I’ve just taken delivery of my latest goodies from Craft Label (Trimcraft). First up is a set of acrylic paint pens from Nova. These are water-based, non-toxic and suitable for just about every surface. They are also water-proof on glass and ceramic when baked (though not dishwasher or food safe). The pens have a 0.7mm extra-fine tip and there are 15 colours in a pack, including metallic gold and silver.

Over a year ago, I was given a bag of cobbles/pebbles by a friend who was hoping I would use them for stone art. I’ve finally got round to using some to decorate with the paint pens…

The mandala started with pencilled rounds before being coloured with the paint pens. The extra-fine tips made large areas a little tedious to fill but came into their own when outlining the elements. Colour all the areas first before outlining with the black. I found the nibs held up well against the rough surface with no discernable wear. There was a little bit of flicking of ink when pushing the nib along, but I’ve come to expect that from the type of plastic nib used in these types of pen (also happens with fine Posca pens). Pulling the nib over the surface reduces this.

In the other two stones, the metallic gold is rich and shiny, complemented by some Gold Stickles. The silver is similarly shiny and stands out well against the dark stone and the deep blue paint colour.

Though I could have baked the decorated pebbles following the instructions on the box to make the decoration waterproof, I have chosen to seal my work with a covering of resin to make them even more hardwearing and to give a glossy finish.

I also used some Pinterest inspiration and an animation reference book to create three pebble people. Like you do… These would be ideal for planting in pots and hanging baskets, peeking over the edge.

Please source your pebbles responsibly!