Stay-at-home orders earlier this year had many people looking for ways to fill their days. Whether it was cleaning out a junk drawer or binge-watching Netflix, we were all hungry for activities.
Christmas Gal Shendra surprised me with a delivery of a new craft during the early days of the shutdown.
The long, thin box arrived with little explanation of what it was or how to do it, but a quick text from Shendra enlightened me a new craft: diamond painting.
Diamond painting is a relatively new craft which breaks images down into patterns, very similar to cross stitch or paint-by-number. The pattern comes to life by applying small, glossy tiles to the canvas which are color matched to a letter or symbol on the design. It is sometimes referred to as ‘diamond embroidery’ or ‘diamond dots.’
Let’s stop here and make a confession. My name is Maureen and I’m guilty of starting many crafts and never finishing them. Don’t believe me? I have cupboards filled with scrapbooking supplies, but only a few half-finished scrapbooks. I have boxes and boxes of rubber stamps, but only a handful of greeting cards actually made. I have craft supplies under beds, in the basement, and in just about every corner of our house….but all unfinished.
I committed that this would be different.
PRICE
Unlike many crafts which require different tools or a steep investment to get started, diamond painting is relatively inexpensive and kits come with all the supplies you need.
Included with kits:
- Canvas
- Tiles
- Applicator and tweezers
- Wax
- Tray
After my first diamond painting venture, I did realize that a flat surface easel would be helpful. Bending over the canvas to complete each color would oftentimes take up to an hour and by the end, my neck would hurt.
Kits themselves range in price from $5 to $50 depending on the size of the piece and the detail of the image. More detail means more tiles are needed to complete the piece. Although my special delivery from Shendra arrived from Amazon, I have noticed that craft stores like Michael’s and JoAnn Fabrics carry a limited selection of diamond painting kits.
IMAGES
The number of diamond painting images available are endless. Most kits purchased online are made in China, but ship from the United States and arrive at your doorstep in less than a few days. Cartoon characters, flowers, landscape scenes and even replicas of famous paintings like Van Gogh’s Starry Night are available, but of course, it was Christmas images that the Christmas Gals have honed in on.
As it relates to Christmas, I’m on team Santa. I collect hundreds of Santa figurines and tchotchkes, and most of my holiday wall décor features the big guy in red. So, I was excited to receive a Santa image for my first diamond painting.
IT TAKES TIME
Red suit, white beard…can’t be that hard right? The intrigue of this craft is the variations of colors and detail found in the larger more advanced images. The particular diamond painting I worked on first included more than 20 color tiles.
This isn’t a project you will finish in a day. You probably won’t finish it in a week. But, I found it wonderful to set aside for a few days and as time allowed, I would carve out an hour here and there to work on the canvas. My tip: find a good podcast or audible book to listen to while you create. Maybe music is your thing. Great. Crank up the tunes and get creative.
With breaks of a week or a few days in between my diamond painting sessions, my first piece took more than a month to finish. I would place only one or two colors onto the canvas at a time. I found it best to limit my time so as not to neglect my other household tasks and save my neck and back from needing a massage.
FOR ALL AGES
My older daughters were intrigued by diamond painting so as I worked away at my Santa piece, I ordered them a few easier diamond panting pieces. These festive images were diamond paintings that were also stickers. They completed the entire set in less than a day. Next, my older daughter moved onto a more advanced piece; one that had even more detail and tiles than my Santa. Needless to say, she hasn’t finished, but still goes back every now and again to work on her ‘Lilo & Stitch’ painting.
My finished piece is beautiful. I quickly changed out an old piece of art from a frame so this beauty could be ready to display for the holidays.
–Christmas Gal Maureen
Check out our Pinterest Board for more diamond painting ideas!
