Here’s a fun fact about paint and sip nights: the paint was always the good part.
The wine was just there to make strangers less awkward. Take it away and what’s left is the actual point of the evening. Paint, people you like, and conversation you’ll remember tomorrow.
So when a group of Sober Curator contributors in the Seattle area wanted a summer craft night, we put the Davincified Seattle Mini Paint by Numbers Set to the test. Spoiler: it passed.
The Setup
We gathered on a warm summer evening at senior Sober Curator Amy Liz Harrison’s house, painting outside on her covered backyard patio. Podcast producer Tamar Routly was there with her wife Melodie; some of Amy’s kids joined in, and all told, we had eight to ten people around the table. Amy has eight kids, one husband, and two dogs. Her place is always bopping with activity, and I love it there.
Pro tip from someone who has cleaned acrylic paint off things that should never have acrylic paint on them: put down a plastic tablecloth first. We did. Cleanup took less than five minutes.
We actually ran two crafts at once that night. Half the table played with Bloom’s Play-Doh kits while the other half painted, which worked great for a bigger group with mixed ages. More on why that matters in a minute.
What’s in the Kit
This is where Davincified earns the price tag. Everything you need shows up in one box:
- Six pre-printed mini canvases featuring Seattle scenes (the Space Needle at sunset, Mount Rainier, ferry boats on Puget Sound, evergreen forests)
- A full set of 24 numbered acrylic paints
- Brushes in multiple sizes
- A color guide
No emergency craft store run. No “does anyone have a brush?” moment. You open the box and you paint. For a group activity, that convenience is everything.
We picked the Seattle set because, well, look at us. We are die-hard #PNWISBEST. But Davincified makes mini sets for Portland, Mount Rainier National Park, Van Gogh masterpieces, florals, forests, and about a dozen other themes. Whatever your crew is into, there’s a version of this night for you.
The One Snafu (And It Was My Fault)
Full disclosure, because we don’t do fake-perfect reviews around here.
The paint pots are labeled with number stickers that match the canvas sections. While I was tearing into packaging for two different crafts at once, I misplaced the sticker sheet. Then I convinced myself the kit never came with one. Then eight sober adults went down an internet rabbit hole trying to reverse-engineer paint colors like we were decoding the Zodiac letters.
Tamar, who has seen me do worse, was not surprised about the sticker situation.
There was a little frustration. I probably made it on at least one person’s nightly review. #IKYKY We laughed at ourselves. And then I found the stickers, we labeled every pot, and we were off to the painting races.
The lesson: open your kit carefully and put the sticker sheet somewhere safe immediately. The kit is well organized. I was not. #progressnotperfection
Why This Works as a Sober Activity
It’s structured enough that nobody freezes up staring at a blank canvas, and easy enough that you can hold a conversation while you do it. That combination is the sweet spot for sober socializing. Your hands are busy, the pressure is off, and the talking just happens.
We sat around that table for hours. We talked about life. We laughed hard. Kids painted next to adults with decades of sobriety, and everyone had something to show for it at the end of the night.
Sober gatherings are better with a shared activity and even better with a takeaway. Everyone left with a finished mini canvas, which beats leaving with a hangover by roughly a million points.
The Verdict
At $49.90 for six canvases plus all the paint and brushes, that breaks down to about eight bucks per person for a full evening of entertainment — on real stretched mini canvases that look good enough to display, not flimsy cardboard. Try getting out of a traditional paint and sip for that.
Highly recommend. Grab a kit, grab your people, stock the cooler with your NA drinks of choice, and put down a tablecloth.
This is what a good night looks like now. We painted the Space Needle. We remembered every minute of it. That’s the whole point.
Check out the IG Recap Reel HERE.
Disclosure: Davincified gifted us the Seattle Mini Paint by Numbers Set for review. This is not a sponsored post, and nobody paid for our opinion. All thoughts, sticker snafus, and Space Needle brushstrokes are 100% our own. We only recommend products we actually use and love.
CURATED CRAFTS at The Sober Curator is all about keeping your hands busy and your mind inspired in sobriety. Whether you’re diving into art therapy, channeling your inner Sober Picasso, or laughing your way through a Pinterest fail, creative expression can be a powerful tool for stress relief and emotional healing. Crafting isn’t about perfection—it’s about expanding your mind, expressing your feelings, and having fun along the way.
Follow our latest DIY inspiration on Pinterest, or, if crafting isn’t your thing, check out our #QUITLIT section for book recommendations that feed the soul. You can also shop our curated list of supplies on our Amazon Storefront.
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What comes in the Davincified Seattle Mini Paint by Numbers Set? The kit includes six pre-printed mini canvases featuring Seattle scenes like the Space Needle, Mount Rainier, and Puget Sound ferries, plus a full set of 24 numbered acrylic paints, brushes in multiple sizes, and a color guide. Everything you need to paint is in the box.
How much does the kit cost and is it a good value for a group? The set retails for $49.90 on davincified.com. With six canvases per kit, that works out to roughly eight dollars per painter for a full evening of entertainment, which is a fraction of what a traditional paint and sip class costs.
Is paint by numbers a good sober activity? Yes. Paint by numbers keeps your hands busy and takes the pressure off socializing, which makes conversation flow naturally without alcohol. It works for mixed groups and all ages, and everyone leaves with a finished piece of art instead of a hangover.
Do I need any painting experience to do a paint by numbers kit? No experience needed. Each canvas is pre-printed with numbered sections that match the numbered paint pots. If you can color inside the lines, you can finish one of these. The mini size also means you can complete a canvas in one evening.
What other paint by numbers themes does Davincified offer? Beyond Seattle, Davincified makes mini sets featuring Portland, Mount Rainier National Park, Pacific Northwest landscapes, Van Gogh masterpieces, flowers, forests, dragons, and more. They also offer custom kits made from your own photos.
How do you host a sober paint and sip night? Pick a paint by numbers kit with enough canvases for your group, put down a plastic tablecloth for easy cleanup, stock a cooler with NA drinks, and let the painting do the icebreaking. A covered patio on a summer evening is the ideal venue. Keep the paint number stickers somewhere safe when you unbox.
