u/Amazing_Ebb536

I don’t hate it so far! But I also don’t love it. Mainly bc I’m forced to single place every drill since most of the drill fields aren’t evenly spaced. I haven’t used my vacuum pen in a while, so I guess it’s nice I’m getting some use out of it again. It’s also nice to have a little reprieve from the standard canvas and do something unconventional with the craft.

I’m curious tho: If you’ve completed this, how difficult was it to assemble? And does it stay sturdy? lol

Bonus question: Did you seal it? (The glue seems pretty thick so idk if I need to)

Kinda difficult for me to get a decent pic bc of how I’ve secured the canvas, but I only have a few more columns left! Probably should be able to finish it by mid August, I think?

I’m averaging about one column a week, given the amount of confetti this beast has lol. Really enjoying it so far, and I’m looking forward to getting out of all the greens and into the blues. I don’t know how many #319s I’ve placed so far, but it’s been A LOT 💀

I’ve also bought four more DAC kits in the interim bc of how impressed I’ve been with the quality. But I definitely need to chill 😅

Moving along nicely, but still slower than I’m used to. I don’t have enough completed columns to roll them around a pool noodle yet (at least to where I can work on other sections comfortably), so it’s kind of just hanging awkwardly in my lap at the moment. Once I can use the pool noodle tho, I’m not sure what to do with the incomplete section other than to flip the canvas around and have it sit in my lap too lol. The drafting table doesn’t have much room underneath it to store it, but maybe I’ll find a way.

Can you spot the intruder? (Hint: It’s on the fifth row from the bottom.)

So glad I moved my light to be able to see my drills more clearly just now. I think just about every bag in this kit has had at least one drill that belonged to another symbol. Majority of the time they’re very clearly not the same color and I just remove them. This one tho? 😮‍💨 you can barely see it even in direct light. Not that it’d make much difference if I didn’t notice it, tbh, but still lol

For those who know how to handle giant canvases: This is the first one I’ve done that I’ve had to actually roll. Once I finish the column closest to what I’ve rolled of unfinished portion, how exactly should I proceed? My original plan was to roll the finished side outward on a pool noodle, then flip it and start on the opposite side; however, I’m afraid if I do that, by the time I get to the center, it may cause some issues with either bunching or too much tension between drills.

Is that an actual issue? If so, is the best way forward to continue column by column? And how exactly do I rotate it in a way that makes it comfortable without the unfinished canvas being rolled up all in my arm/working space? (I hope this makes sense lol) I’m using a drafting table, so I want to avoid putting any hard creases in the unfinished side.

I feel like I’m never not being humbled by square drills haha. Normally with round drills, I’d be much farther along in my progress, but since there are more square drills in a 4x4 section than round drills, it’s taking me twice as long (if not longer depending on the colors). But I’ve found my flow, I’m staying patient, and I’ve been so happy about how wonderful this is turning out! I still tick when I end up with some gapping, but with the quality of DAC drills, it’s so minimal, and it’s only really visible with my light board on. HOWEVER, if you have any fool-proof tips for straightening square drills, please let me know!

I haven’t been logging my hours on this, but so far this is 2 and 1/2 audiobooks of work lol (~15 hours each on 1.75x speed).

Went to get my oil changed today and an oil leak inspected, walked out spending $2.3K 🥲 During Pride Month?? And when both of my dads are dead???

Jokes aside, new brakes were definitely needed since I hadn’t changed them since I bought it 10 years ago (tbf it only just started squeaking, but I thought I had a little more time). Oil leak was much worse than I thought. I’d hoped it was only the gasket…alas. I do think I paid slightly more for the valve cover than it goes for, but tbh I have no clue. Feel free to tell me, but there’s no changing it now lol

Unfortunately I’ve had to get repairs on this cursed 2016 LX every year for the past four years. I’ve already dropped $3K on it this year alone. I think it knows I’m wanting to sell it to get a newer hybrid model, so it decided today was the day to really try to stymie that plan. Homophomobile confirmed. At least the mechanics were friendly and transparent.

Kitting this canvas up was truly a wild 90-minute experience. It’s 42in x 28in (rounded up), 118,301 diamonds, and 72 colors. I was absolutely not used to how DAC packages and sorts their colors, so it took me a minute to figure it out. I wound up sorting them by overall color so I knew where to look when putting each of them in their assigned trays.

