The Best Diamond Painting Light Pad, Alternatives and Other Uses

Sometimes referred to as light boards, light pads are fantastic additions to any diamond painting tool kit. Whether you are new to the hobby or a seasoned pro, adding a diamond painting light pad to your collection makes painting with diamonds even easier and more enjoyable. 

Here at Diamond Art Club®, we aren’t just your source for top-quality diamond painting kits. We also carry a wide range of tools and accessories designed to simplify your crafting sessions. If you are serious about diamond art and want to take your designs to the next level, investing in one of our light pads is a great place to start. Once you start working with one of these simple diamond painting tools, you will wonder how you ever worked without one. Keep reading to learn more about the best diamond painting light pad, alternatives and other uses. 

Order Your Diamond Art Light Pad to Improve Your Diamond Painting Skills

What Is a Light Pad? 

Not quite sure what a light pad is? No problem! Let us explain. A light pad is a thin, lightweight device that illuminates the surface of your work in progress from underneath. For diamond painters, these devices make it easier to see the grid and differentiate between the different symbols and colors depicted. This is especially helpful when working on designs that feature colors that look similar or are hard to tell apart in low-light settings. 

Artists and creatives use light pads for all sorts of things. In addition to being excellent tools for diamond painters, light pads can be used by traditional painters, drawers, photographers and more. Just about everyone has a use for a light pad at one time or another. 

The Benefits of Using a Light Pad for Diamond Painting

If you have never used a light pad before, you might not realize just how beneficial these simple devices are. For starters, a diamond art light makes it much easier to see the grid on your canvas. Even if you are working in a well-lit room, it can be difficult to see the tiny squares that make up the pattern. And when two similar colors are placed near each other, it is not always easy to distinguish between the two. Using a light pad eliminates these problems by illuminating the pattern from below, making everything clearer to see. 

Light pads are also great for anyone who enjoys crafting at night. If you are one of the many crafters who sets aside time each evening to work on your latest project, you have likely dealt with the frustration of not being able to clearly see what you are doing after the sun goes down. When you have a diamond painting light pad that shines bright LED light up through your canvas, you no longer need to worry about the lack of natural light or dim lighting in your home. 

Using a light pad not only makes the hobby itself more relaxing and enjoyable, but also improves the overall quality of your finished projects because you’re able to see things more clearly without straining your eyes. Although an overhead lamp is useful, it is restricted in its ability to only provide direct light onto the canvas from above, whereas a light pad shines through the canvas from below and makes the color codes and overall grid more visible to your naked eye.

The Best Diamond Painting Light Pad

There are lots of light pads on the market. And while nearly all of them can be used for diamond painting, the Diamond Art Club® Light Pad is, by far, the best.

Featuring flicker-free LED lamps, it provides consistent, even lighting you need to create shimmering works of art so it’s easy on the eyes. Compared to other heavier, bulkier light pads, ours weighs just 1.32 pounds and is 0.2 inches thick, making it highly portable and great for crafters on the go. With an overall size of 14 inches by 10 inches, our Diamond Painting Light Pad has a work area of 12.2 inches by 8.2 inches and provides plenty of space for working on canvases of any size because our Diamond Painting Light Pad was designed specifically for diamond painters.It also comes with a one-year warranty and has a long lifespan: 50,000 hours of continuous use.

Just like our diamond painting kits, our tools and accessories are of the highest quality and manufactured to meet the needs of the casual and serious hobbyists alike. It’s not worth trying to save a couple bucks just to end up receiving an accessory that offers dim-lighting, offers minimal coverage of your canvas and won’t hold a charge or last long. Instead, go with a light pad from a diamond painting brand you already know and trust. You can rest assured this light pad works the best for diamond art crafts because it was made by diamond painters for diamond painters.

Alternative Lighting Solutions

Light pads are great, and we strongly suggest investing in one for your diamond art. If you do not have one yet, though, there are alternatives! In fact, there are a few ways you can create a makeshift one yourself with little-to-no financial investment. 

For a quick and easy solution, all you need is a clear plastic storage tub and a flashlight. Even the flashlight on your cell phone will work in a pinch! Place the flashlight on your work surface pointing upward. Then, flip the plastic box upside down and place it over the top of the light. Put your diamond art canvas on top, and the light from the flashlight should shine through. If you have a glass-top table you can place a bright light underneath, as that works too.

With some strong tape, even a sunny window can be used as a light pad. Just stick your canvas to the glass and start placing the drills. Make sure you press each one hard enough to fully adhere it to the canvas since it is taped upright on a window. Although you do not need to worry about temperature fluctuations with any Diamond Art Club® canvas, you should be mindful of the weather if you’re working on a cheaper, lower-quality kit. If it is too hot or too cold, the consistency of the glue could be affected. So this option for back lighting is best on days when the temperature is moderate and for diamond painters who don’t mind standing while crafting.

Other Ways to Use Your Light Pad

For many crafters, diamond painting is just one of the many creative hobbies they enjoy. If this applies to you, you should be happy to find out the uses for light pads go well beyond diamond art. For starters, they are awesome for anyone who loves drawing. Even if you tend to do most of your artwork freehand, using a light pad allows you to trace out those fine details you just can’t get quite right on your own. Having an illuminated surface is ideal for anyone who wants to duplicate drawings and designs, too. 

If you are not into drawing, perhaps making vinyl decals is more your style? Whether you make them to customize clothing or coffee mugs or to stick on cars, laptops and other surfaces, we know weeding your designs can be tricky. While weeding excess vinyl from large designs is fairly easy, picking out all the bits and pieces in fine details is hard. It causes a lot of eye strain too. Using a light pad allows you to clearly see even the finest details without straining your eyes or giving yourself a headache. If you have never tried using a backlit surface while weeding, be prepared to be amazed!

Light pads can also be used for drawing tattoos, scrapbooking, embroidery and more. If you have ever been working on virtually any type of project and wished for better light, illuminating your project from behind with a light pad could be the perfect solution. 

In Conclusion

When you want to take your diamond art to the next level, the best way to do it is by investing in the right tools and accessories. Each Diamond Art Club® kit comes with everything you need to complete a stunning work of art, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use additional accessories to make your creations even better! 

Need Additional Diamond Painting Tools? Check Out Our Collection!

A high-quality diamond painting light pad is a must-have tool for anyone serious about crafting. The Diamond Art Club® Light Pad was designed with crafting enthusiasts in mind and offers exceptional performance in a portable package. Once you have experienced the joy of working on a backlit surface, you will wonder how you ever completed diamond paintings without one. Plus, you will find all sorts of ways to use your light pad for other projects. From drawing and sketching to embroidery and cross-stitching, there is no limit to the types of projects you can use your light pad for. 

Whether you are shopping for your first diamond painting kit or you are a diamond art expert with several completed projects under your belt and even more WIP (for all you novices, learn about all the diamond painting acronyms and terminology in our guide), we encourage you to check out our diamond painting light pad. We’re all about making your favorite hobby even more enjoyable!