What to Do with Leftover Diamond Painting Drills: 9 Real Ideas from Reddit + a Free DIY Tool to Burn Through Your Stash

Every diamond painter ends up with a jar of “almost finished” colors. Some people throw them away. Some people hoard them for years waiting for a use case. After mining 18 high-upvote threads on r/diamondpainting where the OPs explicitly use the words “leftover drills” or “use up leftover drills” in the title, this guide compiles what actually happens to leftover diamond painting drills in real hobbyists’ hands — including a free, browser-based tool specifically built to convert your leftover DMC stash into printable patterns.

In this guide:

• Why you always end up with leftovers (it’s not a “you” problem)
• 9 things r/diamondpainting actually does with them — every example photo comes from a thread whose title literally says “leftover drills”
• A deep dive on a free DIY Diamond Art Pattern Maker with a built-in “Leftover Drills” optimization mode
• FAQ + references

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Why every diamond painter has a leftover-drill problem

If you’ve finished more than one diamond painting, you’ve almost certainly looked at a sealed bag, a Ziploc, or a literal mason jar stuffed with random beads and wondered what am I going to do with these? [5]

It’s not a discipline problem. It’s a math problem. Most commercial kits ship 10–20% extra drills per color so you don’t run out halfway through a section. A 30-color round-drill kit can easily leave you with 1,000–3,000 leftover beads — and after a few kits, those leftovers pile up faster than you can use them as confetti.

“I have done three (soon to be four) diamond paintings, and I’ve kept my diamonds in a little jar mixed together. Does anybody else do that? I’m curious [to see] how big is your leftover diamond collection.” — u/throwaway style OP, 40 upvotes, r/diamondpainting [7]

The community response was unanimous: everyone has the jar. What varies is what they do with it. Below are the nine ideas that came up most often — each backed by a real Reddit post whose title explicitly mentions leftover drills, with photo proof and direct quotes from the original poster.

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How We Compiled This List (Methodology)

We filtered r/diamondpainting to only posts whose title contains the literal phrase “leftover drill(s)”, “use up”, or “extra drill(s)”. This guarantees every example below is, by definition, about leftover drills — not a generic finished-DP show-off post. From those results, we walked the comment trees of the 18 most-engaged threads (each ≥5 upvotes, several over 100) and pulled direct quotes from the top-rated comments. For every photo embedded below, the post title, original poster, upvote count, and clickable permalink are preserved in the caption and the References table at the end.

We did not invent any project, and we did not paraphrase anyone’s “I did this!” story into “many people report doing this.” When the data is anecdotal, we label it anecdotal.

One important note up front: diamond drills are NOT food-safe, dishwasher-safe, or heat-resistant above ~150°F. Anything that touches food/drink/cooking needs a sealer and common sense. We flag those caveats in the relevant sections.

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Idea 1: Fuse them into Perler-style pixel art (cross stitch stash buster)

The single most upvoted “leftover drill craft” on Reddit is treating your drills like Perler beads and ironing them — or arranging them freeform on a blank canvas with whatever colors you have. [1]

Above: a Pokéball-shaped fused-drill pixel piece, made by treating diamond drills like Perler beads. [1]

The OP explained: “I was inspired by perler bead crafts and tried the same method with my leftover diamond drills for a change, turned out great!” [1]

Comments flooded in:

• “What’s the method? This is super cute!” — 12 upvotes [1]
• “Genius! I didn’t know we could do this.” — 11 upvotes [1]
• “I thought it was perler beads! Looks awesome.” — 9 upvotes [1]
• “I wonder how that might turn out with AB drills.” — 9 upvotes [1]

A second, even higher-upvoted thread (380 upvotes!) took the same idea but skipped the iron — they used blank adhesive canvases from Amazon and a “cross stitch stash buster” pattern, picking whatever colors struck their fancy: [2]

Above: u/cj9lq0’s cross-stitch style random-color leftover canvas, 380 upvotes. [2]

The OP: “I got blank adhesive canvases from Amazon and looked up ‘cross stitch stash busters’ for inspiration. I find this very satisfying. I don’t have to hunt for colours, I just pick whatever strikes my fancy. My bf says it looks like a rug. I’m okay with that! I made some other images with leftovers, but now it’s getting hard to make full pictures.” [2]

The community loved it:

• “I actually really like the look of it! And I’m all in for repurposing leftover drills :)” — 34 upvotes [2]
• “I LOVE this” — 13 upvotes [2]

How to actually do it (fused method, from the community, with caveats):

• Arrange drills flat-side-up on parchment paper in any pixel pattern you like.
• Cover with a second sheet of parchment.
• Iron at medium heat for 10–15 seconds. Diamond drills are plastic/resin and will melt at low temperatures. They fuse, but they’re not food-safe.
• Peel off parchment once cool. The fused piece is now a sturdy, slightly flexible pixel “tile” you can glue to coasters, book covers, or frames.

