Don’t let your creativity dry up in the heat

Written By Mary Correa

Keep Your Creativity Flowing This Summer: Pack a Travel Art Kit

Summer is a busy, beautiful blur. School’s out, vacations are in full swing, and schedules go a little haywire. It’s easy for creative routines to slip through the cracks—but this season is actually a perfect time to nurture your creativity in small, meaningful ways.

Instead of pressing pause on your creative practice, I want to encourage you to modify it. A shift in routine doesn’t have to mean giving up your art—it just means adapting it to the rhythms of the season.

One of my favorite ways to stay inspired is by packing a small travel art kit. And no, you don’t have to be jetting off to Bora Bora to use one. A travel kit is just as useful at your local park, on your sofa, or by the pool. Keeping supplies close at hand makes it easy to capture quick creative moments.

Watercolor Kit

This is my go-to kit—and I keep it packed at all times. Some weeks, it just lives in my purse so I can sneak in a creative break wherever I go.

Here’s what’s in my watercolor travel kit:

  • A small watercolor palette

  • A waterbrush

  • A collapsible water cup

  • A small watercolor pad or journal

  • A pencil

  • A black Micron pen

  • A folded paper towel

Watercolors are great because they’re low-mess and dry quickly. If the paint dries on your brush? No problem. A little water brings it right back to life.

Collage Kit

Perfect for vacations, especially if you’re looking to unwind with something tactile and playful. All you need is:

  • A journal

  • Small scissors (check TSA rules if flying)

  • A glue stick

You don’t even need to pack paper scraps. Pick up a magazine at the airport or collect interesting paper along the way—receipts, brochures, maps, even boarding passes. These little ephemera become meaningful memories on the page.

Colored Pencil Kit

Clean, compact, and easy to use anywhere. My Prismacolors live in a tin that slides easily into a small zippered pouch.

Add a journal and an eraser, and you’re ready to create vibrant sketches on the go.

Go Back to Basics

Never underestimate the power of a pencil and a journal. Whether you’re sketching the view from your road trip or documenting your stack of pancakes at breakfast, these tools are simple but powerful.

Want to keep it all in one place? A Traveler’s Notebook is a great option—it’s portable, structured, and makes it easy to look back on your trip later.

Pack What You Love

What you keep in your travel kit depends entirely on what you love doing. My only rules? Keep it fairly clean and, if you’re flying, make sure it’s TSA-approved.

Here are a few of my favorite travel art kit ideas to inspire your own:

  • Watercolor sketching on the beach

  • Collage journaling in a quiet cabin

  • Colored pencil doodling on a plane

  • Journaling with a good cup of coffee nearby

Your creativity doesn’t need to go on vacation this summer—just take it with you. ✨

Do you have a favorite way to travel with your art?

Mary Correa
Next

Camp Craftapolooza!