I Opened A $200 Art Advent By CRAFTAMO...overpriced??
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- Опубліковано 8 лют 2025
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Today I'm opening the Craftamo 12 days of Christmas $200 (though apparently it's worth $250??) art supply advent calendar. Was this overpriced or just right? So far I've opened a $600 advent, Moriah Elizabeths advent, the Crayola Advent, and more. This is the latest, perfect for artists and crafters alike. Let me know if you like this one or not, I think it's highly personal!
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Okay so there’s a ton of comments I wanted to clear up here! If you follow me you know I am usually pretty harsh and honest if I don’t like things. (Looking at you crayola CIY box..) but I wasn’t super critical on this box and wanted to clear things up.
1. As I said the start, I was not paid for this video. It would be literally illegal for me to say I wasn’t paid and to actually get paid.
2. I am not friends with Emma, I’ve exchanged two emails with her. She reached out to me on instagram a long time ago and I never saw it. I heard from her via email once Craftamo asked if they could send me the calendar. Craftamo asked if they could review the video (I said no) a few weeks after Emma emailed me. The two weren’t related at all.
3. I had an entire clip with some more criticism for the box I went back and forth on putting in. You see the issue is, we aren’t critiquing crayola, a mass produced large company here. We would be critiquing a person who spent time on this. Another artist, who we truly don’t know how much control she had over the cost. Whenever I critique something, I get comments saying I’m being too harsh or that they personally like it. I can’t win either way.
4. Yes, objectively of course I do think this box is overpriced for what you get, however, I knew MANY people didn’t feel that way due to the tutorials. It had good reviews from people who found the reviews worth it. A lot of people don’t think it’s worth it. Would I buy this calendar again? No. Did I recommend this calendar or rave about it? Also no. I simply showed what I got and shared the end of personally include more paint instead of the key ring and bag. I asked people to leave their feedback here as I wanted to know who would find value in the products and tutorials versus who wouldn’t. I felt it was the best way to handle it and have a mature conversation about it as we are all mostly adults here.
5. I have been screwed over by a company this past year myself that I worked with. I designed a product, specified a price I wanted, materials, and they changed everything about it and posted the price significantly higher than I asked for. We have no idea how much control Emma had over price or items here so I didn’t want to say ”this is bad, this is overpriced” because we truly do not know. This is why I left it up to my audience to decide for themselves how they felt about the value. As I said some people said it would be worth it for them, others said not.
6. Her tutorials to clarify (there is someone in my comments spreading a ton of false information here) are NOT free on her channel, they are unlisted videos only available for people who bought the calendar hence why I hid the links throughout my video.
6. My only crime here is just not wanting to be mean to a person. I have a relatively big audience and I have seen before how audiences of one UA-camr can slam another UA-camr. I do not ever condone bullying and sometimes things like this can lead to that. I didn’t want people following me to go to her channel and criticize her.
I have no problem critiquing a brand or a big company because nobody is going to be personally offended. But seeing that Emma did put this together, and not truly knowing just how much control she had over certain aspects behind the scenes contractually, I tread careful and didn’t rave about the calendar but also didn’t slam it. I said I liked the products but I also (please note) didn’t recommend or say how great it was. I truly believe Emma did her absolute best with the constraints she had. She said if she included paint it would’ve cost a lot more, so take that as you will 🙏
Thank you
I totally get u.
Some of the comments in this comment section were weird, yes it is absolutely expensive and over priced, and yes you could have been more critical and you explained this part, and I totally get you and I get these comments.
And yes is bad move from company to review ur vid before u post, and glad u declined.
But other than that, some of the comment claiming stuff without any proof or evidence is just weird, idk.
I think you done the perfect video for the product. You can’t please everyone so just carry on doing what you do.
I think you gave a very fair review. You managed to give your opinion without outright recommending OR slamming the product. In my opinion, being able to give your opinion without insulting the company or the artist that worked to curate the product was really awesome.
I also really appreciated that you asked your community what their thoughts were on the value... I'm just sad to see that there were so many rude comments rather than people having productive discussions. 🙁
It is an advent calendar. Not supplies we are purchasing. I don’t believe it is overpriced. It is a holiday experience and beautifully done.
To be honest, the idea is nice and as an artist myself, I completely understand all the hard work that went into this. That being said, the price point is too high for so few art supplies. We can get tutorials off of youtube for free, and for someone who already has all the art supplies they need, this set is not a good investment. If we can afford to buy 12 random items for $200, chances are we can afford high quality supplies that we're already familiar with and enjoy.
I have to disagree. I have bought craftamo paint brushes and they are really good quality and are really nice. The other stuff makes up for the high price in my opinion
You can’t get these videos for free. They are listed but are not for open use.
You make excellent points.
Not as good as Princeton or Windsor and newton etc.. @@amandaterrio4823
@@DeluluIsTheSolulu Agree!
Way overpriced. For that kind of money, I expect art supplies-not pins, keychains, and washi tape! It's $200! The tiny palette, while beautiful, is something I already own and only paid $4 for. As for the metallic watercolors, a set of at least three affordable cool primaries would have been so much better. Plus, the tutorials are readily available for free. This really feels like a rip-off.
On a different note: I absolutely love your book!
I. totally agree! If I buy an « art advent calendar « , I would expect to get more paint and not get pins, keychains or tote bags 😁
As a non begginer artist in also don't find much personal value in the videos as they are targeted towards beginners they should have been more advanced levels so profecinal artist would have value in them. I know it sounds harsh and I love Emma I follow her I just think she needed to make it more advanced level
The washi tape I'm not going to knock because I actually know several people who use it for barriers with various media to help keep sharp lined borders. So it still has it's usefulness as an art supply. But the rest? Definite no.