How to do it (freeform method, the 380-upvote version):

• Buy a small blank adhesive canvas (Amazon, AliExpress, Etsy — usually $2–$5).
• Sketch or print a “stash buster” pattern (Google “cross stitch stash buster” for thousands of free designs).
• Pick drills at random from your leftover jar and place them. No color matching needed — the chaos is the point.

Caveat for fusing: ironing melts the plastic. Don’t use a good iron, don’t iron directly on the drills (always parchment on both sides), and ventilate the room. The melted-plastic smell is mild but real.

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Idea 2: Mix-and-jar “mosaic” decoration (Pyrex beaker, fairy jar, confetti jar)

If fusing feels like too much effort, the lowest-effort Reddit-approved option is: pour everything into one big jar and call it décor. Multiple OPs have posted their jars with title literally “leftover drills”: [7]

Above: u/qc9mba’s thrifted Pyrex beaker filled with leftover drills, 86 upvotes. [7]

The OP: “What does everyone else do with their leftover drills? I am currently storing all of mine in this thrifted beaker type glass. I figure eventually I will use some for random projects. Its also very satisfying to gently shake [it].” [7]

Community replies (28+ upvotes combined):

• “I put mine in an empty plastic Christmas ornament and painted the year on it. 🙂 Just waiting to accumulate enough for another ornament.” — 24 upvotes [7]
• “I keep mine in a v[arious jars with color themes].” — 18 upvotes [7]

The same idea has been re-posted with themed color jars (blue, pink, mixed) and “confetti jar” variations: [7] [7] [7]

Above: u/gct5x1’s Snorlax-shaped jar full of blue leftover drills, 43 upvotes. [7]

Above: u/gbfdbm’s Jigglypuff-shaped jar full of pink leftover drills, 33 upvotes. [7]

“I decided to do some little jars with my favorite colors of leftover drills, here’s my pink one!” — u/gbfdbm (OP) [7]

For the most popular themed version, the “confetti jar” technique: [7]

Above: u/nna4t9’s “confetti jar” project, 15 upvotes. [7]

Community alternatives:

• “I put mine in baggies tagged with their DMC code and then put them into baseball card organizers in a 3 ring binder.” — 89 upvotes [5]
• “Hoard them like I’ll use them one day or just in case I’m short some. Note: I have never needed them for any reason ever.” — 25 upvotes [5]
• “I keep them in a jar, all mixed together, and use it as a decoration.” — 20 upvotes [7]

The takeaway: the jar is the lowest-effort, most-photographed approach. It works. A clear glass canister or themed character jar turns the leftovers into a visual feature on a shelf instead of clutter.

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Idea 3: Make a “color by number” mini canvas (cross stitch stash buster)

If you have a printable pattern and a small blank canvas, you can burn through leftover drills on a custom mini kit. A 50×50 pixel pattern uses about 2,500 drills — perfect for a small canvas. This is the same idea as idea 1’s “cross stitch stash buster” method but with a pre-defined pattern. [2]

“Color by Number — a way to use up leftover drills?” — r/diamondpainting, 18 upvotes (search hit on `color by number leftover drills`)

The community’s answer: yes, but you need to print the grid clearly and overlay adhesive film so the drills stick. The “DIY Pattern Maker” tool we cover in idea 9 solves this exact problem at scale (built-in grid + DMC codes + A4 print-ready).

A Redditor in a separate thread mentioned they had “tons of extras so I could be picky with which drills I used” — which is the ideal mindset for color-by-number leftover burning: pick the colors that match the leftover beads you have most of, and design the pattern around your stash. [3]

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Idea 4: Custom bookmarks, greeting cards, and tiny canvases

The community has produced real, photo-documented mini canvases that are mostly made from leftovers: [7]

Above: u/lbj9vb’s leftover-drill panda bookmark, 55 upvotes. [7]

• “I love the detail of the bamboo in the background!” — 3 upvotes [7]
• “So cute, could become a bookmark.” — 2 upvotes [7]
• “I see people put their extra drills in a big jar mixed up and i think, what are you doing! I really wanna make some custom stuff like this, just been too [busy].” — 2 upvotes [7]

For mini-canvas projects, the trick is finding a long, narrow canvas blank (often sold as a “bookmark canvas” or “keychain canvas” on AliExpress or Etsy for under $2). You can then either sketch a freehand pixel pattern, or generate one from a small photo using the DIY Pattern Maker (idea 9).

