Diamond Art Christmas Hanger Kit

A little window of Christmas you make yourself

Each hanger starts as a clear acrylic blank printed with a numbered colour map. You lift one faceted gem at a time with the wax pen and press it into place. Row by row the picture fills in, and by the end of the evening you have something that catches the light every time the tree does.

What comes in the box

A printed clear acrylic blank, a diamond-art pen, a gem tray, a wax pad, a hanging chain and sorted bags of pearls and faceted gems. Nothing else to buy; clear a bit of table and start.

How it comes together

Pour a few gems into the tray, touch the pen to the wax, and it picks up one stone at a time. Match the number on the blank to the bag, press the stone down, and move on to the next. It is calm, repetitive work that is easy to pick up and put down between cups of cocoa.

Twenty-seven designs, one palette

Santas, snowmen, reindeer, wreaths, stockings, trees, a gingerbread cottage, a carousel and a pair of cardinals. They were all made in the same red, green and gold, so a handful of them hang together on one window without clashing. Pick one for yourself, or a few for a family evening at the table.

Up close

The designs mix three kinds of stone: round pearls for beards, snow and trim; faceted resin gems for colour; and larger accent stones for baubles and bows. The pearls give the finished piece a raised, almost embroidered texture you can feel under your fingers.

What it looks like when it is done

Hold a finished hanger up to a lamp or a window and the clear acrylic lets the light come through the gaps between the stones. In daylight it reads as a picture; after dark, with the tree lights on, it sparkles.

Two sizes

20 cm is the one most people start with. It finishes in an evening or two and suits a small window, a door or a shelf.
25 cm has more room for detail, takes a little longer, and holds its own on a large window or as the centre of a group.

Why it works as a gift

It arrives as a box of parts, so the person who opens it gets the evening as well as the ornament. It suits a grandparent who likes a quiet project, a teenager who wants something to do that is not a screen, or two people making one together. And it goes back up every December.