I just want to mention that I have made quite a few narration mistakes in this tutorial, and that is because I have been struggling with some cognitive issues. This is an ongoing issue, which is why I always do voice-overs in order to correct most of my mistakes. In this tutorial, however, I had so many mistakes and I was very tired.

The perfectionist in me wanted to redo everything, but I chose instead to be kind to myself and publish the tutorial with these imperfections. I hope you understand The link for the abstract style dotting tutorial is at the bottom of this post, but I have a few other links that may be helpful.

In the abstract dotting tutorial, I will not be discussing the basics of dotting such as choice of tools and paint, paint consistency, dotting techniques, and so forth. For that information, I do recommend my Beginner Dotting Series to learn everything you need to know. This link will take you to the blog post which has all the information. I will also include Part one of the video tutorials from my YouTube channel below (there are two parts!)

If this project seems a bit daunting, then I do have another tutorial that is quite perfect as a first project. This is my Dot Painting Free-form Style tutorial in which you can practice using your dot painting tools by laying just one layer of dots in various sizes. It is super simple, but makes for a very pretty painting! I will also include the YouTube video below.

If you feel proficient with your dotting skills and just want to have some fun, then you can jump right into the abstract style of dotting I am sharing here today.

The supplies you will need for this project are:

• Assorted colors of liquid acrylic paints
  • I used Americana Brand
    • Desert Turquoise (dark tone)
    • Bahama Blue (light tone)
    • Royal Fucshia (dark tone)
    • Royal Fucshia with Snow White (light tone)
    • Lavender (dark tone)
    • Lavender with Snow White (light tone)
    • Lamp Black with Amsterdam Blue Violet 568 for background
• Paint surface of your choice
  • Canvas
  • Canvas board
  • Strathmore cards
  • Mixed media paper
• DIY Mandala Dot Painting Tools
  • Regular size set
  • Large size set
• Marks Mandala tools regular size set
• Paint tray
• Liquitex gloss medium and varnish (optional)
• Gesso (optional)
• Plastic wrap (like Saran wrap)

Some (but perhaps not all) of the links in this blog are affiliate links to Amazon.com. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This page contains some affiliate links. Please see my policy page for details. I look for the best possible option for your convenience, however, I encourage you to support your local shops!

Check out the video tutorial below for the abstract style dot painting technique! Have fun, be playful, and let your intuition lead the way…there are no rules!

If you like this tutorial, you may also like:

• Dot Painting Garden Scene for Beginners
• ‘Be Kind’ Dot Painting Tutorial
• The Evolution of Creativity

The post How to Dot Paint: Abstract Style appeared first on Create and Crochet.

This tutorial will take you through creating an abstract background painting, ideas on how to draw ‘plump’ lettering, and how to fill the lettering in with layers of dots. If you are new to dot painting, then you can check out my Dot Painting Tutorial for Beginners.

In that tutorial, I talk all about dotting tools and techniques, so it is a great place to start. I am using the DIY Mandala dot painting tools in this tutorial, but in the beginner tutorial, I talk about how you can using ‘found items’ from around the house to dot paint with.

The supplies you will need for this tutorial are:

• Paint surface of your choice. I recommend canvas board, mixed media art paper, or watercolor/mixed media cards.
• Assorted liquid acrylic paints. I recommend the Americana line, but you can use any brand you like. The colors I used in this design are:
  • White, Saffron Yellow, Cadmium Yellow, Moon Yellow (Folk Art), Lavender, Bahama Blue, Desert Turquoise, Ocean Blue, Primary Blue (mixed with white)
• Dot painting tools
  • DIY Mandala Brand (ships from Canada)
  • Marks Mandalas (I don’t have this brand, but it looks very similar)
• Letter Stencils (optional)
• Assorted painting tools for abstract background such as foam brush, sea sponge, toothbrush, plastic wrap, drawer liner, or anything that can be used to create a painted texture.

Some (but perhaps not all) of the links in this blog are affiliate links to Amazon.com. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This page contains some affiliate links. Please see my policy page for details. I look for the best possible option for your convenience, however, I encourage you to support your local shops!

This is a super easy tutorial and I have created a step by step video for you to follow along. While I used the quote ‘Be Kind’, you could write ‘Be Calm’, ‘Be Zen’, ‘Be Happy’, ‘Just Be’, or any other quote you like. I was actually inspired to use this quote because I’ve just launched my new shop ‘Fentie Designs’, where I create funky and fun T-shirts with some of these quotes.