@@TwistyKitty The washi tape is useful indeed, but I dont think it was an item worth having after spending 200 dollars. That's my opinion. Paying 200 dollars and to find washi tape! Nope!
Are you are thinking of the free tutorials Emma has put on UA-cam? Inside each box lid, there are specific tutorials for the box set only, that are only accessible by following the link. Therefore they are not all available for free. You HAVE to have paid for the calendar to get the code from the lid, and they are different to the you tube videos.
The fact that 25% of the products aren't art related and something that I personally would just "lose"/throw away/give away really ruins the value of the calendar for me
She is an artist but doesn't use Windsor and Newton....what???
Honestly I would be very very disappointed if I paid $200 for that calendar. Thank u Chloe for doing this video so we don’t have to spend our hard earned money on this! For $200 I could buy a ton of watercolor supplies and have exactly what I want and like!
Correct! Here's what $200 can buy that will last a long time:
1) 24 set of professional half pan paints or select tubes of professional paints = $50
2) Sarah Renae Clark's colour cube vol1 & vol2 = $67
3) Arches large size 100% cotton paper - I can cut into smaller sizes = $20
4) Ohuhu fine liner pens 9pk = $10 (with coupon)
5) Meeden porcelain palette = $9
6) Artegria 10pk brushes = $20
Subtotal = $176 ... That leaves me with enough money to pay for taxes and pick up metallic paints or tote bags
Exactly, this is way overpriced, its not funny anymore.
I think $200 for two paint brushes, three pens, 2 paints, a small sketchbook, some washi tape, two pieces of card and ....tat. sorry, but the bag is just another typical canvas tote tote bag, the key ring and pin are pretty but realistically of no use, and the mini palette is gimicky. I think advent calendars as a whole are overpriced but this one is very much so.
👍🏼
Ur forgetting how long it took her to do the tut and she even said they were high quality
@@HarjitBaryar Why did she think her tutorials would be useful for non-beginner travel artists that she said she designed this calendar for? Maybe she meant it was for new artists interested in trying plein air, but not only her tutorials take place in a studio and have nothing to do with plein air as a whole, how could a pin and keychain be useful for plein air artists? I'm sorry, but her criteria is all over the place.
@@okane9417 I will say some of the items were pretty useless
Not worth it. Proves the whole pay more for less,that's what's been going on with products
I think the artist’s choice to not include paints is odd. If her argument was that ‘most people would have their watercolours’, then to me, they would have brushes, even more so. And assuming good quality, then a brush is a brush, especially just a round. Whereas you can always have slightly different colours, or metallics etc. an average of $16 per day - that could get decent paint.
Not only that, if they were looking for professional grades, then surely they wouldn't need the tutorials either?
I have loads of watercolor paints and I would love to sample others. Each brand is different, sometimes vastly, and I am always up for getting new paints. It's strange that an art calendar wouldn't take advantage of that.
@@SotaliaTucuxi Plus for the the price point she could have leaned in metallics/multichromes or other speciality finishes and because they aren't every day colors no one would have minded half pans either.
100%. if everyone who gets this has paints....ok? wouldnt they have paper, brushes and more then? what about gouache artists or acrylics that a family meemeber buys them becasue they want to get into watercolour. i can bet that alot of people who get this will be confused about lack of paints. also watercolour you can get some decent paints for good price. you dont need top tier for everything
@@hawkeyescoffee6399 VERY GOOD POINT!!!
As a watercolour user with many sets of watercolours, I'd be fuming if I bought a $200 watercolour advent calendar and got a pin, a keyring and a tote and NO WATERCOLOURS.
To put this in perspective : For less than $200 I just purchased a 24 set of hand poured Daniel Smith paints with a bonus extra tin, an Arches 9 by 12 cold pressed watercolor block and a 48 page cold press sketchbook from Etchr. I will mention the DS paints were on sale for $93. I had money leftover so that partially paid for a new soft flat brush from Maria Racnasky brush line on Etsy. Also known as her Songbird line. My Mom had given me that much money to spend on art supplies for Christmas. No comparison to this advent calendar. I like Emma and watched her videos for many years. I don’t follow her anymore but wish her well. Compared to the $90 double decker Advent calendar you reviewed last week this was way over priced or I guess just not well put together. Each individual piece was good but mismatched I guess is how I would say it.
For $200 I can hand pick my own art supplies for way less! Advent calendars have been increasing in price year after year, it's insane. 😤😤😤Anyways, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everybody! 🎄🎆 *
Challenge accepted. These art supplies for $200 USD. I'll start in January.
Not including paint but replace it with tote bag, key ring and pins?? Yeah…
Agree.
Yeaaaaaaa
feel the same here too...
Not only that but assuming watercolor artists already have paint but they don't assume watercolor artists have brushes? lol wtf, I'm commenting all over this video because I think this is one of the most delusional art advent calendars I've ever seen.
@@TheNerdJournalsagreed
A keychain? A bag? A PIN? No. Just no for that price. Even the brush roll seems a little silly given how much the calendar cost. If it's an art calendar, it should be made of art supplies, period. And the tutorials being already free ruins the value even further.
the tutorials are different to the you tube ones, and specifically made to be accessed by a link in the box lid of each day. They are not free, they are only accessible via the link - she effectively did two tutorials for each day... one for you tube, and another one for the box recipient.
I wouldn't want the pins, brush bag, or tote. If I'm getting an art supply advent, I'd want the supplies. A little water bottle, small tubes of paint, a cool bag for it all (not tote).. everything for a small travel kit.
