Maximize my diamond painting experience
February 3, 2021 5:08 PM   Subscribe

I have recently gotten VERY into the craft of "diamond painting." It's basically paint by numbers but you stick rhinestones on an adhesive canvas instead. I am hoping there is a way to take this to the next level!

I started off with this one and this is the last one I did. What I like about them is that the "diamonds" are very pretty rhinestones, sparkly and clear and smooth, and the rhinestones often come in different shapes that are distributed in different patterns across the canvas.

However, the majority of the paintings I see look like this one, where the diamonds are opaque plastic instead of clear, and faceted instead of smooth. Also, you fill in the entire canvas in lines, instead of following different designs.

My problem is that I don’t know how to search for the first type of diamond painting and exclude the second. Or should I try the second kind anyway? If you do diamond paintings, what are the perks of the second kind?

Also, where is the best place to find them other than Amazon?

And what do you do with them when you're done? The ones I've done so far are weird sizes without easy framing. And I want to make them far more than I want to hang up dozens of them around my small apartment.

Any tips and tricks are much appreciated!
posted by Neely O'Hara to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (6 answers total) 7 users marked this as a favorite
 
Try searching amazon for "Diamond Painting DIY 5D Special Shape rhinestone" or "diamond painting special shaped crystals". Those are giving me lots of results similar to the ones you said you liked.
posted by belladonna at 5:26 PM on February 3, 2021


I found this this site by searching for "diamond painting kits hard", which seem to be close to what you are looking for. From the liked "special shaped" may be a good search term.
posted by chiefthe at 5:30 PM on February 3, 2021


Pretty Neat Creative has a "special shaped" section; some kits have frames. Separate-purchase frame idea: odd-sized magnetic poster frames. Ideas for the diamond paintings you'd like to keep: display beneath vinyl, acrylic, or glass table protectors; instead of the wall, attach finished projects to the interiors of cupboard and closet doors. (I have a tiny art gallery, in magnet-backed frames, on the back of the medicine cabinet door.)
posted by Iris Gambol at 6:34 PM on February 3, 2021


aliexpress
posted by ohkay at 8:21 PM on February 3, 2021


There are tons of diamond painting videos on YouTube which can give you all kinds of information about the hobby. Also Facebook and Instagram groups. They’re a good place to go for ideas about framing.

You should definitely try “regular” diamond paintings. The type you linked I kind of consider “beginner” paintings, and there seem to be far fewer of them. Searching rhinestone, gem, and special stone will get more. I was attracted to these when I first started too, but quickly wanted the challenge of of the full drill paintings. (“Drills” are the beads/gems, and full drill means the picture will be entirely covered. Partial means only part of the design is beaded.) If you like doing them for the sake of doing them, try one. The advantages are a more finished looking picture, and for many of us, a more satisfying experience, but you need to choose a good design, in a sufficient size. Small pictures will be really pixelated and lose a lot of detail. Round drills go faster and are easier to place, but square drills fit together to form a completely solid background, which can look better and doesn’t leave all kinds of spaces to collect dirt and dust. They both have a lot of sparkle that doesn’t come through in pictures.

It’s hard to gauge the quality of diamond paintings on Amazon, they tend to be smaller, and only one size. I like to order on AliExpress; you can usually choose the size and round or square drills, and they are a little less expensive, but quality can still be hit or miss, plus there are very long shipping times. There are other sites like Diamond Art Club, and DIYMoon Shop, which have more consistent quality, and licensed art, but are also significantly more expensive. I suggest trying some inexpensive full drill paintings and seeing if it’s a hobby you really like, and watching some videos with tips. It can be a really satisfying and relaxing hobby. I’ve started doing really large ones, because I was accumulating a stack of small ones and I didn’t particularly want to frame and hang dozens of diamond paintings in my house. The larger the painting, the better and more detailed the picture. If you like the rhinestones, you might also want to look for paintings with AB drills, which are iridescent.
posted by catatethebird at 9:01 PM on February 3, 2021


Put some RGB LEDs behind it?
posted by kschang at 12:30 AM on February 4, 2021


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