I’ve long-admired batik fabrics for their vivid colors and beautiful designs. Mr. 3 loves to paint. So when there was an opportunity to review the new batik painting kit from Timberdoodle, I was happy to sign up.

About The Kit

There are five options for the kit – Turtle, Seahorse, Fish, Macaw, and Hummingbird. We chose the Turtle. For $19.99, you get the fabric stapled to cardboard with the waxed design on it, paints, a paint brush, and the instructions.

You begin by folding the cardboard up to help contain the paint and you wet the canvas. I think we probably used too much water, because the colors are really muted on the fabric after it’s dried, so be careful when adding the water. Luckily, there is more paint left, so Mr. 3 can see if he can get it more vivid with less water.

Our Review

Mr. 3 definitely had a lot of fun with this project. He loves to paint, and so this was no different for him in that aspect.

The paint was really vivid when he was putting it on – and the turtle looked gorgeous. I feel like we must have done something wrong, because when it dried, it dried so light! I was a bit bummed out about that – but we will try again.

We let the batik dry overnight, and it came out with super muted colors except in the one corner. That corner wasn’t as wet as the rest, so I really think that the problem, like with water color, was that the colors got too saturated.

Tips for using the batik painting kit from Timberdoodle

You’ll want to protect the painting area. You’ll see in the photos that I put newspaper under the area Mr. 3 was working in. I’m glad, because it soaked through the box and helped protect our table from the moisture.

You’ll also want to watch that water to paint ratio. We’ll play around with it some more and see whether our thought that less water will make the colors more vivid works.

Finally, have a plan – my little guy wants me to make a bag out of his batik painting. You can also frame it in an 8″x8″ frame.

Verdict

The Batik Painting Kit from Timberdoodle would make a nice gift for an artistically-inclined child. To add an educational component to it, talking about the history of batik and studying some of the batik fabric would round it out – but not everything needs to be educational. Some things can just be fun! And Mr. 3 was definitely all about the process and having fun with it.

Miss 5 wants a kit now.

Published by Ronda Bowen

Hello there, and welcome to my page! I have been working as a full-time freelance writer and editor since 2008 when I decided that while I rather enjoyed philosophy, the Ph.D. program I was in was not a good fit for my life goals. Since then, I have published many papers and articles, started two blogs, worked as a senior editor for a magazine, served on the board of a start-up non-profit organization, and walked across fire. I strongly believe that it is important to work to make the world a better place – one project at a time. I’ve worked with Habitat for Humanity’s Women Build program to construct living quarters for those in need, written content for Stonewall Alliance, and edited the newsletter for my local natural foods cooperative. One of the blogs I founded, Activism My Way is dedicated to helping people get involved with causes they feel passionate about. Although my academic background is in philosophy and social and political theory, my heart has always been in writing fiction and poetry. I have a novel in progress, and I am working on putting together a collection of short stories to share with readers. I also worked as part of a creative team on a project with a hip hop artist that involved world-building and creating an amazing back story to a concept album. I have worked with several authors to edit their novels (as well as dissertations, children’s books, journal articles, and non-fiction projects). Non-fiction topics I have written about include pop culture and philosophy, project management, business startups and management, insurance, technology, and much more. I also have created web content for a wide variety of clients (ranging from gas station owners to hotels to lawyers), and I’ve had an opportunity to interview some amazing people (Michele May, Kevin Sorbo, Barbara Taylor Bradford, and Mark Victor Hansen to name only a few). Needless to say, I love what I do. I enjoy photography, and my subjects these days are usually my children as well as food, beverages, craft projects, and other such things for my blog, Wining Wife™. My favorite subjects are landscapes, nature (particularly clouds, flowers, and trees), and architecture.

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