Diamond Painting: Overview and Useful Tips

Diamond painting, an exciting hobby activity that resembles cross-stitching but with no threads and needle, originated in the East back in the 5th century B.C. Today it has become a trendy creative activity that is increasingly popular among crafters. This technique stands out due to being very precise and elaborate – the finished work has a truly unique look and is, in fact, a handmade piece of art.

In our store, you’ll find a huge variety of diamond painting kits for every taste by Crafting Spark/Wizardi.

Each kit contains all the tools and materials you need to start your project:

• a double-sided adhesive canvas with a colour chart and symbol key printed on it;
• shiny rhinestones in reusable zip-lock bags;
• a stylus and a tweezer for placing the rhinestones on the canvas;
• a plastic tray for sorting out the rhinestones

It is important to mention that the bags with the rhinestones in each Crafting Spark/Wizardi diamond painting kit are already numbered for your convenience.

In the process of working on your project you might need to straighten out the rows of the rhinestones on the canvas – you can use a metal ruler or a similar object for that purpose.

Just like in classic cross-stitching, the charts for diamond painting can be either in black-and-white or in color, the difference being the fact that in diamond painting the chart is printed on the canvas and there is no need to cross out the stitches you have already completed. Obviously, such meticulous work will be much easier if a color chart is used, but if the design has just a few colors or is of a small size, then a black-and-white chart would work just as fine.

The Crafting Spark/Wizardi diamond painting kits come with color charts.

The rhinestones used in diamond painting can come in a square or round shape. Square drills can have 9 or 13 diagonal or diametrical facets. Due to that, the light is reflected from various angles, making the finished piece sparkle beautifully.

Round drills also have facets, contributing to the shine of the completed picture. They work best for butterfly, bird, floral or winter landscape designs.

The Crafting Spark/Wizardi diamond painting kits come with square rhinestones.

Before starting your diamond painting project, it is important to prepare your working area first. A spacious table would work perfectly. Make sure your working surface is well-lit as long hours of diamond painting can put a strain on your eyes, making them tired faster.

The technique itself is pretty simple, but still there are certain aspects worth pointing out. Don’t remove the entire protective cover from the canvas at once, just cut off or bend small areas as you move along with the project. Pour a small portion of rhinestones into the tray and use the pen or tweezers to carefully place them on the canvas according to the key, slightly pressing down on each rhinestone.

If a rhinestone is attached to the canvas too tight, it would be very difficult to straighten an uneven row. Make sure to keep your rows straight, with each rhinestone being as close to the other as possible. If needed, you can use a metal ruler to make the rows more even.

Framing your completed project is also an essential step. You can do that in a frame shop or on your own – there are various framing option to choose from and you’re only limited to your imagination and artistic taste.

If you go for framing your diamond painting by yourself, glue the canvas carefully to a piece of dense cardboard or plywood using a double sided adhesive tape or glue. Apply glue to the inner side of the base and gradually place the canvas on it, pressing it down with a rubber roller to prevent it from being deformed.

You can find more tips on framing a diamond painting in this article.

If you are not planning to frame your masterpiece anytime soon, roll up the canvas with the rhinestones facing outward and put it into a dust cover.

The main advantages of diamond painting are:

• simplicity and a faster completion compared to cross-stitching
• unusual texture
• the shining of a completed picture due to the faceted rhinestones
• a diamond painting does not necessarily require being framed under glass.

Make sure to check out our ever-expanding collection of diamond painting designs and get inspired for your next creative project!