Quick answer: A finished paint by numbers does not have to end up on your own wall or in a closet. The twelve best uses, roughly in order of how often people actually do them: give it to someone who will recognize the subject; hang six mini paintings as one gallery wall; rotate canvases with the seasons instead of adding more hooks; photograph it well and have cards or a calendar page printed; hand it down to a grandchild as a keepsake; offer it to a community room, waiting room or office that has bare walls; paint the next one on something you use, such as a coaster set, a postcard or a journal cover; collect a series by one artist; keep a painting diary; trade with a painting friend; turn a photo of your own into a custom kit; and, when a canvas really did not work out, cut the good part down to a small frame. Sealing and framing come first, and we have separate guides for both.
Most people who paint by numbers finish their third or fourth canvas and run into the same quiet problem: the walls are full, the hallway already has two, and the next kit is on the table. The question "what do I do with it now?" is the reason canvases end up rolled in a drawer. This guide is a list of answers, from the obvious to the ones that make the hobby better rather than just tidier.
What you will find in this guide
Before anything else: seal, then decide
Whatever you do with the canvas, do two things first. Let the paint cure for a few days, then give it a coat of varnish so the colors stay even and the surface wipes clean; our sealing guide covers the three finishes and when to use each. Then decide whether it needs stretching or a frame at all — a canvas that is going to be given away travels better rolled in a tube, and one that is going on a gallery wall needs a consistent frame. The framing guide walks through the five options, so this article does not repeat them.
One more thing before the list: take a good photograph of every finished painting in daylight, straight on, before it leaves the house. Several of the ideas below depend on it.
Ideas 1–4: giving and sharing
1. Give it to the person the subject belongs to
This is the most common thing people do, and the best. A painting of a lighthouse goes to the friend who grew up in Maine; the two kittens go to the daughter whose cats they resemble; the Van Gogh goes to the son who loved the museum trip. If you are choosing the next kit with a particular person in mind, our gift guide is organized that way.
2. Hand it down as a keepsake
Grandchildren rarely want furniture. They do want the painting Grandma made in the winter they were ten. Write the date, your name and a line about why you chose the picture on the back of the canvas in pencil or a fine permanent marker, before it is framed. That note turns a hobby canvas into a family object.
3. Offer it to a room that needs it
Church halls, library meeting rooms, the family dentist, a daughter's new office, the common room at a friend's retirement community: all of them have blank walls and no budget for art. Ask first, bring it framed, and choose a calm subject — a landscape or a flower still life rather than a portrait.
4. Trade with a painting friend
If you paint with someone else, swap finished canvases once a year. You each get a painting you did not have to make.
Ideas 5–8: displaying without filling every wall
5. Make one gallery wall from six minis
A set of six small paintings, hung in a tight grid or a single row, reads as one piece of art rather than six. It is the best way to show a lot of painting in a little space. The mini paint by numbers sets come as six matching designs for exactly this reason.
6. Rotate with the seasons
Choose one spot — above the sideboard, over the mantel — and change the painting there four times a year. Snow scene in January, flowers in April, a beach in July, an autumn road in October. The paintings not on the wall live flat in a portfolio or under a bed. The room changes without any new nails. If you want a series to rotate through, the Mariia Sukalova landscapes are painted in one consistent style and all come in the same 40 × 40 or 40 × 50 cm sizes, so a single frame fits all of them.
7. Collect a series by one artist
Three or four canvases by the same painter, hung together, look like a collection rather than a hobby. The shop's artist pages make that easy: the Guenter Puschmann designs share a bold, graphic look, the Sukalova pages share soft light and open skies, and the famous artists kits let you hang a small wall of Monets.
8. Photograph it and have it printed
Your daylight photo of the finished canvas can become Christmas cards, a page in a photo-book calendar, or a small print for a relative who lives far away. A plain print shop or an online photo service will do it from a phone picture, as long as the photo was taken straight on without a flash.
Ideas 9–12: paintings that do a job
9. Paint the next one on something you use
If the walls really are full, the simplest answer is to paint things that do not go on walls. A coaster set lives on the coffee table; a hardcover journal with a painted cover goes in your bag; a postcard kit is painted, written on and mailed. Each takes an evening or two, and nobody has to find room for them.
10. Keep a painting diary
A small notebook with one page per canvas: the name of the kit, start and finish dates, how many evenings, what was hard, who it went to. After two years it is a good record of your winters, and useful when choosing the next kit: you will see that you finish landscapes in three weeks and portraits in six.
11. Move up to a picture of your own
When finished kits start piling up, it often means the designs no longer feel like a challenge. The next step is a canvas nobody else has: a custom kit made from your own photo, with 24, 36 or 48 colors depending on how much detail you want. Choosing the right photo matters more than anything else, and our photo guide explains what paints well.
12. Give the gift of the next kit
Sometimes the best thing to do with a finished painting is to let it recruit someone. A friend who admired your canvas will often say "I could never do that." Give her a kit, or a gift card so she chooses her own, and offer to sit with her for the first evening.
When a canvas did not turn out
Not every painting is a keeper, and that is fine. Three honest options for the ones you do not love:
- Crop it. Most disappointing canvases have one good corner — the sky, the vase, the cat's face. Cut that part out with a ruler and a craft knife and mount it in a small ready-made frame. A 6 × 8 inch detail often looks better than the whole 16 × 20.
- Fix what bothers you. Streaky sections, thin whites and visible numbers are all repairable with a second coat, and our troubleshooting guide has the method for each.
- Use it as practice. Try blending or shading on it, since nothing is lost if it goes wrong. The advanced techniques guide is easier to follow on a canvas you have already written off.
Storing the ones you keep
For canvases waiting their turn on the wall or waiting to be given: varnish first, then store flat, face up, with a sheet of clean paper between each one, somewhere dry and away from a radiator. Under a bed in a flat box is ideal. Do not stack them face to face, even when the varnish feels dry, and do not roll a varnished canvas tightly — if it has to travel in a tube, roll it loosely with the painted side out, which puts less strain on the paint.
Frequently asked questions
What do most people do with a finished paint by numbers?
Frame it and hang it, then give the next ones away. After three or four canvases the walls are full, which is when gallery walls of minis, seasonal rotation and gifting become the usual answers.
Can I sell a finished paint by numbers painting?
You can sell the physical canvas you painted at a craft fair or yard sale, but do not present it as your own design, and do not make prints of it to sell, since the design belongs to the artist or the kit company.
How do I give a paint by numbers canvas as a gift?
Varnish it, write the date and your name on the back, and either frame it or roll it loosely in a tube with the painted side out. A framed canvas is the nicer gift; a rolled one is the safer one to ship.
Should I frame every canvas I finish?
No. Frame the ones going on a wall and store the rest flat, varnished, with paper between them. Buy frames for a gallery wall all at once so they match.
What can I do with a paint by numbers I do not like?
Fix the streaks with a second coat, crop the best part down to a small frame, or use it to practice blending and shading. Most disappointing canvases have one corner worth keeping.
How should I store finished paint by numbers canvases?
Flat, face up, varnished, with clean paper between each one, in a dry place away from heat. A flat box under the bed works well. Never stack them face to face.
The next canvas
The hobby is better when the paintings keep moving: onto other people's walls, into a seasonal rotation, onto coasters and postcards, into a grandchild's room. If your next painting should be one that has a job to do, the coasters, postcards and journals above are the place to start; if it should be one nobody else has, the custom kit is waiting for your photo. And if you just want a beautiful landscape to rotate in come spring, the best sellers are the safe choice.
