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Can one small palette really handle a butterfly, roses, a snake, AND a dragon? Kellie Burrus put the Kraze FX Key Colors Palette to the test in this fun product demo, and the answer is a big yes. This compact 3/8" split cake palette packs serious versatility into a tiny footprint — and Kellie showed us exactly how to get the most out of every color.
About Kellie Burrus
Kellie Burrus is a professional face painter known for her bold, confident brushwork and her love of one-stroke techniques. Whether she's painting roses on faces, bodies, or even bottles, Kellie brings genuine enthusiasm and years of real-world experience to everything she creates. Her relaxed, encouraging teaching style makes even tricky designs feel totally doable.
What Makes the Key Colors Palette Special
The Kraze FX Key Colors Palette is a 3/8" split cake palette that gives you all the essential color combinations you need without taking up a ton of space in your kit. Kellie pointed out right away how much she loves the compact size — sometimes you just don't need the full-size split cakes, and these smaller pans are perfect for keeping things streamlined. The palette includes a Kraze FX half-inch flat brush that fits right into the pans, making loading easy and efficient.
Kellie was especially excited about the Kraze Waxy White and Waxy Black included in the palette. Unlike glycerin-based whites, the waxy formula produces crisp, clean lines — exactly what you want for detail work, teardrops, and highlights.
Design 1: Butterfly Rose Mask
Kellie kicked things off with a Valentine's Day-inspired butterfly using the pink one-stroke split cake. She walked us through her loading technique, emphasizing the importance of keeping all the colors on the same side of the brush as you load back and forth. The key is getting that creamy consistency — not too wet, not too dry. If it starts skipping, you need more paint.
For the butterfly wings, Kellie used a plant-and-pull technique, keeping the darker color on the outside to create that natural depth. She built the wings in sections, starting with the larger upper wings and working down to smaller lower wings, getting progressively smaller with each stroke.
Then came the fun part — she added roses right in the center of the butterfly using the red and white split from the same palette. Using the half-inch flat brush that comes with the palette, she built up petals by keeping the white on the outside and curling inward. She finished with leaves using the green and yellow one-stroke, pressing and spreading through the pan to grab all the colors at once.
For the finishing touches, Kellie used her Blazin Brush #3 script liner loaded with the waxy white to add teardrops cascading from the center. She reminded us that you can absolutely skip the line work and teardrops if you're pressed for time — one-stroke work already looks magical to clients, so don't stress about adding every detail when the line is long.
Design 2: Blue Roses
Next up, Kellie painted a standalone rose design to show just how beautiful and versatile this technique can be. She used the 3/4" Blazin Brush flat for the main rose, building petals by keeping the lighter colors on the outside and working in layers. For smaller accent roses around the main bloom, she switched to the palette's included brush.
Kellie shared a great tip for when your rose comes out too watery: dab it with a sponge to dry it up, make sure your brush is really well loaded with a creamy consistency, and then go right back over it. She's constantly doing that little dance — dab to dry, dip for a touch more moisture, load up again. It's all about finding that sweet spot.
She finished the roses with white teardrops using the #4 liner brush, and reminded everyone that these are optional if you're in a rush. The one-stroke roses look gorgeous on their own.
Design 3: Snake
For the snake, Kellie loaded up the green split cake and built the head shape first, keeping the darker green on the outside. She positioned the head above the eye, though she mentioned she sometimes paints the snake chomping the eye or coming down toward the mouth — it all depends on the design.
She created the body in an S-shape curving around the eye area, twisting the darker color placement to give the illusion of the snake bending. For the jaw detail, she grabbed a bit of the red and white split with the palette brush. Then with a #1 round brush, she filled in the mouth with black and added angry-looking eyes, nostrils, and fangs.
The finishing touch was cross-hatching for scale texture across the body, followed by white highlights on the teeth, tongue, and anywhere the snake would naturally catch light. A fierce little face painting that boys absolutely love.
Design 4: Pretty Dragon
For the grand finale, Kellie went with a brown dragon — a color they hadn't used yet from the palette. She started by building the head shape around the brow bone, creating that signature dragon snout that she says always reminds her a little of a bird beak, plus horns on top.
Before finishing the dragon details, she grabbed the fire-colored one-stroke (yellow, gold, orange, red, and black) and painted flames behind the dragon using the palette's half-inch flat. She swept the fire over the eyelid area with lighter pressure, keeping the darker colors on the outside for a natural, dramatic effect.
She finished the dragon with white teeth, black outlines around the fire, horn details, and even gave the dragon some lashes — because why not? The group lovingly named this one the "Pretty Dragon," and it earned its title.
Key Tips From the Demo
Kellie dropped tons of practical advice throughout the session. Load your brush really well and aim for that creamy consistency every time — under-loaded brushes lead to skipping and streaky results. Keep your colors on the same side of the brush when loading one-strokes, or everything gets muddy. Dab with a sponge between layers to make sure the previous layer is dry before painting over it. And don't underestimate the power of one-stroke work on its own — clients genuinely think it's magic when all those colors come out at once, so you don't always need to add elaborate line work.
Brushes and Products Used
Here are some of the key products Kellie used throughout the demo:
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