This is a review of Let’s Make Art watercolour subscription box*. Spoiler alert: I really love it!
Shipping to Canada
I need to address the elephant in the room right off the bat. Let’s Make Art charges US$40 to ship to Canada! It was the only reason why I didn’t subscribe sooner. Because of the shipping charge, I tried out Shippsy* for the first time, and thankfully, it worked out so well. I paid CAD$6.99 as a base charge plus taxes, and didn’t pay any duties. You can go to the nearest Shippsy location to pick up your shipment(s) for free if you wish, but I paid CAD$9 extra to have it shipped to me.
By the way, the total shipping cost and taxes I paid to have it sent to me is CAD$25.
Why I love Let’s Make Art
As I mentioned in a previous post, I picked up watercolour recently. I got into this medium because of Sarah Cray, the artist/creator/co-founder of Let’s Make Art. I love her teaching style and her art.
Each watercolour box costs US$45, but you get 15% off and free shipping if you subscribe. The contents of each box vary but you usually get the paints, paper, graphite paper (1), outlines and at least one bonus item per box.
Let’s Make Art Small Comforts Contents:
- Dandelion Paint Co. Watercolor Paint: Red, Sepia, Pine Green, Dandelion Yellow
- Watercolor paper (enough to do each project twice)
- Graphite Paper and outlines
- Step-by-step instruction cards
- Reference Photos
- Let’s Make Art Matter Postcard
- Bonus item: 2 Colors of Pigment Powder (exclusive to the box)
- Paint is Made in the USA~ Non Toxic and Conforms to ASTM D-4236
Since I started my subscription in mid-July, my first box was the August 2022 box. I have to admit I got it mostly because of the cat. It ended up being the most challenging, but I love how Sarah Cray designed the 4 projects (each box comes with 4 projects) to include the easiest (Flower Sprig) and gradually build up to the hardest (House Cat). This House Cat reminds me of my late cat Noodles, who lived to be 19 years old.
Review of Dandelion Paints by Let’s Make Art
Small Comforts box comes with 4 full size bottles of house brand Dandelion Paint Co. paints, which are dye-based and not lightfast. However, there are ways to get around that in case you want to hang your creations. For example, you can use UV resistant glass in a frame, or a UV fixative meant for watercolours.
One advantage of using liquid watercolour paints like these is that the colours are very vibrant and easy to use, and are perfect for beginners. You don’t need very much for each painting, so even though I completed the projects I still have plenty of paint left in the bottles.
In addition, these paints are transparent and lift very easily. I enjoyed using them!
Instructions and Tutorials
The printed instructions were easy to follow, and along with Sarah’s tutorials, it was a lot of fun to paint the four projects. My field of Daisies ended up looking like a field of eggs, but it was still fun to do and the lesson in that is to learn how to communicate the space and depth without filling in every little detail. Instead of the mountains I did clouds instead, and managed to overwork them 😛
Let’s Make Art Subscription Box Overall Review
Let’s Make Art is worth getting, especially if you are a watercolour enthusiast or beginner like me. The quality of the paints, paper and instructions is high and you are getting four very well designed projects for different skill levels. I truly enjoyed each of the projects, even if I normally don’t paint certain things (e.g. quilt). The projects force me to paint outside of my comfort zone (Small Comforts hehehe) and I love that it’s not all the same subjects.
This Let’s Make Art review isn’t complete without rating its customer service. I didn’t get a shipping confirmation for about a week after my box should be shipped, so I emailed customer service. Within 30 minutes I got a nice reply with tracking. The boxes usually start shipping on the 18th of each month, and mine was shipped on the 20th. I received the box via Shippsy on August 3rd, so the turnaround isn’t too bad at all.
If you are looking for a nice subscription box to learn something new, or pick up a new hobby, I highly recommend Let’s Make Art. They have acrylic, kids watercolour, art journaling and lettering boxes too! Let’s Make Art might just be the perfect pandemic escapism. 🙂
*I am not an affiliate of Let’s Make Art or Shippsy.
