Diamond Art Painting

And now for something completely different!

Living where we do in Central Florida, with more than 2000 different clubs and activities within a few miles, it's possible to try anything at least once!

In nearly 13 years of living here, I've tried a dozen new-to-me things, some of which I latched onto and others I didn't. Line dancing, ukulele-playing, and round loom knitting are activities that stuck. Add bible study groups, quilting groups, helping the 4-H Club, and outdoor walking, and life is full. 

My latest interest is diamond painting. 

We have four diamond painting clubs here, and twice now I've visited the location nearest to me. Happily, I ran into a couple quilters I already know. Though I haven't yet "painted" with them, I've wandered around the room, talking with most of the 40 or so women in attendance, asking lots of questions. 

Do you know what diamond art, or diamond painting is? 

If you know paint-by-number, then you'll understand diamond painting.

Small resin dots or squares called "drills" are picked up with a pen-like stylus and pushed onto a very sticky background on which tiny numbered spots are arranged in a composition. Each drill has a designated number or letter that corresponds to the number or letter dot on the background. 

Funnily, once Instagram's algorithm picked up that I'd searched #diamondart, I quickly began seeing advertisements for different diamond art companies!

While most painters use a stylus with wax on the end, for picking up and putting down drills, I learned some painters use a small rechargeable vacuum pen to pick up and position them

 

This diamond painter was working on a canvas called "It's About Time" that's 27.6" X 40.2"! The darker area is complete, with square drills that create a mosaic. The lighter section in the middle remains to be painted.

Not only do diamond art kits come in a variety of designs (search Hobby Lobby, Michael's, Wal-Mart) some diamond kits include different-looking drills. A regular drill is multi-faceted resin, but others can be coated with an eye-catching finish. For example, an AB (Aurora Borealis) drill has an iridescent quality.

In the picture below you see the shiny plastic covering that protects the super-sticky surface. Usually, painters pull back enough of of the plastic to work on a small section at a time. In the back you can see one of many different types of containers for holding and organizing drills. 

I also learned that diamond painting isn't limited to creating on a canvas that's later framed. It can be done on zipper pouches and coasters. 

I also saw greeting cards, bookmarks, door hangers, napkin holders, and Christmas ornaments. Some companies even make night light kits.

Since the club leader had some basic kits to sell, I decided to give it a try. This double-sided heart mirror compact was $6. if you look closely, you can see the alphabet designations for positioning the diamonds.

I did this at home because I didn't (and still don't) have the little storage cups needed to pour out different diamond colors. In this picture you'll see that I used an empty roll from a ball of Wonderfil perle cotton, to hold one color. I also use some long-kept, empty plastic Kodak film containers! Ha! 

It took no time at all to put diamonds on both sides of this mirror compact. 

Now I want to do more!

Though I have no wall space, I bought a $3 kit to make this 6" X 6" design with 15 different drill colors. As a quilty friend pointed out, it's cheaper than a yard of fabric!

And then... I'll probably invest in one big canvas, to hopefully get diamond painting out of my system. I have too many quilts I need to finish, and still want to make!

Do tell... Do you diamond paint? What do you know about it? What's been your experience? Linda