ANyone used PALETTES CASES by Silly Farm for each of the major brands

In my search for a palette I discovered that Silly farms makes palettes specific to each of the major brands. http://www.sillyfarm.com/sillykits3.html

- They are aggressively priced at just $25, and are available in a variety of colors.
- They seem to accommodate different paint quantities depending on the brand.. and do not offer the dimensions of the case which is odd (will email them about that)
- Can't tell what kind of plastic / what manufacturing process is used.. is it flimsy?
I am guessing the wole case is one piece (folded).
- It seems to snap shut..

Has anyone used these??
Would love to hear from you!
I attached a couple images
Avigail

They are fairly solid... kind of like cheap laptop cases IYKWIM?

Similar to the Paradise and Wolfe palettes that those companies sell...

I have a Paradise one that I love. I also have a 'standard' Silly Farm brand that looks just like those but is black.

Worth the $$

thanks heather.
tell me what material is the panel with the cut outs for the paint containers made of?

thanks! foam? plastic?
How is it to clean?

In both the Mehron 'Paradise' Pallet and the Silly Farm Pallet, the construction is the same (case wise) and the foam layer with the holes is the same material, but they have been 'finished' differently.

The insert is a hard piece of plastic (acrylic) and is removable. The paint cups in my 30 sampler Paradise kit were glued on. The Silly Farm doesn't come with the paint so they just sit inside, but could easily be 'hot glued' in the holes if you wanted them to not slip around while they are in your case and traveling.

In the Mehron Paradise Pallet the foam seems to have been heat treated to make the top surface 'solid' so that paint and glitter or whatnot do not stick down in foam holes. It wipes and washes off super easy...which is a good thing since it's a smaller cups size and the color tends to get on the foam when you dip your sponge. Since this was a kit and the cups are 'hot glued' in the holes could be why it was heat treated...to make clean up easier. I don't have the 'larger cup size' Mehron kit, so I can't say for sure. It's just a nice 'finish' detail.

This is my Paradise kit and a close up to show how the foam is bubbly but solid on top, looking more like rubber:







The Silly Farm one was not 'heat sealed' and the foam layer still has minute 'holes' from the foam layer manufacturing process. So I notice that glitter and paint bits do get down in the foam, but so far not so badly that I can't 'flush it out' with some water. Since the cups are just sitting down in the holes it's not a problem to remove them and then rinse off the foam.

The Silly Farm Case: the small Krylolan containers sit perfectly between the larger cup holders, but not 'down into' the foam:






Other than being 'black' cases and having different wording, the foam material appears to be the same in the Snazaroo and Wolfe kits...but they might have been 'heat sealed' to give it a higher end appearance. You can probalby achieve this effect with a hot iron. Not that I'd suggest doing this or anything (legal disclaimer...)...haha

Very thorough Heather! I think if the Silly Farm cases were all black, they would be better. I just know how the paint can get everywhere, but then I like everything BLACK when painting for cleanliness and professionalism.

The awesome thing about the Paradise kit that holds the larger cups is that you can buy two and the second insert will fit into the lid when the case lays flat. It looks so fab and you have two sets of paint out and only one case. Worth asking about this capibility from Silly Farm. BTW, the cases from Paradise are only $25 as well.

thanks so much for the photos, heather! Very helpful and through.
Silly farms, and other sites, would do well to post such photographs.

And Metina, your point about the Paradise Kit lid accepting another insert.. Wish I had known that yesterday!! I ended up ordering (3) of the empty snazaroo palettes because I was concerned that the kit lid would take to much space on my table, whereas the Snaz palette have removable lids. I do like the look of the Paradise Kit...

Well - I may send them back and go for the Paradise after all.

Great advice. Thanks!
Avigail

I do the same in small spaces - I have 2 'paradise' cases tho 1 was the original & 1 was the Silly farm grey one.

Usually I have both open with all my other bits stored neatly in the empty lids, but in small tables/ spaces I fit the 2nd tray of pints in the lid and wear my brush belt etc.

