So… I finally pulled the trigger and started working on my very first kit… I thought I’d chosen a “doable” size to be my virgin kit, but I was overwhelmed by the tiny drills and the number of colors it came with lol… But anyway, I got over that and finally started. The tiny section on the bottom left is what I’ve accomplished so far.
I wanted to keep things simple accessory-wise, so started with the little ziplock bags… Marking them with codes, trying to draw the symbols as best as I could, etc… But it was taking too much time, so I bought 1 container(?) of 46 colors (I think). But my kit came in 83 colors. My question is - what do you usually do in this case? Is buying another container the only answer? 🥲
The best option yes, is to get more containers, but first make sure you're liking the containers you have. Many of us have tried a variety of different containers, sometimes disliking them early on and other times taking a while to decide to go a different direction.
I really like the Forever Young trays. I prefer the size boxes that hold 15 trays so I can use only what I need and not have to move around a bigger box. I lay them next to each other and tilt them up just a bit to make it easier.
I think so. I mean I would use them together if I had a painting with a bunch of colors. Right now, I have my art dot trays in a tower I got off Etsy. It holds 40 small and 20 large. I only (up til now anyway) work on one piece at a time, so haven’t needed to consider additional trays. I know a have a few in my queue whose colors stretch into the 80s and 90s, so I’ll be trying the combo of art dot and forever young to accommodate them all.
I totally agree here ! I love the lockables from Amazon, but you definitely want to wait til the price drops and they are on sale and I had started to really like the round containers in the cases I usually got for the 120 count because most the kits are 60 and over in colors
You have more balls than I do! I'd have to buy a whole other setup for that many drills. Plus I'd lose my mind. 😆 More than I already have!!!! Keep us posted. Don't get burnt out on your first!
😲 Okies I’ll try that! The little bags are so small as is, so not sure how it’s gonna work out, but def worth a try before I buy another 1-2 containers, I think. Thank you!
Good luck! I used the baggies for YEARS before I broke down and bought one of giant ArtDot storage containers. Dryer sheets saved my sanity while using the little baggies.
That is what I use. I love them! I’m not sure you will need that many for most pieces. I would use the bags for the rest of them. But it wouldn’t hurt to just buy another container if you plan to do others with that many numbers.
120 is so over the top suggestion for newbie. I've been dping for a while now and never needed that many jars, ever. OP did start big with so many colours kit, but it seems unintentional and unless they decide they like it and will intentionally start looking for such kits, I don't think they will use it again. Especially since they don't know which storage system will work for them the best.
ETA: on the other hand, OP already started big with the painting, so they may as well. Go big or go home, I guess xD
It was unintentional indeed, I was just focused on getting what seemed like a relatively smaller size and a design that I wanted to work on, but not the number of colors… I’m loving the process, and if I stay in love, I’ll always be getting a design that interests me, regardless of size or number of colors ☺️
Okay. So I’m a Container slut. I started off with baggies. Then i went to little tic tack containers, now im using Trabricks, i will never go back. They are the best damn thing I’ve ever bought. Now I’ve noticed that you are using the other ones I’ve had my eye on.
😆 I’ve only used the ones I’m using now so got nothing else to compare them to, but I’m loving them! Not too bulky, easy to open/close, transparent so I can see the colors, convenient since they’re little trays themselves, and lastly, they come in a sturdy box so I don’t really have to get a shelf of any kind in case I end up getting more of them!
I have all three as well (although the ArtDot storage trays, not Trabricks) and all three serve their own little purpose in my setup.
I work from my storage trays, store regular drills in my baggies, and store my Diamond Dotz drills, which have a different drill design from the normal 3D or 5D drills, in the tic-tac containers.
More containers. I use the same one you have on your table. I bought 3 sets of the 2 pack of 30s and it's $30, so that's 60 containers x3. So it's very convenient. Since all my kits are from DAC, so their DMC codes and colors are the same, I just pile them in per shape.
wow! The one I got was more than $30, I think. Anyway, so if I were to buy another DAC, and if it happens to have colors that overlap with my current kit, then I’d be able to use one little container for both kits? (I do realize both would need to be the same shape of drills) If this is the case, getting more storage containers wouldn’t be such a bad idea 😲
Just to be clear, the colour code (DMC) and the colour of the drills themselves will be the same, so you can put drills from both kits into one container. But the symbols will most likely be different, so if you would want to work on two kits at once, you would need to somehow differentiate which symbol belongs to which kit.