I feel like it was well curated except for the key chain, tote and pin. I would be pleased to have one non-art supply, but 3, one of which is a key chain, don't give the calendar more value, imo. The supplies you received seem to be nice quality which is better than most art calendars I've seen. The tutorials do add a fair amount of value as well but I still think $200 is expensive for what you received.
Love your wreath that you created!
Imagine paying 200 for washi tape, a keychain, a brush, a carry bag, a tote, a pin... and it's only 12 days because 24 would be too many items and add to value... yet half of the art advent calendar is fillers, so what value? How much are those paints? $50 a piece? Those suplies are not handmade. There's nothing of 200 value in them imo.
And the tutorials? Are they locked to the link provided on the calendar or avaliable to everyone? Are they free or monetized? Those questions make a huge difference here...!
It is my understanding from Emma that the tutorials are only available with the purchase of the box.
They're locked to the link provided on the calendar. Hence the price, I guess.
a lot people say it's free on her channel
I think at a $200 price point it is just too high. I understand that she didn't want to include garbage but a bag, a keychain, and a pin don't really belong in an art advent calendar. One of the items could be understandable but I really feel like more supplies should have been included instead. I feel like even a cheaper watercolor pallet could have been included. Maybe they wouldn't be the best quality and she could have said that in a video, but it would have felt like it was a complete product rather than random items. Maybe her options were limited, I'm not sure but I don't think it's worth it. *
@@mooncow728 she could have put in cotteman or sennelier lapetit they are light fast good quality student grade paints or tried paul rubens. Even better team up with someone that does handmade watercolours and created a limited series just for this there are so many good options she could have done for paints
I hate how companies are co-opting “12 days of Christmas” as a way of having half the things in an Advent calendar. 12 days of Xmas was the period between Christmas and Epiphany.
Yes! It's such a pet peeve of mine!
Hey, someone else who knows the real 12 Days of Christmas! I'm not Christian, but my grandma's birthday is on the Epiphany, so we grew up knowing about this. We don't take down our tree until after the 6th. And even devout Christians are usually surprised when I tell them about this!
I do agree with nearly all the comments this advent calendar is overpriced, the quality is obviously excellent, but if you assume people already have paint, then surely its logical to assume they also have paintbrushes and a tote bag! The key ring and pin feel like they were fillers and should have been paint , those are my thoughts anyways. Thank you for the great video as usual.
I like the idea of the calendar, but not for $200. I know that the items were higher quality, but it still just feels overpriced. That's just my opinion though *
I'm not much of an artist so I don't know what a lot of this is worth, but any company that asks to check the review in advance would be a BIG red flag to me.
* That would have been quite a disappointment for $200. Would love to see what kind of an advent calendar you would make for yourself for that same amount, especially as an artist! Absolutely love the honesty in these videos, really helps to have a look and see what’s actually worth it or not! *
As a non artist I feel like that box is a rip off, so i can only Imagine how actual artist feel😅 It looks like a temu starter kit
I don't like it having items that have nothing to do with actually making art. Even the paintbrush roll is too big for the paintbrushes given. Keyring is just a space taker where a professional grade art item would be more useful. I need more brushes. More paper. Or so many other options.
Congratulations on the book!! I like Emma but I'd personally be beyond disappointed if I paid £200 and the only things of value (bar the tutorial bonuses) were a sketchbook & 2 brushes. I really can't understand how a watercolour advent calendar has two half pans & a palette that is on sale on temu for £2.89. Though those receiving it may have watercolours already, no watercolour enthusiast buys an art advent calendar for a key chain.
I know it is a difficult position as she obviously put time & effort and it is difficult to review that especially given that she got in touch but the calendar is truly the worst reviewed thus far. *
Can I be honest? I'd 100% prefer the Crayola advent calendar with all of the supplies and projects. To be fair, I'm more of a fiber arts girly and would feel fine about not having pro grade items. But after seeing what you accomplished, I definitely want to give that watercolor tutorial a try! Your wreath turned out so pretty! *
On good quality paper you can actually”erase” mistakes sometimes by going over the stain with a wet brush with clean water and soak the extra water with a tissue paper. It depends on how staining the colour is. Nice wreath!
I love the premise of this art box, but even though I do already have watercolors, brushes, and other art supplies, I’d still prefer to get more art supplies (especially unusual ones) rather than a pin, key chain, and tote bag. More pens, markers, water brushes, different papers, watercolor pencils, etc. I think getting to the last 3 or 4 boxes in this calendar would leave me feeling disappointed. Thanks for a fun video! *
totally agree with this. I too would have been disappointed by the pins, keychain and tote bag. I'd have no use for any of them, and they would have just gathered dust, to eventually be donated to a charity shop. I cant see why primary paints could not have been added - a half pan by a quality maker would have been well under the $16 daily amount, especially if a co-collaberation/bulk purchase with a brand could have been achieved
* Definitely feels overpriced to me. As others have pointed out, most of the supplies are whitelabel and cheap on dropship/amazon and even if the metallic paints are 'high quality' they're just not enough to offset the rest. The tutorials are a nice extra, but again, they're not exclusive to the calendar, and there's so many tutorials online that it doesn't feel like it adds up to the final pricetag. I'd be sorely disappointed if I got this box.
* Merry Christmas Chloe, hope you have a wonderful holiday period with your loved ones.
Sad to say I would be very disappointed in this advent calendar for the price point, considering how many free tutorials are on Emma's channel which are undoubtedly monetised, I can't help feeling this is very overpriced for what it contained.
Yea major cash grab.
