The boxes & projects are designed for elementary age children – roughly 5-11. If your child is on the younger end, they will need more parent involvement than older children do. Many of our customers have kids ranging from 5-17 and they report that each child can work at his or her own level.

Each box contains a picture book that relates to the project to inspire and set a context, written easy-to-follow instructions with a QR code, and link for a resources page with video tutorials and other resources, and all of the art supplies needed for the project. We assume you have regular pencils and scissors. Art supplies are full size – not sample sizes.

Individual boxes ship within a few business days. Subscriptions ship every month on the 7th, or if the 7th is a weekend or holiday, they’ll ship on the next business day.

If you’ve purchased a prepaid subscription, we’ll get your first box theme out to you within a few days.

Some people prefer to have the subscription start in the new year, after the holiday season is over. If that’s the case, then let us know after you’ve placed your order at care@outsidetheboxcreation.com and we’ll be happy to ship your first box in early January.

Note, our Insider’s Club Digital Membership fulfillment is electronic and immediate.

The holidays are a period of high shipping volume and fewer guarantees from shippers. We draw the cutoff on December 16th (18th is a Sunday this year) for boxes ordered to arrive in time for the holidays.

However, please note that we can’t control what happens after we’ve placed the box in shippers’ hands. Our boxes are shipped Priority USPS or UPS Ground, so please consult the carrier’s websites for any anomalies around the holidays.

If you need a last minute gift, we can email you a gift voucher to print and wrap up OR Insider’s Club Subscription – delivery is immediate

We’ve made available printable gift notes you can download, print, and wrap up under the tree. Have no fear, the box will arrive – often at a time families are excited to receive a gift after the novelty of Christmas has worn off.

Download and print our Outside the Box Gift Note here.

Our founder Beth spent 12 years as an art docent (a.k.a. unpaid art teacher) in her local elementary school.  After being disappointed in the lack of art education in elementary schools, she founded Outside the Box Creation with a mission to make quality visual art education accessible. Read more about her story on the blog.

Beth lives not far from Seattle on Whidbey Island, where the family packs and ships each box by hand.

Giving Back

We donate boxes, art supplies, and time to several local nonprofits and organizations. One of those organizations is Washington Corrections Center for Women, in Gig Harbor, WA. Moms and children have the option of enjoying art together during their visits, and children can take the book, art supplies, & mom’s artwork home. We also worked with Seattle Children’s Hospital to create a donation program. Now, you can donate a box to Seattle Children’s Hospital!

Caring for the Environment

We are also continuously working to make our art boxes as eco-friendly as possible. We use compostable bamboo paint mixing trays & compostable water cups. The kraft paper box packing is intended to also be used as a cover to protect your work surface. We also choose the actual art supplies very carefully, taking into consideration how eco friendly they are and how sustainably they were manufactured.

Thank you for supporting our small business this holiday season!

Yes, gift subscriptions are set to renew.  You can disable renewals anytime.

If you purchase any kind of subscription or membership, you will be charged at the end of the renewal period automatically.

You can cancel your subscription at any time by logging into your account or by simply emailing us at care@outsidetheboxcreation.com and we’ll take care of it for you. Note that within the account area, you have a toggle to disable auto-renewal, and you also have a cancel all future shipments if you do not want to continue to receive the prepaid boxes.

We don’t currently have gift cards for sale; most customers are able to choose the right gift based on the size of the box – Regular or Family.

A regular box will contain enough supplies for up to 2 artists, while a family sized box will contain enough supplies for up to 4 artists, and are a great fit for larger families.

You can choose the gift that best suits your recipient here: Shop Gifts.

If you have any questions about which gift is right for you, please email us at care@outsidetheboxcreation.com and we’ll be happy to help you better understand our products.

Looking for a printable gift note you can wrap up and place under the tree?

Download and print our Outside the Box Gift Note here.

Yes we do!

Yes we do! Many home educators choose Outside the Box Creation for their Art Education curriculum. We accept orders through our website and purchase orders from schools.

Please contact us at purchaseorders@outsidetheboxcreation.com.

Our boxes are eye-catching on their own, and all ready to go under the tree!

Looking for a printable gift note you can wrap up and place under the tree?

Download and print our Outside the Box Gift Note here.

What a wonderful gift, and yes you can!

Pay it forward with a gift to a child who needs it most with our Seattle Children’s Box Donation.   You can purchase the box here and Seattle Children’s will send a personalized thank you card within a few weeks.

If you’re looking for something to wrap up and place under a tree,

You can download the Gift Donation Note here.

Thank you for giving back to families in need this holiday season!