Ron try india ink or printers ink as the food colors will fade.  Another cheap possible is Rit dye. Another way to add color though muted is solution of iron oxide (rust) .

 

Like Gerald said. also water colors like you used when you were a mere children. Artist have been using water colors forever.

 

These are water colors on birch wood and I topped them with clear lacquer...Did this in about 2000 and none have faded yet. The kind you put your small  wet paint brush in some dry color and wa la, you were an artist.

  Back when companies were selling cheap kits to replace the ink in home printers there were lots of bargains at garage sales for those kits did nothing but clog up the printers and therefore were really cheap after the people got pissed.. this was the kits that had the long syringes..But most of the time the ink got trashed along with their experiences with home printers!!!

  Birch is really bad  for blotching but these water colors turned out okay......

Printers ink kits which some kits comes in bottles is like five different colors but a person can make many colors out of them.

   I also use from HL colors that come as a paste. Just use your finger to apply. Not for a big jog like kitchen cabinets but hey common cents would tell you that. Most all the colors I used on this southern bell girl I just finished had most all the the color put on with my finger of the paste stain...

 

 The outside frame was a dye stain, strong stuffffff!!  and this is on maple.

If you want a good camera cheap....

Check out Sony FDMavica FD200

You can get them as low as $6.00 on E-bay.

This is the lowest setting on the camera.