I had actually published the shop as ‘Trisha’s Designs Co’, but I just found another company with a very similar name, selling T-shirts and other products. We launched our stores at almost the exact same time…so to avoid confusion, I changed the name to ‘Fentie Designs’.

With your dot painting project, you could make it any size you like or change up the color combination. Just make sure your background colors are light enough and have enough contrast with the colors you use for the dots.

Check out the video tutorial below to start this fun and inspiring dot painting project! You can watch it here or click over to YouTube and watch it there.

If you like this tutorial, then you may also like:

• Abstract Garden Dot Painting
• Christmas Card Dot Painting
• Dot Painted Flower ~ Free-form Style

Sharing is caring…click on the social share button and choose an image from below to share on social media!

The post ‘Be Kind’ Dot Painting appeared first on Create and Crochet.

This tutorial is suited for beginners, but I do recommend checking out my ‘Dot Painting for Beginners Tutorial‘ if you are completely new to dotting. It teaches you everything you need to know about tool selection, the best type of paints to use, dotting techniques, and so on. I have also created a video tutorial for this project and you can find that at the bottom of this post.

The supplies you will need for this tutorial are:

• Paint surface of your choice
  • 5 x 7 canvas board
  • Watercolor cards
  • Mixed media art paper
• An assortment of fluid acrylic paints. The paints I have on hand are not available at the time of this posting, so these may be a good option.
  • The colors I used were Americana Saffron Yellow, Bright Orange, Coral Blush, Royal Fuschia, Lavender, Sour Apple, Holly Green, Bahama Blue, Ocean Blue, Desert Turquoise, and Burnt Sienna.
  • You want 3 to 4 shades of purple/blue…from dark to light. I only had the lavender in the liquid acrylic, but I had some medium body paints that I thinned down with Acrylic Glazing Liquid. The colors I used were Amsterdam Blue-Violet, Ultramarine, and Artist’s Loft Violet.
• Gesso (if using art paper)
• Dot painting tools (these may not be available from Amazon, but you can try DIY Mandala Stones directly.)
• Paint tray
• Small foam paintbrush
• Assorted small paintbrushes (optional)
• Damp rag
• Jar of water

Some (but perhaps not all) of the links in this blog are affiliate links to Amazon.com. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This page contains some affiliate links. Please see my policy page for details. I look for the best possible option for your convenience, however, I encourage you to support your local shops!

Start by preparing your paint surface. If you are using art paper or cards, paint the back of the surface with a layer of gesso or paint. This is to balance the tension of the paper because when you paint on the top side, the paper will curl from the paint.

Using a foam brush, paint layers of paint in the following order, starting from the bottom: Holly Green, Sour Apple, Desert Turquoise, Ocean Blue, Bahama Blue, Lavender (clean your brush with some paper towel as you transition from cool to warm colors), Royal Fuschia, Bright Orange, and Saffron Yellow. Blend the colors together as you move to the top of the canvas, using a bit of water to blend them all together.

When I starting this painting, my intention was to dot paint a flower design and then do some abstract dotting on the background. For that reason, I only did one layer for the background. As I finished the flower, however, I decided not to dot paint the background, so I had to add more layers of this blended background after I painted the flower (scroll down to see what I mean). If you don’t want to dot paint the background, then I suggest doing at least one more layer for your background before you begin painting the flower.

Once the background has dried fully, draw the outline of a basic flower pattern on the canvas as shown above. You can create any design you like.

If you have some medium body paint that you want to use, thin the paint by blending one part paint and one part acrylic glazing liquid.

Mix it well and test the consistency with a dotting tool on some scrap paper. I had to add a little extra glazing liquid to get the right consistency. The color shown above is the Amsterdam Ultramarine.

Start with the darkest shade of purple (I’m using the Amsterdam Blue Violet thinned down) and a number 5 dotting tool. Outline the shape of the center of the flower and the petals with a variety of sizes of dots. The number 5 tool can be used to ‘walk the dots’ (shown in the beginner’s tutorial) to create smaller dots. Outline the petals in a bit of an abstract way, not creating a straight line, but following the shape of the petals.

Then choose a medium-dark shade of purple (I’m using Artist’s Loft Violet thinned down) and create another line of dots in a variety of sizes, inside the darker line. Again, you are following the line of the petals, but are creating dots in a slightly abstract pattern. Bring some of this color into the center circle as well. Blend some smaller dots into the darker color.

