- Ellie Taylor
Smile Create Repeat Surprise Box
Recently I got a coupon from the Smile Create Repeat box for $15 off a surprise past box. Past boxes can be purchased at regular price for $30, but you never know which one you will get so that makes it a surprise! Anyway, I received my surprise box which was a past box from November 2016. This box featured Utrecht Fluid Acrylics. If you want to try some of these supplies for yourself, I have included my affiliate links for Amazon and MisterArt down below.
This is what you see when you open everything in the box. Utrecht acrylic paint!
The first items that I received were two 1 fluid oz bottles of Utrecht Fluid Acrylics. The colors were Ultramarine Blue and Titanium White. Acrylic is one of my main mediums so I can definitely use more of these colors and I like Utrecht brand products! These acrylics are available at dickblick.com and utrechtart.com and retail for around $3.85.
The next item I received was a Koh-I-Noor Woodless Progresso Pencil. The color I got was Carmine. You can get a set of 24 pencils at Amazon.com for $14.27.
The next item was a General's Kimberly Drawing Pencil 6B. This is part of a set that you can collect from each monthly Smile Create Repeat box. You can get a box of 12 for $12.99 at Amazon.com.
There was also a paintbrush to go along with the acrylic paint. The brush was a Royal Langnickel Zen Round #4. You can get this brush at dickblick.com or utrechtart.com for $2.09. I can always use new brushes!
Lastly there was a piece of Fredrix Style 580 Universal Cotton Canvas. You can get a 59 inch by 6 yard roll of this type of canvas for $61.89.
Also, in the box was the paper with the items list, a newsletter, and a project on the other side. There was a Smile Create Repeat sticker, a postcard with a picture by the featured artist, and a brochure for this subscription box. The featured artist was Mina Petrovic, the author of 'Manga Crash Course'.
Here is the suggested project for the month of November. There is a YouTube video to go along with the lesson.
Doodlin' Time!
The 6B General's Kimberly drawing pencil makes nice dark marks and the woodless Koh-I-Noor colored pencil puts down lots of pigment. The Utrecht fluid acrylics are very nice and have good coverage and the #4 Royal Langnickel Zen Round brush is very good for detail work or blending.
'Monotone Study of Pitcher'
by Ellie Taylor
I used the Royal Langnickel Zen Round brush to paint a quick monotone study of a pitcher with some leaves and flowers. I used the Fredrix Style 580 canvas and it has a nice surface texture. The Utrecht fluid acrylics are very smooth, but not too thin. They have a viscosity comparable to Grumbacher and Liquitex. I really like them and they are very good quality. I will be getting some more in the future! The woodless coloring pencil works fine on paper, but canvas is a bit too rough for good coverage. However, it worked nicely for tinting the Titanium White a pinkish color.
Overall, this was a good surprise box for me because I got to try out the Utrecht fluid acrylics. Before receiving this box, I had used Utrecht's brushes and canvas, but hadn't tried their paint. Now I know that I really like their paint products too!
This is a good box for beginning artists and especially young artists. It introduces basic art supplies and the lesson is easy to follow even for children. Another plus for this box is the YouTube video lesson that goes along with every month's box. This box cost me $15 with free shipping. Their normal monthly subscription starts at $25 a month. It only ships in the USA. Check them out at www.smilecreaterepeat.com.