Diamond painting is a fun, artsy craft for all ages. It provides a creative outlet of sorts and gets those creative juices flowing. It is simple and very easy to learn. All you need is a few tools that come along in the diamond painting kit to get started. But, as you move forward and try on an expert-level project, you will need some tools and accessories to make your work easier and all the more fun.
First, we will talk about the basic tools, then move towards some special additions to your diamond art studio which you will enjoy working with.
Drills and Pens:
The most essential Tools For Diamond Painting you need is a pen/drill. Basically, it’s an applicator tool used to place the diamonds onto the canvas. As it is a very delicate task, a high-quality diamond painting pen is important to maintain accuracy. There are three widely available options that you can pick from.
- Drill Pen: It is the simplest, most popular kind of diamond painting pen. It comes with almost all the standard diamond painting kits. You can use it by simply dipping into the wax a couple of times, picking the diamond up, and carefully placing it onto the canvas.
- Wax Pen: As the name suggests, these pens are already made up of wax. You can just pick the diamonds up and place them on the canvas and can get rid of the step where you refill the pen every time it runs out of wax. If the wax pen dries out, just sharpen it, and you’re good to go.
- Wheel Pick-Up Pen: This one is an extraordinarily interesting tool, typically not used by a beginner-level diamond painter. It has a cylindrical pen-like structure with an adhesive wheel at the top end. It sticks to the tiny diamonds so you can easily place them onto the canvas. It works really well for large, detailed paintings.
LED Light Pad:
A light pad is another popular device in the diamond painting world. People who get into diamond painting and adopt it as a proper hobby, usually invest in a durable light pad. It is a 14 x 10 inch, portable, battery-operated device. The main purpose of a light pad is to provide illumination from under the canvas. It will help ensure accuracy and reduce the eye strain every diamond painter suffers from. It is great for working in the dark when you don’t want to wake anyone up but still work on your All Diamond Painting project. Hence, an LED light pad is a practical investment and a must-have for every diamond painter.
Magnifier:
This particular diamond painting tool is incredibly useful to crafters, especially the ones with weak eyesight. Diamond painting is a craft that requires strict hand-eye coordination and even the slightest misplacement of diamonds can wreck your entire painting. To avoid this, a magnifier was introduced. It has a lamp-like structure with adjustable support, so you can move it wherever you like. Some of them also come with a small LED light, which somewhat eliminates the need for a light pad. This tool will not only provide you the clearest possible view of your diamond painting but also allow you to complete the project much faster.
Diamond Organizer:
Only an avid diamond painter can realize the importance of an organized diamond painting supply box. Personally, having a supplies organizer has saved a significant amount of my energy that used to go in cleaning up the messes before and after finishing a diamond painting. You can invest in a diamond organizer which has around 20- 30 storage compartments for different colored rhinestones. It can have separate drawers for your pens, drills, and wax, etc. There are plenty of “cute” options out there. If you don’t want to buy a diamond organizer, you can DIY one at home with an egg carton.
Table / Chair:
Adopting diamond painting as a hobby doesn’t mean that you have to have that awful hunched-up posture all the time. Doing that causes severe neck and backaches, leading to serious problems in the future. One of the ways to avoid that is getting an adjustable table or easels that move up or down according to your height. Try to get a craft table that goes well with your space. Moreover, it would be a plus if it has those cute little drawers for all your diamond painting stuff. They can be very useful if you have either kids or pets, all you need to do is just push your supplies into the drawers as soon as they approach you and avoid a disaster.
Secondly, getting a comfy chair would be a very good idea. You will have to sit for many hours, and that duration could be disastrous to your health if your seating space is not ergonomic.
Diamond Separator:
Now, this is a tool that I just came across, a few days back. If you are a diamond painter, you must have experienced the time when your diamonds were stuck together in clumps due to the static (especially in winters). You had to rub it with dryer sheets and go through all that trouble just to separate them. Well, this tool does that for you. Basically, it’s a humidifier that releases small water particles that dissolve electrostatic charge very quickly.
Sealant:
Most people don’t even realize the importance of sealing a painting. The wax typically dries out in about 2 weeks, so the sealant not only prevents the diamonds from falling off but also protects them from dirt, debris, and other elements. There are two options with sealants – brush on and spray on. You can get whichever one you’d like and give your painting the extra gloss finish.
Frame it Up:
In the end, when you have completed and sealed your Diamond Painting project, I would always recommend getting it framed. Most diamond painters would like to frame up their paintings by themselves. You can easily get a frame according to the canvas size. A tip is to always get a frame an inch smaller than the actual canvas. Frame the painting without the glass so it doesn’t dull the shine of your diamonds.
I believe that every diamond painting enthusiast must have these tools and accessories to fully enjoy their craft time. So what are you waiting for? Get them all from your nearest craft supply store now! Happy painting!