Repeat this again using a medium blue-purple (I’m using the Amsterdam Ultramarine, bringing this layer towards the center of the petals. Create a fourth layer using the Americana Lavender paint. As you move towards the center of the petals, use a smaller dotting tool…perhaps a number 4 or 3. Walk the dots to create smaller dots or use a number 1 and 2 dotting tool. Blend the colors by overlapping into the adjacent colors slightly.

Fill in the center of the petals with the Saffron Yellow, again blending into the adjacent colors slightly, and then let these layers dry really well.

Now working out from the center of the petals, out from the yellow, create an outline of Bright Orange using a number 4 dotting tool and smaller. Follow the shape of the petals. Then do an outline in Coral Blush, again working out from the orange layer and blending the colors slightly.

Finish with a row of Royal Fushcia around the Coral Blush, using the number 4 dotting tool and smaller, and blending the colors slightly.

Using a number 1 and 2 dotting tool, redefine the outer edge of the petals with the darkest purple (Blue-Violet).

I apologize for this poor quality picture, but the camera was having a hard time focusing on the dots! Now fill in the center of the flower with a combination of Burnt Sienna and Saffron Yellow. Use the brown for the very center and then the yellow around that. Again, blend the colors slightly into each other.

So this is where I decided not to dot paint the background and had to add another couple of layers of colors. It was a bit tricky, so I recommend painting two or three layers for your background from the start.

Painting up to the flower with the background colors created a bit of a light-colored shadow around the outside of the petals, so I went back in with a number 1 dotting tool and the darkest purple and filled that in. If you start with two are three layers for your background, then you won’t have to do this step.

In which case…you will be done! Isn’t this so pretty? I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and as always, I have created a video for this as well. Sometimes it is just easier to see the project step by step in a video.

If you like this project, you may also like:

• Dot Painted Garden Scene ~ Abstract Style
• Dot Painting ~ Freeform Style
• Dot Painted Christmas Card

The post Dot Painted Flower ~ Freeform Style appeared first on Create and Crochet.

I do have a dot painting tutorial for beginners that teaches you all the basics of this craft. Everything from tools, paint choices and techniques are taught in this two-part tutorial. If you do not have any dot painting experience then I do recommend starting with the basics. I’ve also created a video tutorial for this project which you will find that at the bottom of this post.

The supplies you will need for this project are:

• A paint surface such as a canvas board, art paper or watercolor cards
• Medium acrylic paint in a dark color such as violet or black
• Liquid acrylic paints in assorted colors
• DIY Mandala Dot Painting Tools -size 1 to 16
• DIY Mandala Dot Painting Tools -size 17 to 28 (optional)
  • These tools are also available directly from the supplier
• Gesso (optional)
• Acrylic Glazing Liquid (optional to thin paint if needed)
• Matte or Satin Acrylic Varnish (optional)
• Paint tray
• Damp cloth
• Damp paper towel or plastic wrap

Some (but perhaps not all) of the links in this blog are affiliate links to Amazon.com. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This page contains some affiliate links. Please see my policy page for details. I look for the best possible option for your convenience, however, I encourage you to support your local shops!

The acrylic paint set I link to above doesn’t have all the exact colors I used, but there are very similar choices. The colors I had in my stash were Saffron Yellow, Bright Orange, Coral Blush, Royal Fucshia, Sour Apple, Bahama Blue, Desert Turquoise and Lavender.

Start by painting your surface of choice with a dark color paint. I used a 5″ x 7″ canvas board and painted it with a medium body acrylic paint in dark purple with a bit of black liquid acrylic added in. The medium body paint makes a great base paint, but if you don’t have any, you can use the liquid acrylic. You just may need more coats of paint.

If you are painting onto a paper surface, then you will want to prepare the back of the surface with a coat of either gesso or paint. This is important to do in order to balance the tension of your painted design. Doing so prevents the paper from curling.

Starting from the bottom with Bahama Blue (or color of your choice), begin creating a curved line of dots, working from a small size to a larger size (4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16) and then back to a small size again (14, 12, 10 etc). Finish with walking the dots (taught in the Dot Painting for Beginners tutorial). Clean your tools in-between each new color and place a damp paper towel or plastic wrap over your paint to prevent it from drying out.

Choose another color (I’m using Bright Orange), and with a large dotting tool, work a curved line down from the top, going about halfway, and decreasing the size of dotting tools (18, 16, 14, 12, etc). Finish with walking the dots.