* I think this advent calendar is intended for a very specific customer. Past beginner, but still learning and most importantly, someone who is already familiar with Emma's work. It's not mass produced and you can only get it at Craftmo. Unless it's from a video like this one, you probably won't know this advent calendar exists unless you are the customer who would love it. The main value is in the exclusive contents and the products featuring Emma's artwork that can't be found anywhere else. Emma is also doing a UA-cam series where you get another tutorial for each day. This second set of tutorials are not exclusive, but are still using the products from the calendar. The $200 is out of my price range, but I would buy it if I could. Thanks Chloe, I always love your videos!!!
She probably would’ve been better off just selling the videos as a mini course or something.
Because the selection of physical items being presented as an advent calendar mostly seem to take away from the value of her input.
As always, leave a comment with a * and you’ll be entered to win the gift card. Winners for past videos have been selected, I’ll pick a winner from this video next week ✨
Check out on of her subscription boxes. I loved them. I saw this as an extension pack.
where are you going to post the winners
@@AnnaDavis-m4d I reply to the winners comments :) I dont post them anywhere but I have their names on my laptop - if people would prefer I post names too lol
I think your wreath turned out really beautiful! The advent box is definitely targeted to people who have experience already in the arts, I appreciate the fact she included tutorials with her products. I feel people often forget the value of time, the most precious of all commodities, especially considering we never get our time back. I believe this adds considerable value to the advent calendar.*
Your wreath was awesome. Watercolor natural :)
Emma's tutorials are always amazing. i have been following her for years. I'm also not much of a watercolourist but i do love using them when I paint, and emma's tutorials always raise my standard lol.
That's all stuff from aliexpress I can buy for less than 40... just so you know. Like literally the same products, same factory.
Yep, easy way to know this is by using the image search function on aliexpress and taking a screenshot of the items in chloes video. Most of them show up on aliexpress identical.
I would have provided a dot card of holiday colors with the sketchbook, and swapped for something other than the keyring. Perhaps a circle stencil, fine tipped white posca pen, or another brush. *
Ooh, a dot card is a great idea! *
@@laurenb9479 What is a dot card? I Googled it and still can't tell🤔
Hi! I randomly selected your comment ✨ Please send me an email so I can send over the gift card :) cheers! business@artofchloerose.com
@ChloeRoseArt Assuming this is a scam 😱
@@wildflower1397 😅 You put a "*" in your comment so she might pick you for this gift card, as she said in the video! Congrats, I do think it's the real Chloe, WindFlower!
Giving this as a gift to someone, I would really hope that you could at least create one full product at the end. It seems honestly pretty crazy that there was no paint. Even if I was giving this to someone I would feel disappointed that they couldn't actually make anything with the entire calendar. * The tutorials are super helpful, but not if you can't make any of them.
I do appreciate that this box has the artist doing more hands-on and picking items, whereas Artiza doesn't. Though I agree with others, overpriced. Also, not including/supplying paints... 😕*
Also, I like your hair in the video *
I like the wreath too!
Got mine and loved it so much I left a rieview and purchased a second one to give as a gift. Hopefully you will do a video where you color some pages so we can color along. I told my husband I cant help but to hear your voice when I read the prompt so its like we are doing art together anyway. Congratulations on putting out something so unique and high quality you should be really proud of yourself.
I was so shocked at the start of your comment as I thought you meant the advent calendar lol, then I realised you were talking about Chloe's book!! Great to hear such a positive review and look forward to receiving my copy when it releases in the UK :)
@eljay1980 I should have been more clear its a big difference lol
Imagine what supplies you could buy for £200.00. I grew up with advent calendars that revealed Christmas cartoon images behind each door counting down to Christmas 😊
@Kayenne221 the paper calendars which could be reused year after year? I loved those when I was little too - so simple yet fun. Sadly everything has become so commercialised since my childhood that even the paper calendars like from when I was little in the 80's are now at least £10 each from what I have seen.
I liked the box, and your honest review of it! I think for me a hobby artist, I appreciate the tutorials with specific step by step instructions. It's the way I personally learn best. If you show me how to make that specific wreath, I can understand much better how to apply those techniques to my own art in the future. I find the value of this to be similar to say Skillshare classes. Which at that comparison, it's maybe a bit pricey. That said, I think people forget part of the pricing on an advent calendar is the novelty of opening a new 'gift' every day. I thought this one (with exception of the pin and keychain, totally agreed with you there) was well thought out and put together. Worth the $ imo.
Honestly, I think this advent calendar is horrific value. I get her saying she didn't want to include paint because most artists would already have that, but then most artists would already have brushes too, so that is a feeble excuse to not include them. For ~$16 per day, both brushes should have been in the same window. And for 3 of the items, an entire QUARTER of the advent calendar to be useless to an artist tat, it's shocking. The videos have little monetary value because even if they are locked behind a private link on her channel, there are 1000 other identical tutorials available for free all over UA-cam. If this calendar was $50 then fine, but $200 is an absolute ripoff.
You rightfully factor in the value of the videos, but with advent calendars like this Craftmo one, the packaging is going to be a significant chuck of the final production cost. All the little boxes are custom-printed (and if they're custom-sized the templates need to be created specially), the big box has custom graphics with what looks like spot lamination, matte coating, and foiling and is made of quality cardboard with the ribbon and doors. The sticker price is going to be higher because of the materials and labor to create the pretty packaging, much of which is going to get tossed (though it could and should be reused!). I personally appreciate looking at beautiful packaging but would rather spend the $200 on just supplies
was the packing worth $100?
@@jnl3564 Would I pay $100 for just the boxes? Hell no. Craftamo probably paid somewhere between $30-80 dollars per calendar to design and manufacture the packaging for the calendar, though. They want to maximize profits, so they drop money on the fancy box and influencer connection and then cut costs in the actual products. It's the main reason I don't buy expensive advent calendars from big brands; the packaging, brand recognition, and perceived value attract consumers, and by the time they open it the company already has your money and dgaf. Even if they get a bunch of bad reviews on social media, most of those companies aren't taking much of a hit to profits from a short period of bad press on a single item.
