glue them in place once they decide the design they want to do. Encourage their creativity as they try their hands at creating their own abstract art!

Make Some Confetti

Need confetti for a party or other celebration? Grab a hole punch (the shaped punches work great too!) and start punching away at various colored paint chips. You will have bright and durable confetti sprinkles in no time in all of the custom colors that you need.

Make Your Own Mobiles

Have your child cut the paint chips into shapes of their choice using a color scheme of their choice. Poke a hole in each shape and run some string through. Attach the strings to a simple wire hanger and display!

Create a Mini Notebook

Simply gather a stack of paint chips (a dozen or so works best) and poke a hole through one end of each. You can then run a metal loop through and clasp shut. You now have a colorful little notepad perfect for little hands.

Make Crazy Hair Critters

Give each child a paper plate and allow them to create a critter with facial features. Have them then choose a selection of three tone strips to attach to the top of the plate to act as “crazy hair.” They can also attach it as a colorful bird or peacock tail if they wish. They are sure to come up with all sorts of ideas.

Kids are very creative, and chances are when presented with paint chips will come up with another ten more activities aside from these! So the next time you find yourself walking past one of those mesmerizing paint chip displays, why not a grab a few and see what you can whip up?