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This one took a few weeks. This size (50x50cm) doesn’t usually take me that long, but I had Salmonella food poisoning and that slowed me down. I loved the bright colors and I sealed it with Sparkle Mod Podge. Purchased from AliExpress.

…that is the question.

How do you keep the diamonds on the canvas long term? I have heard from suppliers that the tacky canvas starts to break down after 3 to 5 years. To ensure that your hard work does’t go to waste and your diamonds stay attached, the answer is…seal your DP.

There are a few options:

1. Frame your painting and place under glass. The diamonds may still fall off, but if the frame is tight and has good backing, the chances are reduced.
2. Seal with a spray sealant. Most people use spray Mod Podge.
3. Seal with a paint on sealant. This is what I do. I use Gloss Mod Podge or Sparkle Mod Podge depending on the effect that I want to achieve. There is also a product called Aqua Glue that a lot of people recommend. I have not used it, personally.

I have found that sealing DOES effect the sparkle of the diamonds. The painting is still as beautiful as it was before sealing, just not as sparkly…more glossy-like. It is still a good idea to seal your paintings for long term diamond adhesion.

 

There can be tens of thousands of diamonds per painting and the repetitive movement of placing all those diamonds can sometimes cause pain and stress on joints. I personally get pain in my shoulder when I diamond paint. I tried OTC products like Advil and Aspercreme but they did not help long term. I found that the answer to my problem was CBD oil. It reduces inflammation and has the added benefit of relieving anxiety. These are the oils that I use. FULL DISCLOSURE: I am a distributor for this company, but I do use their products and love them. They also have a 60 day money back guarantee.

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Sometimes you receive diamonds that are oily/wet and clumped together. If they are just wet, you can often get away with just putting a silica gel pack in the container and letting them sit overnight. (If your diamonds are not oily/wet and are stuck together, I will cover that in a future post)

That has never worked for me…maybe, because I live in an area where the average humidity is 60% to 90%. It if works for you, great, but here is what I usually do:

Cut off the foot of a pair of pantyhose or use a thin sock. Put your diamonds in the sock.

Add a couple drops of dish washing/washing up liquid and a bit of warm water.

 

Smoosh them around with your fingers and then rinse thoroughly.

Empty the diamonds onto a paper towel or plate and let them dry. Break them apart with your fingers and then put them back into your storage container.

DON”T THROW AWAY THAT SOCK!! It will come in handy in the future…trust me. You will eventually spill your diamonds.

Trashy diamonds are frustrating. It most often happens with black (DMC #310) The trash is usually tiny flecks of plastic mixed in with your diamonds. The easiest way to get rid of (most) of these is to put them in a strainer and shake them over a trash can or piece of paper. Then just pour the diamonds into your storage container and throw away the trash. Or…you can be a weirdo like me and save all your diamond trash.

I also keep all my “orphans.” These are the loners that I find or diamonds that I drop and find later. I save these just in case I need a similar color later and I run out. These are not my left over diamonds. I bag those up by DMC # and store those in my Diamond Library.

Bad Blogger!!

I started this blog and then walked away.  Many reasons…many excuses. Life sometimes gets in the way of our greatest ideas. Y’all…here is the deal…I’m lonely and depressed. It snuck up on me…I did not see it coming. I have neglected my health, my job, my friends and family, this blog and so many other things.

Please, PLEASE, take care of yourself…physically and mentally. I started diamond painting as a way to disconnect and calm down. It was meditative and I needed that at the time. When I started diamond painting, my kids where struggling in college, my job was intense and i was recovering from knee surgery so I needed something to do during my down time.

So much has changed since then. My kids are doing great and really need very little help any more, my job was down to about 12 hours a week and then I got sick and now I am afraid to go back (I work in home healthcare) and risk getting my boss sick. My knee is fine and I am perfectly capable of being more active but, now all I find myself doing is diamond painting. I have disconnected from my life and turned everything inwards and got caught up in my head and spiraled into depression.

Diamond painting is very therapeutic and calming, but please don’t let it take over. Set a timer and get up and walk or move around at least every 30 minutes. Given the choice between spending time with friends/family or diamond painting…choose your loved ones, the diamond painting isn’t going anywhere, it will still be there later but your friends and family might not be (dramatic, I know…but true).

If you are lonely (like me, sometimes the only other person I see in a day is my lovely husband) shoot me an email or find me on facebook (DiamondPaintingBlog). I am going to try and post more often and work on both my mental and physical health. I need a mental workout buddy, please consider coming along on my adventures with me. There will be lots of personal growth (hopefully) and lots of beautiful diamond painting (definitely).