Painting by numbers {gift set}

I’ve always enjoyed doing paint by number kits! In fact, I did a post awhile back about PBN projects for your home. I loved Bob Ross paint by numbers when I was little. They’re nostalgic and fun. Doing a kit is relaxing, creative, and you end up with a painted masterpiece! I like giving gifts that I would be excited to open, and I can tell you 100% that I would absolutely love a personalized paint by number gift set! I also love it because it’s an easy, lightweight gift to send in the mail.

Here’s what you need:

• An 8×10 canvas
• Carbon copy tracing paper (You can get it at Michael’s!)
• A pencil
• Plastic paint cups
• Acrylic paint
• picmonkey.com or other editing software
• printer

First, upload your picture to picmonkey.com, and use the posterize button. You can see my original picture and the edited version of the one I used to create the paint by number. Play around with color, contrast, and shadows to make the picture work for you. I also use the straighten feature in picmonkey.com to make him on more of a diagonal. Here is the before and after of a the picture I used.

Next, print out the edited version of your picture and start creating the by number! I used a black pen to define exactly what shape was what on my printed picture. You can see my printed picture, canvas, and paint cups below.

I’ve got my paint by number graph made up and I’m ready to transfer it to the canvas.

Transferring the image to the canvas was a lot easier than I thought! I used the carbon copy transfer paper, my printed image, and the tip of a mechanical pencil with no lead to trace my image. After you trace the image, pick up your  tracing paper and go over the carbon lines with a pencil. Add in the numbers from your original printed sheet.

Here is a close up of the final pain by number graph on the canvas.

The last thing to do is mix up your paint colors! I decided to use 7 colors for my paint by number. I mixed up a dark and light skin color.

I added numbers to the tops of the plastic paint containers that correspond to the paint by number graph. Then I packaged it up with a paintbrush, and sent it on it’s way! Hopefully, the painting turns out as lovely as it did in my brain!

And here is a picture Annie sent me of her almost finished paint by number! Lookin’ good!

Do you love doing PBN? Would you have make your own? It would be fun to have PBN party!

* This post was inspired by ambitious procrastinator.  She turned her kitty into a paint by number using Picnik!  Thanks, Nikki, for the inspiration!