Such a pretty box (and such cute small boxes inside)!
the are supplies from the kit seem nice, but I feel like the last few days of the calendar were kind of disappointing for the price. the enamel pin was cute enough, and the brush roll makes sense, but the keychain and bag feel a little random for a professional-grade art advent calendar and i'd personally find them disappointing when they started off so strong with the products included in the earlier days
* I love how you said no to the company to have them review it. It shows how you do care about us. Which you always have. You so sweat and since its almost chrismas and you wont post a video till after i hope you have a very nicr holiday. I love you videos!!!*
My thoughts.
Emma makes great tutorials. There is a lot of value there.
For me, if I bought a calendar, I would like to avoid screen time. Personal preference, nothing against their choice. Some 5ml tubes (not quite primary, but a red, a yellow, and a dark or blue) for painting winter would be lovely. Or a generous dot card with 6 larger dots.
Lovely box, but not my style.
*
A bag, key ring and pin would disappoint me honestly.
I'm so stressed by end-of-the-year conventions and markets, I have to pull through and a video from you helps me relax so much ;-; ♡
That being said, 200$ with 4 days of 12 being Pins, a keychain, a bag and a brush roll? I would be upset to be perfectly honest, if a brand I know for selling good quality brushes has only 2 brushes!!
The "You should aldeady have things", I mean, yes, but I would expect value, which I now fail to see.
I love how you approach art! Till next week, deadest *
As someone who collects watercolors (professional and handmade), I would have rather had 3 small tubes of quality paints instead of the pin, keychain and tote bag. I have many tote bags and never use them, I don’t wear pins, and the keychain is just for one holiday. The paints could have also been fun to put in the little palette. The perfect advent calendar for me would have been the sketchbook, the travel palette, and then a different color of paint every day. I have hundreds of brushes already too. I did like that she put so much time into the tutorials. That had to be so much work!
If you have money to spend like that Its nice, but like others commented I could probably buy the stuff myself for $200 or less. It definetly depends on where you are at skill and money-wise, It does seem like at least the art supplies are of good quality at least, maybe instead of the tote though they couldve tucked something else art related in there maybe ***
One of my biggest art regrets was Emma's year long subscription box. The brushes they included were good quality, but they sent some of the worst cotton watercolor paper I've painted on, 4 colors of basically W & N cotman paints and a cheap tool in each box. Emma did an exclusive tutorial for each box, but the orice for the entire year ended uo being about $500 and it just wasnt worth it to me for a 48-pan set of watercolors you could get for $50, 24 brushes, and 12 tutorials.
Yes! I totally agree with you. Those Craftamo subscriptions and also the brush sets are a bit of a rip-off in my opinion. I have some of the Craftamo brushes and I also have very cheap brushes from the China websites such as Aliexpress. I can't tell the difference, the bristles look and feel the same. On Aliexpress they're literally a few dollars for multi-brush sets and they're really great quality. Since discovering this, I now have a bad view of Craftamo and wouldn't purchase anything else from them. I think they're kind of hijacking artists who have worked hard to build up a large following and using their good names and reputations to sell very low-cost brushes for hugely inflated prices.
*Thank you for the comprehensive review. I couldn't justify paying so much on an advent calendar since I'm just a dabbler in art, but at that price point, I would prefer to have more products and I think the tutorials should be a bonus for purchasing such a high end, 12 day calendar.**
This calendar seems for anyone in love with the idea of being an artist. As a casual watercolourist into plein air painting, I rather have paints, mini water pot, decent pencil, pencil case, bulldog/page clip, metal ruler or similar instead of a pin, keychain, tote and brush roll bag. What makes it funny is that Emma said she had the travelling artist in mind when she was designing this calendar and yet, her tutorials take place in her studio. Nice idea, but poorly thought out.
This is one of the nicer advent calendars I have seen but it's too pricey. As others have pointed out, $200 could buy a nice selection of hand-picked art supplies that I'd actually use. I have bought some brushes from Craftamo and more recently splurged on Sarah Burns' subscription boxes- only after thinking about it for a long time.. That too was very expensive; I paid for the entire year upfront and am charged for shipping each month. I have been happy with the content of the boxes (which build on previous months and are related to detailed tutorials) I hope the artists are compensated accordingly. *
* I feel like "knowing" Emma made you a bit too kind 😅 so many of these products you can find on temu with similar quality
Haha I was more gentle because it was an artist/person not just a company 🫶 I don’t know her she just sent me a kind email, that was our only correspondence ✨
I'm an artist, too and you were far kinder than I would have been. You're so nice.😂@@ChloeRoseArt
I got that same mini wooden paint palette on Temu. I also have a similar one that I bought from a crafter in the Ukraine, but the quality is SO much better, with enameled wells, stronger magnets, and more magnet connections. It cost more but even at the $30 I paid vs the $2 at Temu, I would have much rather have seen the more expensive one in this advent calendar.
@@ChloeRoseArtshe tried to manipulate you by sending that email
@@ChloeRoseArt While kindness is certainly important, now a days especially, objectivity is as well. You know all too well $200 is a lot of money. If folks are taking you on your word and this isn't worth 200. Understand you are trying to be nice and again kindness rules. This is just not worth the money and I wish you were forthright about that. Instead of recommending this box, maybe point folks to her channel and support with purchases or something to her website.
