Smart Art Subscription Box Review + Coupon – October 2016

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

COUPON: Use code MSA20 to save 20% off your first box

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!

Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!

This month’s project was to create an encaustic painting! 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.

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:

Enkaustikos Hot Sticks (3 pcs.) + Medium – Value $12.99

Princeton Catalyst Mini Blades – Value $7.99

Enkaustikos Angled Hog Bristle Brush 1/2″ – Value $12.42

Ampersand Encausticbord 8×10″ – Value $7.87

Anodized Aluminum Plate 4×4″ – Value $8.99

Please note that all values listed here are list prices. Almost all of them can be found for less at most online discount art supply stores.

This is my husband’s completed voodoo lady painting! Scary! Working with encaustics was a completely new experience for him since this technique involves hot wax painting. That being said, I think his project turned out pretty good. He wasn’t happy with it, though, and he had a lot of trouble with the process. What I can say, though, is that our house smelled pretty toxic while he was working!

Verdict: My husband and I are both huge fans of Smart Art! That being said, this was a bit of a rough month. I think if my husband had been really well versed in encaustics, he would have been a lot happier, but I think a lot of the fun of Smart Art is trying out new techniques. The value of everything this month totals around $49, but as I’ve mentioned many times, the value of the materials is not really what this box is about. The project selection, the instruction, and the material sourcing is really where the value in this subscription lies for me. We love Smart Art!

What do you think of Smart Art?