Continue to create curved lines of dots in various sizes. I created half a row with Sour Apple and finished that row with Lavender. The next row was all done in Royal Fucshia. You can see how I am increasing and decreasing the dot sizes.

Continue to create curved lines of dots, while changing up your pattern. The colors I’ve used above are Desert Turquoise/Sour Apple, Saffron Yellow, Coral Blush/Bahama Blue, and Lavender. Do some partial rows and some full rows. Walk the dots alongside the next row or have them meet in the middle of a row with a new color.

Create some gaps by changing the direction in which the curves flow for each row. Be playful and creative, there really are no rules here. This is what I love about freeform dotting, you don’t have to follow any pattern, you can just allow the dots and colors to flow how they like! I find this quite relaxing.

Once you have worked your way across your surface with your dotted design, you can go back and start to fill in the gaps with smaller dots using various colors. Walk the dots to create some nice, small patterns.

You have now created a beautiful abstract painting! I love how this turned out! Let the painting dry thoroughly and if desired, finish with a couple of coats of acrylic varnish in a matte or satin finish. This will help seal and protect your work.

And for your convenience, here is a video tutorial.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. Please leave a comment below and don’t hesitate to share this with others. Happy creating!!!

If you like this, you may also like:

• Dot Painted Garden Scene for Beginners
• Learn How to do Intuitive Healing Painting
• Dot Painted Christmas Card

The post Dot Painting~Freeform Style Tutorial appeared first on Create and Crochet.

Some (but perhaps not all) of the links in this blog are affiliate links to Amazon.com. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This page contains some affiliate links. Please see my policy page for details. I look for the best possible option for your convenience, however, I encourage you to support your local shops!

You will need the following supplies for this project:

• Strathmore Watercolor Cards
• DIY Mandala Dotting Tools
  • These are currently unavailable on Amazon, but can be ordered directly from the designer at DIY Mandala Stones (they are in Canada)
• Paint Tray
• Liquid Acrylic Paints~I used Americana Brand in the colors listed below, but this set of paint by FolkArt has many similar colors to the ones I used. You can use any assortment of colors for this project.
  • Primary Red
  • Royal Fucshia
  • Bright Orange
  • Saffron Yellow
  • Ocean Blue
  • Lavander
  • Plantation Pine
  • Holly Green
  • Foliage Green
  • Sour Apple
  • Burnt Umber
  • Burnt Sienna
  • Snow White
• Iridescent gold paint: I used Stevenson ‘Rich Gold’ which is a medium body paint. I thinned it with acrylic glazing liquid.
• Gesso (optional)
• Glass of water
• Damp cloth

To begin, draw the outline of a plump Christmas tree on your card. For this tutorial, I will be dotting the inside of the tree, but you could also dot the outside of the card as I did in the Beginner Dot Painting Tutorial. If you are new to dot painting, you’ll want to check out that tutorial as well.

Decide if you want to write a greeting on the top of your Christmas card. If so, draw your tree on the lower part of the card. If not, center the tree in the middle.

Using the gold iridescent paint, and a medium-size dotting tool, dot paint a line of garland in each section of your tree. I had to thin my paint with glazing liquid because it was a medium-body paint.

Now add your colored ornaments using larger dotting tools. You could make all the balls in one color or use multiple colors as I did here. You could also use an assortment of sizes. I just did one size ball.

Now begin to shade the tree in with a variety of colors of green paint. The Plantation Pine was very dark, so I added a bit of white paint to lighten it up. You can do that with any of your paints if you find them too dark. You can also mix together two different green paints to make a third color. Be playful and creative! There are no stringent rules

Start dotting darker shades of green along the bottom line of each of the three groups of foliage. Use a variety of medium and small dotting tools. Feather the darker colors towards the top of the groups of foliage as shown below.

Using the lighter shades of green, begin to fill in the upper areas of the tree, mixing up your colors and the size of dotting tools.

Continue to fill in with the lighter shades of green and bring some of the light shades down into the lower parts of the groups of foliage. Basically, you want to have more of the darker green at the bottom and more of the lighter green towards the top. This gives a bit of a shadow effect and outlines each section nicely.

If you make any mistakes, you can just use a little bit of white paint and a small paintbrush to feather overtop of any unwanted blotches.

Once you’ve filled in the tree area, you can use some brown tones to dot paint the truck area. Use the same idea of shading the colors together.

Last, but not least, use the gold iridescent paint to paint a star on the top of the tree. Place one large dot far enough above the tip of the tree to allow for two smaller dots. Paint two smaller dots around the large one, eight times.

