This is a great resource for those, like me, that are new to painting crafts. This book is full of information about painting materials, how to use them, when, and how to pick colors for your project by using the color wheel. It is laden with colorful illustrations, and precise instructions for each of the projects. Some of the projects I want to try are embroidery floral linens, painted clay pots, linen tablecloths, and Christmas ornaments. If you enjoy doing crafts you will love this book!

NetGalley, Kristin Welch

As featured in

Sew

Paint, Make & Create showcases seasonal, multi-craft projects all woven together by painting. Designed for all abilities, the 20 engaging activities will guide you through the seasons and include working with clay, printing, collaging, sewing and embroidery with a fun and modern painterly twist. Featuring contemporary craft projects, from creating painterly table settings for Summer gatherings right through to painting Christmas gifts and decorations.

Read the full review here

The Gingerbread House

Each of the projects in the book is clearly illustrated with step-by-step photographs alongside hints and tips as well as ways to customise them to fit your own style. I loved the wide range of materials that can be improved with paint - for example a fabric shopping tote, terracotta plant pots or ceramic eggs. I also enjoyed seeing the projects grouped by season as my crafting mood definitely changes throughout the year.

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Jennifer's Little World

Paint Make Create has a wide selection of projects using different kinds of paint, from watercolour to acrylic to fabric paint. There were a few ideas I wouldn’t have considered, such as the flower cake topper, and I’d love to give the abstract art collage a try. The teenager wants to try decorating a tote bag. This book is by the same author as the brush lettering one and a few of the projects are similar but there is enough variation and it has given me a lot of ideas for things to try!

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Anna Waites

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Paint, Make and Create is a great collection of easy, yet modern craft ideas for the beginner and experienced crafter alike. The book is easy to read and beautifully illustrated.

NetGalley, Lizbeth DeValkenaere

The book includes a good mix of different activities to try. It means you can delve in and definitely find something that will appeal to your interests and skill level.

Read the full review here

Really Missing Sleep

I love books like Paint, Make, Create, because as soon as you open them ideas begin to ping into your head and your creativity genes are activated.

The cake topper gave me a great make for a family member’s special birthday. Mine will incorporate the special birthday numbers as well as the lovely flowers. I really want to make a selection of ceramic eggs for next Easter, but may tackle some Christmas baubles first.

Beware my plain pottery plant pots, as you may not remain undecorated for long. I also love the idea of making jewellery dishes with modelling clay as presents.

Lovely book that will keep me busy for a while.

Read the full review here

Amazon Customer, Jayne

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Great projects for budding artists stuck for ideas. An ideal book for older kids or teens as well as adults new to the art.

NetGalley, Katie Smith

Featured in

Crafts Beautiful Magazine, June 2021

A fun and creative collection of mixed-media projects for artists of all abilities. They all have paint in common (unsurprisingly from the title), but different varieties and applications. You can make ceramic floral eggs, a painted canvas beach bag, printed linens, even holiday ornaments. Plenty of photos and step-by-step instructions. Would make a nice addition to a medium or large library collection--or a gift for a crafty friend.

NetGalley, Erin Gordenier

Paint Inspiration

Fancy having a go at painting, but don’t know where to start? This new book Paint, Make and Create by Becki Clark, has all the inspiration you need. It showcases seasonal craft projects, all woven together by painting. Designed for all abilities, the makes include working with clay, printing, collage, sewing and embroidery with a fun and modern painterly twist. It also contains a comprehensive guide to getting started with painting. Perfect for your inner Picasso.

Take A Break, Makes

This is a whimsical, feminine, and sweetly nostalgia-filled book of mixed-media beginner friendly projects which are appealing and beautiful. The author has an encouraging and inclusive voice throughout (you can do it even if you don't think you can!) The tools and supplies can be acquired easily and inexpensively and most are kid-friendly (with some adult help).

The introductory chapters include tools and supplies along with some simple exercises to give familiarity and confidence working with the supplies. The exercises are specific, contain instructions, step by step explanations (including the purpose of the exercise), and are *very* well photographed in colour and easy to follow.

The project tutorials are grouped by season: spring, summer, autumn, winter with 5 projects in each seasonal chapter. Each of the projects includes tools and supplies in a bullet list sidebar, tips from the artist, color photos and a step-by-step tutorial photo series with progress photos. Templates are included in the back of the book. There are numerous techniques including clay, painting on ceramic, collage, fabric painting, and surface embroidery. The projects themselves are folksy and cheerful.

Well written and fun. Four stars.

NetGalley, Annie Buchanan

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

This is a fun, beginner-ish craft book to help those new to painting and paint crafts, like myself. Becki Clark's encouraging tone walks you through learning about the basics of mixing painting into other craft projects, resulting in a book that will teach you exercises to experiment with acrylic paint, watercolors, and paint pens, gives you a basic guide to color theory, and guides you through 20 projects inspired by the seasons of the year. The book is well put together; the first three chapters introduce you to the materials needed, which are inexpensive and easily obtainable, include exercises to help you explore what you can do with the different paints used, and give an overview of the color wheel and how to put together a color palette. The next four chapters are devoted to the seasons, offering five projects for each- the projects are easily adaptable to your own tastes by changing the color scheme, materials used, or even what the end product will be; for instance, I really like the fabric painted and embroidered hoop art project, but I'm thinking the idea would be great on a t-shirt. And the white painted pumpkins? When I saw the small pic of the project at the beginning of the book, I thought they were vases, and I like my vase idea better! Each project is illustrated and explained very well, and none are difficult to do. The book concludes with templates, some FAQs, and a list of specific materials used, i.e. brand names and where to get them. This is a good book for beginners to painting and mixed media crafts, and well help spark more creative ideas for other projects.

