One of the most important parts of creating paint-by-number kits doesn’t happen on a computer or at a work table—it happens with a brush in hand. As designs come together, I try to paint as many of them as I realistically can, start to finish, to understand how they actually feel once someone sits down to paint.

This isn’t about speed or perfection. It’s about feasibility, flow, and quality. Over the past year, I’ve personally painted more than twenty Mitten Masterpiece designs, and in just the last month alone, I completed six paintings. Each one taught me something new.

Below is a gallery of a handful of those unfinished/finished pieces—painted not as samples, but as real tests of the experience we’re offering.

Top row (left to right): Ernest Hemingway: The Quiet Gaze, A custom paint by number for my mom for Christmas; 2nd row: Michigan State University’s Sparty (working on licensing, stay tuned for a huge launch!), Michigan Vintage Postcard, Winter Sky at Seul Choix Point Lighthouse, The Grand Hotel Veranda
3rd row: Lilac Breezes at Hotel Iroquois, Beacon by Day Charlevoix South Pier Lighthouse, my son Gavin (and Mitten Masterpiece co-owner) painted Traverse City Vintage Postcard

Painting Is the Only True Test

A design can look beautiful on screen, but paint-by-number is experienced one brushstroke at a time. Painting a piece myself allows me to answer questions that simply can’t be solved digitally:

Do the shapes feel intuitive or frustrating?
Are there areas that feel unnecessarily tight or tedious?
Does the color flow make sense as the image develops?
Does the piece still feel enjoyable halfway through—and near the end?

Some designs reveal issues only after hours of painting. Others confirm that a piece works exactly as intended. Both outcomes are valuable.

Gauging Feasibility, Not Just Beauty

One of the biggest reasons I paint so many designs is to gauge feasibility. A design might be visually striking, but if it requires constant correction, excessive layering, or feels mentally exhausting, it doesn’t belong in a Mitten Masterpiece kit.

Painting the work myself helps me decide:

Whether adjustments are needed to simplify certain areas
If color transitions need refinement
Whether the overall experience aligns with our standards

If a piece feels more like work than enjoyment, it goes back to the drawing board.

Quality Shows Up in the Process

Painting our designs also reinforces how materials perform in real conditions. It’s one thing to test paint and canvas in isolation—it’s another to see how they behave across an entire piece, over multiple sessions.

By painting regularly, I can spot:

Where coverage excels
Where a second coat feels natural rather than frustrating
How the canvas supports detail and flow
How the finished piece looks once fully dry

These insights directly inform refinements to both design and materials.

Holding Every Design to the Same Standard

I don’t expect customers to paint every kit the way I try to do—but I do believe every kit should be capable of producing a beautiful, wall-worthy result. Painting the designs myself is how I hold each one to that standard.

If I wouldn’t enjoy finishing it, or wouldn’t feel proud hanging it on my own wall, it doesn’t move forward.

That filter is simple, but it’s powerful.

Why This Matters to Customers

When someone opens a Mitten Masterpiece kit, they’re trusting us with their time. Painting isn’t just a purchase—it’s hours of focus, patience, and care. Personally painting our designs helps ensure that time feels well spent.

It also means that when we say a design works, it’s because it’s been tested in the most honest way possible—by actually painting it.

A Process That Never Really Ends

Painting six designs in a single month isn’t unusual here. As new ideas emerge and existing designs evolve, the brush comes back out. Each painting informs the next, and the process continues.

Because the best way to know if a paint-by-number kit truly works… is to paint it.

And that’s something I plan to keep doing, one design at a time.

❤️ With Love from Michigan,
Bobbie

Why I Personally Paint as Many Mitten Masterpiece Designs as Possible