Non-Stick Parchment Paper for Diamond Painting: Things to Keep in Mind

One of the best crafting activities available for adults and children, painting with diamonds can help boost your creativity and promote feelings of calm and focus. In fact, crafting has been shown to reduce feelings of anxiety and depression, as it is a great way to relieve stress and distract your mind from worry. Plus, when you complete a diamond painting, you end up with a beautiful masterpiece! 

If you’re just getting started with this amazing, new craft, there are some tips and tricks that you should be aware of — like switching out the supplied plastic cover in your diamond painting kit for parchment paper. This inexpensive, kitchen staple is useful for so much more than just baking. When you learn how to use it as a diamond art supply, you’ll wonder why you didn’t start using it sooner! Keep reading to learn more about how to use parchment paper in your next project. 

Using Non-Stick Parchment Paper for Diamond Painting

If you’ve ever worked on a diamond painting, you’ve probably encountered some frustration navigating your canvas around the protective cover. The purpose of this plastic sheet is, of course, to prevent dirt, debris and foreign objects like pet hair and dust from sticking to the canvas underneath. Unfortunately, with just one large sheet as the cover, it can be difficult to work on your diamond painting as the entire canvas is eventually revealed. Even if you try to move the cover around as you work, to keep part of the canvas covered, there’s bound to be more adhesive exposed than is necessary. As a result, your arm may stick to the canvas as you try to work on a particular area. Or, since the canvas is vulnerable while you’re working on it, it may pick up some of those elements you were trying to shield it from in the first place. For many beginners, this is extremely frustrating and takes away from the relaxing nature of the project.

For this reason, many diamond painters have looked for a more efficient means of keeping their canvas protected. This is where parchment paper comes in. Using parchment paper for diamond painting is an effective DIY solution that will safeguard your canvas as you’re working on it and make it much easier to remove and cover specific areas. When you use parchment paper, you can avoid the annoyance of getting stuck to your canvas or discovering dirt or pet hair in it. Plus, it helps keep the unfinished parts of the canvas nice and sticky until you are ready to add diamond drills to each area. 

How to Use Parchment Paper as a Protective Cover for Diamond Painting 

Before you get started, it’s important to note that these tips are for parchment paper — not wax paper. Though these two kitchen products are similar, wax paper isn’t a suitable alternative to non-stick parchment paper. If you use wax paper, it can stick to the canvas and might decrease the adhesiveness of the glue. We also recommend purchasing high-quality parchment paper to avoid similar issues. 

• Remove the original plastic cover that comes with the canvas. Some covers are clear plastic while others are made from an opaque material. Either way, you can simply rip the cover off because you’re going to replace it with parchment paper.
• Grab a roll of non-stick parchment paper from your kitchen and cut it into squares, or you can order parchment paper squares on Amazon. Most diamond painters prefer squares that are between 4” x 4” and 6” x 6”. Use scissors to neatly cut the paper. Do not rip it! If you rip the parchment paper, the rough edges could get stuck to the canvas. If you want your squares to be perfectly square, consider using a paper cutter.
  NOTE: If you’re working on a particularly small canvas, you can cut your squares down into even smaller sections. This step is all about personal preference. Find a size that works for you and stay with it.
• Starting at the bottom of the painting, begin placing the parchment paper squares over the exposed canvas and rubbing each piece in place to make sure that it adheres. You can either let your parchment squares overlap or try to line them up as close to each other as possible. Starting at the bottom of your diamond painting will keep your arm from getting stuck to the canvas as you reach over it to cover the top half.)
• Voila! You’ve created a parchment paper cover for your diamond painting. This ingenious hack not only protects your canvas, but it also makes the entire project much easier to work on. Now, you can pull back one square at a time and work on just that area while the rest of the canvas remains shielded.

Why Is Parchment Paper Beneficial for Diamond Painting?

PROTECTS THE DIAMOND PAINTING CANVAS

The entire purpose of the plastic layer that comes with your diamond art kit is to keep the pre-glued canvas from getting soiled with things like lint and dirt. Unfortunately, with just one big sheet to cover it, debris has abundant opportunity to make its way onto the canvas anyway while you’re working on it. Using parchment paper is a DIY non-stick solution that helps to safeguard the entire canvas, except for the confined area you’re working on.

Plastic covers can attract dust and debris due to static, too, and make it more difficult to keep your canvas clean. Luckily, parchment paper does not have the same properties so you won’t need to worry about anything sticking to your artwork.  

EASIER TO WORK WITH

Perhaps the greatest advantage of using parchment paper for diamond painting is that it makes your crafting experience more pleasurable. When working on a painting that only has the plastic cover, you’ll find your arm sticking to the canvas as you lean over to reach parts of the design that are closer to the center. Utilizing parchment paper also avoids the issue of the plastic cover getting caught on other things and ripping or curling around the edges. While the cover is meant to protect the canvas, trying to work around it often proves to be quite frustrating, especially for beginners. 

SECTIONING MAKES PAINTING EASIER

Dividing a large diamond painting into smaller, parchment paper-covered sections makes it much easier to work on different parts of the canvas at a time. For beginners, this can make the project feel less overwhelming by breaking it down into more manageable pieces. For more advanced painters, it’s advantageous because you can knock out a segment when you have some free time without getting caught up in trying to finish the whole thing in one sitting. Sectioning makes it a bit easier to work on just one color at a time, too, since you’ll be less likely to get the symbols mixed up. 

Make Your Diamond Painting Easier with This DIY Solution

Substituting parchment paper for the provided plastic cover in diamond painting kits is a serious crafting hack because it allows you to work on your project more easily without worrying that dirt, dust, pet hair (or you!) will stick to the canvas. Plus, paper parchment squares eliminate the need for the pesky plastic cover that just seems to rip and get in the way of your painting. Try implementing this tip into your diamond painting routine and see if it works for you. 

Once you have added parchment paper to your arsenal of diamond painting tools, you’ll wonder how you ever managed to craft without it. Paper covers are much easier to work with, and since just about everyone has baking parchment in their pantry, it is an easy DIY solution for taking your diamond art projects to the next level. Now, you get to decide what you’d like to do with your finished diamond painting so everyone can admire your hard work. We enjoy displaying ours in our homes but also like giving completed ones to friends and family as a truly unique gift.

Image Credits

Source: Tatyana Maletina/Shutterstock.com