The packets you see in front of the trays are the extras of colors that couldn’t fit into their trays, so they’ll be stored away until it’s time to refill. 319 had SIX giant packets, so I know I’ll be dealing with her a lot lol.

I also just got an A2 light board that’s sitting under the canvas (it has a mix of warm- and cool-toned light settings!!!) Definitely need to get a pool noodle or pipe liner for when it’s time to roll the completed sections, but I’ve got plenty of time to decide which one I want. Very excited to get started! 💙💚

Marking this as NSFW just in case.

Some context: I’ve been getting false positives for syphilis for four years now. I’ve only had one ANA lab done and it was entirely negative. Doctors have thought I might have lupus, but I’ve also heard from some peers that it could be APS. Last year my psoriasis broke through my Otezla therapy after a bout of intense stress, and then I had three pretty severe flare ups not related to psoriasis, involving fevers, joint paint, red butterfly-shaped flashes on my face (not rashes tho, so not sure if that’s even indicative of lupus). I did start Tremfya earlier this year tho, and I haven’t had any of those flares in a while.

But now I’ve been getting this webbing pattern on both of my arms in the same area nearly every day. I’ve brought it up recently to my PCP, but it was kind of dismissed due to the previous negative ANA test and that it could just be from taking Adderall. But I’ve been on Adderall for nearly a decade at this point, and I’ve never seen this on my arms before. It doesn’t hurt at all, but it can get intensely red and purple depending on the day and lasts for hours.

Anyone else get this frequently? Should I be concerned? lol. If I’m being dismissed by my PCP about it, I’m hesitant to try going to a rheumatologist. Honestly just feeling lost and anxious, and I’m not sure if it’s something I need to even bother getting opinions on from other docs.

This 16x20 took me only about 12 days to complete, which is a new personal record for me. Probably the most fun I’ve had with a larger canvas, too. Mainly bc of the wild amount of confetti and the dark blues and greens lol

It’s technically very early Thursday where I am, but I just finished a section that got me to halfway finished. I’ve been really enjoying this canvas!! Very confetti heavy but i don’t mind that with round drills lol. Also I’m obsessed with the colors. I started on this last Thursday, so I feel like I’m making pretty good progress! 💙

Finally decided to say goodbye to my dining room I never used and turn it into a crafting space! 🥰 definitely want to add more to it to make it cozier, but for now, it’s super convenient. And honestly I’m just glad I don’t have to work on canvases on my small work desk anymore!

If you have any recommendations for what I could add to this space, let me know! I’m already looking at standing lamps so I can work with the big light off, but if you know of other types of organizers/shelving would be helpful to fill the space!

Figured I’d share what I’ve been working on over the past five weeks. The books took me almost a month bc I had to travel a lot for work recently. The canvas on the left is one of the new Make Market Mystery Kits, and it took me about 3 days to complete.

I do want to say that the MM Mystery Kits are not like DAC mysteries. They’re more like blind boxes (think Labubu but diamond art lmao), and you immediately know which one you pulled once you open it bc it’s not a completely white canvas. It was fun tho and pretty inexpensive! It’s just not the canvas I was hoping for 😭💀

So close to being done!! I’m trying to power through so I can get to my mystery kit and then my giant DAC kit that just arrived.

Probably would be going even faster than I am rn if my drafting table hadn’t arrived shattered, but once that part arrives in the mail, I’m gonna lock in and up my pace 💪😌

I’m not in a big rush to get this canvas immediately since I’m still working on a larger canvas that will likely take me at least another week (or more), but I was wondering if this were a common thing with DAC? I’m in the US, and it looks like it was shipped from Miami, Florida, but somehow it’s caught up in customs? And I can’t seem to get any update on it. I ordered it around the middle of April and knew it’d take a bit to get to me tho.

Maybe I’m not well-versed in shipment dynamics lol, but I found this kinda strange. As well as the inability to check the shipment’s status. Has anyone else experienced this? If so, is it any cause for concern? And is there any way to check the status outside of emailing them? 😅

Made these in a little under four hours bc I wanted to give my mom a handmade craft for Mother’s Day, but I’ll be on a work trip all of this week. I think they came out pretty great, minus the rose, which lowkey looks like a blood clot. But it’s the thought the counts 💀

I do have another set of four coasters to make that I may try, but they’re not aligned to her style like these.

Honestly I’n impressed that I was able to do these so fast. I didn’t even kit up lol. Just straight out of the bag, full throttle