A second upvoted thread showed someone doing Jack Nicholson from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and a Bob’s Burgers scene from leftover drills with no commercial pattern at all — they hand-sketched the pixel grid themselves. 127 upvotes: [3]

“I did Jack from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and on the other my husband did Bob and the left while I did Louise and the right. Addicted.” — u/MountainWestPioneer, 127 upvotes [3]

If free-handing a celebrity portrait sounds intimidating, the tool in idea 9 lets you upload a photo and get a printable DMC-coded pattern in under a minute.

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Idea 5: Embellish mugs, phone cases, and accessories with leftover drills

Beyond standard projects, the community has specifically posted “Found a use for some leftover drills” threads about decorating everyday objects. The OP in this case upcycled a plain black phone case with cross-stitch-adapted patterns + double-sided tape + UV resin coating: [7]

Above: u/q3953q’s leftover-drill Pokemon-themed phone case, 64 upvotes. [7]

The OP: “Nice cases for my phone are impossible to get, so I jazzed up the plain black one I have. Patterns are adapted cross stitch ones from various places. Stuck them down with double sided tape and I’ll be coating the whole lot in UV resin to avoid them popping off once I’ve slept. Took about 3 hours in total.” [7]

The community responded with:

• “What a brilliant idea! It’s very pretty.” — 2 upvotes [7]
• “This is awesome! Very creative and excellent use of left over drills ✨” — 2 upvotes [7]

Universal rule for any drill-on-an-object project: the more the object gets touched, washed, or heated, the more sealer you need. UV resin (the OP’s choice) is a great heavy-duty sealer for phone cases — it cures in 2 minutes under a UV lamp, locks the drills in place, and gives a glass-like finish. Epoxy resin or 3–5 thin coats of clear acrylic spray (Mod Podge or Krylon) work for less-touched items. [7]

A separate leftover thread in the community reported the same idea applied to Starbucks mugs (33 upvotes), and another thread about making resin coasters from leftover drills (7 upvotes) for the same reason — both use leftover drills + resin/acrylic sealer to make functional objects.

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Idea 6: Repurpose a too-small canvas with leftover drills (DIY Mondrian)

A second top idea in the “Using up leftover” category: take a canvas that’s too small for a real project and fill it freeform with whatever leftover drills you have: [4]

Above: u/fay7rr’s freeform leftover-drill project on a too-small canvas, 171 upvotes. [4]

The OP: “A friend gave me a canvas that was way too small for the image so I repurposed to make my own painting!” [4]

The community was charmed:

• “Spontaneous abstract art, love it 💕 Waste nothing!♻️” — 18 upvotes [4]
• “It makes me happy to see crafters enjoying themselves with spare parts!! Looking great, reminiscent of a Piet Mondrian painting!” — 12 upvotes [4]

This is the same idea as idea 1’s “freeform” method, but using a pre-existing blank canvas you already own rather than buying a new one. If you have any half-finished canvases in a drawer, this is the cheapest possible entry point.

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Idea 7: Minigem / Forever Young freestyle cards

A clever pre-made alternative: Freestyle Cards by Forever Young (sold as “Minigem Freestyle Cards” on AliExpress). They’re thick card-stock postcards with a printed grid you fill with drills. The OP specifically asked: “Hi all! I know we are always looking for ways to use up leftover diamonds. Has anyone given these a try?” [7]

“Has anybody tried these? I found them on AliExpress, listed as Minigem Freestyle Cards.” — u/r8w8py (OP), 46 upvotes [7]

Comments from people who had tried them:

• “I have!! They are almost like postcards — very thick, and they come with a chart so you can log the colors you’re using for each symbol. The grids are clearly [printed]…” — 22 upvotes [7]
• “Riah Page on YouTube did a video on these, they look great!” — 11 upvotes [7]
• “They’re by Forever Young btw, in case someone wants to try them. It’s the same company that came up with those viral storage boxes/trays with lids.” — 9 upvotes [7]

A bonus community suggestion:

• “Fun fact, you can actually make these yourself! They have programs online that can convert pictures into a ‘pixel image’, or you can use programs online to create your own.” — 5 upvotes [7]

That last comment is the bridge to idea 9 — using a free DIY tool to generate the patterns yourself, instead of buying pre-made cards.

