Custom Paint By Numbers – Product Review & Tips & Tricks!

Custom paint by numbers kits are all the rage these days.  It’s so easy to turn your favorite photo into a painting and you need literally zero artistic talent to create a masterpiece that will impress everyone that you know.  Just follow the numbers and stay within the lines!  It’s such a fun process that is also very relaxing.

Winnie’s Picks provided me with free product for this post but all opinions are 100% my own.  

Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will make a commission if you click through and make a purchase.  Thanks so much for the support!

Winnie’s Picks custom paint by number kit review

Winnie’s Picks provides premium paint by numbers kits for adults.  You can select a kit from their collection which features works by American artists or upload a custom photo of your own that they will convert into a custom paint by numbers kit.  

Uploading a photo

I went with a custom paint by number and used a portrait of my dog Abby.  It was very simple to upload my image and choose a size for the canvas.  For reference, mine is a 16″x16″.  One thing to keep in mind is that the photo must be at least 750 pixels x 750 pixels.  They allow you to upload images from several locations such as local files, Facebook, Instagram, Google Drive and more.  Once the picture is uploaded you can crop it, rotate it and even do a little bit of photo editing to enhance the photo.  When uploading a photo you also have the option to choose from their standard 24 color option or a detailed 36 color option.  I would recommend the 36 color option because it will better resemble your original photo with more colors of paint available.

Delivery:

Shipping was free which is great.  According to their website, shipping is free on all US orders.  International orders have a shipping fee of $9.99 for orders under $50 USD and it’s free for orders above $50 USD.

Since I went with a custom paint by numbers kit the shipping took a long time.  They state on their website that it takes 4-6 weeks however mine took over a month.  They provided the product for free so it could be that they were prioritizing paying customer orders.  I did notice on their website that you can apply for a refund if it takes more than 8 weeks.  Moral of the story, if you need it by a certain date order it way in advance.

I will say that it was totally worth the wait!

Packaging:

The kit comes in a durable cardboard tube with all of the supplies included inside.

Winnie’s Picks paint by numbers kits include:

• Canvas
• Acrylic paint set
• Set of 4 brushes
• Paper reference image (not shown in my picture below)
• Instructions

Quality

Overall I was very pleased with the quality of my custom paint by numbers kit from Winnie’s Picks.

Canvas

The canvas is very durable and doesn’t wrinkle at all.  While I chose to display mine in a photo frame, the canvas is definitely durable enough that you could stretch it over a wood frame.  I would give them 5 stars for the canvas.

Printed Image and numbers

It was pretty easy to follow along with the numbers and decipher where I should actually be painting.  A few of the sections had numbers that were so small that I had difficulty reading them.  There were also a couple of spots on the brick background that didn’t have any numbers at all so I had to reference my original photo and pick a color that looked close enough.  Most of these were tiny little white spots in the brick.  I chose an image with an extremely detailed background so if your photo isn’t this detailed you probably won’t have any issues.

Paint

Overall the paint is a good quality.  My picture had a lot of very light colors and the paint didn’t cover the printed lines very well.  You can still see them up close but from a distance they are not noticeable at all.  It’s pretty thick paint so I had to thin it out a little bit with some water.

My kit came with 34 colors as shown below.  Colors #21 and #27 were mixed up which really confused me.  I wasn’t sure if they had screwed up the stickers or the actual color placement so I had to guess which one was right.  Both were a shade of brown so it wasn’t obvious to me.

I made the assumption that the stickers were incorrect and the colors were in the right location.  Unfortunately, I guess wrong.  When my painting was finished I hung it above the original photo and noticed that the left side of my dog’s body was too dark (first photo below).  The paper reference image that comes with the kit made it easy for me to locate and repaint these 2 colors.  The 2nd photo below is what it looked like after I fixed it.  Much better and insanely close to the original photo!

I would absolutely recommend Winnie’s Picks for anyone that is looking for a custom paint by numbers kit.  It would make such a fun personalized gift for a loved one or friend.  My painting was extremely detailed and to be honest, took me several months to finish.  I probably had 50 hours into it when it was all said and done. If you’re looking for a quick project choose a photo that doesn’t have as much detail.  I was actually glad that it took that long.  It gave me a ton of time to relax and enjoy painting and I feel like you definitely would get your money’s worth with this product.

Custom Paint By Numbers Tips 

I definitely learned a few things while completing my painting.  Overall the process is super user friendly but here are a few tips to ensure that everything goes smoothly.

Selecting a photo

• Choose an image with good lighting and contrast
• A simple background is ideal
• Avoid blurry photos
• Avoid photos with strong shadows

Using the paint

• The paint will dry quickly so be sure to close the caps tightly so that the paint doesn’t dry out in between your painting sessions!
• Add a drop of water if the paint is too thick and mix it up with your brush.

Framing your masterpiece

1. Measure the painted dimensions of your canvas. I got the 16″x16″ canvas however the actual painted dimensions were 15.5″ x 15.5″.
2. Select a frame that matches the painting dimensions.  I went with this simple white frame that I purchased from Amazon.
3. Use scissors to trim your canvas to fit the frame.
4. Display your masterpiece.

I couldn’t he happier with how my custom paint by number picture turned out.  Abby is impressed too.  😉

Follow me on Instagram  Pinterest and Facebook so that you never miss a post.

Have fun with your paint by numbers kit and please tag me on social media when you complete yours.  I’d love to see it!