Thanks for a great review, as a long time subscriber of both your and Emma’s channels, I was quite nervous to watch you unboxing this Advent calendar, since I have become very fond of Emma, and I was dreading that you would not like the box. I subscribed to her subscription boxes and LOVED them and learnt so much, so I can imagine the tutorials and how good they will be. I really appreciate so much that you painted one of the tutorials and gave credit ftge work entailed in creating something like this. I also wanted to suggest that when you use the gold and silver, that you activate them with either a spray of water, or a drop of water and leave for a few moments, this allows them to release their pigments more readily.
I love how your wreath turned out and so enjoyed this video. Thanks so much for sharing. I personally can’t afford Advent Calendars, but I love watching the unboxings.
I think some water colour 1/2 pans or tubes of basic colours in place of the bag, pin and key ring which to me would have been very disappointing to see had I paid $200.00 . Love your video as usual👍 20:33
I purchased the box and was very happy with it. The watercolor book is 40 pages of 100% cotton pages. The gold and silver paint are professional grade. For those saying the tutorials are online for free, that is incorrect. Emma did 12 free tutorials for the days of unboxing on her channel. However, each box in the calendar also has a unique URL that takes you to a tutorial and tracing pages. If you combine the purchase with what she provided for free on her channel to go with it, you actually get 25 tutorials. Also, the brushes and tape from craftamo are exceptional. Emma also did a watercolor subscription last year where you got 48 professional paints and 24 brushes. If she had repeated that I think a lot of her regular followers (me) would not have purchased the box. Maybe I’m weird, but I was happy to not have any repeats.
I got Emma's advent calendar this year and absolutely loved it. So beautiful and the tutorials are so informative.
Your wreath came out so cute! Remember to be gentle with yourself and try not to compare yourself to others. Both her wreath and yours turned out lovely, each in their own ways. You had fun, and you made something creative, and that's something to celebrate (no matter how many times you smudge paint on the edge of the page.) Merry Christmas, Chloe, and congratulations on your book! I can't wait to order my copy. I can't wait to see what 2025 has in store for you. *
Honestly, it's so sweet how you've been so generous to your community. I'm not sure how many years I've been following you, but I do remember when you said "My channel is not going to turn into an unboxing channel" when you were unboxing scrawler boxes and whatnot. Now you're unboxing advent calendars :D
This calendar is way overpriced, for $200 I could pick out 10x what was included and access the tutorials for free, after all they have been published here on UA-cam so they're not specifically for the calender. This is a Christmas cash grab for a load of tat that is $5 per item on drop ship/white label sites
🎄 Merry christmas everybody 🎄 *
Yeah. I've seen that little travel watercolour magnetic palate on temu.
The decision not to add paints is weird because what if someone wanted to purchase the box as a start of their art journey meaning they won’t have paints. I think that would be disappointing. Also don’t think the box items are worth $200
*I think having tutorials for each day is nice. Though for $200 I would want it to be all art supplies. Having a bag, brush roll, pin and key ring really brings down the value.
The packaging is gorgeous and I like the boxes. I'm not artist enough to have a bunch of supplies already though so it's too much money for me. That wreath you made was pretty. Some calendars like to put in a less practical item. For instance, some tool calendars put in a bottle opener or other item that doesn't actually fit the tool set. However, three keychain type items would be pushing it even for a 24 day calendar.*
I already saw this calendar on anoter channel, and I still think it's disappointing. The tutorials could represent a great value, but if I spend $200 on tutorials I will choose the ones that I actually want to do... Also the tutorials represent little value if there aren't any paints in the calendar to be used to do those tutorials. I'd love to receive a limited palette of like 6 half pans and then a bunch of videos showing me what can be done with those colours. That would be fun, interesting and useful for me, but as it is, it would only be a waste of money for me. At least 7 of the 12 days are just absolutely useless for me and I really don't understand why did she decide to put some really mediocre silver and gold paints into it. That's like rubbing salt into the wound.
Anyways... Congratulations for your new book! :) And have a happy Christmas! :) *
Happy Christmas! Love your advent calendar reviews every year and how honest you are about your reviews regardless of being gifted or not ❤️ *
*Excited about your book! Congratulations! Merry Christmas! *
merry christmas! i really like the style of this calendar with the nicer quality items and the tutorials to go along with each day, i do think the keychain and pins were cute but a little out of place almost? i'm not the biggest fan of the tote either tbh but it's cute for carrying the items cause she did say it was more travel focused? i also agree with some other comments saying a more beginner friendly calendar like this with tutorials would be really good !! *
I have never had an advent calendar of any kind. I’m a struggling water colour painter, as I love it but I find it is so hard. I get mesmerised watching painting vids that make it look easy. I have watched Emma for a long time and she just gets better and better. She has poured her heart and soul into this and many other projects. I really appreciate the time and effort put into making videos and am so grateful for them and everything we get for free. Yes I would have bought one, I got a huge mechanical bill for Christmas and also unfortunately being on the other side of the world, when I think of buying something in USA dollars it doubles. I think it’s so beautiful, and I would love to have something with Emmas art. Aren’t all Christmas things overpriced and gimmicky? Like Christmas crackers, what about perfumes and beauty products in expensive packaging..
We buy things all the time because they are pretty, and the real value in this one is in the tutorials. A two day weekend with an artist here costs around the same with no gifts lol. Merry Christmas everyone.
And thank you Chloe … lovely review.
A good youtuber and artist that teaches is Lindsay Weirich , The Frugal Crafter. She is great.