I have had my black one 4 (?) yrs and the other slightly less, but both are still fine if a little scratched and stained. Just about identical. BUT BOTH have stopped 'clicking' shut - the little sort of rings that the prongs in the lid 'locking shut' bit at the front fell out in turn or snapped, and despite efforts to glue/ fix it (inc 1 where I glued the cases shut with the paints INSIDE before a gig!!!) they don't really stay put when closed so well anymore. I use a huge hair band to stop any slippage! (most of my cakes are doubled split cakes so quite 'high' inside the pots, tend to smear on the lid if not firmly shut).

And the other thing is that both now have the black sponge insert coming away from the sheet of stiff plastic under it; I can't find a glue that works well on that either. I do empty them out to clean them ocassionally but not loads, so thats a bit of a fault.

Still, i love them, they are fab and so easy to set up; way more durable than those snaz trays were!

Cat x

Ok - so Cat X's post settles it for me. I think i made a mistake by purchasing the Sanazaroo empty palettes... Now i just need to figure which palette to get since I have been trying out a variety of brands and as you know their sizes are ALL OVER THE PLACE! Wolfe and paradise are similar, but wolfe are slightly larger. Snazaroo way larger...

i just ordered some Kryolan for an italian festival and to make rainbow cakes... and as the Silly Farm palettes accept the containers as well.. next question is WHICH brand palette to get. Ugh.

Can I bother one of you ladies to measure the dimension of your Paradise/Silly Farm palette? Seems so basic but none of the sites seem to public that?!

Also - if you have - what is the diameter of the Kryolan 2.5 Oz.

THANKS BUNCHES!

It is a gorgeous day here in Philly and sadly the market i was expected to paint at was cancelled yesterday due to expect thunderstorms.. it had been raining for a week solid, so it is understand that the organizers opted of rain date. Oh well.

thanks! Avigail

Which Snazaroo palettes did you order? The blue plastic jumbo palettes or the white plastic Pro-22 or Pro-56?

Metina, except for some wording on the outside, the Silly Farm case 'blanks' I ordered were all black. Maybe they need to change their pic onsite. It looks JUST like a paradise case other than saying, Silly Farm, instead of Mehron:


Silly Farm Case Cover




Paradise Case Cover




As far as sizes go:

Both cases are 12.5 wide by 10 inches from front opening to back hinge and just slightly deeper than 1 inch.

hi Shannon, I ordered (3) of the blue Snazaroo jumbo palettes.. the same ones you have, I believe.
1) because the dimensions are small and they will easy fit into my plastic carryall container box (from IKEA). 2) because I have a variety of brands and thought it simplest to transfer and fit the paint into them. i would be making split cakes anyhow...

Indeed, the dimension supplied by heather (thanks heather!!) confirm that the Paradise /Silly Farm palette will not fit in my plastic box.

So we'll see... I certainly prefer the look of the black paradise box.

Again, thank for all the info and hope I am not coming off as too LOOPY.
The irony with improving ones set up incrementally is that you discover new problems.
No matter, these are all cosmetic issues - it wont slow my painting down!

Best,
Avigail

I've used the blue Snaz Jumbo palettes all along... and the ones in the photo are the original ones I bought with my first Snaz order about 8 years ago. While there is a little chipping in the corners, they are still going strong... I will admit to taking very good care of them - when I set up I put the lids back in my kit, and treat them gently. They fit perfectly in the top of my rolling toolbox, and I can stack up to 8 in there if I need to but I travel with 4 right now.

I have put one of them in the dishwasher too... although I do not recommend it!! The clear plastic lid turned cloudy!

Avi,

Just buy the paradise and move your other paints into paradise pots. If you need empty ones, I can mail you a few. I always save my old pots for just such a thing.

PM me your address if you want them.

Also, I really thought that the snaz pots would fit into the paradise face. I could of swore that I saw another painter fit them in.

You could also buy the paradise and custom cut the holds for yourself using an exacto knife.

Metina

I am so confused. I was super excited when I got my Snazaroo case today. Although it didn't look as great as the picture, I was okay with that. But my paints don't fit in the pallette. If there wasn't a piece of plexiglass glued on the bottom they would fit through the bottom, but they don't fit in the top. Do you think it just has the wrong insert in it?