Diamond Painting

I first picked up diamond painting a year ago this month, attending Diamond Painting Club at a rec center near me. I happened to find two quilting friends who regularly attend, and have since made many new friends. Socializing while diamond painting is the thing to do. 

Though I don't attend Diamond Painting Club during winter months - I refuse to stand in line for a half-hour or more to attend a club activity - now that snowbirds have returned home I have resumed my Friday afternoon attendance. When I walk in, I pick an empty seat and end up making meeting interesting people and making new friends. 

Returning to the club has prompted me to resume diamond painting. 

I write the date on the canvas of each project I start so I know how many months I work on a piece. Though by no means is that indicative of how many hours I spend painting it! The two pieces I've been working on since June 27 and August 4, 2025  have been slow-going. Though diamond painting is meant to be an easy, mindless sort of fun activity, both kits I purchased have presented problems. 

The first kit I started on June 27 is certainly beautiful. It's an ocean sunrise and measures 50 cm X 50 cm (about 20" X 20"). The kit is made with high quality, soft canvas that's very sticky. The resin drills - the tiny colored squares placed on the canvas are of superior quality - square, multi-facited and shiney. This is the website's rendering of the design. Lovely, yes?

The problem with it came to light when I painted the sunrise sky and the sun itself. They're all pink! Aren't a sunrise glow and sun supposed to be yellow? That's when I realized Diamond Painting Pro must digitize their designs - that no human being checks color accuracy.  

When I emailed to complain to Diamond Painting Pro, the company offered to redesign the canvas for me, and send me a new kit. I accepted. Guess what? Yep. The new kit was exactly the same (only the color key along the side was recoded). No yellow drills were in the new kit. 

When I let the company know I wasn't doing business with them anymore, they offered to send me the drill colors I needed to make this kit right - basically making me the designer. Did you know that drill colors are based on DMC colors? I had only to look at my embroidery floss bags to identify the yellows I wanted. I received six packages of different yellows, and white drills. I also got a $20 store credit that I used for a set of stainless steel drill placers. I must give Diamond Painting Pro kudos for trying to make me a satisfied customer.

This is the status of the painting. I removed drills from the sun and replaced them with white AB drills. AB means "aurora borealis." These drills have an irridescent gleam. 

 I also started removing pink from around the sun, replacing those with yellow. 

This is the Diamond Painting Pro website picture. 

I have a long way to go! The photo below is marked with black, indicating where pink drills need to be removed and replaced with yellow. The area marked in red has yet to be painted. 

I have a lot of work ahead of me! When I take this to Diamond Painting Club, I'll spend my time removing pink drills. Repainting will happen when I'm at home and can focus on placing yellows correctly.

The other diamond painting is finished! It's  It's an ocean sunset with the silhouette of a palm and measures 55 cm X 70 cm (about 21½" X 27½"). I don't work small, do I? I started it August 4, 2025 and finished May 27, 2026. 

Problems with this one arose because the whole kit is of inferior quality. I bought this kit from Etsy shop "TinmiArtsPainting." The canvas wasn't very sticky, and many of the square drills were poorly pressed. I probably threw away about a hundred drills that had extra plastic on the edges, or were round! 

It's completely finished now and I love how it looks. But I'm concerned that drills may fall off!

Though I glued numerous drills to secure them in place and sprayed the finished piece with several coats of Modge Podge spray (a suggestion from Sandy who leads Diamond Painting Club), I'm concerned that these drills may fall off when it's hung vertically! I have a frame ready to mount it, but have put off doing so. 

At the same time I bought the kit (above) from TimniArts Painting, from the same shop I bought this 50 cm X 70 cm (20" X 27½") Abstract Plant: Design 4 kit with 45 drill colors. I have yet to start it. Maybe the canvas will be stickier? Maybe the drills will be better cut? I still like the design, but I'm not ready to tackle it, in case it too is problematic. One problem kit at a time! Until the ocean (first kit) is finished, this one's on hold.

I've sure had poor luck choosing kits, haven't I?

Lesson learned: Before buying, consult with diamond painting friends to identify companies that make the best-quality kits. Linda