It looks like Weekly_Syrup uses those boxes for all drills they own, including leftovers from old kits they already finished. 3 of the boxes are only for leftover drills and only 2 boxes contain current project (those containers have two stickers on them - one with just DMC code, one from DAC with DMC code and symbol)
Omg thank you for this clarification 😅 I’m already looking at my next kit to buy around christmas (that’s when I’m aiming to almost finish the current one), and would’ve just dumped them in one container being a newbie lol 😂
Very convenient. I had old round sticker sheets and so I use them for round drills and this container came with rectangular DMC sticker sheets s I use them for squares
Wow lol I hope I’ll never need that many, but I guess I will down the road since I feel like I’ll like square drills better… I don’t really like the little spaces in btwn the circle drills 🥲 But that’s a great idea, mine also came with label stickers, hopefully they’ll be handy for my next square kit!
It’s a pick I bought from dollar tree. It’s supposed to be for vinyl Cricut thing. I use it to pick out the putty off of the multiplacer and for cleaning up stuff like lint, dirt, hair and other stuff in between crevices or when I need to pluck out drills I misplaced or accidentally drop in the working area.
I am still fairly new to DP. Got my first DAC kit, and it was good sized kit. Shortly before that I had purchased an Artdot storage set of 60 containers - the ones that are also like a drill tray. But the new kit had more than 60 colors. For the "overflow" I went to the little ziplock bags. Before that, I used the ziplock bags and cut the number off the manufacturers bags, trying to hand draw the symbols, and taping that to the ziplock bag. Not super fancy, but it was okay. Some kits (Forever Young is one) come with a "key" that shows the numbers and symbol in a format that you can pull off and stick to whatever you are using - ziplock bags or containers. They even come off pretty well if you save your left overs, and I just put a bit of tape on top to make sure it does not fall off. Climate in my area tends to cause adhesives to give up after a year or two in many cases. I did buy 500-600 ziplock bags on Amazon, along with two sets of 50 that are on a ring. I plan to hold on to the spares for a bit, in case of losing any drills, or if I run short in a kit, which seems to happen now and then.
Currently considering opting for the Artdot storage containers in the round format, since it does not appear I am getting tired of this craft, and some of them store a lot of different colors, around 240.
For what I consider a "simple" craft, aside from techniques, all the set up and gear can really get crazy. On the Amazon Prime sale days, I did get a light pad, and only just started using it. It sure makes a big difference on those darker colors and some symbols get hard to see if they get scraped up much.
I use a shelf with trays in them, I can keep the drills out and ready to go. My shelf fits 25, but most of my paintings have 40+ colors so I need another lol
Lol to me that's big. I typically do 30x30cm or 30x40. I cap out at 40x50cm, which I've done twice. I feel like anything bigger would become boring. Although working with 83 colors sounds awesome!
I also jumped in the deep end with my first diamond painting, a cross stitch conversion 100x50cm with 230ish colors. A blank canvas, the PDF pattern on my tablet and very poor quality acrylic drills. You are in much better shape starting with a DAC kit (I think) so the drills will be lovely to work with. I have Elizabeth Ward containers, the tiny size. 78 tiny containers fit into each tray. I put the DAC stickers on each container and fill it with 1/2 to a whole bag of drills. I keep all excess drills in their original bags (open bags taped closed) in larger ziplock bags and refill the containers as needed. I don’t have the room for some of the bigger containers, but if you like your current containers and have the room, get more. I pour the drills onto a dryer sheet and scrunch them around before pouring them into the container to help with static. Also, in order to help with searching for colors and being overwhelmed, I pull out the colors needed for a section and put them in roughly the order I want to place them.
Then, I’d get more of those containers. And you can enjoy doing this painting. I think it’s a Randal Spangler? I did his Autumn Magic as my first kit (2nd diamond painting). I love his work, I have his dragons doing diamond painting one on my DAC wishlist.
Yeeees!!! I have that one on my wishlist too, the one where they’re doing the birdie dp, right? That one is so lovely, I really would like to get it 😍 And yes, I’m getting more inclined toward getting one more 46 containers of the same kind ☺️
Yep, that one. I adore his dragons but don’t have anywhere to put them - hubby is good with his houses that have small dragons (and fairies, lol) but are mostly cool houses. I want the diamond painting one because it is diamond painting and would be just for me. I have his summer house kit in my stash and really want the winter one.
