All about diamond embroidery on a stretcher

Diamond embroidery - just one name is breathtaking, and the result looks even more amazing. Even if there are no natural diamonds in the picture, the splendor of the sparkling sketch justifies the comparison. It is quite possible to create such a miracle with your own hands.

Diamond embroidery is, rather, a mosaic laid on a special basis with artificial stones, rhinestones of various cuts. Initially, kits for paintings were sold with soft canvases rolled into a roll, then the range was replenished with paintings on stretchers. This has seriously increased the cost of the sets, but the price is justified by the comfort in work, as well as other advantages.

• The diamond embroidery on the stretcher is protected from creases, does not wrinkle in the process.
• Mobility - a rigid base allows you to sit with work anywhere, even on your favorite carpet or couch. Moreover, the stretcher allows for a quick change of the working area, you just need to pick it up and move it.
• After laying out rhinestones, coating the canvas with varnish and completely drying, all activities are completed. The picture is ready, and it does not need additional accessories to decorate it (frame, glass, baguette).

The subjects of the sketches are as varied as the themes for painting in general. It can be floral arrangements, urban and natural landscapes, animals and birds, seas and deserts, cities and rural motives - the choice of themes is endless.You can decorate any space with a diamond painting - from a children's room to an office, from a classic interior to country and Provence style. Diamond embroidery can be a hobby for personal satisfaction or a source of income. A set or finished product is the perfect gift for a personal or calendar holiday.

The market offers various sizes of diamond embroidery on a stretcher. The most popular format is 40x50 cm, but you can always buy a set of 30x40, 30x30, 30x20, 20x25, 20x20 cm formats. The material of the subframes is also different.

• Cardboard - Ideal for beginners, the paint application process is much easier and more economical.
• Canvas. It is more difficult to work with, more paint will be required, but its advantage is as a finished product, similar to the work of a real artist.
• The wood stretcher is suitable for experienced craftsmen who have mastered canvas and cardboard. When working with wood, more paint will also be needed so that the structure is completely tinted, the joints between the panels are invisible.

A picture made in the style of a diamond mosaic has a rather impressive weight, of course, in comparison with a canvas without a stretcher, it can weigh up to 1 kilogram or more.

When choosing a model and its characteristics, it is necessary to take into account the peculiarities of the visual perception of the canvas due to the size and shape of the stones.

Types of stones:

• square transparent, translucent, opaque rhinestones, have fewer edges, less shine, leave no gaps, palette up to 400 shades;

• round rhinestones - opaque, transparent, translucent shiny, have a larger number of edges, therefore, a stronger shimmering effect, when laying out there are gaps between them, a palette of up to 200 shades.

The layout can be complete and incomplete, the latter is more suitable for children, since it is not so tedious to work with. Such a layout can depict cats, for example, a ginger cat, or a lion, ships, flowers, for example, a rose, orchids, a fireplace. The full layout is used to decorate a complex plot - space, nature, etc.

Before you start creating, you need to take care of a comfortable workplace. On sale there are diamond embroidery machines, floor and table, but the devices are quite expensive and there is no point in purchasing them for one-time work. To create a diamond painting on a stretcher, you need standard tools and fixtures:

• tray;
• stylus;
• tweezers;
• organizer;
• gel pad.

Take your time and buy all of the above, it will be in all sets. Over time, those who are engaged in diamond mosaic on a regular basis accumulate a huge number of the same tools. It is imperative to take care of good lighting, possibly additional, to protect your eyes from severe fatigue and overstrain.

Everything is ready for creativity - a work surface, a light, a chair or armchair, a set of rhinestones, a canvas on a stretcher, tools. It's time to start the design. If a mosaic set is purchased ready-made, then it contains everything you need. In the case when it is decided to make the base with your own hands, then the canvas must be pulled over the made stretcher.

The first rows are a process that requires special attention. The glue base is quite flexible, and the first rhinestones can be displaced. The next rows will already have support, and things will go easier. You can trim the first row with a ruler, like a limiter, by moving the stones at the same distance.

• You can work with faceted stones with tweezers, it holds faceted rhinestones well, but round smooth stones need to be taken with a stylus with sticky gel at the end of the rod.Always remember to be careful when using tweezers to grasp the sides of the stone without scratching the surface.
• The protective film is peeled off in small sectors, exactly on the area that will be covered with rhinestones during the working period of time.
• In case of incomplete calculation, the drawing protrudes slightly beyond the borders, falling into the main background. Do not allow the edging to get dirty, otherwise the visual effect will be damaged. To avoid such a nuisance, the border can be sealed with the released pieces of protective film.
• In order for the rhinestones to lie comfortably face up, the tray must be shaken - almost all the stones will fall in the right way.
• To work with multiple colors at the same time, you can use the palette instead of the tray.
• When laying out, you must try to adhere to the color boundaries as much as possible, correcting irregularities and protrusions with tweezers. Particular attention is paid to square rhinestones - there should be no gaps between them. The geometry of round stones does not allow you to do without gaps, but here, too, the boundaries must be observed as much as possible.
• If any color is not enough, you can choose rhinestones that match the tone from the set or buy the necessary ones.
• The finished canvas must be dried. Usually the sketch is ironed with a warm iron, the surface is rolled with a rolling pin, firmly pressing the diamonds into the glue base.

After drying, the surface of the painting should be fixed - covered with glossy or matte acrylic varnish, sometimes craquelure is used for this purpose. This technique is needed not only for decorative purposes, it is also an additional rhinestone holder.

When working with varnish, you should remember: very little varnish is collected on the brush, an extremely limited amount. If you do not follow this measure, the varnish mass will flow between the stones, blurring the clarity of the boundaries and leaving small bubbles. The mosaic will immediately lose some of its beauty and perfection; such defects are clearly visible from a distance. After final drying, the painting is ready.

The next video will tell you about diamond embroidery in even more detail.