Introducing... Diamonds Series (oooh Sparkle!)

Hi Everyone! I'm a little bouncy here, excited to tell you about our newest release, the Diamonds Series! You've all heard the phrase "Diamonds are a girl's best friend" right? Well, I say PSSSSHT to that! (We all know a girl's best friend is her dog!) BUT... in this case, Diamonds are an artist's best friend! I am kicking off a blog hop with some awesome artists, so keep reading to the bottom, where I'll post the link list. Of course we are also giving away a FREE set of Diamonds at each blog stop! Details at the bottom...

These are so fun to play with, and they make spectacular designs, no matter what medium you're working with. (Below is just one of the gorgeous Gelli Prints I made...)

Because I've had these stencils for awhile now, I've been doing a LOT of playing. I came up with a bunch of projects and ways to use them, but in the interest of keeping this blog post from being a mile long, I am going to focus on a crafty aspect, today being the official entry into Holiday Land! I tell you, it was difficult to choose just one project to share!

The project that won is a gift box for that special someone's holiday gift. I started with a round paper mache box with a lid of a little over 6" in diameter.

The round BRILLIANT stencil was perfect for the lid of this box. I got out some sticky back canvas to work on. This is Claudine Hellmuth Studio brand, which is no longer available, but there are plenty of other brands on the market now.

And some Stickles Glitter Glue in Copper because... SPARKLE.

(psst. ON SALE now!)

I taped the stencil to the canvas using some low tack painter's Frog Tape. Then I loaded up a Dina Wakley Palette Knife with a bunch of Stickles Glitter Glue and used it like molding paste, smooshing it through the stencil. You will use a LOT of the Stickles, reloading the knife often, until you have all the holes filled in.

When you're done, gently lift the tape and stencil all in one very careful motion so you don't smear the design. I just peel them both up together, rather than peeling the tape off and then lifting the stencil. Less chance of smudging.

Ooh la la! Yummy! Now, carefully place it out of the way and let it dry thoroughly. Do NOT let your cat walk on it.

Now we want to spiff up the bottom of the box with some stripes. I took that frog tape and masked striped areas off and used some copper paint to make some nice even stripes. You can see the result in the final picture. I also painted the edge of the lid that same copper color.

Once the Stickled canvas is dry (seriously, give it at least 8 hours, overnight is better) carefully trim it into a circle, leaving a scant 1/4" around the edge. Of course you want to trim it to the size of your box, this is just what I needed to do to fit the exact size of my box. Carefully peel the backing and stick it on the lid.

I added a bead of Copper Stickles around the edge of the canvas so the raw edge didn't show. You could also hot glue a cool fiber or string of plastic pearls, whatever you want.  This is the finished box. You can see the stripes on the bottom now.

Maybe you can use the box to present a giant diamond to the one you love?

 If you leave a comment telling me what you would do with a Diamond stencil, you will be entered to win a FREE set of Diamond Series! If you are impatient (like me) and want to order a set, the Diamond Series are available on the website now. Be sure to check out tomorrow's stop of the blog hop where Wyanne Thompson will be sharing her gorgeous artwork using the Diamonds stencils. I will be announcing on our Facebook page every morning with a link to the day's blog hop artist, so be sure to set your notifications so you see the posts.

In the meantime, have fun playing with your Diamonds and enjoy seeing all the beautiful artwork!

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