Having an easy system for your drills is so important to maximizing your enjoyment of this craft. And, it’s really a buy once and you are set scenario even though that initial investment can be painful. And try my method of taking out just the colors needed for a section, I think it’s so much easier to be dealing with 10-20 containers instead of 83. If it doesn’t help, no harm no foul - it’s free!
I hear you! I do scan a small section and put out the containers that have those drills in them at the end of my session for the next day, and close/put aside the big box! It does make it easier. I’m slowly but surely finding ways to make it work for me, and all these advices and shared experiences are so, so helpful ☺️
It is a slow journey of trying different things to find out what works for you. My latest big thing was to get a vacuum pen, which I adore. It was seeing so many recommend them on this subreddit that made me try it. But if you do multiplacers, the verdict is out on the usefulness. Nothing works for everyone, lol.
True that lol 😆 Vacuum pen is probably the one thing I’ll consider getting (accessory-wise) down the road, but once I get confident enough with my placements. The current pen is leaving like tiny clear, sticky stuff on the drills/canvas that I’ve been having to pick up… Maybe I’m not using the pen correctly? 😓 And I haven’t had the balls to try multi-placing yet, but hopefully very soon… succeeding it would make my day 😖
I can’t place the drills well to save my life 🥴. It’s probably my horrendous hand-eye coordination but I use a straightener after I finish a section to get them to line up pretty well. Is the sticky stuff the putty or wax you are using? That’s a nice thing about the vacuum pens, no wax or putty at all. Also AB drills are no different than any other drill with the vacuum pen, I’ve heard about the wax or putty being pulled out of the pens with the ABs. I never tried to place any ABs without the vacuum pen so I have no experience myself. I never tried the multiplacers, I just figure I would have very short straight runs in various slightly diagonal positions.And some people use tweezers! I think I’d lose half my drills from them popping off and flying about the room 🪽.
🤣🤣 I can’t imagine picking them tiny drills with tweezers at my newbie phase lol I’d be dropping them on random sections of the canvas, if not on the table/floor. I’m not sure what it is, it’s whatever the pen came with - the DAC pen had something pre-filled. Also, what do you mean by “straightner”? 😲
The containers will make your life so much easier. I use the jewelry bead containers. They are very economical. I get them at Walmart or Hobby Lobby. I did get a new kit at Five Below that has the twist off lids and I love them. I may go with them next time I buy. Good luck!
I know this isn't exactly what you asked, but for a piece this large, I'd also recommend getting release papers. It will help you to work in sections and you can reuse them over and over again.
How would that differ from the perforated plastic cover? Right now I’m using a crafting knife to cut a little section along the perforation, then folding it backward to work on it, and putting it back when I’m done to protect the sticky 😲
A lot of kits don’t come with the perforations, so if you get one in the future, you can either cut the cover yourself (carefully with an x-acto) or get release papers. Parchment paper tends to work as well, but I’d recommend testing that first before covering your canvas with it.
I bought a set of those knives from amazon for this purpose, but I AM nervous about cutting thru the cover, so I lift it up and then cut lmao! So it doesn’t cut perfectly lol
Seam Ripper is how I cut the cover on my current kit; it's opaque plastic (mystery kit!) so since I couldn't see the rows to line up the cuts anyway I just sliced away with a seam ripper
Yes, it does! I thought that was really convenient ☺️ So it’s not any different from using the release papers then? Or do the release papers have another purpose/function?
Always nice! Personally I prefer the plastic cover over layers anyway, even when I need to cut it myself, as release papers can peel at the corners, but everyone finds their own preferences and no one way of doing things is 100% correct (except "put the drills right side up on the correct spaces" 😁)
Some people prefer release papers because they're opaque - it helps you to focus only on your current section without getting distracted by surroundings. Some don't like crinkling sound the plastic makes (DAC uses thicker plastic cover, so the sound isn't as loud as others may be). And some just simply like to use patterned release papers because it looks cuter.
If you don't have any of those issues, you're just fine not using release papers, the cover works just fine. Plus, you can keep the cover over finished sections too, it's great to keep dust and other debris from sticking between your drills.
Yes! I have a small maltese boy, so I definitely keep the cover down when I’m not working on it! And I don’t mind the sound, or the rest of the image being visible 😏
I have 3 types of storage: 2 cases of the ArtDot style round containers (one ArtDot brand & the other is a dupe) and EW (Elizabeth Ward) knock-off containers. I tend to kit up my projects as soon as I get them (I mostly order online).
how many “kits” does it let you have kitted up with those containers? 😲 I guess it’d differ depending on how many colors they are, but just curious, to get a rough idea.