So exciting your books out!! The advent calendar videos are soooooooo fun to watch!! They are my favorite part of Thursday!!**
I LOVED MINE ! worth EVERY penny
Chloe you got this for FREE, so you are being "kind" because you've got nothing to lose and your video is monetized, so it is a win-win for you. I will NOT pay $200 for this box. Here's what $200 can buy:
1) 24 set of professional paints from Paul Rubens - half pans = $50
2) Sarah Renae Clark's colour cube vol1 & vol2 = $67
3) Arches large size 100% cotton paper - I can cut into smaller sizes = $20
4) Ohuhu fine liner pens 9pk = $10 (with coupon)
5) Meeden porcelain palette = $9
6) Artegria 10pk brushes = $20
Subtotal = $176 ... That leaves me with enough money to pay for taxes and pick up metallic paints or tote bags
@@youtubelibrary_10 I have absolutely no problem putting things down free or not - I get free product a lot and I’ve never had an issue critiquing it.
I’m being perhaps more gentle than I normally would because this is an artist who put this together, not a big company. I’d have no problem critiquing Walmart but I wouldn’t be the same towards a small business for example.
I gave my opinion that I’d put in at least some more paint towards the end, I also had a huge portion of video being a little more harsh with things but I kept it out due to the artist choosing the products.
Some people view the tutorials as worth a lot, others not so much. I’ve had many comments Saying the tutorials are worth it for them, others not at all. No matter which way I went with it I would be critiqued, hence why I left the decision of opinion to the comments.
@@ChloeRoseArt Chloe, Yep I understand that it is difficult to critique products however, this specific product is completely overpriced out of sheer greed. I'm sure everyone knows that the workers in the factories who created those boxes, pins and other cheap products got paid pennies on the dollar while customers are expected to pay $200 so that "investor$" - aka middlemen can profit by doing absolutely nothing. Although the cardboard boxes had beautiful designs they will be thrown away into trash. I'm not upset at your review - I was only offering suggestions about what $200 can really buy. 🙂In USA, I paid $4 for one dozen eggs today - it is insane greed.
I feel like they should've had more paint - if I bought something for $200 and it didn't have the FIRST thing you need to, well, *paint,* I would not be happy. And having PINS in a $200 advent calendar is a massive rip-off. *
No, for 200.00 I wanna see some paint!! Something I can use, something expensive. A few things to create art with!!
TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS ?? This is crazy ! Understand the effort that went into it but this might be a little, uhhh, too much ^^" Thanks for showing it to us because I believe many of us wouldn't have had the budget to buy it lol... As always thanks for your amazing content and community ❤ *
After watching the video in it's entirety, I can nuance my thoughts a bit more and say that's it's just not for me ! I personally like watercolors, but they're not my favorite medium, and unfortunately I don't have the budget to buy this, but I can totally think of people that would love this and I'd definitely try it out if I had the money ! I think the tutorials are great professionnal quality and definitely something that is worth a pretty penny ! It is on the higher end of an artist's budget but I think you pay more for the enjoyment and good experience of the calendar than the real value of the items, even though it looks like the items are really good quality !
Just because I already have art supplies doesn’t mean I don’t want/expect more from an advent calendar. I do think it’s over priced for the content *
At this price point, I think this calendar is a ripoff. The actual supplies don’t come anywhere near $200, and I think not including more watercolors makes the calendar a lot less useful than it could have been. Tutorials have value, but not in an advent calendar. The point of an advent calendar is to get items. I also don’t think including the keychains in a 12 day calendar was a good choice. I personally didn’t like her idea for it and I don’t think the execution lived up to her efforts, but I respect the attempt… I wouldn’t be saying that if I actually bought it, though.*
Merry Christmas!!! I’m really happy that your book is out and we get to share in your creation that you made!!! I always look forward to your videos they give me so much inspiration to do a bunch of art!!! Well hope you and your family have a merry Christmas!!! *
I really agree with the comments. It is overpriced for what u get. I feel like she could had added more art supplies people would use instead of a keychain and a pin? These things mostly people give away or never use. With more paint for example you can create even more and if you like it you can always buy it again. Chloe is way to sweet with her opinion. I can understand if someone send you an email it is harder to say things but i mean Emma just could had done more with it i think.
Its really manipulative for Emma to have messaged you. She should have left you alone to review the item first instead of trying to manipulate you into saying nice things. Very, very sly.
Also most if these items are easily found on aliexpress, like exactly the same items, pretty sure they just add their own labels.
8:51 The tutorials are available for free on her channel so she’s not exactly making them exclusive to the people who paid all that money for the advent calendar.
That last point is probably my main issue with assessing the 'value', if they're already available for free then are they really adding any value at all?
Way way too much money for what you get 😐
Thank you for including that the tutorial is free on her channel, I assumed it was exclusive content. Guess you can't even count the tutorials to the value of the box then huh? I agree that Emma was being manipulative and I have no time for that bs. Would not by this box for more reasons than just the value after watching this video.
The tutorials are not free - they are exclusive to the box, ALTHOUGH she does have very similar tutorials on her channel that are free (she even has a series from 2023 that is titled advent calendar, but it's just her making Christmas themed artwork and doesn't have to do with this box), so really, do you need the ones that come with the box?
She also doesn't even mention this box coming out ANYWHERE on her YT channel unless she mentions it in her videos, but it's not in her video titles anywhere, which I found weird. Most UA-camrs make a video about their collaborations on things like these, even if it's only a five minute video.
That was the point was to be manipulative. When Chloe said No on having Craftamo review the video, they told the artist to reach out. It was all a guilt trip. What a waste of money this is. The other ones she's done this year is really cool (especially the pens) but this one is a joke and way overpriced.
Completely overpriced. All the supplies included are maybe $80 and I think I am already being generous here. And let's be honest - all the tutorials can be found for free (also from the artist that has created this calendar) on youtube. I completely agree that artists should be compensated for creating the videos because a lot of work goes into it, but that's where platforms' monetization comes into play. I lose respect for artists that never actually sell their art, but only hawk junky art materials with companies that built their business model on exploiting people. And this calendar is the prime example of such a business model.
