How to Start a Monthly Subscription Box Paint Club with Your Silhouette or Cricut

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Subscription boxes, DIY, and painted signs are hot right now! Today, let’s look at how you can combine all three into a money maker!

How to Start a Monthly Paint Club with Your Silhouette or Cricut

How it Works

Your customers sign up to receive a monthly ‘project in a box’ on your website or social media page. Each month, you mail them the supplies to complete the project along with step-by-step instructions. Think of it as a painting party in a box!

What to Include in the Box

You’ll want to be sure to include all supplies necessary to complete the project. A sample list of supplies may be:

• Wood or canvas blank. If you are using a wood blank, be sure that it is sanded and ready to paint.
• A precut vinyl stencil. You can either send the vinyl stencil weeded or have the customer weed it themselves.
• Transfer tape. Precut transfer tape with backing works well.
• Paint and brushes or sponges. You could include premeasured paint in a small container that has been well sealed, or send a whole 2 ounce bottle of acrylic craft paint. When Sarah and I held a painting party for 100+ people, we found that makeup sponges and foam brushes were inexpensive and worked well for stenciling.
• Tools: Weeding tools, vinyl squeegee, square of sandpaper. (Tip: You can use blank plastic cards as squeegees.)
• Instruction sheet. The instruction sheet is the most important part of the box you will create. You can either include a printed instruction sheet with photos of how to complete each step, or you can include a card with a website address of the video instructions.
• List of additional or helpful supplies. Customers are able to supply things like water, paper towels, newspaper to cover their workspace, scissors and basic craft supplies.
• A list of common troubleshooting solutions. While not required, it may cut down questions to you if you include a list of things that commonly go wrong. For example, if the paint bleeds under the stencil, you are using too much paint – and so on.

Pricing & Payments

The cost of your subscription paint club boxes are up to you. It will depend on the cost of the supplies in the box. Ideally, I’d recommend a price between $20 and $40 per box per month. Whatever price you decide, the cost of your monthly box should be the same every month. Of course, payment should be collected before the box ships to the customer. Most payment processors (including Paypal) offer reoccurring billing agreements. Don’t forget: Be sure to set up your payment collection date a few days before your monthly shipping date.

Get Creative

If you’ve got a scroll saw (or a great supplier for shaped wooden blanks), consider offering shaped wooden blanks in your box.

Limit the Choices

Personally, if I were sending out a subscription box every month, I would stay away from personalized designs or color choices. Allowing choices in boxes slows down packing and increases the work involved. Instead, I would choose a design and color scheme that appeal to a wide audience and include it in the box. If the customer hates the paint colors I chose, she could always drop in her local craft store and choose different colors for only a few dollars.

Another Spin on this Idea

If monthly subscriptions aren’t your thing and you love this idea, you could take this a bit farther by truly offering a “painting party in a box”. To do this, you’d sell the host enough premade kits to have a party in her home, along with instructions for her on how to compete the project. This would allow her to have her friends over for a paint party night and she will be able to show them how to complete the project.

Interested in hosting paint parties? Learn more in this article or my ebook.

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Christine Schinagl, Cutting for Business

Since 2015, Christine Schinagl has been helping crafters start and run craft businesses through her blog, Cutting for Business. As a Silhouette and Cricut crafter herself, she has a unique take on what works and what doesn’t work in the craft business world. She also enjoys teaching other crafters how to create digital SVG designs, available through the Design with Me series.

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