My ArtDot round containers are a 60-set and a 120-set. As a disclaimer, they often do not fit a full bag of drills so sometimes I have to use more than one bottle for a color or I leave the extra drills in the bag and tape it back up.
The EW knock-off system has 42 containers. So overall, I can fit about 2 or 3 kits.
BTW, it looks like you have a Diamond Art Club kit. The legend usually comes in the form of stickers that you just place onto whichever storage option. That way you don’t have to write out the symbols.
I love those dragon kits btw. Randal Spangler is one of my favorite artists for diamond painting. I also really like MrsButterD’s artwork but I’ve only done one of her kits so far. I don’t buy from Diamond Art Club too often because they are on the higher price range. Also, a lot of kits are the bigger side and sometimes I get overwhelmed, since I work at a fairly slow pace.
Hehe, yes, his dragons are adorable and this little one stole my heart as soon as I saw it ☺️ I plan to limit myself to no more than 3 stashed kits at a time, so 4 including whichever WIP I have going on. I think I’ll go with square drills for my next one, the negative spaces between the round drills keep catching my eyes 😖But then, that will require another set of containers… Ugh! lol
I did use their sticker labels for my containers, the writing and drawing was before I got them, when I was still trying to get by with the little baggies 😆
If my first kit was 83 colors, I never would’ve finished it. I had to given up. I’ve had paintings with 35 colors. But that’s about as high as I’ll go. I actually enjoy these 16 by 12. I get too antsy they are any bigger lol
If it were me and I could afford it, I'd buy another set of the containers.
It took me a while to find the lidded trays and then after that, I had one painting kitted up and decided I'd rather work on something else so ended up buying a couple more sets of lidded trays. It took me a while to talk myself into it but I'm glad I did.
Thank you for sharing your experience! I do feel like I won’t regret getting another container, because if I’m gonna end up doing so later… then why not save me the time and trouble early on, right? I’m glad I asked all you experts! Plus, I found out I sucked at hand-drawing the symbols 😅🤣🤣🤣
I love my baggies. When I started this, my umpteenth hobby, I swore Iwasnt going to go fancy and end up with lots of things for it. Cheap was my goal.
I found little containers at Dollar Tree- cute little plastic ones about 4 inchs long and baggie wide with just enough extra to tuck my pen in. I line up the baggies in numerical order and I use dividers every 5 so I can quickly refile. And cheap, infinitely expandable.
The trick is smallish containers for the bags, as they like to slide down, and firm dividers. For dividers I use the multitude of green sorting trays you will quickly acquire.
That sounds like a good idea! But I’m also trying to keep things simple(?) enough so my virgin experience doesn’t feel like a hassle, so that it doesn’t make me put it away for long or stop altogether 🥲Picking up drills right out of the bags sounds kinda dangerous, especially for my fumbling newbie hands 😆(or maybe I interpreted “room to tuck my pen in” the wrong way)
Sorry! I was talking about storage. For drill picking up I pour some into a tray and then pour it back when done. I also do one color at a time working from lower left, counterclockwise, just peeling up the relevant cover. I am inclined to spillage and having only one color out is prevention/reduction of hassle of spilling. If you have pets or small kids, seriously consider this strategy.
I dont do very big as I work on a lapdesk. Easier to store finished works too. I long ago used up wall space.
haha, I kinda thought so 😅 Maybe I’ll try the one color at a time method down the road, but I don’t think I should for my first one since I’m still getting used to placing my drills 😖 I find it somewhat easier to place my next drill when I have other drills around it already in place, if that makes sense 😓
Oh and I thought I choose a hard painting for my first project (I’ve been working on this since Monday and hopefully I’ll be able to compete this tomorrow… since I got two new ones today.😌)
I hear you! I just got A3 one, and that also came with tiny plastic containers as well, just not in a bag like yours in that picture. I guess I’ll use them for leftover drills later or something 😊
I use them while I’m drilling coz I’ve numbered them so I empty all my drills first then just grab like five different ones at a time and do it bit by bit x
the light pad came… holy shit (excuse my language lol) the difference it makes… 😱 this will save my eyes! Although… I can see the “imperfections” better, so that’s the trade off I guess 😅
22
u/Vicemage Nov 06 '25
The best option yes, is to get more containers, but first make sure you're liking the containers you have. Many of us have tried a variety of different containers, sometimes disliking them early on and other times taking a while to decide to go a different direction.