Denver’s Craft Along After Dark - A Creative Virtual Program

On Tuesday evening, our Craft Along After Dark program concluded a series on diamond painting with over 40 military members, spouses, and teens. After shipping kits with all the needed supplies directly to each participant, we gathered on a video conference to learn how to do the project and then connect through conversations about other projects we’re working on, books we’re reading, challenges we’re experiencing, and shows we’re watching while working on our projects. One participant said, “It’s so nice to have some grown-up time away from social media and the news.”

Diamond Painting is a relatively new creative hobby that combines elements of cross-stitch, paint-by-numbers, and mosaic art. Even better, there are no special skills or extra supplies required to achieve beautiful results: you simply use the supplied tools, follow the chart and apply colorful resin rhinestones to a create a work of art on canvas. The result? Visually dazzling, mosaic artworks that sparkle, shimmer and shine. We offered two mountain scenes, but the options are endless. A military spouse attending showed her completed piece of art saying, “My husband wanted to try it out and he finished it! We’re officially hooked, and can’t wait to do the new diamond paintings we’ve ordered for the whole family!”

The best part of the series is that it will continue beyond the first creative project. Our group of crafters, spanning a large geographic area, have become friends and can’t wait to continue crafting along together on future projects.