I may have found the loveliest gift idea for anyone who is obsessed with their pet, loves a family or kids’ portrait, is a sucker for anything personalised, or just enjoys a low-stress creative project. Or, if you know someone who has recently got married, how lovely would it be to turn one of their favourite wedding photos into a painting? Paint a Moment’s custom kits can do just that by turning a photo of your choice into a personalised paint-by-numbers kit. So you’re not just giving someone a photo or a personalised keepsake, you’re giving them something they can sit down and enjoy creating too! I was recently sent one by Paint a Moment to review, so let’s see how I got on.
This post contains PR gifted items and affiliate links
Ordering My Paint a Moment Kit
The guidelines for choosing a photo say it should be high resolution and well lit, and phone photos are usually fine as long as they’re sharp. When I was contacted by Paint a Moment, I knew straight away which photo I wanted to paint. Of course it had to be a portrait of Nellie, and my favourite photo of her immediately sprang to mind. For pets, they do recommend choosing a close-up portrait without a busy background, but I decided to go for something a little different!
Nellie is a rescue, and this photo was taken at the beach on our first trip away with her to North Wales. It was such a memorable and special holiday for us, so this particular photo feels really meaningful. I also just love the fact that she’s sitting there with her eyes closed, completely enjoying the sunshine!
I went for the 30x40cm beginner’s version of the kit containing 24 colours, which is less detailed than the intermediate (36 colours) and advanced (48 colours and more intricate detailing), and I was aware that my beach scene and the colourful beach towel would take up quite a few of the 24 colours in my palette. But I was more than happy to go ahead because I just adore this photo and would love it to be a colourful painting on our wall.
When ordering, you can also request a digital proof for approval before your kit is created, with the option to make any changes if needed. I think this is a great option if you’re not 100% sure how your chosen photo will translate into a paint-by-numbers design.
My kit arrived 10 working days after ordering and contained everything I needed to get started: a rolled canvas with pre-printed design complete with numbers, a set of acrylic paints in a numbered grid with a set of number stickers for numbering up the pots themselves, and 3 paint brushes in different sizes. There was also a handy paper copy of the image with the number instructions and a small photo for reference.
Painting My Paint a Moment Kit
I sat down to paint my piece on a Saturday and worked on it over a few sessions throughout the weekend. In total, I’d say it took me around 6-7 hours to complete.
I decided to work in sections, starting with the background and leaving Nellie herself until last. When I got to painting her, I worked from the darker areas first, adding the lightest highlights towards the end. I found the lines and numbers really easy to see and follow, which made the whole process very straightforward.
And I really enjoyed painting it! It was a lovely low-stress activity because there wasn’t a huge amount of thinking involved. I simply followed the numbers and instructions and watched the picture slowly come together. And I loved the fact that I was painting Nellie, which made the whole thing feel much more personal than a standard paint-by-numbers kit.
I’m also really happy with the finished painting. Of course, the nature of paint-by-numbers means you’re going to get a slightly posterised style, with blocks of colour creating the image rather than blending between shades. But I think this suits my colourful beach photo, and most importantly, I think Nellie herself has been captured really well. I can instantly tell it’s her, and I think her little facial details have come through brilliantly.
As I mentioned earlier, I knew that choosing a photo with a beach scene and a rainbow coloured beach towel would mean there would be fewer colours left for the gradients in Nellie’s fur. If you’re looking for a more realistic or less stylised finish, I think a close-up pet portrait would work well, as there would be more scope for subtle changes in colour.
I was pleased with the amount and quality of the paint in the kit. The paints were nice and thick, but I still did two coats of most colours to make sure they looked bold and that there were no streaks of canvas showing through. The good news is that even after doing this, I still had plenty of paint left over at the end! The three brushes offered a good range of sizes, from a flatter brush for covering larger areas to a very fine one for the smaller, more detailed sections.
My only issue was that after completing the painting I found there was one colour match that I wasn’t completely happy with. I felt it needed to be quite a bit lighter so I decided to mix two of the paints to create my own shade, and painted over those sections. This worked well as acrylic paint layers nicely over itself. I’m not recommending anyone else go off-piste with their kit in this way, but I felt confident enough to give it a go and I’m glad I did. I think the finished painting is better for that little tweak.
I wouldn’t describe myself as a complete beginner, but I found the difficulty level of this kit suitable for both myself and adult beginners. It wasn’t too intricate overall, although there were a few more detailed areas where I took a little extra care. I wasn’t rushing the project and was quite happy to take my time with it.
If you’re a creative person, have some experience with painting, or are simply very neat and patient, you might enjoy moving up to one of the more detailed kits. It would also be worth considering the image you’re choosing as I do think some photos would benefit from having more colours and finer details. Paint a Moment estimates that a beginner kit takes around 5–10 hours, an intermediate kit around 10–20 hours, and an advanced kit 25+ hours, so it’s worth bearing that in mind too!.
Paint a Moment as a Gift
As a gift idea, I think the beginner custom kit is a lovely option. At £25.99, you’re getting something thoughtful and personalised, but also something the recipient can spend some time enjoying before ending up with a keepsake for their home.
If you fancy giving one a go, you can save 15% with my code ENGLISHROSEMANC.
What do you think? Would you like to receive a personalised paint-by-numbers kit like this as a gift?
