How to Do Diamond Painting

Diamond painting is a new art craft that can easily be taken up as a hobby by anyone. It’s like cross-stitching and paint by numbers but instead of threads or paint, diamond painting uses little multifaceted resin diamonds that can easily be placed in a sticky canvas with a design guide.

Diamond painting is very easy to learn and has relaxing benefits. Once you finish a picture or a design you’ll also feel a great sense of reward from creating visually dazzling diamond paintings that sparkle and shine.

First, choose a diamond painting design!

You need to think about a design that you love or you’re passionate about.

Browse designs from diamond painting website stores that you would like to order diamond painting kits from.

Custom Diamond Painting

A great option with diamond painting is that you can also turn your beloved photo into a diamond painting!

Custom diamond painting is a service provided by some diamond painting websites. Basically, you submit a photo or a design to be turned into a diamond painting pattern design.

When ordering diamond painting kits online, you should get everything that you need to complete a diamond painting- even free extra diamond painting drills (beads).

To avoid disappointments and for the best diamond painting experience, order from a reputable diamond painting website store that guarantees high quality materials and already has a complete set of tool in a basic diamond painting kit package.

A diamond painting kit should include all of the following materials and tools:

1. Packaging box - The packaging box is padded to protect the diamond painting materials and tools inside.

2. Canvas - A very sticky textile canvas with the chosen photo or design pattern guide where to put the colored diamond rhinestones on.

3. Diamond beads or resins - Packs of diamond painting drills(also called resins, rhinestones or beads) of different colors and shapes (round or square) to complete the design.

4. Hollow tip pen - A hollow-tipped stylus used together with a glue stick as a tool to pick up the diamond painting drills or rhinestones to be stuck into the canvas.

5. Glue stick and Bead tray - Flat stick of glue to be used for the stylus to be sticky enough to pick up the diamond drills.

A tray with little canals to put and line up diamond painting drills in for easy pick-up.

You can also buy extra tools to make your diamond painting process more fun and to complete your design fast.

Good to know: Did you know you can get free diamond bead replacements? Order from a diamond painting website store that can give free replacement diamonds when you lose some and could not finish the design.

Heartful Diamonds offers free diamond painting bead replacements if you lose some or accidentally spill some.

Here are some extra tools and accessories you might need to have:

Multi-pickup tool - You can use this tool to pick up up to 10 diamond drills to quickly fill up portions with the same colored diamond drills.

Stainless steel tweezers - Used to make adjustments to diamond painting drills to fit them snugly and cleanly into the design pattern for your finished design to come out flawlessly.

Extra-large white tray with ridges - You can use an extra tray to put in different colored diamond painting drills. If you're using a multi-bead pickup tool, you might want to have this too to layout multiple beads neatly for multi pickups.

Cushiony purple grip - Everyone should have this, it gives grip comfort to your stylus especially during long sessions.

2 extra pieces of glue sticks - Just in case you lost one or to be used by 2-3 people teaming up on finishing a diamond painting design.

Slim LED light pad - A lot of diamond painting hobbyists say that this tool is a must-have. The light pad enhances the symbols on the canvas and makes it easier to see.

This is perfect for hobbyists who tend to work on their diamond painting at night. It's super thin and light and has an adjustable light setting while having low energy consumption.

Step by Step Instruction in Doing Diamond Painting

Carefully unbox your diamond painting kit package and immediately check if you have everything you need is in there included in your purchase.

1. Textile canvas (with design)
2. Diamond beads or resin rhinestones
3. Hollow tip stylus
4. Tray with ridges
5. Glue stick

Always be careful with the canvas to avoid getting creases or folds. You should also take good care of your diamond drills, keep them in containers with lids to avoid spills and loss.

Find a working space to get organized, spread out your canvas carefully and find safe storage containers for your diamond painting resins.

It’s also more convenient and a great idea to have a frame ready once you’ve finished your diamond painting design.

1. Review the guide number to know which diamond number goes to an area of the design. You can even stick a sample of the diamond drill according to its number on the guide table.

Tip: Stick a diamond resin next to its number and symbol using glue or tape, do this on all beads, this way you can easily check which diamond resins is which.

2. At this point, it’s best to plan how you’re going to start on your design. Some people go at it like writing where they start from the top left side because they find it easier to move the canvas up as they go along.

3. Pour your diamond painting resins into the tray or any flat container that you choose for easy pick. Take good care of your resins, losing them would mean ordering a single pack of your lost resins.

You should also order from a diamond painting website store that kindly replaces lost resins!

4. On the canvas, there will be a protective plastic cover to preserve its stickiness. It’s best to only peel off the part that you’re working on to avoid your canvas from getting dust or dirt that can weaken its stickiness.

Tip: Tape your canvas into a flat surface to avoid lumps and to keep the canvas steady while you work on it.

