Out of the Box Art With Thin Stix

Review of Thin Stix 6pk of Classic Colors by The Pencil Grip, Inc.

I was very excited to have the opportunity to review Thin Stix 6pk of Classic Colors, a set of art tools from The Pencil Grip, Inc. But I was not prepared for the huge range of uses my kids would find for these innovative tempera paint sticks. This was an exercise in outside of the box art!

I know The Pencil Grip, Inc. as a supplier of rubber grips for pencils. We used them when my children were first learning to write as a way to help them learn the correct grip. But I had no idea the company also made art supplies.

Great For Teens Who Don’t Want “Little Kid” Art Supplies

The Thin Stix 6pk of Classic Colors come with 6 color paint sticks: Red, Yellow, Green, Blue, Brown, and Black.

At first glance, you may think that the products made by The Pencil Grip, Inc. are really for younger children, but you would be wrong.

I have teens who enjoy art, but also shy away from “little kid” tools and activities, like many teens do.

My children used these Thin Stix to create 4 unique art projects that we decided to share so that your children can get a running start at some fantastic Out-Of-The-Box art!

Four Out-Of-The-Box Painting Projects

When the Thin Stix 6pk of Classic Colors first arrived my kids looked at the package and my daughter asked, “Are you sure these are for us?”

But once I took them out of the package, both kids descended on them with the gusto of a guinea pig in a field of carrots!

Adding Background Color To A Drawing (Project 1)

My son was working on a drawing of an elephant and decided to use the Thin Stix to add background color. The results were striking as the color you get with these paint sticks is brilliant and bold.

Big Bold Paintings on Paper (Project 2)

My daughter decided to try using the Thin Stix to make a painting filled with color. She ended up with a picture of an African girl wearing a bright multicolored headcloth.

Watercolor With Thin Stix (Project 3)

With only six color choices in this particular package you would think that your child would be limited, but you would be wrong! The colors mix and blend when you add water.

We did a project with the Thin Stix using them as you would water color pencils: first we drew on the paper with the Thin Stix and then went back with a brush and water to dissolve and blend the colors on the page.

This is fun for teens who know how to watercolor, but I also imagine it would be wonderful for teaching little ones how watercolor works in a way that is more controllable and easy for younger children.

Window Painting to Make Stained Glass (Project 4)

We decided to try the Thin Stix 6pk of Classic Colors on a glass surface and discovered that it is easy to create window art with these paints.

Amazingly, if you push the Thin Stix hard against the glass, you get a more transparent color. And if you wait a few seconds and go back over an area with more of the same color, you can get really, really bright color that looks like stained glass.

We used all six colors and discovered that on glass, you can layer color to create mixtures and blends.

We live in a century-old house built by a man who was in love with Craftsman and Victorian styles. He created a house that mixed the two styles, and so we made our “stained glass” window has a bit of both styles and a splash of Art Deco thrown in.

We played with other window pens before but my kids have always been disappointed that they couldn’t get the brilliant color they wished for on the window. The Thin Stix sure put the “brilliant” into the window painting, though.

Here is a photo montage of the process…

How We Liked It

Can you tell? We loved these art tools!

These painting tools are so flexible! They encourage out of the box thinking and art in kids of all ages – even teens!

Clean Up Is A Breeze!

In the process of using the Thin Stix for art projects, we all managed to get paint on the table, the wall, the floor, and t-shirts. All of it washed away faster than liquid tempera paint. All I needed was a little bit of water and a quick wipe!

Huge Amount of Color in 6 Stix

So far we have used the Thin Stix to cover the equivalent of 3 square yards of space (paper and glass) – and we have used less than half of the paint color. These are like the everlasting gobstoppers of paint.

No Mess or Art Fails!

When my kids were little I tried letting them use paint pens. We had the kind that have liquid paint in a squeezable pen that oozes out at the brush end. It was a disaster every time.

I cannot tell you how many times and how many ways my kids managed to end up with bloppy messes that ruined their artwork and resulted in tears. You will never experience that with the Thin Stix, no matter the age of your artist.

A Great Set Of Tools To Allow Out Of The Box Art With Kids Of All Ages, Even Teens

Overall, the Thin Stix are a fun and flexible set of art tools. You can use them with younger children easily. Thin Stix allows them to express themselves freely creatively without worries about messes you cannot clean easily.

The quality of the paint is fantastic. At any age, your child will be delighted by the bold, bright colors and ease of use these paints provide.

And even if you have older children, they will love Thin Stix! Their imaginations will kick into overdrive as they explore all the many ways they can think out of the box and create wonderful art using the Thin Stix!