The Art of Diamond Painting
Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2023 9:09 amI really hadn’t heard of Diamond Painting till I saw Carol’s that she posted a while back and then saw it up close when Shipshewana on the Road was here in October. A store called Diamond Painting Depot from WI was there with displays and kits. Neighbor bought one and I thought what the heck, I’ll try it.
The kits come with a tray, wax, a drill placing pen, tweezers and there may be some other things depending on where you order it from. Or buy at a craft store. Mine came with all of that plus sime multi spacers and the pink thing can be slipped on the drill pen to help in holding it if you want. The multi spacers are for times when you might have a big section of the same color. They let you pick up 2, 4 or whatever drills, and place them on the canvas at the same time, rather than one at a time.
Sounds a bit intimidating, but there are tons of videos on it out there and sites like Diamond Painting Group on Facebook where you can get tons of advice. In all actuality, it’s easy. And very addictive
There’s all kinds of accessories, light boards, magnifiers etc. you can get to help read the letters, numbers and symbols in the canvas. It’s like doing a paint by number. Everybody finds their own method, there’s no tried and true. That Diamond Painting Group I mentioned, is over 56k members. It’s one of the fastest growing hobbies in the country. It’s really relaxing and even if you’re a person with little patience for projects, you might find yourself actually enjoying it. Like one person posted on the Diamond group, it’s not a race to the finish line. Take your time and enjoy it. You can always put it away for a while and pick it up later. There are portfolios to store them in. My neighbor did 3 Christmas themed ones and has them framed on her walls for the holidays. She plans to take them down and replace with others she will do after the holidays.
This is my work area. I’m using my kitchen table as there’s plenty of light there. That’s important. And like Carol, I found a hand held flashlight really shows up the numbers, letters etc. I do have a light board on order that you can lay the canvas on and it lights it up from underneath, really showing up the pattern symbols. I’ll post a picture after I get it.
The canvas comes with a cellophane cover as you can see in the one Carol posted. The canvas has an adhesive on it to keep the diamonds on. It’s important to keep it covered to keep from sticking to it yourself, keeping dust, lint etc. or fur kids like cats from walking in it. You just peel back a small section to work onit. You don’t have to keep the cellophane on. There are special made release sheets you can order or use parchment paper. I used parchment paper and just cut a bit for a section as ai go along. I prefer to keep my completed aras covered to keep off dust till I’m done. Personal choice there. You can see where I have made cuts at the top
Everybody finds a way to store and work with their diamonds, also called drills. Some like to have a bunch of trays to keep each seperate, some keep them in their individual bags and just pour them into the trays when needed and return leftovers to the bag. And some like me, buy cases with plastic bottles and put the drills in them. I just pour out what’s needed and return them to container after I finish with them. I like this case because everything can fit into it if I want to put it away for awhile. After I’m finished I will put the remaining drills back in their bags to store and use the containers for the next painting.
So now I am just moving along slow but sure. No hurry to get it finished. Just enjoying it especially in a cold snowy day. That plus other things will make my winter fly. Carol, we can compare notes. Off to get the vacuming done and then sit down and close the gaps in the section I’m doing and start the last part of the top.
The kits come with a tray, wax, a drill placing pen, tweezers and there may be some other things depending on where you order it from. Or buy at a craft store. Mine came with all of that plus sime multi spacers and the pink thing can be slipped on the drill pen to help in holding it if you want. The multi spacers are for times when you might have a big section of the same color. They let you pick up 2, 4 or whatever drills, and place them on the canvas at the same time, rather than one at a time.
Sounds a bit intimidating, but there are tons of videos on it out there and sites like Diamond Painting Group on Facebook where you can get tons of advice. In all actuality, it’s easy. And very addictive
There’s all kinds of accessories, light boards, magnifiers etc. you can get to help read the letters, numbers and symbols in the canvas. It’s like doing a paint by number. Everybody finds their own method, there’s no tried and true. That Diamond Painting Group I mentioned, is over 56k members. It’s one of the fastest growing hobbies in the country. It’s really relaxing and even if you’re a person with little patience for projects, you might find yourself actually enjoying it. Like one person posted on the Diamond group, it’s not a race to the finish line. Take your time and enjoy it. You can always put it away for a while and pick it up later. There are portfolios to store them in. My neighbor did 3 Christmas themed ones and has them framed on her walls for the holidays. She plans to take them down and replace with others she will do after the holidays. This is my work area. I’m using my kitchen table as there’s plenty of light there. That’s important. And like Carol, I found a hand held flashlight really shows up the numbers, letters etc. I do have a light board on order that you can lay the canvas on and it lights it up from underneath, really showing up the pattern symbols. I’ll post a picture after I get it.
The canvas comes with a cellophane cover as you can see in the one Carol posted. The canvas has an adhesive on it to keep the diamonds on. It’s important to keep it covered to keep from sticking to it yourself, keeping dust, lint etc. or fur kids like cats from walking in it. You just peel back a small section to work onit. You don’t have to keep the cellophane on. There are special made release sheets you can order or use parchment paper. I used parchment paper and just cut a bit for a section as ai go along. I prefer to keep my completed aras covered to keep off dust till I’m done. Personal choice there. You can see where I have made cuts at the top
Everybody finds a way to store and work with their diamonds, also called drills. Some like to have a bunch of trays to keep each seperate, some keep them in their individual bags and just pour them into the trays when needed and return leftovers to the bag. And some like me, buy cases with plastic bottles and put the drills in them. I just pour out what’s needed and return them to container after I finish with them. I like this case because everything can fit into it if I want to put it away for awhile. After I’m finished I will put the remaining drills back in their bags to store and use the containers for the next painting.
So now I am just moving along slow but sure. No hurry to get it finished. Just enjoying it especially in a cold snowy day. That plus other things will make my winter fly. Carol, we can compare notes. Off to get the vacuming done and then sit down and close the gaps in the section I’m doing and start the last part of the top.