Tip: If the canvas loses its stickiness because of dirt or dust, plain baby wipes or wet ones are the best to clean and bring back its stickiness.

5. Take your stylus and lightly push it on your glue stick then pick light push the stylus’ sticky tip to a diamond resin to pick it up.

6. Start sticking the diamond resins into the sticky canvas and make sure you’re putting the right colored diamond resin into its symbol in the design pattern.

Use a tweezer to make tiny adjustments to your diamond placements as needed.

Tip: When a considerable large portion is finished, use a plastic card like an ATM or credit card to lightly push down the resins into the canvas to make sure they all stick firmly and not fall off.

Tip: When you finish the whole canvas. You can cover your finished canvas with paper and use a rolling pin to tighten the diamond resins in place more. This is very important to ensure that all of the resins are intact in their place.

8. Once you’ve finished putting diamond resins into your design. Frame it immediately or store it in a flat surface (like under the bed cushion) if you don’t have a frame yet.

Where to Buy Diamond Painting Kits

Diamond painting kits can be bought online. Order from a well-reputed website , take a look at their ordering and shipping process, refund policy and, most of all, their customer reviews.

A great diamond painting website store would have the following:

a. A trusted brand with an active online community - A website store that has a great online community is a reflection of the reputation of the website. Also, having a community is a wonderful way to make new diamond-painting-friends and share tips and show off your finished diamond paintings.

b. Secure ordering - A website store should never compromise on privacy and security. Never order from a website that makes extra money from selling customers’ information. Order from a website that protects your credit card information and other personal information.

c. Free shipping promo - It would be nice if the website your ordering from have free shipping promo. Usually, it’s when a website store offers free shipping if your order is over an amount, like “Free Shipping for Orders More than $35”.

d. Quick shipping - Order from a website that has a reputation of quickly shipping diamond painting orders. If you’re in the U.S.A., order from a website store that has offices or warehouses in the states for 2 days shipping only.

Also, it would be nice if the website store has an order tracking feature to know where your order is after purchasing.

e. Large collection of diamond painting designs - A website that has a lot of categories and designs will surely help you find designs that you would like to create and can’t wait to finish and show off.

Also, look for a website that offers high quality custom diamond painting service where you can submit a photo or a design to be turned into a diamond painting pattern plan for your kit order.

f. Outstanding customer care service - It would be great to order from a diamond painting website with 24/7 customer care email support and that you can conveniently call to quickly get customer support.

g. Free diamond bead replacement - Diamond drills or beads can be easily lost. A diamond painting kit website store that can send free extra diamond beads is just great because you will surely complete your diamond painting masterpiece with no worries of diamond bead shortage.

Different Techniques in Laying Out Diamond Rhinestones or Beads in Diamond Painting

Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned diamond painting expert, it’s always fun to try different diamond painting techniques in placing the rhinestones on the canvas.

Here are different methods for beginners and pros alike.

This method is good for beginners. Just like writing an article, start from either top corners (depending of you're right-handed or a lefty) putting on the diamond rhinestones just like writing!

Going on with this technique you can choose to lay out needed different colored diamond rhinestones and stick them as you go or just bring out one kind of diamond rhinestones and bring out a different one until you finish a layer or a portion.

This is conveniently applicable if you come across a portion of a design that only needs one diamond rhinestone color.

Just like a checkerboard, place the rhinestones in a checkered manner.

Diamond painting hobbyist finds this method fun, relaxing and very satisfying as you fill up the gaps making a solid colored surface as you finish the portion.

This method is where you start with the diamonds that have the most quantity on a diamond painting design. This method promotes a good feeling of satisfaction and reward as well.

After you’re done putting in the diamond rhinestones with the most quantity, putting in the least amount last is like putting in the final missing pieces of the puzzle to complete the design which gives a sense of achievement and reward.

Diamond painting hobbyist find this method the most fastest and fun way to finish a canvas, especially with full drill canvases.

Simply find a portion with a solid color first and trace the borders then fill out the inside just like how you color in a coloring book. Use a multi bead pick up tool to make the coloring much faster.

This method is great for being careful with your canvas’ stickiness or avoid it getting dust or dirt.

Start on the corners that are peeled forming a triangle from one corner until you complete all four corners. The last part of the canvas will be the center which will be in the form of a diamond.

This is also very satisfying after you’ve completed the center which usually has the best portion of the canvas’ design.

The Benefits of Diamond Painting

Diamond painting is very easy and super fun to do, anyone can do it! It also has many mental, intellectual, emotional and relaxation benefits while doing it.

It reduces stress and anxiety, People who are burnt out or stressed from any reason tend to find something to do to relax and enjoy their time. Diamond painting is a great way to just spend time with yourself and forget about stressors while doing something rewarding without the stress.