I used to embroider on my kids clothes back a "hundred" years ago before there was such a thing as an embroidery machine. I used a regular wooden hoop with the fabric laying flat against the machine. I used coloring books and traced onto my fabric and then did "free-motion" embroidery with no foot. There wasn't even such a thing as stabilizer then, so I used soft interfacing.
As far as the painted machine, I find that too distracting. I like my white machine better.