Dimensions Needlecrafts Paintworks Paint By Number, Japanese Garden

This is my second purchase of this kit. The first one I purchased inspired my adult painting hobby. Unfortunately, I lost my painting when I moved last year and I am exciting to repaint this one again. The colors are so beautiful and to paint this is so relaxing. I highly recommend this kit. You do have to mix some of the paints to get all the colors you need, but this is not hard.

I love these paint by numbers. I find it so relaxing and the final product is really impressive. You will be painting spaces labelled as a number or a letter. The numbers are pure colors out of the pot. The letters are ones that you have to mix yourself (like color 1 + color 5). You receive 16 paint pots, a small brush taped to the back, the outlined painting on a board, and a chart that details all of the spaces and tells you what colors to mix to make the letter colors. The chart is really important - don't lose it or throw it out. Suggestions: (1) buy a packet of paint brushes. The one they provide is fantastic for small details, but you might want a larger one for big spaces like the sky (2) paints dry REALLY quickly - close the tops of the lid immediately after dipping paint brush in it + wash your brushes if you take a break (3) Create small amounts of the mixed colors (letter spaces). The company provides the same amount of paint for each color, however you will need tons of the pink and blues but very little of other ones. Be frugal especially when making 'mixed colors' (ie the letters) I wish they provided more paint or just mixed the letter colors themselves. They paint dries so quickly. When I mix a letter color on a paper plate, the paint dries before i can possibly paint all of the space. It would be nice if they included a little 'palette' to mix on that has lids/covers so paint won't dry. You can revive the paint a little bit by adding water.

I LOVED this painting!!! It was just challenging enough to fill up my time but easy enough that slight mistakes could be easily corrected. It would be a great first painting - if you like a little challenge to get you started. To paint the tree leaves - which take up quite a bit of the painting - you use dab painting and they were really fun to paint and beautiful right away! Now, with Dimensions, you must mix ... you must mix, mix, and mix some more. But the mixing makes the pastime more fun!!! I have painted so many of these PBNs that I have many of the mini paint cups that come with each painting. Well, I rinse them out and re-use them for the next PBN's mixing. When you mix colors, you may find that you mix them the second or third time differently than the first time. That's why the mini paint cups are best for me. I can keep the same mixed colors from drying and my colors stay the same! I love Dimensions!!! Recently I tried a non-mix brand and enjoyed that too. Hmmmm ... which to choose next ...???

This was a nice set, but it took me 2 months to complete it. And by saying 2 months I mean it. I would return from work and paint every day for at least 2 hours. Some colors were too runny, some were too dry. Especially the white one frustrated me the most - it was very runny and I had to paint the same area for at least 5 times to cover the number. Also, as other reviewers already said, with some lighter colors you have to paint the same area not once, sometimes not even twice. Overall I enjoyed the project and my painting turned out to look very nice. I would recommend buying a brush right away. And start with background colors, paint with them not looking at the borders, and then paint accurately with top colors.

Apparently paintworks is no longer owned by DimensIons but now owed by Advantus. I received my paint by number kit and 3 of the paint pots were old and separated. I tried stirring them with some acrylic paint restorer and got nothing but a chunky mess. I contacted Dimensions who referred me to Advantus. I emailed Advantus and have received no reply. I tried calling them during their posted office hours but the phone rang and rang with no answer. I then got a message that said no one was available in the craft customer service department. At this point I did purchase some acrylic paint at my local craft store and mixed my own colors to match. It saddens me because I have been a lover of dimensions cross stitch and paint by number kits for many years and I am unsure if I would ever spend money on their products again.