15th anniversary sale!
$100 off WOW Packages
use code 15YEARS
15th anniversary sale!
$100 off WOW Packages
use code 15YEARS
What has 68,000 dots and can take over 100 hours to finish? A diamond painting! Dennis Marx, this month’s CraftOptics artist, discovered diamond painting in a “third time’s the charm” sequence of events. He’d already tried Metal Earth kits and nanoblocks—and enjoyed them both. But Dennis felt something was missing. When he discovered diamond painting, Dennis knew he’d found his artistic calling and he’s been making these elaborate paintings ever since.
What helps make Dennis’s artistic endeavors more comfortable and enjoyable? You’ve probably guessed it already: his CraftOptics glasses. And now, please meet Dennis!
It’s enjoyable and so relaxing. I put on some music and really go to town—I just lose myself in the process. I like to work on my diamond painting while my wife does her sewing. Sometimes we’re both enjoying our respective projects so much, there’s a bit of a discussion about who’s going to stop and make dinner.
My wife is an avid sewer. When I retired nine years ago, I was trying to figure out what the heck I could work on when she sewed. I started with the Empire State Building kit from Metal Earth. I tried Nano Blocks and made a number of things with those.
Then about four years ago, we were camping up north and visited this great craft store in Houghton Lake, Arnie’s Arts & Crafts. They had this big display of Diamond Dotz and I thought, “Maybe that’s something the grandkids would be interested in.”
I thought I’d try a kit first before getting one for the grandkids—and it turned out that I really liked it. It was so enjoyable and relaxing. I love watching how a picture comes to life. I’ve progressed to some of the advanced ones now and they easily take over 100 hours to finish.
One of my favorites is a picture of a wizard that I did recently. I really like fantasy novels, books with magicians, good vs. evil—all that kind of stuff. When I saw that kit, it was a no-brainer.
It was fun to watch the 3-D aspect of the picture come out. This was one of the brighter pieces I’ve done—when the light’s at just the right angle, it really sparkles.
Right after I discovered diamond painting, my wife and I were at a quilt show and CraftOptics had a table there. I already knew that I needed magnification to do the diamond paintings—I’d borrowed a magnifying glass from my wife that had a cord and was such a pain. The CraftOptics looked interesting, but that price tag was hefty—my wife and I debated the heck out of it. At the time I was just getting started with diamond painting and I wasn’t entirely sure if I’d use the glasses enough to justify the expense. But I ended up buying them and I’ve never regretted that decision.
They are just the best darn things—I can see so much better than before. And it’s so much more comfortable. Having something that’s set to your prescription gives you vision and clarity that you can’t get with anything else.
And having the light makes it that much better. The beam goes right where you need it to go and makes things so much easier.
I can sit there for hours when I’m wearing my CraftOptics—I just lose track of time because I’m so comfortable. I’ve even come up with new ways to use them. For instance, they’d be perfect for electrical work.
Just one thing: They’re not cheap, but they’re absolutely worth it!