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Peggy's Handmade Walnut Watercolor Kit
Peggy's Handmade Walnut Watercolor Kit
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Peggy's Handmade Walnut Watercolor Kit
Mrs. Harlan’s magic box, handmade in North Carolina
Peggy Harlan, 68, taught art at an elementary school in the North Carolina mountains for 38 years. The school’s budget never covered decent paint, so she built her own paint boxes, for around 4,000 children. Now she is making the last 96.
“The school gave me $1.10 per child for art supplies. So I made the paint myself, for 38 years.”
Peggy Harlan · Weaverville, North Carolina
What comes in the box
Hand-sanded, with magnets and a brass clip
Mixed by hand with local sourwood honey
60 pages of thick cotton paper
Plus a wipe band for clean colors
What makes Peggy’s kit different
Cut from walnut the little sawmill down the road set aside for Peggy. Sanded and oiled by hand, closed with magnets, clipped to the book.
Pigment, gum arabic and a drop of Blue Ridge sourwood honey. The paint stays soft and comes up with one stroke of the brush.
Thick cotton paper sewn with linen thread. It lies flat and stays flat, even when you use far too much water.
Learned in a room full of eight-year-olds: the brush holds its own water. No cup, no sink, no mess. Open the book, squeeze the brush and paint.
The whole kit is about the size of a paperback cut in half. Peggy keeps hers next to her reading glasses.
Palette, book and paint are all made by Peggy herself. About five hours of work go into every single kit.
“Most beginners give up in the first week, and it is almost never about talent. It is the setup: water cups, too many colors, paper that buckles. Take those away and people keep going. A small kit with eight wells, a water brush and heavy cotton paper is exactly what I would hand a first-timer. Having it in your purse means you actually use it.”
Marjorie Ellison · Watercolor teacher for adult beginners · Western North Carolina
Perfect for
Why Peggy’s kit lasts
- Solid walnut. A real wooden palette, not plastic, oiled to keep its color.
- Hand-mixed paint. Soft colors that wake up with water, even after weeks in the box.
- Sewn, not glued. Linen thread holds the pages, so the book opens flat and stays together.
- Thick cotton paper. No curling, no puddles soaking through.
- Made to be used. Peggy has filled nine of her own sketchbooks since Christmas 2024.
Paint with it for a month. If it doesn’t make you happy, one short email is enough and you get your money back. Peggy would rather have it back than see it sit in a drawer.
Tip from Peggy: Start small. One leaf, one cup, one bird. Ten minutes is plenty. Every palette is cut and sanded by hand from sawmill walnut, so the grain and color of the wood differ a little from kit to kit — no two are exactly alike.
Product details
| Contents | Walnut palette with brass clip · 12 hand-mixed colors · hand-sewn sketchbook · water brush · wipe band |
| Palette | Black walnut, hand-sanded and oiled, magnetic lid, 8 wells + mixing area |
| Sketchbook | 60 pages, thick cotton paper (300 gsm), sewn with linen thread |
| Size | Palette about 2.4 in (6 cm) wide · book about 4.3 in (11 cm) tall, 6.2 in (16 cm) open |
| Paint | Pigment, gum arabic and local sourwood honey, mixed by hand |
| Care | Let the paint dry before closing · wipe the palette with a damp cloth |
| Made by | Peggy Harlan, Weaverville, North Carolina — last batch, 96 remaining |
| Made so far | A little more than 300 kits since spring 2025 |
Mrs. Harlan’s Last Magic Boxes
Mrs. Harlan’s Last Magic Boxes
A note from the garage:
For 38 years, Peggy Harlan was the art teacher at the elementary school in Marshall, North Carolina. The budget was $1.10 per child, so she built her own paint boxes from walnut scraps the sawmill down the road saved for her, for around 4,000 children. Every kit is still made by hand: the palette sanded and oiled, the sketchbook sewn with linen thread, the twelve colors mixed with a drop of local sourwood honey — about five hours per kit. The arthritis in her thumbs now allows two palettes a day, and the last walnut from the sawmill is enough for 96 more. When they are gone, there will be no more.
Free US Shipping
Free US Shipping
Free shipping across the United States
- Delivery time: 5–8 business days
- Every kit is carefully packed with a handwritten card and sent with tracking
- Palette about 2.4 in (6 cm) wide, sketchbook about 4.3 in (11 cm) tall
- Walnut palette, 12 hand-mixed colors, sewn 60-page cotton sketchbook, water brush, wipe band
- 30-day money-back guarantee — just email info@cedarandtinco.com
Frequently Asked Questions
Got a question? Here’s how to reach us.
Got a question? Here’s how to reach us.
Email us anytime at info@cedarandtinco.com. We answer Monday–Friday 9am–5pm and Saturday 10am–3pm. Whether it’s about your order, a gift, or just to say hello — a real person writes back.
Can I return it if it’s not for me?
Can I return it if it’s not for me?
Of course. 30-day money-back guarantee. Paint with it for a few weeks, and if it isn’t right for you, email info@cedarandtinco.com within 30 days for a full refund. No questions asked.
How is it made?
How is it made?
Peggy cuts every palette from walnut the local sawmill saved for her, sands and oils it by hand, sews each sketchbook with linen thread and mixes all twelve colors herself with a drop of local sourwood honey — about five hours per kit. That is why the wood grain differs a little from kit to kit.