Diamond painting is a name of a hobby/craft where you stick small, sparkly beads to a sticky canvas, eventually creating a gorgeous piece of art that you can frame and hang! It is an incredibly easy and fun process and is great for relaxation.
See below for our step by step guide on creating your first diamond painting!
Step One: Unpack your Kit
Most diamond painting kits come with standard contents: a plastic tray that holds your beads, a diamond painting pen tool that picks up the beads, some 'wax' that inserts into the pen, your beads, and the printed canvas in whichever size you picked.
Lay your canvas out flat, if it has been rolled you may need to tape it down or flatten it out by putting something heavy on top before you start your project.
Step Two: Prep your Pen and Beads
Peel back the plastic off your accompanying 'wax', and press the nib of your diamond painting pen into it. You should be able to see wax sitting inside your pen now, which you will be able to use to pick up the beads. You don't need to press hard to pick the beads up
Depending how your beads arrive, many people prefer to organise them into containers or ziplock bags before they start their project so they can be easily stored away for later.
Step Three: Diamond Paint!
Now that you're prepped and ready to go, it's time to diamond paint!
Each letter or symbol on your canvas corresponds to one of your bead colours. These letters/symbols are on a chart, which will either be printed on your canvas and/or with an accompanying piece of paper. Pick any symbol to begin and figure out which bead colour it is, and tip some of that bead colour into your plastic tray.
Use your pen with the wax in it to pick up a drill by gently pressing the tip of the pen against the top of the bead. With the bead stuck to your pen, find your corresponding symbol on your canvas and press the bead onto it. The bead should be stuck to the canvas. Finish the rest of your section, then pick a new symbol and re-fill your plastic tray with the new bead colour.
Advice for First-Timers
- Be careful not to put your arm or hand on the sticky canvas - not only does it potentially make the canvas less sticky, but it's actually quite painful sometimes to un-stick it from your skin!
- Start off with small, square sections while you get used to it. A lot of people suggest starting in the top left corner and moving to the top right, as this means you aren't leaning your arm on the beads or canvas, and might save you or your jersey getting stuck to it.
- A lot of beads come in non-resealable bags, so be careful if you don't put your beads into containers as they are very easy to lose.
- If you drop any beads on the floor (and we've all done it), put a stocking over the end of your vacuum cleaner so when you vacuum them up, they don't go up the vacuum tube!