A guide to diamond painting
Published on 2 April 2020 By Sophie Brown 2 min readYou might have heard of a craft called diamond painting, with results as sparkling as the name suggests! But what exactly is diamond painting, and how do you get started?
Diamond painting is a perfect hybrid of cross stitch and paint by numbers, where makers apply small, square ‘diamonds’ (also called ‘drills’) to an adhesive, colour-coded canvas to create stunning images. There are only a few tools you need to have a go, and they’re all included in ready-to-make kits – so it couldn’t be easier to get started!
Completed diamond paintings make great home decor, as well as thoughtful birthday or Christmas presents.
Diamond painting step-by-step
1
Flatten your canvas by taping it to a table with a little masking tape or placing it under some heavy books.
2
Decant your diamonds into the tray included and get ready to make!
3
Peel back the film on the canvas.
Pro Tip
Only peel back the area you’re about to work on. If you leave it exposed for too long, the canvas could lose some of its stickiness making it difficult to apply diamonds.
4
Take your diamond pen and rub the end on the wax pad. You only need a tiny amount of wax on your pen to pick up diamonds, so don’t go overboard!
5
Use the pen to pick up a single diamond, and place it into the corresponding place on the canvas.
Top tips for successful diamond painting
Choose a design you love!
It might seem like an obvious tip, but it’s super important. Diamond painting takes time and patience, so it’s important you don’t get bored with your work in progress. Knowing the purpose of the finished result helps – whether it’s wall decor for your home or a present for a friend.
Work on a board for simple storage
If your craft table also happens to be the dining table, the kids’ homework desk and the family meeting point; make your diamond painting easily moveable by working on a board. You could use an old chopping board or a piece of wood – as long as it’s a hard flat surface. Place the board wherever you want to work, and move it away to store it when you need to use it for something else.
Pick up the tools of the trade
Once you’ve got the hang of diamond painting, there are a few additions to your crafty stash that can make the process quicker and easier. You can buy multi-diamond tools which enable you to apply multiple diamonds to the canvas at once; particularly handy if you’re working on a large design with lots of blocks of colour. Another excellent diamond painting addition is a lightbox, which will help you see where to apply the tiny diamonds more clearly.
Think you’re ready to take on a fun new craft? It couldn't be easier! Similar to cross stitch kits, you can also buy brilliant diamond painting kits. Here are nine to get you started…
DIY diamond painting kits
If you’re keen to try something new or get to grips with a new way of making, diamond painting could be for you!