Category: Getting Started

Getting started…

Here is some of what I see posted on Facebook:

“I want to start this hobby, but where do I start?”

“Where do I order these?”

“What is Diamond Painting?”

Let’s start with the last one. Diamond Paintings are made with small resin faceted pellets that most people call Diamonds or Drills. The are attached to a canvas that has a printed pattern on it and is coated with a sticky tape/glue. Each color diamond has it own symbol and DMC number (a standard way of numbering colors originating with counted cross stitch) and we use a special pen filled with wax to pick up each diamond and place it on its corresponding symbol. As you fill up the symbols, the pattern makes an image. The faceted diamonds cause the image to sparkle.

That is it in a nutshell. Easy but oh so complicated. There are different shaped diamonds (round/square), there are printed canvases and blanks canvases, there are patterns that cover the entire canvas (full drill) or paintings that have a printed background and only part of the canvas is covered with beads (partial drill), and so much more. This plethora of options make this hobby super fun, but somewhat overwhelming for new comers.

To get started, here are a basic list of steps:

  1. Order a Diamond Painting kit.
  2. Wait a long time if you are ordering from China or a few days if ordering from Amazon.
  3. Obtain some sort of storage system to store the diamonds (bags, plastic cups, etc).
  4. Open the kit and verify that you have all the colors you need and a set of tools.
  5. Find a spot to set up your work space.
  6. Using your new tools, put on one diamond and then repeat 1,000s of times (depending on the size of your canvas).
  7. When you are finished decide if you are going to keep, sell or donate your painting.
  8. Decide if you are going to frame it or not.
  9. Order more kits because now you are addicted to this wonderful craft.

Easy, right? I know, each step generates a wealth of new questions. We are going to tackle all that in this blog. So strap in and hang on as we travel this path together.