I've really loved watching these videos!! I do however think this box was on the more expensive side, I wouldn't/couldn't afford this, but lovely all the same and your wreath is gorgeous!! :D Happy Xmas!!
Hi Chloe 😊, I always love your videos. While this advent calendar is out of my price range I really liked it. I agree it would have benefited from more paints. I think it was aimed at a more established watercolour painter. Loved the bag and the book. Look forward to finding your next video. Merry Christmas to you and your followers 🎄 Ani, Leicestershire, UK
as someone who was trained with watercoulour for like 3 years of my life, it def a learning curve from any medium. the initial strokes are the most important due to how the water from the paint essentially creates the shapes and borders. overlap shapes and the colours and shapes will begin to mix. also going from light to dark is also jarring, especiallly that highlights can only be done via the paper. you cant layer with watercolour but you can continue to blend. finally, the amount of water in your brush is really important. watercolour is hard esp if you come from a charcoal or acrlic or oil.
* well personally I think the price is too high for little art supplies , I do understand about quality though as if one wants to do watercolors you want really nice paints * thanks for sharing dear Happy Holidays to you 💖💖💖
Love the wreath you painted at the end. Thanks for taking the time to do a thorough review. It’s fun to see you open all the advent calendars. I didn’t realize there were so many until I stumbled upon your videos.*
I have followed Emma’s UA-cam channel and tutorials for several years. She is an extremely talented artist and teacher. I purchased her brush set through Craftamo, but I felt the Advent kit was too expensive to purchase.
❤ enjoying the book. Going to get one for my niece for her birthday. Thanks for the video 😊 I enjoyed Emma boxes from craftamo. The paper is great 😊. Her videos are fun and teach skills not just mimic me ones. The paint brushes are great if you like ones that are synthetic and more hybrid (not soft or to firm). Just FYI.
*Anyone else get a weird vibe from Craftamo asking to review Chloe's video before she could post it? It makes it feel kind of like they tipped off the artist so she could butter her up a little. I might be way off base but it just seemed odd.
I have to tell you that I received mine today!!! Your book that is. I also bought one to gift. I will absolutely leave a review. I also love the idea of an advent calendar with tutorials, and I would certainly buy yours! 🥰❤️🇨🇦
Merry Christmas 🎄
Also the tutorials are ok but you can watch her tutorials for free! And if the calendar is geared to ward an artist you wouldn’t need the tutorials?
* I love the art/designs on everything, it's so pretty! And I fully agree that this is not an advent calendar for beginners. It seems super well thought out and I can understand (especially after the email she sent you) not putting watercolor paints in the box to keep costs down. Great video as always! I love advent calendar season!
Honestly, I think it's a little disappointing. Don't get me wrong, i can tell the company has high-quality supplies, I've been looking at the paint brushes for ages just unfortunately out of my price range at the minute, but, i thought it was going well till the end, don't get me wrong it's still useful supplies but i think for paints, I'm someone who loves to try new paints and i think even if watercolour sheets were put in that would've been a nice add in, calendar is beautiful but would definitely be a little sad if i payed £200 for that, but thank you for reviewing and merry Christmas 🎅 *
Whilst I love the thought, artwork, quality and effort put into this calendar, I too feel its a bit overpriced for something that doesnt have all art supplies. Like many others I too would have been very disappointed to have opened a key chain, pins and a tote bag (even with the lovely artwork). Just two cards seems a bit of a shame too, 5 would have been nicer. I dont know if the private tutorials she has added are for beginners or more experienced artists, so maybe the cost is there. (I would certainly hope they were for experienced artists, since the calendar is aimed at people who are - Emma specifically said no paints were added because folks would have their own) I don't think there would have been an issue with a mixing palette, half pans of paint with primary colours, or further brushes, over the pointless filler items in this one.*.
I have seen opened before, but no one has followed a tutorial, so I feel like you thoroughly reviewed the whole thing! The design of the box, the components and the products are absolutely beautiful, and I can see the value in the tutorials. You could also make your own advent calendar from the boxes, etc. She really put a lot of thought and effort into this, so I think it might be worth it for some people. I don't watercolor (or even paint), so it wouldn't be for me, but I loved seeing you use and enjoy it. I agree that the pins and/or key chain could have been something else--basic paints or a specialty color would have been great, or a color wheel or ??. I also think they could have included a couple more cards/envelopes--maybe some gift tag-shaped paper you could paint on. Advent calendars are rarely worth the actual price of the components--think about the (stale) candy-a-day ones from the past--the fun is on opening something new each day. That said, the price point on this seems a bit high, but again, I think it has its audience. I appreciate your showing us what is inside so we can make the decisions for ourselves!
0:10 Chloe I just got mine today and I love it!!! Thank you!!! ❤❤❤
I like the idea of these, but I think I'll just stick to the calendars I get for my crafts. Plus, too much stuff that makes me shrug. I got a diamond art advent calendar and what I. got, I use everything and it's all useful for that. So, that works better to me.
You can't make an art box for artists, no painting supplies, and rely on tutorials for beginners to make up for the lack of value.
Come on Chloe, you know full well this calendar is a rip off, if you hadn’t have been gifted it, and had the prior message from Emma you would have been way more honest. You could buy everything in it for less than £50. The excuse for there being no paint apart from the metallics is ridiculous. If they are assuming people already have paint, then wouldn’t they already have brushes and paper to use those paints with. For over $16 a day then they could (and should) have absolutely included at least the primaries. As for the tutorials, adding up the minutes to try and add value to the calendar is clutching at straws, they have no monetary value as similar or better can be found many times over for free.