Hello creative friend!!

I’ve been spending a lot of time at my paint-making studio the past couple of weeks, mixing and pouring the handcrafted watercolors and for the paint subscriptions and Collector’s Boxes.

There’s something so meditative about making handcrafted paint. It’s a slow, intentional process of mixing pigments, swatching out the colors, checking the consistency, and making little adjustments until I get the color just right.

And while I’m working, I have my VINTAGE ALOHA inspiration board propped up in the studio. 🌺

It’s filled with color swatches, photos from my adventures, vintage fabric fragments, fibers, vintage trims, handpainted florals, and quilted pieces I found at Destash in Honolulu, along with scribbles and marks from my collection research.

It’s my North Star as I develop the palette.✨

For this collection, it all started with lagoon blue.

I already had blue pigment on my paint-making slab, so that’s where I began!

That first color became the foundation for the entire palette. A little of the blue gets mixed into each new color, then a little of that color gets mixed into the next. I keep mixing, swatching, and testing as I go.

One color leads to another, and eventually the entire VINTAGE ALOHA palette comes together.

I’ve been sharing little peeks into this process on Instagram, mixing the studio footage with collage elements and pieces of the artwork that inspired the collection.

🌺 A little VINTAGE ALOHA surprise!

While I was making the watercolor pans for my NINE Collector’s Box, I decided to make a small batch of limited-edition ceramic mini XL swatch tiles, too!

And then I thought, why not create a smaller VINTAGE ALOHA collection with a few of my favorite handcrafted mediums?

So that’s what I’ve been working on.

The new VINTAGE ALOHA mini collection will include:

🎨 ONE multicolor watercolor mini XL tile with 6–7 colors from the VINTAGE ALOHA palette

💧 ONE surprise metallic shimmer ink in a 20 mL bottle

🖍️ ONE surprise duotone PIGMENT BAR for drawing, mark making, layering, and wax resist

🖋️ ONE mark-making + mixed paper kit

🖌️ Digital Swatch card printable

Each mini collection will be a surprise mix of colors that I choose from the VINTAGE ALOHA palette!

I love combining these different mediums. Start with a few watercolor washes, add layers of ink, then bring in the PIGMENT BAR for expressive marks and resist techniques.

You can use them together in your sketchbooks, planners, art journals, paintings, and mixed-media collages.

A little collection of handcrafted color to experiment with and make your own.

PLUS! Your mini collection includes access to my Fall LIVE Paint + Swatch Workshop ($67 value).

We’ll spend time exploring color, swatching, and playing with handcrafted paints and mixed-media materials together.

I’m finishing up the VINTAGE ALOHA collections now and getting them ready for packaging. I have 12 sets available, and shipping is currently planned for early to mid-October.

I’m also including a 5 mL sample of my NEW Mineral Pigment Blends with VINTAGE ALOHA collection purchases!

I’ve been making and experimenting with these mineral-rich custom blended pigments in the studio for several years exploring ways to create different types of mixed-media paints and textured surfaces.

You can mix them into your own watercolors, inks, oil or acrylic paints, texture mediums, and even handmade fiber papers.

I’m still finalizing all the details, but I wanted to share a little sample from my latest materials experiments with you!

A little something extra to inspire more color PLAY in your studio. ✨

​SHOP THE NEW VINTAGE ALOHA MINI COLLECTION →​

💗 A few NINE Collector’s Boxes are still available!

If you’ve had your eye on the original NINE: VINTAGE ALOHA Collector’s Box, I still have a handful available from the limited edition of 25.

The larger anniversary collection includes exclusive handcrafted colors, inks, watercolor, wax mediums, mixed-media extras, and the accompanying workshop experience.

​EXPLORE VINTAGE ALOHA →​

I can’t wait to share more of these watercolors, inks, and PIGMENT BARS with you!

🎉 DID YOU MISS THE NINE-YEAR LIVE?

If you missed my nine-year #tracibautistaCOLOR celebration, you can still catch the replay! I pulled out old collections, paint-making journals, swatches, and artwork from the archives and shared more about the inspiration and creative process behind VINTAGE ALOHA.

It was so much fun looking back at nine years of handmade color.

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​WATCH THE NINE-YEAR CELEBRATION REPLAY​​

I hope this gives you a little inspiration to pull out your planner, sketchbook, or journal this weekend and PLAY. 🎨💗

SHOP VINTAGE ALOHA

P.S. I have more VINTAGE ALOHA studio experiments, swatches, and behind-the-scenes color stories to share over the next few weeks. Excited to share a peek behind the scenes! SHOP the VINTAGE ALOHA collection​

With creativity and color...

Artfully, xo Traci Bautista 💞 Founder, #tracibautistaCOLOR

If you have any questions reach out to customer care using the chat box at tracibautistacolor.com