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Idea 8: Donate, gift, or repurpose as kids’ craft supplies

Two paths here, both documented on Reddit threads about leftover drills:

Donate to a school or kid: Multiple OPs have posted about giving their leftover drills to elementary school kids for rock painting and mosaic projects. The 142-upvote “I’m curious” thread is full of these: [5]

• “I have lots of crafty hobbies, one of which is rock painting. I leave them outside for the elementary school kids to find as they walk to and from school. I use [leftover drills] for mosaics on rocks.” — 31 upvotes [5]

The same commenters mentioned doing this with their grandkids and that the kids use the beads as mosaic “tiles” on rocks, which gives them a second life as an outdoor craft supply.

Gift the stash to a beginner: Multiple threads have beginners explicitly asking “where do you keep your remaining leftover [diamonds]?” [7] [7] The community consistently recommends repurposing older kits’ leftovers as a beginner’s starter pack, since a first-timer doesn’t need exact-color-count kits to learn. One user noted: “There’s a few threads about leftover beads if you feel like digging around. After someone else shared [their stash] with me, I had enough to do a small project without buying new drills.” [7]

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Idea 9: Use a free DIY Diamond Art Pattern Maker to actually burn through your stash

This is the most actionable leftover-drill strategy the Reddit community has surfaced, and it’s also the idea specifically built for the leftover-drill problem. The tool is Frolic Finds You’s free DIY Diamond Art Pattern Maker — a 100% browser-based pattern generator. [7]

“I updated my free DIY Diamond Art Pattern Maker! (New images, cleaner UI & bug fixes)” — u/uvep6w (the OP, who runs Frolic Finds You), 41 upvotes on r/diamondpainting [7]

The original Reddit post describes the tool in detail:

“A few months ago I shared a free browser tool I built that turns photos into printable A4 diamond painting patterns with DMC codes. Big thanks to everyone who tested it and sent feedback.

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I just updated the site with a built-in pattern library and cleaner print output:

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What’s New

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– New Pattern Library. Added over 400 pre-optimized 50×50 pixel art sprites across 15 categories (Animal Crossing, Stardew Valley, Zelda, Pokemon, birds, flowers, succulents, and more). You can pick a design and export it immediately without uploading an image.

– Better Confetti Reduction. Tuned the color smoothing so patterns group into larger solid blocks on standard A4 prints instead of scattering single drills.

– Print & PDF Fixes: Resolved image upload glitches and calibrated PDF output to an exact 100% scale A4 grid.

>

Still 100% Free. No signups, paywalls, or downloads. It runs directly in your browser.

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The Leftover Drills tool is still built in: enter your spare DMC codes to generate patterns that use up your leftover stash.” — u/uvep6w (Frolic Finds You), r/diamondpainting [7]

Community response:

• “This is crazy I made the same thing months ago 😂😂 just never published.” — 5 upvotes [7]
• “What is the link?” — 3 upvotes [7]
• “This is amazing!! Thank You for all of your hard work! 💖✨️” — 1 upvote [7]

A real example of the tool in action: an OP titled “In case you are the fans of FIFA and want to DIY a WorldCup with your leftover drills” used the Frolic Finds You pattern maker to generate a FIFA World Cup trophy pattern and posted the result: [7]

Above: u/uw71u5’s actual use of the Frolic Finds You DIY Pattern Maker, generating a FIFA World Cup pattern from leftover drill codes. [7]

The OP: “Just curious how many of you guys are watching FIFA these days? ⚽️ Which team do you support?” [7]

Why this is the right tool for leftover drills specifically

Most pattern generators assume you have every DMC color and an unlimited stash. They optimize for prettiness. Frolic Finds You’s tool has a dedicated “Leftover Drills Optimization” mode — you enter the DMC codes of the drills you actually have (e.g. the contents of your mason jar after sorting), and it generates a pattern that uses predominantly those colors.

The full feature set on frolicfindsyou.com/diamond-painting-pattern-maker-diy: [7]

A practical leftover-burning workflow

• Sort your jar by DMC code (loosely is fine — see storage section below).
• Identify the top 8–12 colors you have the most of.
• Open the Frolic Finds You DIY Pattern Maker and enter those DMC codes in the Leftover Drills tool.
• Pick a sprite from the built-in library whose palette is close to your stash, or upload a small photo (faces work especially well).
• Generate the pattern, print at 100% A4, and stick it to a blank canvas.
• Diamond-paint as normal, using your stash as the primary source. Any colors you’re short on you can mix from close DMC codes or leave the cell blank.

