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These clever art supplies won’t break the bank

Attaining work-life balance is, for most of us, a lifelong quest, and fostering creative interests outside the workplace is key to managing that balancing act. Living within a budget—another lifelong challenge for most of us—doesn’t mean stinting on personal creative pursuits, especially if making art is one of them. Affordable art supplies, available in abundance, are a useful reminder that creative expression doesn’t have to translate into big bucks.

Accessibly priced art supplies, like those featured below, make a case for a little going a long way. Designed for the experienced artist and novice alike, these creative tools—colored pencils, permanent acrylic markers, dry-erase chalk—are, when used by capable hands, just as likely to yield arresting works of art as the most coveted oils and acrylics.

Nothing permanent about these non-toxic, odorless chalk markers. Designed for temporary messaging on chalkboards, glass, ceramic, and a whole range of other non-porous surfaces, this 8-color pack of markers features bullet and chisel tips that allow for vivid, refined lettering or drawing. Use them for DIY art projects, school blackboards, or kitchen shopping lists. A quick swipe with a damp cloth makes all markings disappear like magic.

Not just one blank canvas—48 of them! This 8 x 10 inch value pack of archival quality canvas boards is ready and waiting for a whole host of creative ideas, whether for work or pleasure. 100% cotton duck canvas is primed and ready to receive compositions in oil, acrylics, tempera, and other slow-drying media. The acid free, non-toxic surface ensures the lasting integrity of finished art pieces.

Trade in those old acrylic tubes for these opaque acrylic paint markers, which feature chisel tipped nips that produce clean, refined drawings and lettering. Drying quickly, they leave a long-lasting glossy finish on almost any surface, including stone, glass, ceramic or wood. Odorless and with a color palette of 12 vibrant hues, these portable acrylics are compact enough to take along when traveling. No fuss, no muss.

You’ll never run out of color choices if you have this set of 50 watercolor pencils from Artilicious on hand. Each distinct pencil color is clearly identified by a marking on the barrel, so go ahead and plan for a composition of subtlety and nuance. These non-toxic, pre-sharpened pencils are comprised of harvested wood and fitted with thick 3.3 mm leads, making them more resistant to cracking. Press on!

Ho-hum signs, be gone! This eye-popping liquid marker set includes a suite of 24 dazzling colors (and white), picture-perfect for creating vibrant lettering and drawings on chalkboards, glass, white boards, and other non-porous surfaces. The 6mm reversible tips (round or chisel) lend themselves to subtle variations in design, and bonus pieces include a pair of tweezers for reversing the tips, and a nifty fabric travel case.

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Creativity, it’s good to remember, doesn’t necessitate a hefty paycheck, nor does it demand a significant occasion. Even conducting ordinary, mundane tasks—crafting a temporary sign, sending a personal letter, wrapping a gift—present opportunities for expressing artistic flair. All that’s needed, it turns out, is a vivid imagination and few innovative tools.

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Promila is a New York-based writer, editor, and content creator, whose focus is on visual culture—product design…
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