Let the card dry really well and then erase any pencil marks that are showing. If you’ve allowed space to write a greeting, you can do that now!

Have fun with this tutorial! Leave a comment below and please share it on Pinterest or Facebook. Just click on the social share button and pick an image!

If you want more detailed instructions, check out the video below.

If you like this tutorial, you may also like:

• Dot Painting for Beginners
• Dot Painted Garden Scene (abstract)
• How to do Intuitive Healing Painting

The post Dot Painted Christmas Card appeared first on Create and Crochet.

This technique is based on a much more comprehensive process that I write about in my book Healing Through Creative Expression. In this book, I use intuitive painting along with intuitive writing, storytelling and writing to the Soul. It’s available in both Kindle and Paperback.

Some (but perhaps not all) of the links in this blog are affiliate links to Amazon.com. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This page contains some affiliate links. Please see my policy page for details. I look for the best possible option for your convenience, however, I encourage you to support your local shops!

Today we are going to work with the intuitive painting piece only, and if you like this process, of course you could use the book as a guide to go more deeply into a healing process if desired.

For this tutorial, I created a video to guide you through the technique and you can find that below. I will not write the details in this blog post as that would be so much information! However, here are the supplies you will need:

• Canvas board, panel, or mixed media paper
• Liquid acrylic paints: assorted colors
• Medium body acrylic paints (optional): assorted colors
• Assorted paint brushes and foam brushes
• Paint palette or plate
• Jar of water
• Spray bottle (optional)
• Damp rag
• Print making tools such as bubble wrap, textured grip material, credit card, sea sponge, stencils etc.
• Pencil, Gellyroll pens or acrylic friendly pens
• Gold leaf paper (optional)
• Gesso (optional)
• Mod Podge or glazing medium (optional)
• Hairdryer (optional)

What I love about this technique of intuitive healing painting is that you don’t need to have any painting experience at all! In fact, it can be beneficial to have a ‘beginners mind’.

If you have painting or art experience, the skills you have learned can prevent you from allowing your intuitive side to come out. If you find yourself using skills and techniques you know, try to drop those and see if you can find a flow that is free from any rules.

Check out the tutorial below! I hope you enjoy the process

Click on the Pinterest and Facebook share buttons below and choose one of these images!

The post Intuitive Healing Painting appeared first on Create and Crochet.

Some (but perhaps not all) of the links in this blog are affiliate links to Amazon.com. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This page contains some affiliate links. Please see my policy page for details. I look for the best possible option for your convenience, however, I encourage you to support your local shops!

While this is a beginner project, I do recommend checking out my tutorial for beginners if you don’t have any dot painting experience at all. Below you will find a list of supplies needed and a couple of video tutorials that will take you step by step through the entire process of making this gift card.

The supplies you will need are:

• Strathmore Watercolor Cards (or art paper or canvas)
• Dot Painting Tools (I love these ones made by DIY Mandala Stones)
• Paint Brushes (superfine, 1/2″ and 1″ in foam and bristle)
• Liquid Gesso
• Americana liquid acrylic paints in the following colors (just a suggestion…you can create your own color palette):
• Saffron Yellow
• Bright Orange
• Coral Blush
• Royal Fuchsia
• Lavender
• Desert Turquoise
• Bahama Blue
• Holly Green
• Plantation Pine

You will also need some paper towel, a damp cloth and a jar of water to clean your brushes in.

Start by preparing the surface you will be painting on. If you are using canvas, paint a layer of Gesso on the front and let it dry. If you are using a gift card or art paper, paint a layer of Gesso on both sides of the surface. This will help prevent the paper from curling towards the painted side.

Once the Gesso has dried, you can paint the background by blending each color of paint in rows from the top to the bottom, starting with the saffron yellow and finishing with the holly green. Do two coats. Use the plantation pine to paint the ‘stems’ as shown below.

Start filling in the garden area with large dots of assorted colors (I used size 15 in the DIY Mandala tools), placing large dots at the top of each stem. Then use a smaller tool (size 11) to fill in more garden area and then go to an even smaller tool (size 6) to fill in more area. Let this dry well.

Start to dot inside the largest dots with a smaller tool (size 9), using contrasting colors. Then repeat the same process in the medium size dots using a smaller tool (size 5 or 6). Let this dry well and do a third layer of dots inside the large dots with a very small tool (size 4). Use this same size tool to fill in-between all the other dots, as well as ‘walking the dots’ above the large dots at the top of the stems to create peaks.

