Originally written 26 May 2-19
This file – link here, you buy ($15 US at the time of typing this) from the company Paint With Diamonds and it comes in a PDF file format which is sent to you in an email once the purchase transaction is complete. If you’ve bought it and not received it after an hour or more, check your spam folder as it could end up in there.
After receiving it, you save it to your computer (laptop or desktop). While there are numerous apps that can read pdf files, I recommend downloading Adobe Acrobat Reader because it will read the pdf the best. It’s free and is for Apple, Android, Windows, and Mac.
Desktop view: The top line shows 1/44 pages and at a zoom of 17.4% of its original size; hence the advice for the Adobe Reader. The first page is the cover. On the left, you can see a front matter page, two pages of diamond painting how-to, and the ‘chapter’ page indicating the logbook section.
Desktop view: The main page showing is the actual project log page. There are 30 of these in the book. On the left is the ‘chapter’ page for the DMC colour charts. They’re all listed there, as a form of quick reference.
App view: This shows the log page partially filled out. To work out the total drills… 1) count the drills in one row from side to side and note that number down. 2) count the drills in one row from top to bottom and note that down. 3) grab a calculator and input the first number, tap the X then input the second number then tap the = to get your total. This method becomes tedious the larger the project but it gives you an exact total of drills.
Desktop view: The main page is the first list of DMC colours. It lists the DMC code, the name of the colour, and a sample of that colour. Since I’m new to this addictive hobby, I haven’t had a chance to check the accuracy of the colour samples. On the left is the last two pages of the DMC colour chart, back page matter, and the back cover.
To use: After saving the file from your email to your computer, you keep that original as a blank copy. When you want to start using it, open it, do not add anything to it then ‘save as’ to your preferred cloud storage with 001 added to the end of the file name. Reason being, after all the project pages are full, you then go back to your computer, open the blank original and ‘save as’ to your cloud storage with 002 at the end of it. Repeat as needed.
Pros:
1) A quick and easy editable file to keep track of your paintings. Great, if you’re into the minimalist look.
2) With keeping the original blank, you can make as many copies as you need for the duration of the hobby.
3) Saving the working copy to the cloud means you can use it on your computer, tablet and/or phone, across all operating systems, and all edits will sync after closing it. Just remember, if editing on your computer, do use the working file (the one with the numbers at the end) and not your blank original.
Cons:
1) Can not add project images. Hopefully, this feature will be added in a future update.
2) The log pages are basic with the information you can fill in, depending on how much information you want to record. Even the Notes section will only hold so much if there is other stuff you wish to jot down.
3) Just like a physical book, you will end up with multiple copies you might have to hunt through, compared to other digital logbooks.
Thank you for reading 🙂