Smart Art is a fine arts subscription service that sends a new project every month and all the supplies needed to complete it. My husband and I are both artists, and we have been having a blast with our Smart Art subscription!
This box was sent to us at no cost to review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes).
The Subscription Box: Smart Art
The Cost: $49.99 per month with free shipping. Save with 3, 6, and 12-month subscriptions.
ACTIVE DEAL: $5 off your first subscription
CODE: ENJOYART5
The Products: A fine arts project, complete with instructions and supplies
Ships to: U.S. only
Good to know: It's a different project in a different media every month, using different techniques!
Check out all of our Smart Art reviews and the Craft Subscription Box Directory!
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This month's project was to create a mold and cast! This is the booklet that Smart Art sends every month. It includes art history related to the project, a list of the included supplies, project pointers, and instructions.
Subscribers can upload a picture of their finished project to Smart Art's Facebook page for a chance to win a free box! That's really cool! On the other hand, our projects usually take forever, so we always seem to miss the boat on this contest.
This is the inside of the booklet. On the left are the art history and project pointers, and on the right, there's some info on ComposiMold plus the supply list.
The instructions are printed on the back of the booklet. They are pretty clear and easy to follow, but they still allow for as much creativity as you like.
Here are the supplies that were included for this month's project.
ComposiMold Original, 6 oz. - Value $15.95
ComposiStone, 1 lb. - Value $16.99
Crafter's Acrylic Paint Black, 2 fl oz. - Value $0.99
Prima Marketing Resin Owl - Value $1.94 (pack of 4 is $7.76)
Dazzling Metallics Acrylics Colors, 4 x 2 oz. - Total Value $9.96 (2.49 each)
Princeton Artist Brush Co. Select Artiste Brush Set 3 pcs. - Value $3? (I could not find this exact set for sale online, so the value is based on similar sets.)
Please note that most of the values listed here are list prices. Almost all of them can be found for less at most online discount art supply stores.
My first step was to cut up the molding material. ComposiMold is pretty cool, you can re-use it over and over again!
I then melted it in the microwave, placed the little resin owl in the container, and poured the mold material over it to set.
I popped it in the freezer for about 20 minutes until it had set. Then I pulled the owl out of the mold. I had to trim the edges a bit where the mold material had melted under the owl, but it wasn't too bad.
Then I mixed the ComposiStone with water and poured a tiny bit of it into the mold to harden.
After a few hours, I was able to pull it out of the mold and let it finish hardening overnight.
This is my completed owl! My last step was to paint it, and my eyesight just was not up to the task. This owl is tiny! So my painting job was kind of sloppy.
Verdict: My husband and I are both huge fans of Smart Art! This month's project was interesting. I am not in love with the finished product, and I feel like I didn't do a great job. BUT, there is tons of material left over to make many other things if I want. I feel like the whole idea was to make this owl to kind of learn how to do it, and later (when creativity strikes) I can mold and cast all kinds of things! The value of this month's contents more or less breaks even with the cost of the box. That's actually really good for a fine arts subscription box, so I'm happy! We love Smart Art!
What do you think of Smart Art?
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