Craft Corner

[CheerBear]

Hiya all 🙂

@FigBell0917 sorry to read you've had a hard few weeks. Sounds like there's lots going on for you. Posts can get lost sometimes on busy social threads so I'm wondering if you'd like to share what's going on for you in the "Something's not right" or "Our stories" section of the forum too, so your sharing (which is so helpful to do) doesn't get missed and you can receive support more widely. I really hope things turn around for you soon.

@Former-Member I can imagine the sense of satisfaction you had putting those last ones in your frog! Bet it looks fab in a frame. The two you've ordered look like they'll take a while to do but they're very cool and such a great idea for gifts. Thanks for your comment re my crochet. You too @Maggie 😊 It's lovely to have a place to share and to find encouragement to keep working away at it.

Looking forward to seeing your project as it comes along if you'd like to share @cutiepiekitty 🙂

Late last night I received a text message and photo from my Big who had spent hours working on their black cat diamond painting yesterday and finished it. They too seriously enjoyed the finished project feels @Former-Member 🙂 It looks so good and will be framed also. Big is now on the hunt for their next one and is hoping for a bigger more detailed one to do. @Gazza75 thought you might like hearing your diamond painting enjoyment has caught further 🙂

Hope everyone has a day with good in it ❤

[Gazza75]

Good Morning @Former-Member ,

I think theres about 7400 drills in the frog, it says the number on the box somewhere 🙂  Its definitely a nice feeling to place the last few drills in!  I am hoping to get a frame today for the one I finished last week (starry nights), i've had some troubles as its a bit of an odd size.  I'll have to try and remember this for future ones.  

I really like the two you have ordered.  They might arrive quicker than you think, I was pleasantly surprised with how quickly mine arrived.  The website on Aliexpress is pretty much useless for tracking, according to it, mine are still in transit!  

I have two and a half tips for your upcoming projects.  If your canvas comes rolled, the easiest way to flatten it is to peal the sheet right back and then restick it down, if you do this once or twice they will flatten out perfectly.  This didn't work for the ones I got from wish.com as they came kind of folded.  The ones from Aliexpress it worked very nicely.  

With the square drills, orientate your tray horizontally or vertically to your canvas, this way when you pick up the drills with your pen they will be orientated straight and you should get them aligned nicely when you stick em down.  If they don't stick aligned poperly I've found removing with tweezers and replacing is quicker than trying to nudge or push them around like you can with the round ones.

The squares take a bit of getting used to, i found I was using tweezers a lot untill i found out about how to orientate the tray, now its much smoother sailing and I'm quite happy with how I'm progressing. 

I'd probably have gone for slightly bigger size with your canvas as they show the detail a lot more.  I really like the two you have picked out ! 🙂

Again, really great you finished the frog as quick as you did and you should be really proud that you did that as your 2nd project!  Awesome! 🙂 

Have a great day @Former-Member , hope that post man shows up soon!

[Gazza75]

@CheerBear, I hope 'big' can find a good project to do next.  Finding the right one can be challnging as there are so many good ones to do.  Must have got stuck into it to have got it finished so quickly!  Not sure if you remember the wolves that @cutiepiekitty did, but, that might be a nice challenging one for big to have a go at! 🙂

How did the stickers turn out for 'little'? 

Hope you can find some time to do your projects.  The colours you ended up chosing for Sophie are really nice 🙂

[Former-Member]

I hope so too @Gazza75  ... Looking forward to using those square drills and seeing how they shape up.  Thanks heaps for those tips too, I will definitely do that.  I have seen a utube video demonstrating how to straighten up the rolled canvases, and its exactly as you described.  I did that with my frog canvas when I first got it, and it did definitely work.

Re the sizing, I thought about getting a bigger pic, but thought with the square drills it may be too much work.  And from what I've read, the smaller canvases come up really well with square drills.  So I got the 20x30.  I'm sure they will be fine.  Yes, I know what you mean about the awkward sizing of the canvases.  I had that with my green tree frog, because the pic is 27x37.  What sort of size is that?  In the end I got a $4 document frame at Officeworks.  And it looks okay in that.  If I were giving it away, I would get something a little more classy, but hey .. its only for me.

Another question for you @Gazza75 -Guru ... Have you heard or read anything about whether the completed canvases should be sealed in some way? I dont know if the sticky stuff breaks down over time and diamonds start to drop off.  If the finished product was sealed that wouldnt happen, it would protect it for life.  And if a sealant is used, any idea what works best and does not break down the diamonds or the canvas itself?  Something like Mod Podge perhaps?  Any ideas.  Perhaps @cutiepiekitty  would know.  I would welcome your advice.

Sherry 🐸

[Gazza75]

I haven't done any sealing as yet @Former-Member . 

I think its more important for round drills than square, the sealant will stop dust, hairs and what not from getting onto the canvas.  I have been looking at it for a little while and I have seen quite a few videos on youtube and facebook.  Most people use mod podge triple gloss, but, I can't find it in my local bunnings or spotlight, they have other varieties.  I have usually seen it applied with a wet brush and then wiped down with a damp cloth to remove any excess. 

Also people use a rolling pin on the painting when its finished, a normal one will work if you put a tea towel over the painting to protect it a bit.  Also I have heard people just put it under the bed for 3 or 4 days before framing.  

Some people don't seal at all and have no issues, particularly when its framed.

Hopefully @cutiepiekitty can offer some suggestions.  

[cutiepiekitty]

@Former-Member I seal my Dp with a mixture of 2/3 white lue (craft glue, pva glue, elmer's glue....) and about 1/3 water. I use a cheap kids paintbrush and kind of dab it so the glue gets between the drills as well. Others in a dp group I belong to do the same and all have found it works

[Gazza75]

@Former-Member @cutiepiekitty @CheerBear @Maggie @Judi9877 @FragileMe 

Good morning you crafty souls!  Hoot hoot! - thats my owl noise 

Think I have been converted to using squares. 

This ones taken me nearly as long to do as my last big one! 🙂  

@cutiepiekitty, do you seal the squares or just the round ones?  

[Former-Member]

Lookin' good there @Gazza75 .  Hoot hoot .... 🦉🤣

I too am interested to hear what @cutiepiekitty  does with her square drills as opposed to round, as far as sealing.

Sherry 

[cutiepiekitty]

@Gazza75 I usually seal all of t hem just in case so the drills do not decide to fall off later. Looks good.

[Maggie]

Looking great @Gazza75 

 Lol @Former-Member  hoot hoot.😂😂