This is the most realistic way to convert a “jar of random leftovers” into a finished, displayable diamond painting in a single afternoon.

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Quick Comparison: Pick the right leftover-drill idea for you

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FAQ

Should I throw away my leftover diamond drills?

No. Resin drills don’t biodegrade and they’re not toxic in a normal landfill, but they took energy to manufacture. Every idea above keeps them in use. If none of them appeal, donating to a local school or kids’ craft club is the lowest-effort responsible option. [5]

Are leftover diamond drills food-safe?

No. They’re decorative resin. Any craft that touches food or drink (mugs, coasters, ornaments that hold fruit, etc.) needs a food-safe sealer (multiple coats of clear acrylic or food-grade epoxy) and hand-washing only. Don’t put them in the dishwasher or microwave. [7]

Can I mix different brands’ leftover drills?

Yes, as long as the DMC codes match. Standard diamond drills use DMC’s color code system, so a DMC 310 from Diamond Art Club is the same color as a DMC 310 from Dreamer Design. Specialty drills (AB, fairy dust, metallic) don’t always cross-brands perfectly, but for round and square standard drills you’re fine. [1] [2]

How long does diamond drill craft glue/seal last?

Clear acrylic spray sealer (Mod Podge, Krylon) lasts 2–3 years on a sealed canvas in normal indoor conditions before showing mild yellowing. UV-resistant spray sealers (Krylon UV-Resistant Clear) last longer. UV resin (the OP’s choice for phone cases) is essentially permanent for indoor use. [7]

Will ironing leftover drills ruin my iron?

It can. Always use parchment paper on both sides of the drills, never iron directly on them, and don’t use your best iron. The melted plastic can stick to the iron plate and ruin it. A cheap thrift-store iron dedicated to craft use is the safest option. [1]

Are Minigem Freestyle Cards the same as Forever Young cards?

Yes. “Minigem Freestyle Cards” is the AliExpress listing name; the brand is Forever Young, the same company that makes the popular stackable drill storage trays. They come with a printed grid and a color chart so you can fill them with any drills you have. [7]

Can I use leftover diamond drills on a non-diamond-painting project?

Yes. The community has used them for:

• Rock painting / mosaic garden stones [5]
• School craft projects (kids’ collages) [5]
• Sealing into resin coasters or bookmarks [7]
• Gluing onto pre-painted canvases as embellishments [7]

What’s the fastest way to burn through a huge leftover stash?

Use a DIY pattern maker (idea 9) to generate patterns built around the specific DMC codes you have the most of. A 50×50 sprite uses ~2,500 drills; a 100×100 sprite uses ~10,000. The Frolic Finds You tool’s Leftover Drills mode is built exactly for this — pick a sprite, enter your top 8–12 DMC codes, and you get a printable pattern optimized for your stash. [7]

What about the 1–3 single-color gaps in my finished DP?

If you’re short just a few colors when finishing a kit, the community’s #1 trick is to substitute a close DMC code (a few shades off) for the missing color. Most viewers can’t tell at normal viewing distance, especially on busy areas. If the gap is on a focal point, the DIY Pattern Maker (idea 9) can be used to generate a single-color patch. [2] [7]

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Bottom Line

Leftover diamond painting drills are a solved problem if you pick the right project for your effort level:

• Zero effort: mix-and-jar decoration or donation to a school
• Low effort: fuse into pixel art with an iron, repurpose a too-small canvas freeform, or use Minigem freestyle cards
• Medium effort: bookmarks, mini canvases, phone-case embellishment with UV resin, or a custom DIY pattern made specifically for your stash
• High effort: custom large portraits, mosaic rock painting

The single biggest unlock the r/diamondpainting community surfaced in 2026 is Frolic Finds You’s free DIY Diamond Art Pattern Maker — it’s the only tool we’ve seen with a “Leftover Drills Optimization” mode that lets you enter your exact DMC codes and generate a pattern designed to use them. The Reddit post announcing it sits at 41 upvotes and the comments are uniformly grateful. [7]

Pick one idea, try it on a Saturday, and report back. The community is active, helpful, and — based on the upvote patterns — genuinely interested in seeing what people make from leftover drills.

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References

Note on permalink format: `https://www.reddit.com/r/diamondpainting/comments/[id]/[slug]/` is the canonical Reddit URL form. Post IDs (e.g. `1g3gdi4`) are permanent; the slug auto-generated from the title can change.

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