There's a word buzzing around the diamond painting community lately: embellishing. It's the art of swapping out some of the standard diamond painting drills in your kit for specialty ones, like AB or metallics. This growing trend is helping diamond painters put their own spin on traditional diamond painting kits and create a finished piece that is truly one of a kind.
What Is Embellishing?
The concept of embellishing is simple: instead of using only the standard drills that come with your kit, you swap some of them out for specialty drills, like metallics, AB (Aurora Borealis) sparkle drills, glow-in-the-dark gems, or neon shades. The key and the symbols on your canvas stay the same. You're just choosing to place something with a little more pop in certain spots.
It's the diamond painting equivalent of adding your own flair to a recipe. The foundation is still there, but you're putting your personal stamp on it.
Why Do Diamond Painters Love Embellishments?
There's a reason embellishing has taken off, and it goes deeper than just wanting more sparkle. (Though more sparkle is never a bad thing!)
It makes each piece uniquely yours. When thousands of crafters are working on the same kit, embellishing is a way to make your finished piece stand out. Two people can start with the identical canvas and end up with different results based on the specialty drills they choose.
It adds depth and dimension. Standard drills do a beautiful job of creating the image, but specialty drills can draw the eye to specific areas. An AB drill catches the light differently than a standard one, so placing them strategically — in a sky, on water reflections, along the highlights of a flower petal — can make parts of your painting stand out.
It's a creative challenge. For experienced diamond painters who love the meditative process but want to flex their artistic muscles a bit more, embellishing adds a whole new layer of decision-making. Where should the metallic drills go? Which areas would pop with a neon accent? It's a fun puzzle on top of the relaxing rhythm of dotting.
It's just plain fun. Let's not overthink it. There's something incredibly satisfying about cracking open a tube of shimmery specialty drills and watching them catch the light in exactly the spot you want them to.
Ideas to Get Started with Diamond Painting Embellishments
Not sure where to begin? Here are some popular approaches.
Highlight the focal point. If your painting features a portrait, an animal, or a central object, try swapping in AB or metallic drills for the highlights and light-catching areas. Eyes, jewelry, water drops, and shiny surfaces are all natural candidates.
Light up the sky (or water). Landscapes with big skies or bodies of water are prime embellishing territory. Swap in some AB drills scattered through the lighter tones of a sunset or across the surface of a lake to mimic that natural shimmer.
Go bold with backgrounds. Large areas of a single color, like a solid background or an expansive field, can sometimes feel a little flat. Mixing in a handful of specialty drills throughout these sections adds subtle visual interest without changing the overall look.
Add a glow. Working on a nightscape, a Halloween scene, or anything with stars and moons? Glow-in-the-dark drills are a total showstopper. Imagine finishing a painting of a starry sky and then turning off the lights to see it softly glowing on your wall.
Try a neon pop. If your painting has florals, tropical elements, or anything vibrant, neon drills can turn up the intensity in the best way. They're also fantastic for kids' room art or anything you want to feel energetic and fun.
Use metallics for richness. Metallic drills add an opulent quality that's hard to beat. Think gold drills in an ornate frame border, silver in a winter scene, or a prismatic metallic shimmer in fantasy artwork.
Tips for First-Time Embellishers
If you're new to this, here are a few things to keep in mind.
Start small. You don't have to embellish your entire canvas. Even swapping out drills in one small area, like adding AB drills to a butterfly's wings or metallic drills to a crown, can make a noticeable difference.
Step back and look. As you place specialty drills, step back from your canvas periodically. What looks amazing up close might be overwhelming from a distance (or vice versa). Embellishing is all about finding the balance that feels right to you.
There are no rules. This is your art! Some crafters plan their embellishments carefully with charts and notes. Others just grab a tube of sparkly drills and see where their mood takes them. Both approaches are completely valid.
Keep your specialty drills organized. Once you start collecting different types, your stash can grow quickly. Labeled storage containers are your best friend.
Where to Buy Diamond Painting Embellishments
If you're itching to give embellishing a go, Diamond Dotz Freestyle Dotz are a great place to start. They're the same premium 13-facet, 2.8mm round resin drills you already know and love from Diamond Dotz kits, so they'll work seamlessly on your canvas. Here are a few options to consider.
Silver Metallic: A single cylinder of silver metallic drills, perfect for adding cool-toned shimmer to winter scenes, moonlit skies, or anywhere you want a touch of elegant shine.
Prism Metallic: These metallic drills catch and refract light in a variety of colors. They're a fantastic choice for adding a prismatic sparkle to highlights, magical scenes, or any area where you want a little extra "wow."
Glow in the Dark: Exactly what they sound like, and every bit as fun as you'd imagine. Swap these in for stars, moons, fireflies, or glowing eyes for a piece that surprises after the lights go out.
Metallic Sampler Pack: Can't decide on just one metallic? This five-pack includes metallic rainbow, pewter, silver, classic gold, and platinum, so you can experiment with a range of rich, opulent tones across your projects.
All of the Freestyle Dotz come in handy reusable cylinders that store neatly, so building a collection is easy (and, let's be real, a little addictive).
Making Your Canvas Yours
At the end of the day, embellishing is about making your diamond painting experience a little more personal. Whether you swap out five drills or five hundred, add a subtle shimmer or go full-on sparkle extravaganza, every choice you make turns a beautiful kit into something that's unmistakably yours. With hundreds of diamond drill shades to choose from, we know you'll find something that's just perfect.
So the next time you peel back that protective film and start dotting, ask yourself: where could a little extra magic go?