NetGalley, April Gray

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

I was absolutely blown away by the creativity in this book it is a treasure trove of fun and inventive projects! The projects in this book are absolutely fantastic and some are so fun and easy that even children could help do them. So fun inspiring and beautiful. I would have never thought of half of these projects they are so inventive. What an amazing book I highly recommend it for any artist.

NetGalley, Richelle Rodarte

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Becki Clark is an absolute creative genius! The projects in this book are absolutely incredible. So creative, so accessible and so inspiring. This is an amazing book which I'd highly recommend for any and all creatives, makers and crafters irrespective of age and experience.

NetGalley, Naomi Clarke

‘For the bookshelf’

Papercrafter, March 2021

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

I enjoyed this book hugely. As a non painter, the tasks were broken into manageable sections with clear detail, making them easy to follow.

Beautiful photography and seasonal sections make this book a joy to dip into at any time.

NetGalley, Helen Kelly

This is the ideal book for the world we're living in right now. A little gem full of ways to get creative in a very hands on way, the perfect salve for days of stress and screens. I appreciated that it had such a mix of different activities to get into, which look to be at a range of skill levels.

I'm yet to actually make anything from the book (although I do have some materials ordered already) but from reading through it, the activities do all feel achieveable. And that's coming from someone with little to no natural crafting talent. If I'm going to get into crafting, then I need a real step-by-step guide because it doesn't come easily to me, and that's exactly what this provides. It's not overly basic or boring but it explains everything in a useful, easy to follow way.

Overall I definitely plan to use this myself to get crafting in lockdown and I would definitely recommend it to others. The options for projects are nicely varied and I enjoy that they're seasonal. The imagery is stunning throughout – I found myself smiling more than once. And the descriptions are simple and conversational which is exactly what you want from this kind of book. Fingers crossed the projects turn out as well as this book looks!

NetGalley, Rebecca Treacy

This book has a lot of cool projects. I never heard of posca paint markers before and now I really want to try them! There are good sections on what supplies you need to get started, and there aren't so many that it's daunting. Also, there are some sections on how to use the supplies, like posca markers, acrylic, and watercolor. Then she takes you through the projects. They are well documented with photos and descriptions of how to do them step-by-step. I love the abstract collage and abstract canvas bag! The cake toppers are really cool. There's even painting on embroidery cloth and how to make a clay jewelry dish. These projects would be good for artists and non-artists. Lots of ideas here to try out soon!

NetGalley, J Bush

Listed in the Reading Corner: Books to be inspired by

PaperCrafter, March 2021

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

The 20 projects selected for this book, divided up by the seasons, are simple enough that a beginner won’t be intimidated by the idea of it or the materials list but are also versatile enough that even if you don’t like the particular design shown in the book you can easily customise the item and change a few things up so it suits you perfectly.

This book might be nice for painters who want to explore the crafting world a bit more or crafters who want to incorporate a bit more paint into their makes but because of the simplicity of a lot of the projects, I think it’s perfect for absolute beginners who want to have more creativity in their lives but don’t necessarily know where to start. The overviews at the start of the book for materials, painting exercises and colour theory are quite basic and definitely aimed at introducing beginners to the concepts and practices without overwhelming them with information.

Overall, a lovely book that would make for a wonderful gift to spark some creativity.

NetGalley, Emma Ward

Paint, Make and Create is an lovely craft book based around the seasons. It is perfect for these times when we are all at home looking for something creative to do. The connection to nature is therapeutic in itself.

NetGalley, jc Cross

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

A beautiful book with projects sorted by season. An introduction regarding patterns, colors, palettes, and then projects with step-by-step instructions and photos. I’m a beginner, and this is definitely a book to inspire me and to keep on my keeper shelf. Highly recommended.

NetGalley, Angela Smith

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

A colorful guide to the basics of painting and crafting with paint. The book provides a basic overview of materials, exercises, and color theory before presenting a variety of crafts based around the seasons. The welcoming tone, easy to follow instructions, and appealing pictures make this a great book for beginners or those with a casual interest in paints and crafting.

NetGalley, DeAnna DeHoff

I love painting, and I'm always looking for new ways to enjoy the process. This book has lots of great ideas - and I love that they are organized by season! - that I know I will come back to. I liked the inclusion of different types of painting mediums - not just acrylic on paper, but paint markers and fabric paint, painting on clay and terra cotta, and more. A great book for beginners, but also a lovely book for those already familiar with paint.

NetGalley, Erin S

This book made me happy! Just reading it and looking at the beautiful projects was enough to cheer me up. I like how easy the instructions and how fun the projects. Would make a great gift for the ones quarantining.

NetGalley, Elif Akdemir

A beautiful book with lots of inspiring projects. The projects are divided into four groups linked to a season. The basis of each project is painting but each project incorporates other crafts to produce unique multimedia objects. Everything is kept nice and simple, the projects do not require lots of expensive materials. There are clear explanations for each project along with plenty of photographs. Becki Clark's decorative style is dainty and mostly incorporates botanical themes. This is an ideal book for a beginner looking to get started crafting or for the more experienced crafted looking for fresh inspiration.

NetGalley, Janet McMahon