It is actually a challenge to write these directions which is why I created a couple of videos to guide you through this whole process. There is much more information provided in both these video tutorials. Check them out!

I hope you have fun with this project! Please subscribe, like and share on Youtube! You can also subscribe to my newsletter so you don’t miss out on any new projects!

The post Dot Painted Garden Scene for Beginners appeared first on Create and Crochet.

Some (but perhaps not all) of the links in this blog are affiliate links to Amazon.com. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This page contains some affiliate links. Please see my policy page for details. I look for the best possible option for your convenience, however, I encourage you to support your local shops!

For this project, all you need are some basic dotting tools, acrylic paint, and a blank card to paint on. You can find all sorts of dotting tools around the house like drill bits, nail heads, pen and pencil tips, chopsticks, cotton swabs and more! All you need is a flat round surface to dab the paint on with. Play around on some scrap paper first to get a feel for how each tool works. If you are wanting to buy a set, I really love these dotting tools by DIY Mandala Stones (ships from Canada). You can also get a similar set by Marks Mandalas, I haven’t used this brand, but they look very much like the DIY Mandala brand. These small tools would also be a great addition.

I have all sorts of brands of acrylic paints, and for this project, I am using what I have on hand. Mostly, I’m using liquid acrylic paints, but I have 2 medium body paints as well. I add some water to those paints to make them the right consistency for dotting. But my all-time favorite brand for dotting is Americana Brand. It has the best consistency all round and produces really nice dots.

The list below is all the paints I used for this project (from left to right)

• Violet by Artist’s Loft (medium body)
• Permanent Blue Violet by Amsterdam (medium body)
• Lavender by Americana
• Titanium White by Golden
• Cobalt Turquoise by Golden (didn’t actually use, but it’s in the photo)
• Desert Turquoise DecoArt by Americana
• Turquoise (Phthalo) by Golden
• Bahama Blue by Americana

I added white to some of these colors to make a variety of shades. Have fun playing with your own colors and make it your own!

You will then need some blank card stock. You can just use mixed media art paper and fold it in half. I used Strathmore Watercolor Cards and they work great! You’ll also need a paint palette (a plain plate will do) and a damp cloth.

Before you start, I do recommend that you practice using your dot tools on a scrap piece of paper. Do this whether you have ‘found’ tools or a proper set. This will help you get the feel of how much paint you need to load on the tools and how much pressure to use when applying the dot on the surface.

You will need to load the dotting tool each time as it won’t hold enough paint to do multiple dots. The only exception is when you ‘walk the dots’ and this is when you use a very small tool and create a series of progressively smaller dots. We won’t be using that technique in this project.

Once you have done some practice, you can start working on your project. Using some scrap paper, cut out the shape of a heart (or another shape) to use as a template for your card. Place the template where you want it on the card and lightly trace around it with a pencil. You will erase the pencil marks once the project is done.

I recommend taping your card to the work surface to prevent it from moving around and getting paint on the back. Once you have your shape on the card, start with your largest dotting tool and begin to place dots of different colors around the outside of the heart. Wipe the dotting tool clean with a damp cloth between colors.

Make sure to hold your hand off the table! A smudged dot is hard to fix! Once you’ve done your first layer, choose a smaller tool and continue to fill in some of the white space.

Now choose an even smaller tool and continue to fill in the white areas with more dots! Have fun playing with the different colors.

Now it is time to start dotting different colors inside these dots. Let the card dry really well before proceeding with this step. You can place a damp paper towel or some plastic wrap over your paint tray to prevent your paints from drying out.

Choose a smaller tool than the largest dots and start applying a second color to the large dots. Use colors that will pop nicely (dark on light and vise versa). Once you’ve done the large dots, move on to the medium size dots and then the smaller ones. Continue to fill in more white space with smaller dots.

Then you can apply a third color on the larger dots to create even more depth. Continue to fill in more white space…there are no rules about this…just stop when it feels done!

When you are done, let the project dry really well and then erase the pencil marks around the heart. Isn’t it pretty!

Now that you’ve completed this project, you can move on to more advanced projects like these mandala stones below! I plan to offer more tutorials on this so sign up for my newsletter and follow me on social media!

I also created a couple of videos on Youtube that take you step by step through this project. You can check them out below. Please subscribe, like and share!

The post Dot Painting for Beginners appeared first on Create and Crochet.